A Professor of Linguistics and Discourse Analysis at Redeemers University, Ede, Osun State, Foluke Unuabonah, has called on governments at all levels to extend research support to private universities nationwide.

Unuabonah, who made the appeal while delivering the 22nd inaugural lecture of the institution, also stressed the need to allow faculty members in private universities to serve as lead investigators in TETFund-funded projects.

She noted that such inclusion would significantly enhance research development in Nigeria.

She argued that since private institutions and their staff pay taxes and contribute significantly to national development, they should be eligible for research grants.

“After all, private universities pay taxes, train Nigerian students, and contribute to national development, supporting their research endeavours is, therefore, an investment in the country’s growth,” she said.

In her lecture titled: ‘From text to context: Advancing corpus pragmatics in the Nigerian English environment’, Unuabonah examined the role of corpus pragmatics in understanding Nigerian English.

The university teacher called for the inclusion of corpus linguistics as a course at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in departments of English and Linguistics.

According to her, corpus linguistics offers vast opportunities for scholars and provides a systematic approach to language study.

“It is already evident from existing studies that Nigerian indigenous languages significantly influence Nigerian English. Departments of linguistics across the country should, therefore, take the lead in compiling corpora of indigenous languages, such as Igbo and Hausa.

This will not only support language preservation, but also enhance the understanding of pragmatic and other linguistic features that shape Nigerian English as a whole,” she stated.