Bilingualism and Biculturalism as Elements of Indigenisation in Selected Nigerian Artists Pop Music

Abstract

The peculiar linguistic history of Nigeria has rubbed off on language use at the micro level. In the Nigerian music industry today, one can hardly find a single song that feature without using English, Nigerian pidgin or any of the Nigerian indigenous languages. The English language has been viewed as not having enough expressive resources that can match any of the native languages. English is seen as being too formal, complex and foreign to Nigerians and as a result of this complexity, speakers often result to the use of indigenous languages because it tends to make the speakers feel at home without much attention paid to the grammatical formations. This study seeks to find out this assertion by exploring the extent of bilingualism and biculturalisms techniques adopted by the selected Nigerian artists. Cummins Threshold Model of Bilingualism and Text Translation Model were used to interpret the lyrics of the songs - ‘Ojuelegba, Jaiye Jaiye, and Orente’. Bicultural elements were portrayed in the musical videos of artists via their costumes and physical settings. Artists employ dressing techniques that merge bits of European and African cultural values. The data sampled also showed the artists’ high level of cultural consciousness and solidarity with mother tongues as indispensable tools for self-expression and self-actualization. The switches between codes were used for emphasis where necessary.