Linguistic errors in selected recommended literary texts in Nigeria: Implications for juniour secondary education

Abstract

English Language is a crucial aspect of Nigerias educational system, being a compulsory subject and the basic medium of instruction for all school subjects. ln the light of the fact that literary texts are among the best means of teaching language (English communicative competence), the paper identifies deviant linguistic features (errors) in some literary texts recommended for use in the junior secondary schools in Edo State. The paper submits that the presentation of such texts full of errors and other non-standard features (that may be accepted as "Nigerianisms") jeopardizes the leaming development of junior secondary school students. The paper then makes recommendations concerning the texts, the teachers, linguists and language planners that would help in salvaging the situation.