Toward the development of a multilingual language policy in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper examines Nigeria's language policies in terms of (I) the historical, sociolinguistic, political, educational, and ideological contexts in which they arose; (2) their impact on patterns of language choice and language use in education and other aspects of national life; and (3) their implications for the theory and practice of language planning. Practical issues of implementation are discussed, while theoretical issues are raised concerning the relationship between the ideologies which underlie the language planning decisions, the orientations of the policies, and the models of education employed in their implementation. Existing models of language planning are re-examined in the light of the findings. © 1991 Oxford University Press.