IBUN JAZAR ISLAMIC HIGH SCHOOL

The ROLES GIVEN TO LANGUAGE

When there is more than one language existing in a speech community, there comes a need to assign these languages different roles, and each of the roles gives a language its name. These roles include:

i)                    National role. The national role makes language a National Language.

ii)                  Official role. This makes language a language an Official language.

iii)                International role. The international role makes a language an International language

iv)                Official role and this makes language Official language.

v)                  Unifying role, the unifying role makes a language a Lingua franca

1.     National language.

Is a language that is used as a main language of a nation, i.e. it is used in all national activities. This is usually the standard form of a variety of a language that is given the highest status in the nation.

It is the language that is used in the political, social, economic, as well as cultural issues of the nation.

Leaders use this language to address their people in different occasions, such as public rallies. It is the language used in the national anthem and other important items such as national currency. It is the one that is used as the main language of national media example, television, radio, newspapers e. t.

Remember, a national language can be a native or non – native (foreign) language.

Factors for the choice of a national language

Some multilingual societies that form a nation have to choose one of the languages existing in it to be a

national language. This challenge occurred for example, in Africa especially during the 1960s where Some African countries started attaining their independence from colonial powers.

One of the working groups of the symposium on multilingualism held at Brazzaville in July 1962 listed in their report the factors that may affect the choice of a national language, and which ought to be considered by the authorities before they take a decision.

a)      Linguistic demography and sociology. What considered here is the number of native speakers of the language, it`s geographical, political and social boundaries and it`s perpetuating mechanism example, oral and writing tradition, educational institutions, its use in mass media, and political, religious and other institutions with a vested interest in it.  

b)      Past history of linguistic situation. What is considered here is the nature of past contacts between the language groups, both indigenous and foreign. Also the history of political, social, and religious pressure group and the history of education and literacy in the country

c)      The structural nature of the language. What is considered here is how language is described scientifically by linguists; their orthographies, the process of change due to dialectical diversification or contact with other languages, the easiness or difficulty in being learnt by other language groups.

d)      Social, political and economic situation. What is considered here is the extent of the needed the foreign aid, the likely sources of the aid. Also, the political, social, economical and educational situational of various indigenous language groups and the altitudes toward them of the other language group.

e)      The organization and structure of educational system. What is considered here is existing of linguistic feature, its resources in finance, teaching materials, teachers and training facilities, both local and external together with control of those resources.

f)       Coast. What is concerned here are coast of any change in the existing language situation, other than the educational coast. Example the administrative and commercial coasts.