LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE: A STUDY OF THE ATTITUDE OF EREI TEENAGE SPEAKERS

Abstract

Many minority languages in the world die as a result of lack of interest in the mother tongue, or as a result of minority speakers shifting to dominant languages. The paper investigates the extent to which Erei language in Cross River State of Nigeria has undergone maintenance, especially by Erei teenagers. Three research objectives and questions were formulated to guide the study, while behaviourism theory was adopted as the framework for the study. Thirty-six Erei-speaking teenagers aged 14-19 years drawn from the three wards that make up Erei land - Abayong, Erei North and Erei South - were selected for the study. Also, 25-item questionnaire was developed to elicit information from the respondents. The findings from their self-assessment reports show that Erei language, although minor, receive adequate maintenance by majority of the respondents, even though it is in contact with two dominant languages: English and Igbo, which poise treat to its existence. The study concludes that, although majority of Erei users find it difficult to read, write or translate Erei, the language may survive the threat of those dominant languages, and might likely not shift to any of them.