Baba Mai Bello

Language Use in Nigerian Electoral Process: a Sociolinguistic Description Baba Mai Bello

Elections in Nigeria are characterised by the use of different languages, the choice of which is determined by the linguistic background of the participants. Being public events involving people from different backgrounds, these elections exemplify a 'triglottic configuration' of language use, conforming to the three tier administrative structure of Nigeria - local, state and federal. By means of unobtrusive observation of language acts during elections and inferential analysis of printed election and campaign related materials, this book demonstrates that participants exhibit considerable consciousness regarding the choice of language they make. As such, the general picture is such that the three electioneering campaign media identified (oral, print and broadcast) are fairly distinctly associated with a language type, and a given tier or level of administrative structure, resulting in a ?complementary distribution? of the languages used. Hence, the book argues that language choice in Nigerian elections not only serves the purpose of effective communication but also helps in establishing and manipulating relationships ? so essential to any electioneering activity.