Linguistic Accommodation among Hausa Settlers in Obalende, Lagos
Abstract
Obalende is one of the earliest settlement sites for the Hausa people in Lagos State, the former capital of Nigeria. Several works on language use by urban dwellers have focused on the endangerment of minority neglecting the place of accommodation in inter-group relations. This study, examines linguistic accommodation practices among the Hausa settlers in Obalende by investigating their language choice patterns in specific domains with a view to ascertaining the degree of convergence and divergence to Yorùbá and its implication on national unity. This study adopts the speech accommodation theory by Howard Giles (1973). Using the survey research design, a questionnaire was administered to 300 purposely selected respondents of diverse age groups. Interview schedules were conducted with key informants. Observations were made in various domains such as the home, the school, the office and the market within the town to observe language practices. Data were subjected to descriptive, qualitative and quantitative analyses. Seven language choice patterns were identified, namely; exclusive Hausa, Yorùbá , English, Hausa/Yorùbá , English/Yorùbá , Hausa/English Hausa/English/Yorùbá . In the home domain, apart from English, the Hausa was the most preferred language as it took a higher percentage in all contexts than Yorùbá, the language of immediate environment. However, when interacting with their Yorùba neighbours and friends, Yorùbá was the language of choice. Among the unmarried, convergence to Yorùbá top the table in that more people spoke exclusive Yorùba ́ with their Yorùba ́ friends, Although a higher proficiency in Yorùba ́ is recorded for the older generation, accommodation to Yorùba ́ language is prevalent among the younger generation, who interacted more with their Yorùbá neighbours either for business or social relationships. Hausa settlers in Obalende accommodated the Yorùbá people through the use of the Yorùbá language in several domains, but diverged in respect to ethnic identity.
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