CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1   BACKGROUND OF STUDY

The nature of human development has underscored the imperative of communication to its enhancement process. As pointed out by FAO (1994), communication is the key to human development and the thread that binds people together. For sustainable development to be realised therefore, communication must have its place.

Consequently, the media of mass communication have great roles to play in development process going by their potentials to expedite message delivery. Radio in particular is a very potent tool especially in the third world because of its ubiquity and affordability.

However, before communication can be effective, the language of communication is of much significance. Owens (2002) notes that the language of communicating development messages must be acceptable to the audience, and that people understand information better when conveyed in their indigenous language than in a foreign language. No matter the length of time the foreign language has been with them (Chieka, 1982).

Oyero (2003 ), in his study of indigenous language in radio broadcasting, discovered that · listeners obtain better meaning and greater understanding from radio messages packaged in indigenous language. Besides, they derive good feeling of enjoyment and sense of satisfaction with radio programmes when packaged in their own tongue, and thus prefer radio programmes in their indigenous language to English language.

Though the view that the media is all-powerful has been disproved, it is nonetheless still very powerful in communication. As the agenda setting media theory states, the media predetermined what issues are regarded as important to a given time and in a given society; and also determine what people think about (F olarin,2005).

The media then can bring development issues to the fore and thus 'force' people to think about them. In line with this is the cultural norm theory, which states that by selective presentation and tendentious emphasis on certain themes, the mass media create the impression among the audience that such themes are part of the cultural norms of the society. It is possible for the media therefore to present certain innovations and make them acceptable to the audience.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The mass Media particularly the radio is the most important medium for creating awareness on so many issues such as education, health etc. Radio therefore is an indispensable medium for rural development. Some of the obvious advantages of radio over other mediums of information exchange are that it is portable, cheap, and accessible and the signals can be transmitted over a long distance.

Since human beings have this freedom of movement from one place to another, the challenges with indigenous language programmes over the radio could be the differences in language or dialect thereby making it difficult for others who are not from there to be lost whenever an indigenous programme comes up. Finally, several researches has been carried out on audience perception on television broadcast of boko haram but not even a single research has been carried out on audience perception of indigenous language programmes on radio station.

1.3   AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

        The main aim of the study is to examine audience perception of indigenous language programmes on radio station. Other specific objectives of the stud include;

1. to determine the factors affecting audience perception of indigenous language programmes on radio station.
2. to determine the effect of audience perception on indigenous  language programmes on radio station.
3. to determine the extent to which indigenous language programmes affects audience perception.
4. to proffer possible solutions to the problems.  
   1. RESEARCH QUESTIONS               

1      What are the factors affecting audience perception of indigenous language programmes on radio station?

2      What are the effects of audience perception on indigenous language programmes on radio station?

3      What is the extent to which indigenous language affects audience perception?

4      What are the possible solutions to the problems?

1.5   STATEMENT OF RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0:   Audience perception has no significant effect on indigenous language programmes on radio station.

H1:      Audience perception has a significant effect on indigenous language programmes on radio station

1.6   SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

        The study on audience perception of indigenous language programmes will be of immense benefit to the entire radio station in the sense that with all the numerous potentials of radio for development, the central aim of development messages may not be realized if the messages are not packaged in the right language. Considering the number of people in Africa who cannot communicate in English language, the need to communicate with people in the language they understand well cannot be under-emphasized. This is because language cannot be separated from culture, this makes indigenous language unique. People's indigenous language is part of that culture. Therefore, cultural context and intimacy with a culture will give a deeper meaning to the understanding of language and the circumstance in which it occurs will determine believability or sense of reality. Finally, the study will contribute to the body of existing literature and knowledge to this field of study and basis for further research.

1.7   SCOPE OF STUDY

        The study on audience perception of indigenous programmes is limited to radio station.

1.8   LIMITATION OF STUDY

Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.9   DEFINITION OF TERMS

Audience         The assembled spectators or listeners at a public event such as a play, film, concert, or meeting.

Perception      The ability to see, hear, or become aware of something through the senses.

Indigenous Language     It is native to a region and spoken by indigenous people. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. 

Programme     It is a schedule of activities to be carried out and aired in a media house, be it radio.