Jalaludeen J Ibrahim | Federal University of Technology Birnin Kebbi (original) (raw)
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Papers by Jalaludeen J Ibrahim
Zaria Journal of Liberal Arts (ZAJOLA), 2024
This paper offers a critique of Schneider‘s Dynamic Model of Postcolonial Englishes (Schneider, 2... more This paper offers a critique of Schneider‘s Dynamic Model of Postcolonial Englishes (Schneider, 2007) and its underlying claim that Postcolonial Englishes (PCEs) grow into five developmental phases, viz., foundation, exonormative stabilisation, nativisation, endonormative stabilisation, and differentiation. According to this model, Nigerian English (NigE) as a postcolonial variety is currently placed in phase three, i.e. in the nativisation phase. The point of departure is the re-evaluation of the positioning of NigE on the developmental scale of the model, paying attention to all four parameters that define each of the phases: socio-political background, identity constructions, sociolinguistic conditions, and linguistic effects. This paper takes up this development and argues that the dynamic model as a research tool for PCEs (from the perspective of contact-induced change) does not fully capture the complex realities of the spread of English in Nigeria.
Global Journal of Research in Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2024
Discursively, this paper examines critical perspectives on “discourse”, which is the focus of “di... more Discursively, this paper examines critical perspectives on “discourse”, which is the focus of “discourse analysis”. Discourse reveals the communicative potentials of human language across domains. A conventional instrument of communication, language is not exhaustive in its communicative potential. The literature of discourse analysis is replete with front-burner postulations on the nature of language, discourse, human communication, social structures and value systems. A study of such postulations is worthy of scholarly attention as it can explain their implications, relevance and functionality when language is used either for cohesive or divisive roles in society. Language anchors the relationship between humans and socially realistic phenomena. In this regard, discourse is a framework for elucidating the bottom-line issues of “language in use” in the real world of humans: the universe of discourse. Hinging on Critical Linguistics, this study concludes that across texts and genres, discourse is: construction of knowledge, social phenomenon, sense and reference, ideology, linguistic convention, action, context of speech and context of situation.
Dutsin-Ma Journal of English and Literature (DUJEL), 2024
This study explores the ways speakers of Nigerian English recreate their own speech and the speec... more This study explores the ways speakers of Nigerian English recreate their own speech and the speech of others in narrative discourse using zero quotative. It investigates how the speaker's choice of zero quotative is constrained by both linguistic (the content of the quote, grammatical person of the quotative, and tense/time reference of the quotative) and social (age, regional origin, sex, and social class) factors. The quotative forms in this study were transcribed from sociolinguistic interviews conducted with 180 participants in Nigeria. The study adopts Variationist Sociolinguistics (Labov 1963, 1966; Tagliamonte 2012), using a mixed-methods approach that relies on both quantitative and qualitative analyses. For multivariate analysis of the quotative forms, a statistical program called Rbrul (Johnson, 2009) was used. The findings establish that zero quotative has an important presence in Nigerian English and the speakers of this variety of English use zero quotative in marking dramatic effects and creating immediacy. This study offers insight into understanding the mechanisms of linguistic change and how zero quotative functions in Nigerian English.
Kebbi Journal of Language and Literature, 2020
Language has been a powerful tool in the hands of political leaders as most of the ideas they com... more Language has been a powerful tool in the hands of political leaders as most of the ideas they communicate and the activities they perform are done through the avenues created by language. These include manifesto, campaign, inauguration, policy formulation, and implementation. Politicians use language as a tool to express views and feelings with the sole intention of reshaping peoples' opinions to agree with theirs. Taiwo (2009) submits that language is central to the explanation of political stability or polarization as it moves people to vote, debate, or revolt. This suggests that the concepts of "language" and "politics" are paths bound together. In any country, the office of the President or Prime Minister is the highest, yet the position needs constant touch or link with the citizens and one of the ways of achieving this is through speech making. The present study aims at analyzing Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari's 2015 inaugural speech. The data was extracted from the 2015 inaugural speech and analyzed using the Speech Acts Theory (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1999). The findings reveal that the President relies more on expressions that perform commissive acts than other speech acts. The findings further reveal that there are intricate relationships that exist between language, power, and ideology, just as the President also tries to create a shared sense of responsibility in his inaugural speech.
American Research Journal of English and Literature, 2016
Preference for the use of Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) as a medium of communication among Nigeri... more Preference for the use of Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) as a medium of communication among Nigerian staff of Controlled Event Solutions (CES) in Manchester is because of its simplicity and linguistic neutrality. Studies on NPE revealed that it derives its vocabulary from English (superstrate), and its sound system from the syntax of the local languages (substrate). This study examined how the preposition “fo” (English “for”) functions differently in various context, and what inherent meaning it has that explains its semantic versatility. The study was conducted with fifteen (15) Nigerian staff of CES, all within the age bracket of between 20 and 40 years. Four (4) participants were females while eleven (11) were males. The data were collected through naturally occurring casual speech. The findings revealed that “fo” can coincide with the English “for”; “fo” can function as a possessive marker when it precedes a proper noun; “fo” can function as “in” both as spatial and temporal; “fo” can function as “inside” (spatial) to overtly indicate the relationship between direct and indirect objects; “fo” can function as “on” (spatial locative [positional] & temporal), the interpretation of which is determined by the listener’s semantic instinct at notional level coupled with the type of nominal in the string; “fo” can function as “of” to indicate a point of reference; “fo” can function as “by” (preposition of agent); and “fo” can also function as the spatial “to” (directional) among other roles. This study further revealed that “fo” in NPE is used to specify the mood and attitude of the speaker. With the findings from this study, it is obvious that “fo” is mutable in every sense of its use.
Keywords: Fo, For, Manchester, Nigerian Pidgin English, Preposition
American Research Journal of English and Literature, 2016
Despite the fact that the importance of language is recognized in National Policy on Education (N... more Despite the fact that the importance of language is recognized in National Policy on Education (NPE), the language of instruction in multilingual Nigeria has always been a matter of concern to educators and educational planners. This study investigated the current situation of educational policy in Nigeria, highlighting the challenges of multilingual education and future of English language. A total number of one hundred (100) teachers at basic education level (this comprises lower primary and junior secondary school as contained in the National Policy on Education) in Gusau the capital city of Zamfara State, Nigeria, were selected as participants. The findings reveal that provisions of multilingual education contained in the National Policy on Education are not properly implemented by the majority of the teachers and the government has not taken the implementation of the provisions seriously. The findings also reveal that the future of English in the Nigerian educational sector is very bright since it now seems to be the language of officialdom. The findings further reveal that some of the challenges of multilingual education provisions include: the multilingual challenge; poor policy planning and implementation; and teacher quality and curriculum materials. This study recommends that the Federal Government of Nigeria should do more in the enforcement of the multilingual provisions in all sectors of education and also develop more educational resources and orthographies of indigenous languages to meet the demands of multilingual education.
Keywords: Education, English, Language, Multilingual, National, Nigeria, Policy
Kakaki: A Journal of English and Literary Studies, 2019
Code-switching in spontaneous speech has been around for millennia, and arguably since the emerge... more Code-switching in spontaneous speech has been around for millennia, and arguably since the emergence of distinct languages. While communicative strategies of this phenomenon have been well-documented across a variety of languages, little is known about the characteristics of Hausa-English code switching. In an attempt to fill this gap, this study aimed at investigating the syntactic structures of code switching in the speech of Hausa-English bilinguals in Manchester, United Kingdom. The naturally occurring data used were collected during informal conversations recorded at locations at different times and analysed based on various available approaches. The findings of this study reveal that switches in Hausa-English do not occur at random but are rather constrained by a set of grammatical rules of both participating languages. The study reveals that nouns are the most switched items, followed by discourse markers, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns and then determiners. The study also finds that insertion (intra-sentential) and alternation (inter-sentential) are the two structural patterns in Hausa-English conversation, triggered by various conversational contexts.
Thesis Chapters by Jalaludeen J Ibrahim
Zaria Journal of Liberal Arts (ZAJOLA), 2024
This paper offers a critique of Schneider‘s Dynamic Model of Postcolonial Englishes (Schneider, 2... more This paper offers a critique of Schneider‘s Dynamic Model of Postcolonial Englishes (Schneider, 2007) and its underlying claim that Postcolonial Englishes (PCEs) grow into five developmental phases, viz., foundation, exonormative stabilisation, nativisation, endonormative stabilisation, and differentiation. According to this model, Nigerian English (NigE) as a postcolonial variety is currently placed in phase three, i.e. in the nativisation phase. The point of departure is the re-evaluation of the positioning of NigE on the developmental scale of the model, paying attention to all four parameters that define each of the phases: socio-political background, identity constructions, sociolinguistic conditions, and linguistic effects. This paper takes up this development and argues that the dynamic model as a research tool for PCEs (from the perspective of contact-induced change) does not fully capture the complex realities of the spread of English in Nigeria.
Global Journal of Research in Humanities and Cultural Studies, 2024
Discursively, this paper examines critical perspectives on “discourse”, which is the focus of “di... more Discursively, this paper examines critical perspectives on “discourse”, which is the focus of “discourse analysis”. Discourse reveals the communicative potentials of human language across domains. A conventional instrument of communication, language is not exhaustive in its communicative potential. The literature of discourse analysis is replete with front-burner postulations on the nature of language, discourse, human communication, social structures and value systems. A study of such postulations is worthy of scholarly attention as it can explain their implications, relevance and functionality when language is used either for cohesive or divisive roles in society. Language anchors the relationship between humans and socially realistic phenomena. In this regard, discourse is a framework for elucidating the bottom-line issues of “language in use” in the real world of humans: the universe of discourse. Hinging on Critical Linguistics, this study concludes that across texts and genres, discourse is: construction of knowledge, social phenomenon, sense and reference, ideology, linguistic convention, action, context of speech and context of situation.
Dutsin-Ma Journal of English and Literature (DUJEL), 2024
This study explores the ways speakers of Nigerian English recreate their own speech and the speec... more This study explores the ways speakers of Nigerian English recreate their own speech and the speech of others in narrative discourse using zero quotative. It investigates how the speaker's choice of zero quotative is constrained by both linguistic (the content of the quote, grammatical person of the quotative, and tense/time reference of the quotative) and social (age, regional origin, sex, and social class) factors. The quotative forms in this study were transcribed from sociolinguistic interviews conducted with 180 participants in Nigeria. The study adopts Variationist Sociolinguistics (Labov 1963, 1966; Tagliamonte 2012), using a mixed-methods approach that relies on both quantitative and qualitative analyses. For multivariate analysis of the quotative forms, a statistical program called Rbrul (Johnson, 2009) was used. The findings establish that zero quotative has an important presence in Nigerian English and the speakers of this variety of English use zero quotative in marking dramatic effects and creating immediacy. This study offers insight into understanding the mechanisms of linguistic change and how zero quotative functions in Nigerian English.
Kebbi Journal of Language and Literature, 2020
Language has been a powerful tool in the hands of political leaders as most of the ideas they com... more Language has been a powerful tool in the hands of political leaders as most of the ideas they communicate and the activities they perform are done through the avenues created by language. These include manifesto, campaign, inauguration, policy formulation, and implementation. Politicians use language as a tool to express views and feelings with the sole intention of reshaping peoples' opinions to agree with theirs. Taiwo (2009) submits that language is central to the explanation of political stability or polarization as it moves people to vote, debate, or revolt. This suggests that the concepts of "language" and "politics" are paths bound together. In any country, the office of the President or Prime Minister is the highest, yet the position needs constant touch or link with the citizens and one of the ways of achieving this is through speech making. The present study aims at analyzing Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari's 2015 inaugural speech. The data was extracted from the 2015 inaugural speech and analyzed using the Speech Acts Theory (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1999). The findings reveal that the President relies more on expressions that perform commissive acts than other speech acts. The findings further reveal that there are intricate relationships that exist between language, power, and ideology, just as the President also tries to create a shared sense of responsibility in his inaugural speech.
American Research Journal of English and Literature, 2016
Preference for the use of Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) as a medium of communication among Nigeri... more Preference for the use of Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE) as a medium of communication among Nigerian staff of Controlled Event Solutions (CES) in Manchester is because of its simplicity and linguistic neutrality. Studies on NPE revealed that it derives its vocabulary from English (superstrate), and its sound system from the syntax of the local languages (substrate). This study examined how the preposition “fo” (English “for”) functions differently in various context, and what inherent meaning it has that explains its semantic versatility. The study was conducted with fifteen (15) Nigerian staff of CES, all within the age bracket of between 20 and 40 years. Four (4) participants were females while eleven (11) were males. The data were collected through naturally occurring casual speech. The findings revealed that “fo” can coincide with the English “for”; “fo” can function as a possessive marker when it precedes a proper noun; “fo” can function as “in” both as spatial and temporal; “fo” can function as “inside” (spatial) to overtly indicate the relationship between direct and indirect objects; “fo” can function as “on” (spatial locative [positional] & temporal), the interpretation of which is determined by the listener’s semantic instinct at notional level coupled with the type of nominal in the string; “fo” can function as “of” to indicate a point of reference; “fo” can function as “by” (preposition of agent); and “fo” can also function as the spatial “to” (directional) among other roles. This study further revealed that “fo” in NPE is used to specify the mood and attitude of the speaker. With the findings from this study, it is obvious that “fo” is mutable in every sense of its use.
Keywords: Fo, For, Manchester, Nigerian Pidgin English, Preposition
American Research Journal of English and Literature, 2016
Despite the fact that the importance of language is recognized in National Policy on Education (N... more Despite the fact that the importance of language is recognized in National Policy on Education (NPE), the language of instruction in multilingual Nigeria has always been a matter of concern to educators and educational planners. This study investigated the current situation of educational policy in Nigeria, highlighting the challenges of multilingual education and future of English language. A total number of one hundred (100) teachers at basic education level (this comprises lower primary and junior secondary school as contained in the National Policy on Education) in Gusau the capital city of Zamfara State, Nigeria, were selected as participants. The findings reveal that provisions of multilingual education contained in the National Policy on Education are not properly implemented by the majority of the teachers and the government has not taken the implementation of the provisions seriously. The findings also reveal that the future of English in the Nigerian educational sector is very bright since it now seems to be the language of officialdom. The findings further reveal that some of the challenges of multilingual education provisions include: the multilingual challenge; poor policy planning and implementation; and teacher quality and curriculum materials. This study recommends that the Federal Government of Nigeria should do more in the enforcement of the multilingual provisions in all sectors of education and also develop more educational resources and orthographies of indigenous languages to meet the demands of multilingual education.
Keywords: Education, English, Language, Multilingual, National, Nigeria, Policy
Kakaki: A Journal of English and Literary Studies, 2019
Code-switching in spontaneous speech has been around for millennia, and arguably since the emerge... more Code-switching in spontaneous speech has been around for millennia, and arguably since the emergence of distinct languages. While communicative strategies of this phenomenon have been well-documented across a variety of languages, little is known about the characteristics of Hausa-English code switching. In an attempt to fill this gap, this study aimed at investigating the syntactic structures of code switching in the speech of Hausa-English bilinguals in Manchester, United Kingdom. The naturally occurring data used were collected during informal conversations recorded at locations at different times and analysed based on various available approaches. The findings of this study reveal that switches in Hausa-English do not occur at random but are rather constrained by a set of grammatical rules of both participating languages. The study reveals that nouns are the most switched items, followed by discourse markers, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns and then determiners. The study also finds that insertion (intra-sentential) and alternation (inter-sentential) are the two structural patterns in Hausa-English conversation, triggered by various conversational contexts.