ABSTRACT
This study "ASociolinguistic Analysis of Language Variation among the
Academic and Non Academic Staff of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria"is
preoccupied with the intrinsic relationship between language variation,
sociolinguistics, social context and culture of individual as well as
diverse groups in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. It established
language variation as an inseparable part of human society, human
civilization and cultural integration. The study sourced its data from
questionnaires and random sampling method, with face to face direct
procedure applied in the data elicitation process. A brief pilot survey
was undertaken to test the instruments. The study adopts the community
of practice theory in order to overcome the limitations presented by
earlier linguistic theories such as the speech community model and
social network theory. The theory was also adopted in this study because
it permits us to draw on the linguistic and social information
necessary to understand variation amongst staff of Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria. Our findings shows that language variation cuts
across both the academic staff and the non academic staff including the
university professor as staff tends to switch from formal to informal
according to the situation they find themselves. Also, that the
predominant native language (Hausa) and Pidgin English have a great
impact on the language use of individuals who serve as staffers of
Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The findings also implied that the
length of time an individual spends in a given location could have a
significant impression on his or her competence in the language of that
environment. Also, that there are both inter-speaker variation, that is
variation between individual speakers, and intra-speaker variation, that
is variation within individual speaker. Establishment of the fact that
language is a vehicle for socialization and cultural integration is made
possible by analyzing individuals of diverse culture. The tendency to
show solidarity and identity with ones interlocutors is a major drive
that gives birth to language variation.