Investigating into the varieties of language spoken at Benue State University, Makurdi

Abstract

In a multilingual speech community like Benue State University, Makurdi, where the members thereof have different native language backgrounds and English is chosen to be the official language, members of the university community speak different varieties of language in different domains. The paper entitled ‘Investigating into the varieties of language spoken at Benue State University (BSU), Makurdi’ is set to examine the varieties of language spoken on the BSU’s campus. The survey design was adopted, and questionnaires were used as the instruments for data collection for the paper. The analysis of the varieties of language spoken at the university was based on William Labov’s Variationist Theory which claims that differences are featured in the use of language among individuals based on the contexts. Through the analysis of the data, the researchers discovered that English, Pidgin, and native languages such as Tiv, Idoma, Igede, Etulo, Igbo, Hausa, among others, are spoken at the university. The study also discovered that Pidgin is predominantly used at the university despite the fact that English is the official language because academics and lecture rooms may be the only domains and settings that compulsorily enforce the use of English. The researchers, therefore, suggest that more efforts should be made to ensure a predominant use of English on the BSU’s campus since it is the official and prestigious language of Nigeria.