A SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY OF LANGUAGE USE OF LAGOS BUS CONDUCTORS

Abstract

In addition to its communicative uses, language also has many social and cultural values, such as group identity, social stratification as well as social grooming and entertainment. This study aims at identifying the relationship between social class and language, analysing how the social identity of Lagos bus-conductors are being conveyed in their use of language and ascertaining the relationships among human beings (i.e. bus-conductors), their environment and language use. It examines in a sociolinguistic point of view, the language use of bus- conductors when interacting among themselves and with passengers. The methods used involved the administration of questionnaires, observation and interview. Two sets of questionnaires, one directed to bus-conductors and the other to passengers, were administered. The conversations of the bus-conductors with passengers and the interview sessions were recorded on a phone recorder and latter transferred into a disc. Three areas in Lagos metropolis - Agege, Ojota and Oshodi were selected for the study. Thirty respondents comprising fifteen bus-conductors and fifteen passengers were sampled randomly from the three areas. From the study it was revealed that the appearance, dressing, voice and behavior of Lagos bus-conductors send non-verbal signals to people about their identity. It was also found that the use of language of Lagos bus-conductors is significantly affected by their environment of speech community. The study also revealed that Lagos bus-conductors use certain linguistic forms which differentiate them from conductors in other places and people in other professions. The special indications of these findings were discussed and some steps to take to address them were suggested. The recommendations if appropriately implemented will impact positively on proper language use of bus-conductors.