CULTURE LANGUAGE AND SOCIALISATION
Introduction
This chapter will discuss the critical role of language in transmission and perpetuation of cultural
values and norms of society technically referred to as socialisation. Linguistics which is the scientific
study of languages has two aspects that are particularly relevant to history and culture namely:
linguistic stock and linguistic geography or dialect geography. Linguistic stock refers to a family of
languages including the parent and all the languages derived from it, while linguistic geography or
dialect i s the study of the distribution of languages and dialects among areas and peoples, with
emphasis on the boundaries between the distinct language features. From these two aspects
linguistics scholars deduce information about origins of peoples, the affinity among them and the
nature of inter-group relations among such people. (Chukwuka, 2010:32) For example, it has been
discovered through linguistic research that majority of Nigerian languages Igbo, Yoruba, Edo, Nupe,
Efik, Ijaw etc belong to the Kwa group in the Niger-Congo family of languages. In fact, the above
discovery shows that in origin of most of the ethnic groups in Nigeria may not be as far as the existing
dialect differences may tend to suggest. Moreover, linguistic study can help in determining when two
related languages became separated from each other through what they called glottochronology,
which is the science of method of dating languages to determine for instance when languages (in the
case of Nigeria) like Igbo, Yoruba Edo etc became separated from one another as well as emerge as
distinct language or ethnic group. This is important because language stands out as the major
characteristic in identifying, transmitting and perpetuating the culture of distinct ethnic group
otherwise referred to as socialisation. Hence, at the end of the chapter the students are expected to
learn the following; meaning of language, culture and socialisation, and the relationship between
language culture and socialisation etc.
LANGUAGE CULTURE AND SOCIALISATION
Language therefore, has been identified by scholars as one of the unique characteristics that
differentiate not only human cultures, but also human beings from other animate beings. This is
because it is only through language that human being can communicate, interact and transmit to
others his/her thoughts, intents and purposes through symbolic expression. Symbolic language is
based on human linguistic capacity and ability to use and understand symbols arbitrary meaningful
unit, or models that humans use to represent reality. (Nmah, 2016:71)The questions surrounding the
complexities associated with human nature and the environmental influences can only be accessed
through the use of language. Madubuike S (2005:325) observes that "language, like all activities of
human beings, generates solidarity, by uniting people together in groups." Citing Khaldum (1332-1406)
he further argues that the sense of living together with common ties and in common endeavour is
necessarily dependent on language. Thus, language is a complex cultural symbol through which other
aspects of human activities are known. Language enables human being to talk and communicate, even
though animals communicate to each other through instinctual behaviour like signal for danger, food,
etc, but they do not talk, only human have the ability to talk by using symbols and other signs that
other members in the language group can understand and interpret.
Thus, Madubuike, S. (2005:326) sum up the unique functions of language as follows:
*It serves as an avenue to express a particular culture
*It is used for record purposes to ensure continuity,
*It is used to set matters in motion for social justice cooperation and peace in group
relationship, and
*It is used as an instrument of logical and scientific reasoning.
Language therefore is an important vehicle of cultural transmission technically referred to as
socialisation, which helps in development of identity and personality of individual. Mead emphasise
the importance of language in self development through socialisation when he observes: "it is not
arguable that it is language that differentiates man from other animals. The essential factor in
language and symbolic communication is that a symbol arouses in oneself the meaning it arouses in
another...through language man is able to think, to develop shared social meaning, to take the self as
object and evaluate his/her own behaviour as he/she thinks others do. In sum then language makes
possible the development of mind and self. "(Mead)
Social scientists are more concerned about the process of socialisation that takes place in the society.
This is because man is a cultural being that uses language to communicate and socialise. Hence, for
one to be properly integrated into the society one has to be socialised and key socialising agent or
instrument employed by human being is language. Language enable human being to think and
communicate his thought, in fact it is the matrix within which thinking takes place and ideas are
formed, and without it no act of thinking can take place. It is a social heritage that transmits a
people's culture and values from one generation to another through socialisation. In every society its
language determines its social process pattern. By social process we mean the method by which the
individual learn the mores and values of the society that will enable him/her to interact and live with
other human beings in the environment. This social process is technically referred to by social
scientists as socialisation.
Hence, Socialisation can be socio-culturally describe as the learning of expectations like habits, skills
values, beliefs and other requirements necessary for effective participation in social groups. (Landis
1974) Biological maturation is necessary for effective inculcating of certain habits, hereditary factors
may at times set limits owing to certain environmental factors, but what set socialisation apart from
these is its social process through which the child develops by interacting in socio-cultural
environment which determines the result. Other factors are important, but by and large, socio-
cultural environments are the primary determinants of who we are. Goodman, B. and Clemow, R.
(2008:78) observes that " we may understand that the idea that we are born into a society that has
certain rules of behaviour and we as human beings, learn these rules through a process of
socialisation. Socialisation simply means the various ways we learn how to be human and are taught
the basic rules of society we live. “It is therefore the process by which we learn the customs, norms,
values, attributes, beliefs, mores and behaviours of our society, in other words how we acquire our
culture. Some scientists suggests that socialisation provides only a partial explanation for the
acquisition of culture, that people are not blank slates (tabla raza) to be written on by our society. But
some other scientific research provides strong evidence that people are shaped by both social
influences and their hardwired biological make ups (Dusheck, J 2002) Similarly, both Ridley, M (2003)
and Carlson N. R. et al. (2005) has observed that a person's environmental (socialisation) interacts
with their genotype to influence their behavioural outcomes. So structure again shapes us through
socialisation and we also act as agents to socialise others through interaction.
By social interaction in this context, we mean the process of being aware of others, when we act and
modify our behaviour in accordance with others response which occurs in variety of ways and at times
complex patterns. For instance, the mode and patterns of interaction may be affected by manner,
body language difference, relative status, degree of acquaintance, eye contact, and numerous other
factors in addition to the spoken words. Social interaction occurs primarily between two people, eg,
husband and wife, strangers on the street, and even in groups and large organisation. In socialisation
this interaction occurs in three stages namely: primary, secondary and anticipatory socialisation
stages.
PRIMARY SOCIALISATION: This is the first stage an individual or infant undergoes in childhood through
which he becomes a member of society. It takes place in the family, which is made up husband and
wife (wives), their children and some occasions extra blood relatives regarded by sociologists as a
major agent of socialisation. Here the child has no choice about the important or significant of
socialising agents, which is the family, he/she almost automatically and inevitably accepts and
internalise their way of life. From this stage the child's referents moves from specifics to general. A
progressive abstraction occurs whereby at one stage the child understands that his mother specifically
wants him/her to do certain things like not to urinate on floor or food, at a later stage he understands
that his people in general expects him to behave in certain ways. It is at this stage that the child's first
world is constructed. Thus, Berger and Luckman ( ) asserts that "it is the most important, for the
basic structure of all secondary socialisation must resemble that of primary socialisation. It ends when
the generalize order is established." However, in process of carrying out socialisation at this stage
Obeh, E.I. ()2017 in Ezeali and Obeh (2017: 35-36) identified some problems namely; unusual family
structure, diminishing capacity of family to impact skills and knowledge, influence of science and
technology, conflicting experience of what is acquired in the home and school and decreasing face-to-
face interaction of parents and children etc.
*Unusual family structure; where there is loss of spouse or separation of parents due to divorce, the
child in such family is not given a balanced socialisation. For a child to be properly brought up socially,
emotionally and physically, the complementary roles of the parents must bear on the child.
* diminishing capacity of the family to impart skills and knowledge due to decreasing face-to-face
interaction of parents and children. Owing to the economic hardship of many families, wives now
abandon their primary roles of looking after the house and children in search economic well-being of
their families, where this occurs the children are left without parental attention and consequently
grow up into adults without receiving adequate parental training.
*the socio-psychological influence that comes from the innovation in science and technology. As
result of increasing influence of what children see and learn on television and internet, they tend to
be influence by this than what their parents teach them.
* conflicting experience of what is acquired at home and outside home. As a result of early
introduction of children to school, the child is faced with conflict of differentiating between the logic
of the home and the school setting.
Suggested ways of ameliorating the problem namely;
*divorce which leads to separation of parents should be giving adequate attention by government and
traditional institutions, because , united family results in balanced and unity upbringing of the child.
*the family should not abandon their duty especially face to face interaction between the parents and
children below five years of age. This should be encouraged and sustained by government assisting
the nursing working mothers and others in similar situation, by giving them enough time to bond with
their children and even financial grants as the case may be.
*exposure of children to television and internet should be censored by both the family and the
government, because much of the deviant behaviours of children are imbibed through watching
indecent and immoral movies. Children literatures and films should be carefully selected and censored
to ascertain their moral content.
SECONDARY SOCIALISATION: It refers to next subsequent process that inducts an already family
socialised child into a new sector of his/her society, which is the school in most cases. It takes over
where primary socialisation leaves off and involves the child moving out and internalising knowledge
of new areas of life. This usually happens when the child begins to learn to read, play and participate
in group play outside the home environment. A child is more objective in secondary stage of
socialisation and does not necessarily need an emotionally charged environment to succeed. In the
school the child for the first time experiences the care and supervision of adults who are not
necessarily their parents or relatives. The child comes into contact with children from different
backgrounds, learns to tolerate and accommodate them. The school complements the primary
socialisation efforts and adds new ones in form of knowledge of how to read and write languages.
History, government, economics, science and technology etc, it trains the child in special skills such as
leadership, cooperation and hard work. The child also learns formally of reward and punishment by
the time s/he passes or fails in examination etc. The school is highly structured and organised around
a set of rules, norms and values of the society. The various authorities in the school serves as models
for the child, who unconsciously, but selectively imitates certain behaviour patterns from them. Thus
in socialising the child the school performs the following core functions according Obeh (2017:38-39):
* Inculcation of necessary skill. This is the means through which the child as an adult performs his role
in the society and as a member of social group.
*The school acts as a vehicle of upward social mobility. It uplifts those who have gone through it
successfully from their low lower class to a higher one, thus many family have risen to prominence as
result of their children’s education.
*As an instrument of acculturation. As the school strives to teach the learners the culture of their
society, they also exposes them to culture of other societies like learning the language of other
cultures and their way of life.
* Act as character reformer: through the system of reward and punishement the growing child learns
to behave in an acceptable manner. Again, just like the family, the various authority figures in the
school serve as model for the child who unconsciously but selectively imitates certain behaviour
pertains from them.
* Inculcation of social norms and values of the society which they belong.
*Inculcation of literacy: the school consciously designs an academic program for the acquisition of the
ability to read and write.
Some Problems that may arise as result of socialisation in the school such as namely; peer group
influence, challenges as result of western culture and changes in science and technology, conflicting
home experience with the school experience and lack of necessary biological potentialities in the
physiological development of the child like mental disorder, autism etc.
In addition peer group influences also forms part of secondary socialisation, by peer group we mean
group of individuals of about the same bracket, who interact more often among themselves than
with any other group of individuals. Their group formation is centred more on common interest, life
styles and proximity to one another. It starts as soon as the child is able to walk and communicate
meaningfully. Its influence is very significant during adolescent and school environment provide good
forum for their interaction through extracurricular activities.
Other agents of socialisation at this stage include mass media, religious groups and the society.
*mass media is classified by sociologist as a secondary agent of socialisation, and it represents the
basic channels of communication through which information are passed to the larger society. The
main forms of mass communication are the television, radio, internet surfing, newspapers and
magazines, journals, cinema, books etc. These mass media can be a source of socialisation of both
good and evil for the children if not controlled by adults. For instance, children can learn valuable
information about reality in the world especially things beyond their immediate environment, as well
as be exposed to violence through these media which may distort their view of reality.
* Religious groups. By religion we mean the belief in worship and adoration of a Supernatural Being
that controls the universe and the whole of reality existing there in. In Nigeria we have three main
groups namely; Christianity, Islam and traditional religions, that play important role in the
socilalisation process of the child by providing moral and religious needs of the child. They do this by
condemning thugery, adultery, lying, cheating, stealing, killing, killing,blasphemy, over indulgenc,
cultism and other ills in the society that create b problems and inconveniences to others within the
society.
* The society: the society at large influence the child or even adults who may not hve the opportunity
to attend formal school, however they gain much through socialisation that occurs in the family and
village community. There is conscious effort in the traditional community setting to inculcate into the
child traditions, culture, norms, values, folk ways and ethical ideals of the community.
ANTICIPATORY SOCIALISATION: This is stage characterise by the child or individual adopting the
values, behaviour, or views of a group he/she would like to belong to but does not yet. It has an
interesting function of easing the transition from one state of life to another. This is because when an
individual begins to practice a new role ahead of time, their assumption of the new role is probably
much less difficult. It is an occupational socialisation where one learns the custom, values and
etiquette of an occupation ahead of time. This suggests that many occupations (professions) have
their own ways of speaking dressing and acceptable mode of behaviour (Goodman B. 2017) For
instance; university law students are always in the habit of dressing like real lawyers. Anticipatory
socialisation facilitates the smooth transition into future roles, like the law student who had formed
the habit of putting on a tie and suit In the university will find it normal way of dressing when
eventually called to bar. Other professional associations also teach their members the ethical norms
and accepted behavioural standards of their different callings or trade. However, if the anticipatory
life is not reached, the trauma may be even greater than a sudden unprepared for change would have
been. Other anticipatory socialisation includes concomitant socialisation which involves learning roles
and role expectations of the social positions one already occupies. A good example are individuals
who are never taught how to become chiefs of obas but have to learn the ways of living inherent in
such a position once they occupy such position.
Socialisation therefore, is a continuous life process, which involve interaction and learning starting as
soon as the infant leaves the womb and continue until death. It occurs through interaction with other
human beings. These other humans are agents of socialisation through whom the child will
continuously interact throughout his/her life span. The first socialisation agent is the parents
especially the mother who begins very early to communicate corrects socio-cultural behaviour and
value orientation to the child. Followed by close relations and extended family that live around them,
all help in inculcating the right values and attitudes in the child. Later educational institutions and
peer groups become socialisation agents, ranging from teachers, class/school mates to sports teams
and 'delinquent' street gang or cult groups, etc. Still later professional colleagues on the job, spouse
and even one's children may become agents of socialisation.
Of recent indirect socialisation occurs through reading, watching movies in televisions and Internet
facilities etc. All these play serious role currently in the socialisation of the child. For instance, internet
and home videos has become an important agent of socialisation in Africa and other parts of the
world due to development in science and technology which has provided easy access to internet
facilities through mobile android phones, laptops, cable television etc,. These facilities have
tremendously changed the traditional mode of socialisation; Griffin (1991:12) argues that “adults and
children acquire attitudes, emotional responses and new styles of conduct through filmed and
televised modelling.” He further reiterates that the high level of observational learning is achieved by
first, organising and rehearsing the modelled behaviour symbolically and then enacting it overtly.
For instance, Nollywood industry in Nigeria has made unparalleled progress over the years, by
beaming the rich cultural, aesthetics and ethical heritage of Nigeria with high moral rectitude,
sensibility and credibility. Presently, the vision of using the avenue to transmit and teach African
reach cultural values to the younger generation have giving way to immorality through movies that
the story lines is laced with sex and love scenes. Their reasons being anchored on the lucrative nature
of the obscene films, Ifeanyinwa U. (2018:117) observes that “the reason may be based on the
lucrative nature of obscenity, as perceived by some desperate producers, the unquenchable desire of
some actors and to rise to stardom, global interaction, institutional weakness and corrupt practices of
the censor’s board and other regulatory bodies affiliated to the industry”. It is common knowledge
that some Nollywood producers are using the internet medium to display obscene movies in different
formats ranging from pictures and short animated movies, to sound files and stories which can be
accessed through You tube, Google, opera mini, etc. The internet which can easily be accessed
through mobile android phones provides children and adolescents if not monitored to discuss sex, see
live sex act and can even arrange sexual activities from those scenes, because, they cannot distinguish
between fantasies and realities as a result of their biological and mental immaturity. Thus, most of
these movies lack moral lessons for adolescents who depend on them as models. Nigerian movies
have in essence greatly affected the social behaviour of children, adolescents and even adults in such
a way that the members of the society are trying so hard to adopt it as norm. Obscenity according to
studies has the capacity to enforce negative behaviours on adolescents, making sexuality more
exciting than expected. In fact, it is a common knowledge that children and adolescents who have
unlimited access to the internet have taking sexual advantage of their blood relations often resulting
in incest and unwanted pregnancies in many homes to the embarrassment of their parents and this if
not checked can transit to the larger society. Such unrestricted access have brought to fore the
question of media power in shaping the perceptions and attitudes of the public.
In addition, another form of socialisation that is most important for culture is symbolic learning,
which is based on human capacity and ability to use and understand symbols, arbitrary meaningful
units, or models that humans use to represent reality. They are the conceptual devices that we use to
communicate abstract ideas to each other. We communicate these symbols with each other through
our language. Humans learn most of their behaviours and concepts through symbolic leanings.
Symbolic leaning has almost infinite possibilities in terms of absorbing and using information in
creative ways. Most of our learning as humans is based on this symbolic learning process. Thus, we
conclude using the words of Scupin (2000:5) when he reiterates that the human capacity for culture is
based on our linguistic and cognitive ability to symbolize. Culture is transmitted from generation to
generation through symbolic learning and language. Culture is the historical accumulation of symbolic
knowledge that is shared by a society. This symbolic knowledge is transmitted through learning and it
can change rapidly from parents to children and from one generation to the next through
socialisation.
In sum, Obeh (2017:46-46) revealed the crucial role of socialisation in the life of every human being In
the following ways:
*It enables the child to learn his/her mother tongue, which in turn makes him/her to communicate
effectively, learn, and be taught in school. Language empowerment gives the room to easier
association or work with others.
*It inculcates basic discipline on the child
*It teaches conformity to norms that are desirable behaviour, ability to different good from evil, as
well as appreciate the practice of goodness inherent in nature.
*It teaches social roles and responsibilities in family, first as a child, then as a relation, husband, wife
brother sister etc. thus as the child grows and moves from one situation to another, he/she must be
prepared to play the role that has been defined as appropriate for each situation. The ability to do this
was developed during socialisation.
* It teaches skills to young and old by offering them opportunity to learn some skills to earn a living
and that there is honour and dignity in labour as against laziness and indolence.
*It enables the child to learn the essence of cooperation and how to be cooperative for the greater
benefit of the community or group. Thus, becomes aware of the fact that life is intricately
interdependent, everyone has role to play in the interest and survival of the society.
* it creates goals and ambitions, that is to say children learn what must be done to achieve self
esteem and public recognition by behaving appropriately and aspiring to be an accomplished
professional.
* it inculcate basic social disciplines associated with ones cultural group or tribe like mode of greeting
or dressing etc,
We shall conclude this chapter by identify some factors generally agreed by scholars that are affecting
the smooth application of socialisation of the child namely:
a) The child being socialised may be physically handicapped or mentally challenged. This may
hinder the child from being able to learn the skills, norms, attitudes and values of the
society.
b) The socializing technique or method may be faulty. For instance, some parents are too
rigid in the way they bring up their children. Also, some teachers often employ the use of
corporal punishment on their pupils. All these may lead the child to become disobedient
child. The child may turn out to be a very rude and deviant child.
c) There may be conflict between two agents of socialization. For instance, a family may
have taught the child the virtue of prostrating while greeting the elders; but the school
may teach the same child to simply say “good morning sir/ma, to an elderly without
necessarily prostrating .
Also because of religious doctrine a child may refuse to accept certain conventional types
of behaviour or may refuse to sing the national anthem. The refusal of some Muslims to
marry Christians may be due to the conflicts inherent in the teachings of the two
socializing agents.
