Information, Medium & Society: Nineteenth International Conference on Publishing Studies

Abstract

Sufficient readership of published works in the Nigerian languages has been a challenge in the book industry. This is occasioned by the multi-lingual nature of the Nigerian society which has led to the prioritisation of English as the lingua franca and the language of education in Nigeria. Book publishers develop titles based on the market viability of each subject area. As a result, books written in the indigenous languages are not attractive to many Nigerian publishers as it will lead to readership crisis. Quantitative research design was adopted to study five publishing houses Oyo, Lagos and Ogun States. Interview guide was used as instrument for data collection. Collected data were analysed using simple percentages. From the study, it was found that books were published at the risk of publishers. The market for books in local languages is not viable. Local languages are not given focus in the Nigerian educational systems at all levels. There is no language policy to regulate the use of local languages in the Nigerian school system. The study recommends that the government should formulate language policies to develop and protect Nigerian languages from extinction. For example, one major language should be developed in each geo-political zone in Nigeria. Government should subsidise the publication of books in these selected Nigerian languages. These languages should be the language of teaching and learning in Nigerian schools up to Basic 9. More teachers should be trained and employed to teach indigenous languages in both public and private schools.