International Journal of Language & Literature

Beyond Barriers: The Changing Status of Nigerian Pidgin
Jane Nkechi Ifechelobi, Chiagozie Uzoma Ifechelobi

Abstract
It is a sociolinguistic reality that any living language has the tendency to adapt to the environment in which it operates whether the language is spoken as a first or second language. The English language has served the nation Nigeria in much capacity – as the language of education, commerce, politics, administration etc. Nigeria as a multilingual nation with about four hundred or so ethno-linguistic groups each with an indigenous language has the English language superimposed on them as the official language. So English in Nigeria is continuously undergoing various processes of domestication, naturalization and acculturation within each ethno-linguistic context. In a situation where two speech communities without a common language come together for a certain purpose, a means of communication emerges. The emergent language is usually referred to as a contact language. This paper takes a cursory look at the evolution of Nigeria Pidgin over the years.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijll.v3n1a26