Language Use and Identity Construction Among Tiv Undergraduate Students at the University of Agriculture Makurdi

This study investigates how Tiv undergraduate students at the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, in Benue State, North Central Nigeria, use language to construct and negotiate their ethnic and social identities. The growing literature on language and identity in African universities has not sufficiently addressed the experiences of minority ethnic groups such as the Tiv in tertiary environments that privilege English and dominant regional languages. The study employs a mixed-methods design, combining a structured questionnaire administered to 180 students with focus group discussions involving 30 participants. The theoretical framework is drawn from Bucholtz and Hall's Identity Theory, supplemented by postcolonial linguistic perspectives. Data analysis reveals that Tiv students strategically deploy their mother tongue in informal peer interactions to assert ethnic pride, while adopting English and Nigerian Pidgin in formal and cross-ethnic contexts. The study also identifies instances of linguistic shame, where students downplay Tiv language use to avoid social stigma in mixed-language peer groups. Findings suggest that campus language hierarchies, largely constructed around English proficiency, contribute to identity tensions among minority language speakers. The study recommends inclusive multilingual language policies at Nigerian federal universities that affirm minority language identities without compromising academic communication standards. Keywords: language and identity, Tiv, undergraduate students, university context, multilingualism.