INVESTIGATING NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS' PERCEPTION TOWARDS ENGLISH LANGUAGE DOMINANCE OVER THEIR INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES

Abstract

The language policy in Nigeria granted English language the status of being the sole official language, and the language of instruction in the country. This approach influenced the educated people's competence, and subsequently, attitudes towards English and their native languages respectively. The study aims to investigate the perception of the Nigerian university students regarding the dominance of English over their indigenous languages and the role of the language policy of the country in this concern. The qualitative data collected by interviewing eight students from two universities in the Northern side of Cyprus answers the following questions: 1) what is the Nigerian university students' perceptions of the dominance of English over their national languages? 2)How do the Nigerian university students evaluate the language policy in their country and what they think about its potential effect on their national languages?The findings revealed that Nigerian university students use English frequently for both formal and informal contexts in their daily conversations. They also felt that their native language competence decreases gradually while their English mastery develops constantly. Although they hold positive attitudes towards English as the official language of Nigeria, they feel the need to reconsider the language policy and adopt the main national languages as official languages in addition to  English. This study contributes to our understanding of multi-lingual people`s attitudes towards their heritage language and supports the research literature which shows that personal connection to the heritage language plays a significant role in individuals` attachment to the language rather than the actual proficiency of speakers.