CHALLENGES IN LINGUISTIC RESEARCH ON AFRICAN LANGUAGES: A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIAN LANGUAGES.
Presenter(s)
Affiliation
Topic
Documentation of indigenous and minority languages: vocabulary and grammar
Type
Papers
Abstract
This paper presents some of the intractable challenges faced by researchers on Nigerian languages. The noteworthy intractable challenges that attend the preparation for a linguistic research on African languages all pertain to data: finding them, selecting them, organising them, analysing them, and transcribing them. Transcription has been an especially difficult matter, part of which lies in dealing with variability. For example, in the Edoid languages, bilabial and velar fricatives have both been problematic for researchers.Many challenges arise in dealing with data from primary and secondary sources and even the data obtained from the researchers’ intuitions are not problem free. This paper examines technical, social-political and economic challenges encountered by researchers on Nigerian languages. This study explores the challenges encountered in linguistic research on Nigerian languages, focusing on issues such as diversity, documentation gaps, endangerment, access, ethical considerations, and the need for specialized expertise. This paper also examines the application of phonological theories which are inadequate to capture Nigerian language data, such as Optimality theory. This work recommends advocacy as a necessity for further research on Nigerian languages.
Keywords: Linguistic research, African languages, Nigerian languages, Data Transcription.
