The indispensable role of the English language in sustainable development: the Nigerian case

Abstract

Previous researches and prevalent issues have revealed that the world has indeed become a global world with a dominate language which is the English language. English has become a unifying factor in multilingual multicultural nations. In Nigeria precisely, the English language occupies a unique position and consequently plays a very significant role in the formation of national values and integration of the nation state. This is owing to the fact that the country is a multilingual nation with diverse ethnic groups and cultures. Such diversity has made it imperative on the nation to use English in almost all her correspondences. The main thrust of this paper is to examine what roles the English language plays in the attainment of sustainable development goals and agenda. This paper therefore explored the roles of the English language in contemporary Nigeria in particular and the world at large and this exploration is in concordance with sustainable development goals and their subsequent attainment.

Keywords: Sustainable Development, Multiculturalism, National values, Economic growth