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#Nigeria pidgin english free

For example, in some areas, though the international meaning of trek has a connotation of long distance or difficult journey, the Nigerian use is to “walk a short distance.”Ī particularly expansive example of semantics in NE is the use of a variety of greetings. In other words, there are English words that have been reappropriated for Nigerian purposes and uses which can lead to the shift, extension or restriction of their original English meanings. There are also words in Nigerian English which have undergone a semantic shift based on its Nigerian context. The Nigerian English also has acronyms which serve a variety of functions, and follow the same rules as Standard English acronyms: the first letters are taken from each word in a phrase (especially titles of office, agencies of the government, etc.).

#Nigeria pidgin english free

Compared to loanwords, coinages typically have a short lifespan that are adopted for unique cultural purposes of the present, and as such, die out quickly following their acquisition.Įxamples included Bottom power, Carpet crossing, Come of age, Free and fair, Long-leg, Man of timber and calibre, Money bag, No-go area, Political bride, Political juggernaut/Heavyweight e.t.c Coinages are not the same as acronyms, though Nigerian English also has unique acronyms. These are also especially prolific in Nigerian English. Coinages in Nigerian EnglishĬoinages are quite similar to loanwords but they function as a sort of colloquialism that is spoken in English but has a unique cultural meaning.

There are also words like agbada, babaringa which are native attires. Other loanwords include danfo, okada which are vehicles used for transportation. Others include akpu, banga, eba, egusi, ogbono, tuwo which refers to soup of different kinds. Examples include akara which is a food item which is also referred to as ‘bean cake.’ Also, there is akamu pap, a variety of corn porridge. Nigerian English has a variety of loanwords that have no direct English equivalents but have rooted themselves into the dialect and have a unique meaning. These are “loanwords, coinages, and semantic shifts.” Loanwords in Nigerian EnglishĪ loanword is basically a word adopted from a foreign language with little or no modification. Level 4: This is proposed as the NSE as its features are very similar (but still characteristically Nigerian) “to Standard English,” spoken by those with a college education.Īlso, there are lexico-semantic innovations in Nigerian English and this comprises three basic subsets of innovations that are a result of the nativization of English in Nigeria.Level 3: This level features a more expansive lexicon, fluency, and using features of Level 1 speakers are “avoided,” spoken by those with “secondary education”.

Level 2: This is a step above, and it is the most spoken as it is spoken by those with elementary education.

Level 1: Refers to Pidgin which is spoken by those with no education.

Although the exact levels of Nigerian English usage are contested, it is assumed in some quarters that there are basically 4 levels of usage within this nativized English. However, the Nigerian English cannot be said to be standardized because of the fossilization that has occurred in the formal instruction of English in many regions of Nigeria, due largely to a variety of factors including but not limited to “interference, lack of facilities, and crowded classrooms.Īlso, the relationship between British Standard English (BSE) and Nigerian English, which have two very different sets of grammatical, pronunciation, and spelling rules has led to a predominant occurrence of “faulty analogy.” In other words, this means that people erroneously assume that the grammatical feature of British English also applies to Nigerian English which is not always the case.įor instance, the meaning of sorry in BSE usually indicates some sort of responsibility on the part of the person saying it however, in the case of NE, it is used to express sympathy in a unique way or to show empathy to whoever has experienced misfortune.Īnother interesting feature of Nigerian English is the level of usage. Following the development of the pidgin, Nigerian English became a nativized language that functions uniquely within its own cultural context. The nativization and development of Nigerian English correspond with the period of colonization and post-colonization by Britain.