ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the complex social structure within which language practices are enacted in the Makoko community in Lagos Mainland. It focuses on urban space acts as a driver of linguist practices and cultural norms, has also examined how distinct groups exploit the inconvenience of overcrowded living spaces to negotiate in-group solidarity and resilience. The Makoko community is an assemblage of various ethnic groups from Nigeria and the West African coast. A sociolinguistic framework argues that the study of language is domiciled in its speech community. The purpose of the language survey in Makoko was to obtain the relevant data on slum language as demonstrated in the daily livelihood of the Makoko residents. In many multi-lingual communities, it is often observed that members of the different groups use language as an important marker of their ethnic identity. Speech norms deal with the unique way of speaking which is adhered to by all members of the community.
