12 The Linguist Vol/54 No/5 2015
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the message in a manner that is culturally sensitive. This
raises the question of how easy it would be for
organisations to find professional translators in Nigeria.
There are certainly opportunities to take up relevant study
in the country: I found Applied Languages courses at 78
Nigerian universities, but whether this translates to
professional linguists working in the required language
combinations is another matter.
The two translators I interviewed work into two of
Nigeria's languages of wider communication. They
confided that most professional translators in Nigeria
work the hegemonic language pairs (e.g. French,
German, Spanish and Portuguese into English) because
"they prefer to seek employment in big organisations and
corporations," where they can make a living. This throws
some light on why online searches for professional
translators from English into Nigerian languages tend to
render skimpy results.
Complex linguistic landscape
In its Charter for African Cultural Renaissance, the African
Academy of Languages (ACALAN) provides that "the
States will ensure the introduction of African cultural
values and the universal principles of Human Rights in
education, as well as in information and communication
programmes".
7
The funnelling of this charter into Nigerian
national legislation appears unclear, however, and until it
is enforced the current status quo is likely to continue.
Indeed, on the 2013 Human Development Index, Nigeria
came 153 out of 187 countries and territories.
8
Communication in a multilingual environment needs to
be sensitive to the fact that language goes hand-in-hand
with culture. International development and emergency
response staff are often faced with the challenge of
deciding how to reach their target groups and establish
dialogue in a manner that is proper, respectful, sensitive
and effective, and this is particularly critical in multilingual
(multicultural) areas.
Due to the complexity of the sociolinguistic landscape,
it may be best for practitioners to combine different
language strategies. Efforts to progress toward the
attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (soon
superseded by the Sustainable Development Goals) in
countries such as Nigeria might be assisted by the
promotion of communication in the local languages in a
professional manner.
There is an opportunity for the Nigerian Government,
Nigerian Institute of Translators and Interpreters, and the
non-profit bodies operating in this country to try to
encourage professional language practice for the benefit
of all the parties involved.
Notes
1 Pallansch, M A & Sandhu, HS (2006) 'The Eradication of
Polio: Progress and challenges' in The New England Journal
of Medicine, 355 (24), 2508-2511
2 Oketch, O & Banda, F (2008) 'Multilingual Discourse
Practices in Community Development in Nyanza Province,
Kenya' in Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language
Studies, Routledge/NISC, 26 (1), 1-11
3 Di Luzio, A (2003) 'Presenting John Gumperz' in
Eerdmans, S L, Prevignano, C L & Thibault, P J (eds),
Language and Interaction. Discussions with John J.
Gumperz, Amsterdam and Philadelphia: John Benjamins
Publishing Company, 1-6
4 The exact number is contested as it depends on the
definition of language and dialect
5 www.ethnologue.com/statistics/by-country
6 http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nigeria_statistics.html
7 Acalan (2006) 'Cultural Charter', Khartoum, Sudan, 22-24
January 2006, www.acalan.org/eng/texts/charter.php
8 www.ng.undp.org/content/nigeria/ en/home/countryinfo
Websites accessed 1/9/15.
With more than 500
languages, Nigeria is the
third most multilingual
country in the world
READING
MATERIALS:
Unicef hands out
leaflets about
preventing the
spread of HIV and
Aids in Kenya
(above and below)
IMAGES:
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SHUTTERSTOCK
