Challenges to a new generation of Nigerian writers in English

English Today ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kehinde A. Ayoola
Keyword(s):  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Creative Writers ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
New Generation

THIS PAPER recounts the challenges faced by young Nigerian writers in a climate that is hostile to new authors. The experience presented and discussed here epitomises both the dilemma and the experiences of the new generation of creative writers. The problem of language choice – English or a mother tongue – is re-examined, while exploring the various reasons, noble and not so noble, behind such matters as: choice of genre, the new writer’s response to democracy and globalization, the problem of audience recognition, and the failure of do-it-yourself publishing and marketing.

Exploring register with The Prime Machine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Jeaco
Keyword(s):  
Machine Translation ◽  
Social Factors ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Corpus Analysis ◽  
Source Information ◽  
Professional Work ◽  
Contextual Features ◽  
Postgraduate Studies ◽  
Register Analysis ◽  
Do It Yourself

Abstract Corpus approaches underpin a range of postgraduate studies and professional work in language, linguistics, translation and beyond. Awareness of the influences of contextual features on language choice is important for many activities: exploring new text varieties; finding relationships between social factors and language patterning; considering choices for post-editing machine translation; and understanding the very nature of language. Work on register relies on corpus methods, but more support and direction could be offered to help undergraduates gain earlier insights into the power of such corpus analysis. This paper introduces some ways register differences can be revealed through The Prime Machine corpus tool (Jeaco 2017a) and describes the design of a practically-oriented undergraduate module which uses this concordancer. Software features include the organization of texts and presentation of source information for readymade corpora, and methods which can be used to reveal useful starting points for register analysis of do-it-yourself corpora.

Woordkeuze Marokkaans-Arabisch en Modern Standaard Arabisch in het Eerste Jaar van het Programma Opstap-Opnieuw voor Marokkaanse Kinderen

1998 ◽  
Vol 60 ◽  
pp. 101-111
Author(s):  
Jan Jaap de Ruiter
Keyword(s):  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
First Year ◽  
Arabic Version ◽  
Linguistic Development ◽  
Standard Arabic ◽  
Moroccan Arabic ◽  
Moroccan Children ◽  
Target Children ◽  
Modern Standard

The two-year Opstap-Opnieuw programme is a programme to stimulate children aged 4-6 years in their cognitive, social and linguistic development. The 'Arabic' version of the programme, which is directed at Moroccan children, consists of texts written in Modern Standard Arabic and tapes containing recordings in Moroccan Arabic and Berber. The article investigates whether the words used in the first year of the programme link up with the proficiency of Moroccan children in their mother tongue and whether the language choice based on which the programme is developed is a suitable one. The outcomes of the analyses show that the lexical level of the programme is relatively high for the target children but not too high. Furthermore it shows that the multilingual language choice of the programme seems acceptable although the original choice in favour of the Moroccan Arabic dialect is to be preferred.

scholarly journals Canons and Heroes: The Reception of the Complete Works Translation Project in Finland, 2002-13

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (31) ◽  
pp. 109-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nely Keinänen
Keyword(s):  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Publishing Company ◽  
Significant Cost ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Iambic Pentameter ◽  
New Generation

This essay examines the reception of the ten-year Complete Works translation project undertaken by the Finnish publishing company Werner Söderström Oy (WSOY) in 2004-13. Focusing on reviews published in the first and last years of the project, the essay details ongoing processes of Shakespeare (re-)canonization in Finland, as each new generation explains to itself what Shakespeare means to them, and why it continues to read, translate and perform Shakespeare. These processes are visible in comments from the series editors and translators extolling the importance of Shakespeare’s work and the necessity of creating new, modern translations so Finns can read Shakespeare in their mother tongue; in discussions of the literary qualities of a good Shakespeare translation, e.g. whether it is advisable to use iambic pentameter in Finnish, a trochaic language; and in the creation of publisher and translator “heroes,” who at significant cost to themselves, whether in money in terms of the publisher, or time and effort in terms of the translators, labour to provide the public with their Shakespeare in modern Finnish. While on the whole reviewers celebrated the new translations, there was some resistance to changes in familiar lines from older translations, such as Macbeth’s “tomorrow” speech, suggesting that there are nevertheless some limits on modernizing “classic” translations.

scholarly journals Pidgin in Creative Works in English in Cameroon

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 98-120
Author(s):  
Jean Paul Kouega ◽  
Mildred Aseh
Keyword(s):  
Language Choice ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Rural People ◽  
Literary Works ◽  
Creative Writers ◽  
Short Utterances

Summary This study, which deals with code-switching and language choice in multilingual contexts, describes the use of Pidgin in creative works in English in Cameroon, with the focus on the forms that this language takes in the works, the types of characters who are made to speak this language, and the functions that this language plays in these works. The data comprise three plays and two novels, all published between 2000 and 2006 by experienced writers who have a good command of English and yet make their characters speak in Pidgin. The analysis shows that Pidgin in the corpus takes the form of individual lexemes like salaka (libation, sacrifice) and relatively short utterances like This sun fit kill man (This sun is so hot that it can kill someone.). The characters who speak Pidgin in these literary works are generally low-ranking and rural people, illiterates and other people who are hardly looked up to in the Cameroonian society. Finally, Pidgin helps writers to realise some stylistic effects such as variations on the scale of formality, with English being used when addressing a superior person and Pidgin when addressing an inferior person. Most importantly, creative writers reproduce in their works what is observed in the Cameroonian society and this can be regarded as a formal way of enhancing their readers’ plurilingual competence.

scholarly journals Affordable telecommunications

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Poblet
Keyword(s):  
Mesh Networks ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Telecommunication Services ◽  
Hardware Production ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Telecommunications Services ◽  
Do It Yourself ◽  
New Generation

  The unparalleled success of mobile technologies, the emergence of new modes of software and hardware production, and the free circulation of shared knowledge in the Web 2.0 have enabled a new generation of bottom-up, community-based, cost-effective telecommunications initiatives and projects. While these endeavours find their roots in previous hobbyists’ movements (i.e. amateur radio, software hackers, do-it-yourself communities) today's’ initiatives are able to connect, co-produce and share knowledge with world-wide communities, engaging new participants both at the local and the global level. This article reviews recent developments that aim to provide free or low-cost access to telecommunication services in different areas. From Do-It-Yourself (DIY) satellites to mesh networks, these projects tap into the wisdom and resources of communities to offer non-commercial alternatives to present telecommunications services. The technology, organisational, and regulatory challenges they also face cannot be underestimated either. However, in their struggle to find and consolidate new markets, affordable telecommunications reveal that a new digital economy based on co-production could be under way.  

scholarly journals Language Choice Motivations in a Bribri Community in Costa Rica

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 6-20
Author(s):  
Janet Blackwood
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Language Choices ◽  
Indigenous Language Revitalization

A growing body of research has been undertaken in a variety of contexts worldwide to explore language preference and use as well as the attitudes and beliefs that may impact the maintenance and revitalization of endangered languages. There has also been considerable examination of the motivations that impact second language learning and the choices speakers make regarding second language learning and use. However this research has rarely extended to exploring the motivations influencing language choices in contexts where one of the languages is an endangered mother‐tongue language. Analyzing a portion of the data gathered from a larger study on language attitudes and practices, this study explores the language choices of members of an indigenous community in Costa Rica and the motivations that appear to influence those choices. An analysis is also made of the relationship between the language choice motivations that are present and current indigenous language revitalization efforts in the community.

scholarly journals TEACHER TALK AND INSTRUCTIONAL LANGUAGE CHOICE: TWO PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN EFL CLASSROOM

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 195
Author(s):  
Widya Rizky Pratiwi
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Classroom Teacher ◽  
Classroom Interaction ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Teacher Talk ◽  
Student Talk ◽  
Teacher Talk Time ◽  
Effective Teaching And Learning ◽  
Instructional Language

When we agree with the internalization of a foreign language acquisition centered in the classroom, teacher talk plays the most important role to achieve the success of teaching and learning. However, a high intensity of teacher talk and the hesitation of instructional language choice become two common problems are usually faced. Therefore, it seems important to present a variety of literature reviews to be considered by teachers which may be used as the reference to solve the problem. This study presented the concept of teacher talk at classroom interaction, monolingual and bilingual approach in EFL classroom and some previous research findings “the rationales for supporting bilingual approach” which were gained from some articles. This study suggests that teachers have to control the quantity and quality of their talk to gain an effective teaching and learning process in the EFL classroom. It is more advantageous to reduce Teacher Talk Time and increase Student Talk Time based on the students’ need because too much teacher talk will have an impact on decreased student learning motivation. When teaching EFL students, it will be helpful for overcoming cognitive difficulties if teachers insert mother tongue for the certain condition such as to translate difficult words from reading the text and to explain grammar. However, the teachers have to keep a principled and judicious use of mother tongue because a very high proportion of it also limits the students’ achievement. If the students are exposed more to the second language, they will become more successful

scholarly journals Exploring Two Cases of Amazigh Maintenance and Shift in a Moroccan Higher Education Institution

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 145-155
Author(s):  
Abdelaziz Ait Taleb ◽  
Mohamed El Ghazi
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Language Maintenance And Shift ◽  
The City

The study of Language Maintenance and Shift (LMS) is mainly concerned with exploring the effects of contact between two varieties or more on the speakers' "habitual use" of these varieties. This paper focuses on investigating two cases of LMS among native Amazigh-speaking youngsters who were enrolled at a higher education institution in the city of Agadir, Morocco. With regard to their linguistic background, the two cases are bilingual in an Amazigh variety (Tashlhit) as their mother tongue and Moroccan Arabic (Darija) as their L2. The purpose of the study is to explore the possible determinants of LMS among these two cases by exploring both their language choice patterns and social networks in particular language use domains (family and school). The instruments utilized to collect data included 'natural speech' recordings, self-report questionnaires, and interviews. The collected data were analyzed and interpreted in the light of Domain analysis and Social Network theories. The results revealed inconsistency in the case studies' patterns and determinants of LMS. Accordingly, the study concluded by recommending adopting more comprehensive models to better comprehend the dynamics of LMS in indigenous settings.

Educational Innovations in Nigeria

2014 ◽  
pp. 1049-1067
Author(s):  
Oyewusi Lawunmi Molara ◽  
Egbedokun Adeola Oyebisi ◽  
Oyeniran Folasade Mardiyya
Keyword(s):  
Educational Technology ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Educational Innovation ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Innovation Implementation ◽  
Educational Innovations ◽  
Policy Issues ◽  
Effective Implementation ◽  
The Government ◽  
New Generation

This chapter focuses on the concept of change as it relates to educational innovation in Nigeria. It describes change as a transition from one state to another. It highlights some of the descriptions of change, its characteristics, and process. It further discusses innovation as a product of change and that both are intertwined. The chapter also raises some of the reasons why innovation ideas (such as 6-3-3-4, 5-6-2-3 systems of education, UPE, UBE, Mother tongue, Nomadic education, amongst others) have failed in Nigeria. These reasons include lack of preparation, lack of effective implementation, lack of funds, etc. It concludes by pointing readers to issues that could be considered salient for innovation prospects such as policy issues on the part of the government, educational technology as a pivot for innovation implementation, training of teachers and other personnels that would be involved in the implementation process, caring for the new generation of learners, and the process of innovation adoption.

scholarly journals Prinzipien der Sprachwahl im Tourismus, mit Schwerpunkt auf sprachlicher Höflichkeit

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22
Author(s):  
Ulrich Ammon
Keyword(s):  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Choice ◽  
Tourist Industry ◽  
Tourist Destination ◽  
Lingua Franca ◽  
Local Language ◽  
International Standing ◽  
Face Saving

Abstract After defining the concept of ‚tourist‘ and distinguishing ‚inbound tourists‘ from ‚outbound tourists‘, the article focuses on questions of politeness towards tourists who are seen and treated as customers of their goals’ tourist industry. One possibility of treating them politely is the adequate language choice with respect to their mother tongue, I which they will, as a rule expect to be addressed, if it is a language of considerable international standing (e.g. French or German) or spoken by many tourists in the respective location. Otherwise they will consider it at least more polite to be addressed in a lingua franca, mostly English, than in the local language of the tourist destination. Tourist will find it particularly polite to be addressed in their own mother language if it does not rank among the more international languages. These hypotheses are deduced from well-founded politeness theories based on face-saving and identity assumptions and are illustrated by examples in order to show ways of further empirical corroboration or falsification.

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