CHAPTER ONE
1.1       General Introduction
            It is a well established fact that English language has established itself firmly in Nigeria thus, its importance cannot be over emphasized. Apart from being an official language. English language is the rope that ties members of  the different speech communities together in continuing interrelationships. It is the common instrument that they draw on for socio-cultural identification.
            English language is said to be a human specific mode of expressing  our thought  through the verbal (i.e spoken and written) and non-verbal means. With this definition, we shall reiterate that English language necessarily serves humans in a multitude of ways: English language is said to have a great impact on the cognitive development of man: Man is able to express his thoughts and view.
            The majority of world English speakers use English either as a second or third language and exists in an environment where in the least, bilingualism is the norm even though English may be the official language. In many countries, including Nigeria, English is the main language of instruction in schools (especially after primary education level) and it is used in business and other official transactions and interactions.
            English came into Nigeria through colonization centuries ago and three main groups of people emerged from this contact of English with the indigenous languages of Nigeria. These groups are the  British,  the new Nigerian elite trained in Britain and the native indigenous population trained  in Nigeria. A local variant of English emerged from the mixing of those groups of people. This local variant of English was coloured by influence from local languages. Borrowing of indigenous words into English is a result of this contact and these borrowed words are what we call ‘loan words’.
            Today as English is used in almost every facet of life in Nigeria, it still comes in contact with practically all indigenous Nigerian languages and when Nigerians speak English words from their various indigenous languages occur in their speech
            This research work therefore, will find out if students in the University of Ilorin borrow words from English into Yoruba in their day to day interaction and if they do, to identify these borrowings.
            We shall also find out the sources of these borrowings. We hope to trace them to the various indigenous languages and which they use in a communication. In other words, effort shall be made extensively on the scope of the study and methodology involved in the collection of data.