LINGUISTIC CONSTRAINTS IN THE USE OF ENGLISH IN NIGERIA

IMPLICATION FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

This paper investigates linguistic constraints in the use of the English language in Nigeria. The study further explores the ascendancy of the English language in Nigeria from historical and contemporary perspectives. The paper selects
Error Analysis theories as the preferred linguistic framework upon which the study is anchored. Findings revealed that interlingual and intralingual influences constitute major linguistic impediments to the Nigerian users of the English language, and significantly account for the flagrant abuse of the language in their spoken and written discourses with its attendant consequences on the sustainable educational development of the country. It was recommended, among others, that Nigerian users of English should endeavour to acquaint themselves with the knowledge of the inherent
linguistic and structural discrepancies and inconsistencies not only between the Nigerian indigenous languages and English but also within the English language itself. There is also the need for writers of the English language textbooks in Nigeria to explicitly simplify those difficult and confusing linguistic rules of the language and their exceptions, while Nigerian users of the language should make constant reading of literature books written in good English a necessity.