Thesis Abstract

Language attitudes play a crucial role in shaping individuals' perceptions and behaviors towards different languages. This research project aims to investigate language attitudes among teenagers and explore its effects on various aspects of their communication and social interactions. The study will focus on understanding teenagers' attitudes towards their native language, foreign languages, and different dialects or accents. A mixed-methods approach will be employed, combining surveys and interviews to gather comprehensive data on teenagers' language attitudes. The survey will include questions designed to assess teenagers' preferences, perceptions, and beliefs about different languages and language varieties. The interviews will provide more in-depth insights into the reasons behind teenagers' attitudes and how these attitudes influence their language use and interactions. The research will also examine the factors that influence language attitudes among teenagers, such as social background, education, media influence, and peer pressure. By exploring these factors, the study aims to uncover the complex interplay of individual, social, and cultural influences on teenagers' language attitudes. The effects of language attitudes on teenagers' communication and social interactions will be analyzed in detail. This includes looking at how positive or negative attitudes towards certain languages or accents can impact teenagers' self-perception, identity formation, and relationships with others. The study will also investigate how language attitudes may influence teenagers' academic performance, career opportunities, and overall well-being. Understanding language attitudes among teenagers is essential for promoting language diversity, fostering positive intergroup relations, and creating inclusive language policies in educational and social settings. By shedding light on teenagers' attitudes towards language, this research project aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of language in shaping individuals' identities and social interactions. Overall, this research project seeks to provide valuable insights into the complex dynamics of language attitudes among teenagers and their far-reaching effects on various aspects of their lives. By examining the factors that shape language attitudes and their consequences, the study aims to inform educators, policymakers, and researchers on how to support positive language attitudes among teenagers and create more inclusive and multicultural language environments.

Thesis Overview

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

In the time past, language attitudes has been analyzed and debated upon with respect to how languages can be endangered, and how they can die. The two main points to be considered in this research are: attitude and language, and how teenagers manipulate them.

Attitude is defined as the way that one thinks and feels about somebody or something, the way that one behaves towards somebody or something that shows how one thinks and feels. While language is defined as the system of communication in speech and writing that is used by people of a particular country. Also, another dictionary definition of language is a particular style of speaking or writing.

So for the purpose of further development and preservation of the Ibibio Language, this research is going to be concerned with the behaviour exhibited by teenagers In Uyo, Akwa Ibom State particularly those in the Uyo Local Government Area of the State to their indigenous language

1.2 Significance and Scope of the Study

The study “language attitudes among teenagers and its effects” is a study of how language is being approached and manipulated by teenagers in Uyo district of Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, for their day-to-day interaction, fellowship and relationship.

1.3 Purpose of this Study

This research aims at seeing why teenagers behave the way they do to language (what influence and inform the behaviour so exhibited to language), see the effect of their behaviour on their indigenous language, and proffer possible solutions aimed at internalizing the language in the minds of these teenagers thereby preserving the language.

1.4 Methodology

In analyzing various related texts in relation to this field, a socio-linguistic method of approach is used in examining the behaviour or attitudes exhibited by teenagers in Uyo Local Government Area of AkwaIbom State to their indigenous language vis-à-vis English and pidgin.

Also, questionnaires are used in the observation of their attitude to language as a means of data collection.

1.5 Statement of the Problem

Most language users do not see the language that they speak as a definition of their race, their culture, and their personality. Negligence, ignorance and quest to follow the current trend have left Africans in general and Nigerians in particular far from their root – their source/who they really are.

So in this research, ways in which we have drifted from our culture (through the embracing of a foreign language) are being elaborated upon, and suggestions on how to reposition our attitude to our indigenous language are made explicit.