Resumen de Vernacular literacy in modern Nigeria
This article examines the nature, uses, andfunctions of vernacular literacy in a typical Nigerian village. While English is still the official (written) language in Nigeria, there is a growing int er es t in literacy in the mother tongue. This will be shown by reporting on the use made of literacy within the framework of the users' cultural values, social organization, and communicative economy in indigenous languages. First, the relationship between language and literacy policy within the general context of Nigeria's sociolinguistic profile will be examined. Furthermore, the history, nature, uses, andfunctions ofvarious types of literacy in a Nigerian village are explored.
An attempt will be made to uncover the patterns of literacy activities in different languages emerging in the village and what their major functions and uses are, and to display the conceptions of literacy being held by literate and illiterate members of different ethnic groups and the ways through which these affect the functional distribution of literacy in the village.
