



A pidgin, or pidgin language is a simplified version of a language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. To support this idea he points out that in the ancient Egypt there was a trade language developed among several Hamito-Semitic languages in contact in the Nile Valley, which can be considered a pidgin. 21) considers language contact to be nearly as old as language itself. is formed from numerous languages and influences, pidgin is a wide term covering a range of regional hybrids, which evolved through historical events such as the spread of empires, settlements, migration and international trade.
THE ORIGIN OF PIDGIN ENGLISH IN NIGERIA CODE
It is an inter-ethnic code available to Nigerians, who have no other common language.Īccording to Alastair Kane Pidgin English is "the mongrel language of the world, and a patchwork tongue of trade, migration empires and historical movement Alastair Kane (p.19) claims that “pidgin English, in its varying forms is a lingua Franca- a simplified bridge language evolving through necessity, enter extended contact between language”. They insist that apart from their education, living within the university communities, the students are likely to enact more urban networks that are usually made up of multilingual and multi-cultural contents.Īkande (p.38) argues that Pidgin English could be regarded as a marker of identity and solidarity. There are several assumptions by Akande and Salami (p.10) which say that the urban characters of the university environments are strong factors influencing the students' use and attitudes to Nigerian Pidgin English. This is to say that in pidgin, there are no strict rules given in utterances. Pidgins are mostly inventionist and innovative in nature and because of their spontaneous adaptability, they can be as structured or as unstructured as needed unlike other languages. In Africa, pidgins found include Nigerian pidgin, Cameroonian pidgin, Serria Leone Krio etc. It is a language derived from tile mix of various languages such as Igbo, Edo, Yoruba, Effik etc. Nigerian pidgin English described as a combination of indigenous language and English. Pidgin generally is a simplified means of communication between or among individuals of different cultures or ethnicities. 2.8 The Place of Pidgin in Contemporary Nigerian SocietyĬHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONĤ.1.3.1 Reasons for Occurrence of Code-switchingĬHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSIONīIBLOGRAPHY CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the Study
