Assessing Indigenous Languages in Journalism Training in South-South Nigeria: An Interdisciplinary Inquiry
Keywords:
African Journalism, Indigenous, Journalism, Cultural activities, SocietyAbstract
African journalism concerns African society, culture, and democratic activities within African states. Before the colonial era, information dissemination was through the oral tradition, exemplified by folklore, musicals, dance, parables, poetry, and other cultural activities. The activities above were carried out through indigenous languages by engaging the town crier, opinion leaders, and other individuals in the community. This paper, therefore, seeks to examine African indigenous languages in journalism practice and other related disciplines for the development of the African continent. The study anchors on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and applies an amalgam of survey and library research designs to investigate the level of usage of indigenous languages in African countries, based on the United Nations training of African journalists, using multi-stage sampling techniques for data generation. The population was 13,723 higher institutions in Africa, with a sample of 375. The findings indicate that the English language is the language of journalism training and reporting in Africa. Some Africans don’t appreciate their language due to globalization and research. The study recommended adopting one indigenous language as an official language for national development.
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