Workplace Communication in Igbo: A Study of Language Use in Selected Small and Medium Enterprises in Onitsha, Anambra State

This study examines patterns of Igbo language use in workplace communication within selected small and medium enterprises in Onitsha, Anambra State, South East Nigeria. Workplace communication research in Nigeria has focused predominantly on English-medium formal organisational environments, leaving the language practices of the large Igbo-speaking SME sector significantly understudied. Onitsha's vibrant commercial ecosystem, dominated by family-owned trading enterprises, manufacturing workshops, and service businesses, provides a rich context for examining vernacular workplace communication. The research employs an ethnographic case study methodology, conducting participant observation across six SMEs over a cumulative twelve-week period and semi-structured interviews with fifty-eight employees and business owners. Communicative events analysed include management instructions, customer negotiation, employee mentoring, dispute resolution, and informal peer interaction. Findings reveal that Igbo is the dominant internal communication language in seventy-two percent of sampled enterprises, with its use positively correlated with business founding generation, employee origin homogeneity, and product market type. Code-switching into Nigerian Pidgin or English occurs consistently in external-facing customer interactions with non-Igbo clients. The study identifies the commercial value of Igbo language competence in the Onitsha business environment and recommends its recognition in vocational language skills frameworks. Keywords: workplace communication, Igbo language, SMEs, Onitsha, business linguistics.