LINGUISTICS AND LANGUAGES AS SCIENTIFIC TOOLS FOR NATION BUILDING: The Nigerian Perspectives

Abstract

Language has been variously defined as a means of expression of thought, opinions, feelings, and ideas (Opoola 1995). According to Sapir (1921) cited in Bamgbose, (1996) and Essien (1998), language is the germane instrument for the survival of man and animals. Language as a medium of communication could be vocal or non- vocal, written or unwritten. In the words of Ganiu 2022, ‘each individual language is a piece of neural audio technology for rewriting other people’s minds. It allows one to implant a thought from one mind directly to do the same to himself without performance of surgery’. Ganiu (2022), citing Mark Pagel (TED Global 2011) further defines language thus: “the most significant tool in human existence. It is the means through humans bond, and it is the distinct property that distinguishes human beings from other creatures and serves as carrier of world views. It remains the instrument of ideologies and a tool for carving identities”.