Study of the Major Indigenous Languages and the Origin of Foreign Languages in West Africa

Abstract

The main point of this paper is that we have various languages in West Africa. Each of these West African countries has a distinct culture that is inextricably linked to its language, as culture and language are inseparable. These languages and cultures, on the other hand, have been infiltrated by alien or foreign cultures as a result of colonialism, religious activities, and trade. The infiltration of these alien or foreign cultures has distorted the uniqueness of West African languages and cultures. In addition to the distorting of languages and cultures in West Africa, code-switching, code-mixing, and the use of Pidgin English in English-speaking West Africa are also common. The study also looks at West Africa's English-speaking, French-speaking, and Portuguese-speaking populations.  The need to teach indigenous West African languages and dialects to run pari pasu with foreign/second/official languages in West Africa is a panacea so as to resuscitate extinction of languages and dying cultures is advocated in this study. The objective of this study includes: major indigenous languages in West Africa, the foreign languages in West Africa, the concept of multilingualism and multiculturalism in West Africa, looking at the spread of the foreign languages in West Africa on the map of West Africa; considering the years of independence of each country in West Africa, the emergence of pidgin English in the West Africa sub-region, problems and prospects of multilingualism in West Africa and ideal instructional materials for teaching multilingualism in West Africa.