Nigerian English

A presentation by Beatrice Tetteh, Holly

Slater, Laura Brooks & Megan Walters

An introduction…

• According to J. N. Ogu (1992), N. G. Walsh (1967) was among the first to draw attention to the existence of a variety of EL known as “Nigerian English” (NE)

• The British Empire lead to Nigeria being exposed to the English Language and the need to communicate

resulted in it being infused it in their culture today

• Independence was achieved from the U.K. on 1st October 1960

• Nigeria is undoubtedly the most populous nation in Africa

• Nigerian English is a variety of English which is suggested to differ significantly from other varieties

• The Sale Triangle was responsible for the colonisation of Nigeria by Britain and thus the spread of English began

• Africa has been one of the countries to which English has been spreading most vigorously

So... Is there really such a thing as ‘Nigerian English’?

Geographical Location and ORIGINS

• Nigeria is located on the coast in West

Africa, just north of the equator.• In the 16th century, Spanish and

Portuguese explorers came to Nigeria for trade and eventually negotiated for part of the existing African slave trade.

• Unlike beforehand, where slaves were put to work in the captors home territories, instead they were sent to the Americas and the Caribbean.

• In the early 1800’s, Britain and France joined the African slave trade and eventually the abolition of slave trade in 1807 brought forth the beginning of the colonisation of Nigeria by the British.

Historical Development

Motives for colonisation:

• The British decided that they wanted to unite Nigeria into one community and increase “British influence in the local affairs of indigenous communities” either through “sovereign indigenous leaders” or “direct British political control” (Falola and Heaton, 2008: 86)

• Pressure from Christian missionaries and trading interests eventually convinced the British politicians to see the advantages from the latter approach.

• This then brought forth the development of the English language in Nigeria.

Historical development ii

• Under British rule, the aim was to unite the country and establish a new political system

• With hundreds of languages to choose from, the natural progression was to establish English as the lingua franca and then as the official language of the country

• English was mainly used in politics, law, education and for trade

• However, the population of Nigeria was so great that it was difficult to enforce a new language when hundreds already existed and were being used every day

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT III

• After the decision to end the international slave trade by the British and Americans, many of those taken across the Atlantic returned and brought with them some trends that had been developed in the Caribbean

• British English – poke, Nigerian Pidgin – chook, Jamaican Patois – jook

• As English language use became more frequent, new varieties emerged that had aspects of British English, Caribbean creoles and new features completely unique to Nigeria

• English use split into two groups, Nigerian Standard English and Pidgin

English.

AFTER COLONISATION

• Britain gave Nigeria independence in 1960.

• The 3 dominant indigenous languages Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba had an almost equal number of speakers so English was retained as the official language (Falola and Heaton, 2008)

• All these events paved the way for the recent and ongoing development of the English language in Nigeria

Current Status

• Nigeria’s population today 140 million

• There are 521 languages spoken in Nigeria including Hausa, Yorubaand Igbo

• English in Nigeria uses BrE as a reference variety (vocabulary, spelling)• 79 million (53%) are English speakers.

• English co-exists as an L2 with other indigenous languages• Although English is the official language it is not used as a native language

• Approximately 60 million use English as ESL / L2 (Crystal 2003)

• English is not accessible to many of the inhabitants at a bilingual level

“The English language has been here for centuries, yet only a tiny and powerful clique, actually less than 15% of the population, speaks the language competently” - Abiodun Awolaja

Domains & Functions

• English functions as a Lingua Franca in this multilingual country

• It is a norm-developing variety

• Both endo and exo-normative

• Contact variety used for communication and not as native language

• Language of government, media, education and commerce

• To a limited extent social interaction, especially among the educated elite

• In some rural areas they do not speak any English at all

• It is worth noting that it is in fact Pidgin English that is more commonly used an inter-

ethnic code available to Nigerians who have no other common language

Norms of Usage and changing attitudes

• British English (BrE) is the standard use of English in Nigeria

• Consequence of colonisation of Nigeria by Britain

• A target model for English Language Teaching; education is modelled on BrE

• India’s independence in 1947 lead Africa to want the same

• Creation of NE as variety to suit specific needs

• Post-independence = growing sense of nationalism and self-confidence in former colony

“What of Nigerian English? Is there such a thing as Nigerian English? If there is, how is it different from and similar to British and American English? If there isn't why do we have such radically idiosyncratic usage patterns that set us apart from other users of the English language?”

Standardisation of NE

Akere (1982) spoke of the emergence of a “Standard Nigerian English”Odumuh (1987, 1993) recognized NE as one of the New Englishes

• Although BrE is still the reference variety used for the teaching of English in school, there are indications NE is standardising:

“Our position is that there exists at the moment a single super ordinate variety of Standard English in Nigeria which can be regarded as ‘Nigerian English’.”

• The existence of Nigerian literature indicates that NE is in process of standardisation “Nigerian literature in English has raised more issues relevant to our contemporary situation than the literature in indigenous Nigerian languages”

• Moreover, The existence of ‘Standardise Nigerian English Movement’ (SNEM) suggests that there are prescriptive attitudes towards Nigerian English and a desire to gain international recognition like BrE and AmE

“Due to the realities of the diversity of languages and cultural differences in Nigeria coupled with today's development, it is pertinent that Nigerian-English which is understood by every Nigerian is given its right position for easy and smooth communication among the people of Nigeria and understandable with the people of the whole world at large.”

local attitudes

• Salami (1968) contends that what has been identified as Nigerian English is “errors of usage”

• Some teachers in Nigeria find it ‘derogatory’ to refer to such a variety • Use of English could lead to alienation from own linguistic identity and

‘roots’ and thus indigenous languages could become less and less valued• Over 40 ‘dead’ languages in Nigeria – English could be the contributing factor • Some people don’t believe this variety exists and that it is merely ‘bad English’

“Competence in English and the use of this language signify a transmutation: an added potential for material and social gain and advantages. One sees this attitude in what the symbol stands for; English is considered a symbol of modernisation, and an extra arm for success and mobility in culturally and linguistically complex and pluralistic societies” (Kachru 1986: 1)• The use of English as Lingua Franca unites Nigeria• The want to be in the elite pushes Nigerian’s to learn English• Creates opportunity and enables professional progression for speakers

The government wants to save indigenous languages!

• Indigenous languages in parts of Nigeria are facing extinction due to the dominance of English in day to day life

• This is affecting the spoken ability of mother tongue users

• Urbanisation is one of the main factors that is causing this risk of extinction

• The government’s solution for this is to enforce a law that says that children must be taught in their mother tongue (or the native language of their community) for at least the first 3 years of their education.

Indigenous cultures

Abbott (1992, 174) states that:

• “The widely perceived need to promote technological development through teaching an international language such as English overshadows an arguably more basic need to transmit indigenous cultures”

• English is not only affecting the indigenous languages in Nigeria, but the indigenous cultures, also. Language can be closely associated with culture.

• The sense of ethnic identity is slowly deteriorating due to the effect of English on the indigenous languages.

Is national identity fading away?

• An article written in September 2013 by Florence Amagiya and AderonkeAdeyeri argues that: “English language has become the language in many homes to the detriment of the indigenous language.”

• There seems to be a fear, from parents, surrounding their children not being able to learn English correctly if they begin to learn their indigenous language. This shows that English has a great influence in Nigerian society and it can be argued that this is potentially causing Nigerian people to lose their identity

English has official status

• There seems to be little effect on Nigerian English from indigenous

Nigerian languages

• Due to English having an official status in Nigeria it is becoming increasingly common that children don’t even begin to learn their indigenous languages and focus mainly on the English language.

Where does it fit?

NE is categorised as an Outer Circle variety in Kachru’s Model. This is due to:

• Process of Colonisation

• English’s non-native status

• English did not displace indigenous languages

“In the Outer Circle the varieties of English have their own local histories,

literary traditions, pragmatic contexts, and communicative norms.” (Kachru 1992: 359)

Schneider’s Dynamic Model

Nigeria is in transition from phase 3 (Nativisation) to 4 (endonormative stabilisation) due to:

• The existence of SNEM - “Colonized land strives towards independence” (Nativisation)

• “Literary creativity” (endonormative stabilisation)

• English has gained respectable statuses among Nigerians

• Event ‘x’ (in this case, colonisation) helped a growing sense of difference from the reference variety

Nigerian Vocabulary

• Owolabi (2012, pp. 47—50) describes the vocabulary of NE as a system of ‘potential words’ which could be words in theory, but are yet to make it into the dictionaries of inner circle varieties.

• Owolabi(2012) suggests that NE acquires new forms in the same way that BrE and AmE would, here are some examples...

Compounding

• Pro-Breaking Agreement: ‘Pro’ meaning in favour of. ‘Breaking agreement’ in the Nigerian context is not keeping to the terms of an agreement.

• Multiple-tongued: “They are multiple-tongued..’ Meaning insincere • Tongue-lashed : “ The Principle tongue-lashed him’ Meaning insulted or reprimanded.

Affixation

• Prefixes: de-freeze, de-list or de-robe , dis-virgin ‘to deflower’, dis-annul ‘to cancel• Suffixes: danceable (‘able to be danced to – of music’) • hearable (‘able to be heard’) • walkable

(‘within walking distance’) • bendable (‘able to be bent’) Largely Verb + Adj

How does it sound?(Based on acrolectal usage)

Final Obstruent Devoicing

• Devoice word final consonant in normal speech Both native and non-native speakers do this e.g. [pos, εn, as] post, end, ask or [tasi, elεtrik, elεwfn] taxi, electric, election (Bobda, 2007). Bobda(2007) has referred to this as consonant simplification

Interdental Fricative Stop

• th t/d (this type was found in Nigerian English)where this may become [dɪs]

Stop Fricative

• where word final consonant would be stop it is articulated as a fricativeVowel Shortening

• characteristic of Nigerian English, tends to happen word medially• According to (Bobda, 2007) vowels are realised much shorter than in RP examples include

Kit and Fleece [i]; much shorter than RP [i ̃] Vowel Raising

• Found mostly word medial, in the clip it was found in sounds [i] & [ɪ]

Vocabulary continued…• According to Owolabi (2012, pp. 47—50) , NE features forms which can be commonly found in AmE and

BrE, but NE speakers change the semantic meaning of those words for their variety

Semantic Shift

• Big People: Meaning ‘Influential People’ in NE

• Godfather: meaning ‘financier’ in NE whereas could mean ‘male godparent’ or make reference to film ‘The Godfather’ in popular culture

• bogus (‘big/elaborate’) In NE, rather than ‘counterfeit/ spurious/pretended’

Other Neologisms and Ironic blends

• Ido-osi: meaning ‘scam’, deriving from the allegedly dishonest conduct of a re-run election in 2009, in Ido-Osi Local Government Council in Ekiti State, Owolabi (2012, pp. 47—50)

• Militician (‘former soldier venturing into civil governance’)

• Executhief (‘dishonest and greedy executive’)

• Poliktrician (‘deceitful politician’)

“To suggest that a regional English such as NE must necessarily be aboriginal (Uhunmwagho, 2009) is to say Nigerians have not influenced the English language in any way” (Uhunmwagho, 2009) (2012, pp. 47—50) Owolabi (2012, pp. 47—50)

A Theory on spelling

A theory by (Bench and Dendo, 2005) suggests that there are spellings that arise because Nigerians pronounce two English words alike, these phenomena are referred to as pronunciation spellings. Here are a few examples....

Dictionary of Nigerian English Circulation Draft:

• She feels her life to be sleeping away from her finger. • He is well vast in the Igbo proverbs. ...to deep his hand in the bag ...capable of

performing impossible fits • She turned out to develop cold fit for the husband when the going became bad.• Nigerians from all works of life• Pack your car here.

Grammar

Here are some features of Nigerian English grammar: (Ewave-atlas.org, 2014)

• Deletion of auxiliary be: before progressive• So you Ø always thinking about where you go to work.• Double determiners• This our common problem is very serious.• Use of zero article where SE has definite article• Did you get Ø mileage-claim for that trip?; Ø main reason for their performance…• Use of gotten instead of got• Finbank has gotten a new career website• Too; too much; very much ‘very’ as qualifier• It is too difficult ‘…very difficult’; i sofa tuu motch ‘(s)he was suffering very much’• Deletion of to before infinitives• Allow him Ø go.

Emails in NEChiluwa (2010) looked at the presence of Nigerian English in emails:

Common Forms of Address

Chiluwa (2010) found that younger speakers’ openings functioned as not only a marker of politeness, but also an indicator of the type of message to follow and identified the recipients social /religious /professional status.• Good day prof • Igwe (equivalent to ‘chief ’ or ‘ruler’)• Oga Zlie (Oga is equivalent to ‘master’) e. My dear Prof

Chiluwa (2010) also found that in adult to adult email openings such as ‘Prof my broda’ (broda is a colloquial form of ‘brother’ ) and ‘My Prof.’ which reflect deep friendship and ‘regional pride’ (Chiluwa (2010). • This is because it is a common for of address for an individual who may be the only professor in the town

Phonetic Spelling

• Chiluwa (2010) found evidence of phonetic spelling which supports the aforementioned theory on NE spelling. E.g. fone, gud and wen

Use of Pidgin

• Commonly found in informal situations, speaker may code switch between pidgin and NE.g. Na Waoo (has no formal translation but expresses suprise)

• ‘Na wa 4 u sef, u sabi wakaooooooo...’ (Meaning ‘You know how to walk’)

Conclusion…

Is there really such a thing as Nigerian English?

YES!

“To suggest that a regional English such as NE must necessarily be aboriginal (Uhunmwagho, 2009) is to say Nigerians have not influenced the English language in any way, when indeed there are creative and pragmatic expressions that do not exist in British or American English but are traceable to Nigeria because of their unique Nigerianness” (Owolabi, 2012, pp. 50)

References• Abbott, G. (1992) ‘Development, education, and English language teaching.’ ELT Journal 46/2: 172-178.• Abiodun Awolaja, "Language Wahala in Nigeria." Nigerian Tribune, August 21, 2013• Accent.gmu.edu. 2014. speech accent archive: browse. [online] Available at:

http://accent.gmu.edu/browse_language.php?function=detail&speakerid=212 [Accessed: 10 Mar 2014].• Akande, Akinmade T. and L. Oladipo Salami. 2010. ‘Use and Attitudes towards Nigerian Pidgin English among Nigerian

University Students’. In Millar, Robert McColl (ed.) 2010. Marginal Dialects: Scotland, Ireland and Beyond. Aberdeen: Forum for Research on the Languages of Scotland and Ireland, 70-89.

• Bench, R. and Dendo, M. 2005. A DICTIONARY OF NIGERIAN ENGLISH. Available at: http://www.rogerblench.info/Language/English/Nigerian%20English%20Dictionary.pdf [Accessed: 19 Mar 2014].

• Bobda, A. S. 2007. Some segmental rules of Nigerian English phonology. English World-Wide, 28 (3).• Chiluwa, I. 2010. Nigerian English in informal email messages. English World-Wide, 31 (1).• Ewave-atlas.org. 2014. eWAVE - 174 Deletion of auxiliary be: before progressive. [online] Available at: http://ewave-

atlas.org/parameters/174#2/7.0/7.7 [Accessed: 19 Mar 2014].• Falola T. and Heaton M.M. (2008). A History of Nigeria. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press• Isichei E.A. (1993). A History of Nigeria. London New York: Longman.• Kachru, B. (1992). ‘Teaching world Englishes’ in Kachru, B. (Ed.) The Other Tongue: English across Cultures (2nd

Ed.)Chicago: University of Illinois Press.• Owolabi, D. 2012. Potential words in English: examples from morphological processes in Nigerian English. English Today, 28

(02), pp. 47--50.

Websites:• http://allafrica.com/stories/201309090804.html• http://www.onlinenigeria.com/nigerianliterature/• http://snem.weebly.com/

Any Questions?