French Language Maintenance Among Nigerian Expatriate Communities in France: A Sociolinguistic Case Study

Nigerian expatriate communities in France represent a distinctive sociolinguistic formation in which French functions simultaneously as the host country language, a former school subject, and a medium of professional and social navigation, creating conditions for language maintenance, shift, or attrition that have not been studied. This study investigates French language maintenance patterns, attitudes, and identity negotiations among Nigerian expatriate community members in Paris and Lyon, France. A qualitative sociolinguistic research design was employed, combining semi-structured interviews with 45 Nigerian community members who had resided in France for between two and fifteen years, supplemented by participant observation in three Nigerian diaspora community settings. Language use patterns were documented across six social domains: home, workplace, religious services, diaspora community events, Nigerian government agency interactions, and public service interactions. Results reveal complex domain-specific language choices in which French is consistently dominant in workplace, public service, and host society interactions, while Nigerian languages and Nigerian Pidgin are strongly maintained in home and diaspora community domains. Language maintenance of French was higher among participants with university French study backgrounds, suggesting prior formal French instruction as a significant predictor. Second-generation children of Nigerian expatriates showed French dominance with markedly reduced Nigerian language competence. The study contributes to the documentation of Nigerian multilingualism in diaspora contexts and argues for culturally responsive French-Nigerian community language planning. Keywords: language maintenance, Nigerian expatriates, France, sociolinguistics, diaspora