![]() tokunbo which denotes ‘an imported second-hand product, esp. While some Nigerian English words are semantic extensions of existing English words (e.g., severally in Nigerian English means ‘on several occasions repeatedly’ and send-forth is a noun meaning ‘a celebration or event to mark a person’s departure a send-off’), many of them are borrowings from the indigenous languages (e.g. As a result, many Nigerian English words come from the country’s flora and fauna, local cuisine, dressing culture, traditional festivals and customs, means of transportation, political culture, etc. VocabularyĪs is the case with most new varieties of English, Nigerian English vocabulary emanated from the need to characterize phenomena and nuances in the users’ realities that are not adequately captured by the existing vocabulary of English. Over the years, Nigerian English has evolved, continuously expanding in domains of usage, range of functions, and structural features. While Nigerian English dominates official contexts as the preferred language, it competes with Nigerian Pidgin as the lingua franca for interpersonal or interethnic communication, particularly among the less educated. Nigerian English must be distinguished from Nigerian Pidgin, which is an English-based pidgin language that developed as a result of trade relations between Nigerians and Europeans (chiefly the British and Portuguese). The history of English in Nigeria is traceable to three important historical events: first is the trade relationship between British traders and Nigerians in the 17 th and 18 th centuries during which a ‘contact English’ developed the second was the Christian missionary expedition of the 19 th century and the colonisation of Nigeria in the 20 th century, which consolidated the implantation of English in the country. Even though the vast majority of English speakers in Nigeria use it as a second language, there is now a growing number of young Nigerians who speak Nigerian English as a first language. ![]() However, this is only in principle because, in practice, English is used as the sole official language in almost all official contexts, including governance, education, mass media, law courts etc. ![]() In Nigeria, English is a co-official language alongside three other indigenous languages: Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba. With an estimated 53% of Nigerians speaking a form of English, Nigeria is one of the largest English-speaking countries in the world . A former British colony until 1960, Nigeria is one of the six countries that make up English-speaking West Africa (the others being Ghana, The Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and a part of Cameroon). Nigeria, a country in West Africa, is the most populous Black country in the world, with an estimated population of nearly 220 million people. ![]()
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