ABSTRACT
This thesis titled “A Linguistic study of the „Nigerian-ness‟ of Nigerian Pidgin in Selected Literary Works” was embarked upon because of the resistance many Nigerians have to the use of Nigerian Pidgin (NP); they see it as foreign and a corruption of the English Language. Besides, many people, especially non-linguists feel that pidgin Englishes in West Africa are all the same no matter which country the Pidgin exists in. The researcher therefore sets out to investigate the lexical and syntactic features in NP to find out whether they are uniquely Nigerian. Two texts were used for analysis – an earlier text: “Sozaboy” by Ken Saro Wiwa (1985), and a contemporary one: “Abuja na Kpangba an oda Puem-dem” by Eriata Oribhabor (2011). Jowitt„s (1991) ―Theory of Interlanguage” (which involves borrowing) and Fishman‟s (1971) theory of the “Great Tradition” (which refers to the presence of a national symbol of identity) were useful in identifying various features of NP which are unique to Nigeria. The contributions of various Nigerian Languages to the vocabulary of NP were identified and it was noted that cultural influences from the indigenous languages are important constituents of NP. Our findings confirm the works of many researchers that NP is a language with a fixed and describable grammar like any other living language. Our work shows that NP is clearly distinct from the English Language, even though the bulk of its initial vocabulary was derived from the English Language. Our research also reveals that all things considered- vocabulary, syntax and other linguistic features- NP is uniquely Nigerian.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Many people have a predictable reaction to pidgin languages. They find them amusing, humorous or babyish. Yet research has shown that pidgins are real languages, not baby-talk; that they are and can be used for serious purposes, and that each stable or extended pidgin has a describable and distinctive linguistic structure. As a result the study of pidgins is not new. Decamp as cited in Hymes (1971) says that since the 1880‟s significant studies have appeared. The multilingual nature of many nations of the world has made pidgin come centre stage in linguistic study. Pidgins are seen as a solution to communication problems in multilingual settings. This is why they are called contact languages. Wherever they exist they are a lingua franca used among those who otherwise would not have been able to communicate with one another. They are nobody‟s language, yet used by all.
So much has been discussed in literature, on the existence of pidgins around the world, in West Africa, and of course, in Nigeria. Nigerian pidgin (NP) came into being from the contact between the multilingual coastal communities of Nigeria as they sought to communicate with the Portuguese, followed by the Dutch and then, the English traders on the West African coasts. As appraised, Elugbe and Omamor, (1991) state that this language has had to grow from a rudimentary speech form to an elaborate one, aided initially by gestures among peoples who had no common language but who did make imperfect attempts at communicating in one of the others‟ languages. NP has since developed from a debased or makeshift or minimal language into a fully crystallized and expanded language, spoken around the country today. It has transited, over the decades, as Bickerton (1977a) rightly affirms, from a minimal pidgin through a stabilized pidgin onto an expanded pidgin, and now to becoming a creole or an evolved language shift of a more developed and expanded pidgin lingua franca, in parts of the Niger Delta involving people of dissimilar cultural linguistic backgrounds. However, Deuber (2005:183) says:
Although a major lingua franca, it has no official recognition; even without any policy statements, it performs a growing range of functions, including, for example, that of a medium of public broadcasting. He also notes that NP is the most neglected language in Nigeria since no major roles are assigned to it. Nigerian Pidgin (NP) used to be seen as the code of the non-literate as well as a bastardization of English, and its use was therefore considered a mark of the level of one‟s proficiency in English. For instance, Agheyisi (1971) claims that the typical users of NP are those that have little or no formal education; however, as Akande (2008) has noted, the sociolinguistic reality in Nigeria today is such that NP is spoken by university graduates, professors, lawyers and journalists. It has also been demonstrated that NP is not used only in informal settings but also in offices and other formal settings. In other words, the claim that NP is the code of the non-literate does not seem to have validity as there are many educated speakers in Nigeria who can use both Standard Nigerian English and NP proficiently.
1.2.STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS
West African Pidgin is the name usually given to the pidgins in West Africa. Yet each pidgin in this region has a name which is usually according to the nation it exists in, such as: Nigerian Pidgin, Ghanaian Pidgin, Cameroonian Pidgin etc. All these pidgins seem to be mutually intelligible in varying degrees. One therefore wonders why the blanket name would not suffice, and why each country would rather call her own pidgin by her own name. The resistance many Nigerians have to the use of NP has become a major concern. Many people see it as a relic of colonialism, saying it is foreign and a corrupt one at that therefore it doesn‟t belong to Nigeria. So they do not want to touch it or identify with it. Besides, the government has not said anything about it as if it is worthless. Bearing in mind the fact that, pidgin in Nigeria does not have official recognition in spite of its use throughout the length and breadth of the nation, this study therefore seeks to answer the following questions:
- Is this NP really Nigerian?
- What are the linguistic features that make it Nigerian?
- Does this language deserve any linguistic investigation?
1.3.AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The aim of this study is to ascertain the “Nigerian-ness” of Nigerian Pidgin as well as the peculiarities in the structure of Nigerian Pidgin (NP). Thus, the objectives of this study include the following:
- To identify the linguistic features that are uniquely Nigerian in NP in the area of:
- lexis
- Syntax
- To determine the contributions of indigenous Nigerian languages to the vocabulary of NP.
- To ascertain the status of NP, so as to determine whether it is a language in its own right.
To achieve this, this study seeks to examine two works – a relatively recent one – Eriata Oribhabor‟s “Abuja na Kpangba an oda puem-dem” (2011) and an earlier one – Ken Saro-Wiwa‟s “Sozaboy” (1985).
1.4.JUSTIFICATION AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Research has exposed a lot ((notably, Mafeni (1971), Gani-Ikilama (1989) Elugbe and Omamor (1991) to mention a few)) about the functions and status of NP. People use the language without thinking of its properties, for convenience and so on. Up till now some Nigerians do not want to hear about NP, eventhough they use it. A linguistic study that proves the „Nigerian-ness‟ of the language should be a help to government and Nigerians who either do not want to touch it or who touch it with a long spoon. It should also help to understand the social structures of the society and the behavior of the language itself both in the past and in recent times so as to establish the popularity of Pidgin English among Nigerians. This study agrees with the works of Akinluyi (1977), Elugbe and Omamor (1991), Adegbija (1994) as these works highlight the utility of NP and even propose the elevation of NP to a national language. They cite its grassroot popularity, and cultural neutrality and easy acquisition as some justifications.
1.5.SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF WORK
The study will specifically focus on the lexis and syntax of NP. It will concentrate to a large extent on the major contributions of various indigenous languages to the vocabulary and syntax of NP. The work will be largely textual and the data will be extracted from two works: Ken Saro-Wiwa‟s (1985) “Sozaboy” and Eriata Oribhabor‟s (2011) “Abuja Na Kpangba an oda puem-dem”
