Nigeria is the record holder among other states of the "black" continent. Despite the fact that it occupies only 14th place in terms of area, the country is the largest on the mainland in terms of the number of inhabitants. With the state language in Nigeria, everything is simple - it's English and nothing more.
Some statistics and facts
- Until 1960, Nigeria was colonially dependent on Great Britain.
- Despite the only official language, the dialects of local tribes are widely spoken in Nigeria. Their number is also a kind of record. 529 languages are spoken in the state, of which 522 are actively used.
- In the 80s of the last century, a single Pannigerian alphabet based on the Latin alphabet was developed for various Nigerian dialects.
- Local dialects are used by the inhabitants of the country not only as a means of communication at the everyday level. They are used for teaching in schools and for print media. Most of the population of Nigeria is multilingual.
- There are more than 250 indigenous peoples and tribes in the state, and the most numerous of them are the Yoruba, Hausa and Fulani peoples.
English in Nigeria
For many years Nigeria served as a "slave coast" and it was from here that slaves were supplied to the numerous plantations of the European colonial overseas possessions. The British absorbed small kingdoms in the slave trade in the 19th century, and the country became colonially dependent on Great Britain. It was then that English was established on the shores of Nigeria as the state language.
In cities and towns, English is spoken by the majority of the population of Nigeria, but in the provinces, things are not so good. That is why it is better to use the services of guides and interpreters to travel to national parks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Nigeria.
Tribal differences
The huge number of tribes and nationalities living in Nigeria is of interest to researchers of local dialects. The most widely spoken of the 529 languages in Nigeria is Yoruba. It is especially common in the western and southwestern parts of the state. The areas where the Yoruba language is spread is called Yorubaland.
The Hausa language also serves as a means of interethnic communication in West Africa among the Muslim population. In addition to 18, 5 million Nigerians, residents of Niger, Sudan, Cameroon, Ghana and Benin can speak Hausa.
