Creolization of Nigerian Pidgin English: A progress report

Shnukal, Anna; Marchese, Lynell

doi:10.1075/eww.4.1.03shn

Cited by 23 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Despite the imposition of colonial rule and the attendant emphasis on the teaching of (Nigerian) Standard English, NPE has continued to coexist with Standard English as well as with a multiplicity of indigenous languages, such that from its original, restricted use in trade contexts, NPE now qualifies as a lingua franca (Agheyisi, 1988;Faraclas, 1989;Fayer, 1990;Mafeni, 1971;Shnukal & Marchese, 1983). Although its use is most widespread in the ur ban areas of southern Nigeria, particularly in Bendel, Delta, Rivers, and Cross River states, as well as in metropolitan Lagos, and among the younger generations, the developing linguistic situation is that NPE is now the pre ferred means of communication amongst Nigerians of mixed ethnic groups in informal settings (Agheyisi, 1988;Mafeni, 1971).…”

Section: Nigerian Pidgin Englishmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plural Marking Patterns in Nigerian Pidgin English

Tagliamonte

Poplack

Eze

1997

JPCL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper examines the pluralization system of Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE). Extrapolating from proposals in the literature on English-based créoles as well as other vernaculars, we utilize quantitative methodology to assess the contribution of syntactic, semantic, and phonological features to variability in plural marking.Although the English plural marker -s is most robust in the data, its patterning reflects neither English grammar nor a conventional functionalist distribution. Instead, surface variability in NPE is conditioned by two factors: animacy and nominal reference. Our findings suggest that these are substratal features whose effects are sensitive to speaker position on the créole con tinuum. This is strong empirical confirmation that the grammar underlying variable linguistic elements may be inferred from the distribution and con ditioning of surface variants, even when none of them originate from that grammar.

show abstract

Section: Nigerian Pidgin Englishmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plural Marking Patterns in Nigerian Pidgin English

Tagliamonte

Poplack

Eze

1997

JPCL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, the literature repeatedly shows that adults are as capable of expanding a pidgin as children are. Tok Pisin, for example, displayed an expansion comparable to any Atlantic creole long before nativization (Keesing, 1988), while Nigerian Pidgin English (Shnukal & Marchese, 1983) and Pidgin Sango (Samarin, 1995) show the same phenomenon.…”

Section: Transportation Across the Atlanticmentioning

confidence: 99%

It Happened at Cormantin

McWhorter

1997

JPCL

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Comparative and sociohistorical facts suggest that Sranan arose among castle slaves on the Gold Coast in the 1630s. Jamaican Maroon Spirit Language is an offshoot of early Sranan, which allows the deduction that créole English had developed in Suriname by 1671. However, during the English hegemony there, 1651-1667, Suriname harbored only small plantations, where Whites worked closely with equal numbers of Blacks. Such conditions were unlikely to produce Sranan, and conditions in other English colonies were similar, disallowing them as possible sources of importation. Disproportionate lexical and structural influence from Lower Guinea Coast languages, and other evidence, suggests that the language actually took shape on the West African coast.

show abstract

“…the adequacy of this definition (Mafeni 1971;Shunkal and Marchese 1983) with regard to the first language criterion, a peep into the sociohistory of Nigerian Pidgin from the precolonial to the present day shows that the process of creolization can be adequately accounted for by linguistic changes motivated by the changing attitudes of speakers as well as usage practices (Oloruntoba 1992). For instance, the development of the status of Nigerian Pidgin in contemporary Nigeria can be observed, in part, in its growing relevance and effectiveness in previous English-based domains like broadcasting and popular Nigerian music.…”

Section: Journal Of African Cultural Studies 127mentioning

confidence: 99%

Yoruba-English bilingualism in central Lagos – Nigeria

Adedun

Shodipe

2011

Journal of African Cultural Studies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article examines the language repertoire and linguistic behaviour of the inhabitants of Central Lagos in Nigeria. It is noted that the linguistic composition of Lagos can be attributed to the history of language contact and the peculiar settlement pattern of various Lagos dwellers necessitated by a complex process of socio-cultural integration, ethnic diffusion, and linguistic assimilation. The article identifies the factors that shape the linguistic character of the Lagos Island speech community as coagulation of Yoruba ethnic communities, influx of Nigerian linguistic groups, influence of religion and pre-colonial immigration history. The article concludes that the language repertoire in Lagos is reflective of the truly cosmopolitan nature of the city with its attendant transforming influence on Yoruba-English bilingualism.

show abstract

Creolization of Nigerian Pidgin English: A progress report

Cited by 23 publications

References 0 publications

Plural Marking Patterns in Nigerian Pidgin English

Plural Marking Patterns in Nigerian Pidgin English

It Happened at Cormantin

Yoruba-English bilingualism in central Lagos – Nigeria

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About