Language Choice and Family Language Policy in Inter-Ethnic Marriages in South-Eastern Nigeria

Ensuring continuity in the intergenerational transmission of language is a crucial element in the process of its maintenance (Fishman,1991). The family has been identified as the bedrock of such social transmission thus raising questions about language choice which usually ignites emotional reactions especially in inter-ethnic marriages. This paper investigates the issue of language socialization and language choice in inter-ethnic marriages from a macro-sociolinguistic perspective involving the intersection of Efik-Ibibio, Igbo and Lokaa couples and children who are products of these unions, given that parents make decisions with regard to the family linguistic choices and children are the agents of socialization and change in language ecology and family dynamics. The study is rooted in Hyme's (1962) theory of ethnography of speaking which is concerned with the linguistic resources people use in context and the socially situated uses and meaning of language; what language to use in what place, to whom and upon what occasion etc and Giles' (1979) socio-psychological theory of accommodation which seeks to explain cognitive adjustments in the choice of language adopted by children. The study discovers that the motivation for indigenous language transmission is weaned as the family does not provide the bond to foster sufficient indigenous languages activities, therefore, children raised in inter-ethnic marriages are not balanced bilinguals. The study has implications for language shift and maintenance in Nigeria.Key words: Language choice; Inter-ethnic marriages; Code-mixing/switching; Linguistic ecology; Multilingualism; Family language polic

ON EFIK PREFIXING MORPHOLOGY

Prefixation is a grammatical devise that involves the attachment of a bound morpheme to the left of a root element or stem. It functions to signal certain grammatical relationships involving categories like tense, negation, person, number, and aspect. It can also trigger off the creation of new words from existing ones. The focus of this paper is to analyse the forms and structure of Efik prefixes in relation to the different phonological and morphosyntactic operations they can signal in the language. The paper also examines the various word formation strategies involving prefixation in the language. The basic assumption, however, is that the structure of Efik prefixes vary according to agreement, and is determined by the principle of vowel harmony. The study discovers that Efik prefixes have systematic and rule-governed structures and that certain conditions, such as the phonology of the stem, the stem’s lexical category and the semantic value of prefixes stipulate their position. We wish to interpret the following abbreviations in order to facilitate our analyses: Adv(erb), Asp(ect), Aux(illiary), Conj(unction), Fut(ure tense), Mod(ality), Neg(ation), N(oun), NP (Noun Phrase), Pres(ent tense), PT(Past tense), Pro(noun), Pfx (Prefix) SC (Subject Concord), Spec(ifier), Tn (tense) and V(erb).&nbsp

Lexicalization in Nigerian Pidgin

Nigerian Pidgin (henceforth NP) is indisputably the most efficient means of inter-ethnic communication among the densely culturally and linguistically heterogeneous people of Nigeria, given its greater degree of linguistic simplicity which has attracted enormous grassroot appeal. The language is currently undergoing a process of social expansion as a result of its dynamic socio-cultural relevance and increased communicative demands, thus, consistently expanding its lexicon and widening the range of application of the meanings of its lexical items. This paper investigates word formation strategies in NP as a means of enriching its vocabulary and expanding its internal resourcefulness and functionality, from the theoretical standpoint of lexical semantics, which is concerned with the identification and representation of the meaning of lexical item

Lexicalization in Nigerian Pidgin

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[[alternative]]The Efik-English Perspective

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On Efik Nouns

This paper investigates nouns, and other constructions with nouns as heads (noun phrases) in Efik, using the framework of one of the modules of universal grammar, Binding Theory (BT). It examines among other things, the grammatical properties of nouns, their various projections and application to BT in the language. The study discovers that pronominal elements and referential expressions are free in their respective governing categories, in relation to the Binding of NP structures in Efik. KEY WORDS: Binding, Government, Grammar, Noun and Noun Phrase Global Journal of Humanities Vol.3(1&2) 2004: 33-3

Lexicalization in Nigerian Pidgin

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