Nigerian Pidgin
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|
| Nigerian Pidgin | |
|---|---|
| Naija | |
| Naijá (languej) | |
| Native to | Nigeria |
Native speakers | L1:4.7 million L2:116 million (2020)[1] |
English Creole
| |
| Latin | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | pcm |
| Glottolog | nige1257 |
Nigerian Pidgin,also known asNaijáin scholarship, is anEnglish-basedcreole languagespoken as alingua francaacrossNigeria.The language is sometimes referred to asPijinorVernacular.It can be spoken as apidgin,a creole, dialect or adecreolisedacrolectby different speakers, who may switch between these forms depending on the social setting.[2]In the 2010s, a common orthography was developed for Pidgin which has been gaining significant popularity in giving the language a harmonized writing system.[3][4]
Variations of what this article refers to as "Nigerian Pidgin" are also spoken acrossWestandCentral Africa,in countries such asBenin,Ghana,andCameroon.[5]
Status
[edit]Nigerian Pidgin is commonly used throughout the country, but it has not been granted official status. Pidgin breaks the communication barrier between different ethnic groups and it is widely spoken throughout Nigeria.[6]
In 2011,Googlelaunched a search interface in Pidgin.[7]In 2017,BBCstartedBBC News Pidginto provide services in Pidgin.[8]
Variations
[edit]Many of the 250 or more ethnic groups in Nigeria can converse in the language, though many speakers will use words from their native tongues. For example:
- Yorùbáṣebi(pronounced 'sheh-bi') is often used at the start or end of an intonated sentence or question: "You are coming, right?" becomesṢebi you dey come?[citation needed]
- Yorùbáabi(another variant of the wordsṣebiandba)
- Igbounu,equivalent to the English term "you people", has been adopted asuna.For example,Una dey madin Nigerian Pidgin means "You people are crazy."[9]Unuhas also found its way toJamaican patoisandSranantongo (Surinamese Creole)with the same meaning as in Nigerian Pidgin.
- Igbobiko,meaning "please." For example, the sentenceBiko free memeans "Please leave me alone".
- Igboogaequivalent to the English term "my boss or my mentor", has been adopted from the Igbo wordogaranya
- Hausabaat the end of an intonated sentence or question:you no wan come, ba?means "You don't want to come, right?"
- Portuguesesabiat the beginning or middle of a sentence to mean: ‘’to know’’. For example; ‘’why you no go sabi the man?’’ means ‘’How can you say you do not know the man?’’
Nigerian Pidgin also varies from place to place. Dialects of Nigerian Pidgin may include theSapele-Warri-Ughellidialect that has majorly influenced large parts ofNigeria,Benin Citydialect that has its influence fromBini language,Port Harcourtdialect that has elements of the mixed tribes inRivers State,Lagos(particularly inAjegunleinfluenced by sizeableNiger Deltanpopulace); andOnitshavarieties that draws influence fromIgbo language.[6]
Nigerian Pidgin is most widely spoken in the oil stateNiger Deltawhere most of its population speak it as their first language.[10]There are accounts of pidgin being spoken first in colonial Nigeria before being adopted by other countries along the West African coast.[11]
While Pidgin is spoken by many, there are wide swathes of Nigeria where Pidgin is not spoken or understood, especially among those without secular education in core northern parts —Gombe State,Yobe State— of Nigeria.[citation needed]
Relationship to other languages and dialects
[edit]Similarity to Caribbean Creoles
[edit]Nigerian Pidgin, along with the various pidgin and creole languages ofWest Africa,share similarities to the various English-based Creoles found in the Caribbean. Linguists[who?]posit that this is because most of the enslaved that were taken to theNew Worldwere of West African descent. The pronunciation and accents often differ a great deal, mainly due to the extremely heterogeneous mix of African languages present in the West Indies, but if written on paper or spoken slowly, the creole languages of theCaribbeanare for the most part mutually intelligible with the creole languages of West Africa.[12] The presence of repetitive phrases inCaribbean Creolesuch assu-su(gossip) andpyaa-pyaa(sickly) mirror the presence of such phrases in West African languages such asbam-bam,which means "complete" in the Yoruba language. Repetitious phrases are also present in Nigerian Pidgin, such askoro-koromeaning "clear vision",yama-yamameaning "disgusting", anddoti-dotimeaning "garbage".
Furthermore, the use of words of West African origin inSurinamese Creole (Sranan Tongo)andJamaican Patois,such asunuandBajan dialectwunnaoruna– West African Pidgin (meaning "you people", a word that comes from theIgbowordunuorunuwaalso meaning "you people" ), display some of the interesting similarities between the English pidgins and creoles of West Africa and the English pidgins and creoles of theCaribbean,as does the presence of words and phrases that are identical in the languages on both sides of the Atlantic, such asMe a go tell dem(I'm going to tell them) andmake we(let us).
Acopuladehordeyis found in both Caribbean Creole and Nigerian Pidgin English. The phraseWe dey foh Londonwould be understood by both a speaker of Creole and a speaker of Nigerian Pidgin to mean "We are in London" (although the Jamaican is more likely to sayWi de a Londonand the Surinamese way isWi de na London.) The word originates from the Igbo worddimeaning the same thing and pronounced similarly[citation needed]:anu di na ofe(literally "meat is in pot" ) andanyi di na london(lit. "we are in London" ). Other similarities, such aspikin(Nigerian Pidgin for "child" ) andpikney(used in islands likeSt.Vincent,AntiguaandSt. Kitts,akin to the standard-English pejorative/epithetpickaninny) andchook(Nigerian Pidgin for "poke" or "stab" ) which corresponds with theTrinidadian creolewordjuk,and also corresponds tochookused in other West Indian islands.[13]
Connection to Portuguese language
[edit]Being derived partly from the present day Edo/Delta area of Nigeria, there are still some words left over from the Portuguese language in pidgin English (Portuguese ships traded slaves from theBight of Benin). For example,you sabi do am?means "do you know how to do it?".Sabimeans "to know" or "to know how to", just as "to know" issaberin Portuguese.[14](According to themonogenetic theory of pidgins,sabirwas a basic word inMediterranean Lingua Franca,brought to West Africa through Portuguese pidgin. An English cognate issavvy.) Also,pikinor "pickaninny"comes from the Portuguese wordspequenoandpequenino,which mean "small" and "small child" respectively.[15]
Nigerian English
[edit]Similar to theCaribbean Creolesituation, Nigerian Pidgin is mostly used in informal conversations. Nigerian Pidgin has no status as an official language.Nigerian Englishis used in politics, education, science, and media.[16]In Nigeria, English is acquired through formal education.[16]As English has been in contact with multiple different languages in Nigeria, Nigerian English has become much more prominent, and it is often referred to as a group of different sub-varieties.[16]Although there is not a formal description of Nigerian English, scholars agree that Nigerian English is a recognizable and unique variety of English.[16]
Phonology
[edit]Nigerian Pidgin, like many pidgins and creoles, has a simplerphonologythan thesuperstratelanguage. It has 23consonants,sevenvowels,and twotones.[17]
Consonants
[edit]| Labial | Alveolar | Post- alveolar |
Palatal | Velar | Labial-velar | Glottal | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | m | n | ŋ | |||||||||||
| Plosive | p | b | t | d | k | ɡ | kp | ɡb | ||||||
| Affricate | tʃ | dʒ | ||||||||||||
| Tap | r | |||||||||||||
| Fricative | f | v | s | z | ʃ | h | ||||||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | |||||||||||
Vowels
[edit]| Front | Back | |
|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u |
| High-mid | e | o |
| Low-mid | ɛ | ɔ |
| Open | a | |
Tones
[edit]Nigerian Pidgin has been described as atonal language,having a high tone and a low tone. The high tone can be written with anacute accent,and the low tone, though typically left unmarked, can be written with agrave accent.[18]Additionally, monosyllabic high-tone words shift into a high falling tone before a pause.[18]
| Pidgin Word (tones fully marked) |
Tone pattern | English Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| /bàbá/ | LH | father |
| /bábà/ | HL | Roman Catholic priest |
| /fádá/ | HH | father |
| /fàdá/ | LH | Roman Catholic 'father' |
| /sìsí/ | LH | young maid |
| /sísì/ | HL | sixpence (5 kobo) |
However, this has been contested by subsequent linguists, due to variance in pitchintonationon lexemes, especially for questions.[19]One rival suggestion is that Nigerian Pidgin "is something of apitch-accent languagein which, given a word there may be only one high tone, or one sequence thereof in opposition to one low sequence ";[19]downdriftis attested in the intonational system.[19]
Most written texts in Nigerian Pidgin do not show any tonal markings, and do not reflect any lexical pitch differences.[20]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^Nigerian PidginatEthnologue(26th ed., 2023)
- ^Faraclas (1996),Introduction.
- ^Ofulue, Christine I.; Esizimetor, David O."GUIDE TO STANDARD NAIJÁ ORTHOGRAPHY. An NLA Harmonized Writing System for Common Naijá Publications".IFRA-Nigeria - French Institute for Research in Africa.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-01-01.Retrieved2017-02-06.
- ^Esizimetor, D. O. (2009). What Orthography for Naijá? Paper delivered at the Conference on Naijá organised by the Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique (IFRA), July 07–10, 2009, University of Ibadan Conference Centre.
- ^Fitimi, Prince; Ojitobome, Afinotan."The Effect of the Nigerian Pidgin English on the Academic Performance of University Students in Nigeria. Acase Study of National Open University of Nigeria Students in Benin Study Centre".Academia.edu.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-05-13.Retrieved2021-02-09.
- ^abGoglia, Francesco (2010)."Nigerian Pidgin English".Language Contact Manchester.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-08-01.Retrieved2018-07-17.
- ^Gharib, Malaka (20 November 2018)."Why Prince Charles Said 'God Don Butta My Bread!' In Nigeria".NPR.Archivedfrom the original on 27 February 2023.Retrieved27 February2023.
- ^"BBC Pidgin service launched in Nigeria".2017-08-21.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-09-22.Retrieved2019-04-28.
- ^"MANIAC | meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary".back.carthousa.tk.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-05-21.Retrieved2021-05-21.
- ^Frances Ayenbi, Oti (2014-06-01)."Language regression in Nigeria".Éducation et sociétés plurilingues(36): 51–64.doi:10.4000/esp.136.ISSN1127-266X.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-12-27.Retrieved2021-12-27.
- ^Igboanusi, Herbert (February 2008)."Empowering Nigerian Pidgin: a challenge for status planning?".World Englishes.27(1): 68–82.doi:10.1111/j.1467-971X.2008.00536.x.ISSN0883-2919.Retrieved12 June2022.
- ^Salikoko Sangol Mufwene,Creole languagesat theEncyclopædia Britannica
- ^Emmaolu, Akinsanya."THE EFFECT OF THE".Archivedfrom the original on 2022-05-13.Retrieved2021-12-27.
- ^"Pidgin english origin - english pidgins include nigerian pidgin".meisten-verliebt.com(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 2021-05-21.Retrieved2021-05-21.
- ^Faraclas (1996),p. 3.
- ^abcdFlorence Agbo, Ogechi; Plag, Ingo (2020-12-11)."The Relationship of Nigerian English and Nigerian Pidgin in Nigeria: Evidence from Copula Constructions in Ice-Nigeria".Journal of Language Contact.13(2): 351–388.doi:10.1163/19552629-bja10023.ISSN1877-1491.S2CID226299218.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-01-29.Retrieved2021-11-30.
- ^Faraclas (1996),pp. 248–249.
- ^abMafeni 1971.
- ^abcElugbe, Ben (10 December 2008)."Nigerian Pidgin English: phonology".In Mesthrie, Rajend; Kortmann, Bernd; Schneider, Edgar W. (eds.).4 Africa, South and Southeast Asia.Varieties of English. Berlin, New York: De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 55–66.ISBN978-3-11-020842-9.Retrieved26 October2023.
- ^Akande & Salami 2021,pp. 177–200, Mensah, Eyo, Ukaegbu, Eunice and Nyong, Benjamin."Chapter 6: Towards a working orthography of Nigerian Pidgin".
Bibliography
[edit]- Faraclas, Nicholas (1996)."Nigerian Pidgin"(PDF).New York:Routledge.ISBN0-415-02291-6.
- Akhimien, Eronmonsele Pius (1 November 2004)."The use of 'How are you?' in Nigerian society".Journal of Pragmatics.36(11): 2055–2058.doi:10.1016/j.pragma.2004.02.003.ISSN0378-2166.Archived fromthe originalon 1 February 2013.Retrieved13 June2022.
- Mazzoli, Maria (2013).Copulas in Nigerian Pidgin(PDF)(Doctoral Thesis). Università degli studi di Padova.hdl:11577/3422599.
- Ihemere, Kelechukwu U. (31 December 2006)."A Basic Description and Analytic Treatment of Noun Clauses in Nigerian Pidgin"(PDF).Nordic Journal of African Studies.15(3): 296–313.doi:10.53228/njas.v15i3.29.ISSN1459-9465.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 10 June 2007.Retrieved14 April2007.
- Mafeni, Bernard (1971). "Nigerian Pidgin". In Spencer, John (ed.).The English language in West Africa.London: Longman. pp. 95–112.ISBN0582522153.
- Shnukal, Anna; Marchese, Lynell (1 January 1983)."Creolization of Nigerian Pidgin English: A progress report".English World-Wide.4(1): 17–26.doi:10.1075/eww.4.1.03shn.ISSN0172-8865.Retrieved13 June2022.
- Ernest Edjeren. 2009. "Single Language: The Soul Of Nations' Prosperity"
- Akande, Akinmade T.; Salami, Oladipo, eds. (25 October 2021). "Current Trends in Nigerian Pidgin English: A Sociolinguistic Perspective".Current Trends in Nigerian Pidgin English.Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton.ISBN978-1-5015-1354-1.
External links
[edit]
Media related toNigerian Pidginat Wikimedia Commons- University of Puerto Rico, Nigerian Pidgin materialsArchived2020-08-04 at theWayback Machine
- A Dictionary of Nigerian English (circulation draft);Blench, Roger. 2005 (Internet Archive)
- Introduction to Nigerian Pidgin(University of Hawaii)
