Bilingualism and Ethnic Identity in a Nupe-Yoruba Border Town in Nigeria

Abstract

Empirical studies of bilingualism in the advanced countries have been carried out to shed light on issues of both theoretical and pragmatic importance. Such issues include bilingualism and ethnic identity, educational and socio-psychological problems faced by linguistic minorities in linguistically heterogeneous countries, etc. In a multilingual country like Nigeria where there is a crosscurrent of contacts between different types of languages, giving rise to individual and community bilingualism, works of this nature are very crucial for language policies and implementation. In this paper, I deal with one of the many questions that scholars have attempted to answer, namely, does bilingualism in itself have an impact upon ethnic identity and ethnic attitudes? With data from the Saare/Tsaragi composite community, I try to show the sense in which bilingualism may not necessarily neutralise ethnic loyalty. One is led to conclude that it is the socio-cultural, economic, political and demographic context of a place - and not bilingualism per se - that is largely responsible for the behaviour patterns exhibited by bilinguals.