Linguistic Instrumentalism, National Education Language Policy and the Igbo Language

Trends in linguistics research show that the global emphasis on communication cannot be separated from economic production. This has led to language commodification, a situation in which a language is treated as a commodity, with negative or positive value assigned based on people’s perceptions of its usefulness in their socio-economic lives. This view of language, known as linguistic instrumentalism, has also been shown to influence national policies on language in education and their implementation. This paper explores the issue of linguistic instrumentalism and Nigerian education language policy through a critical analysis of the national language policy, in conjunction with a survey of its implementation as it pertains to junior primary education in Owerri Municipality, Imo State, South East Nigeria, an Igbo-speaking area. The study was based on two research questions, and the findings show that the content and language of the education language policy draw attention to English as the instrumental language, merely assigning cultural value to the indigenous languages, thereby portraying them as non-instrumental. This implied position of the policy is consolidated by the survey, which revealed that Igbo is stigmatized in Owerri Municipal Council, Imo State, to the point that there is now a strong shift towards English as the instrumental language. Some measures to help minimize this language shift and empower the Igbo language are suggested.