NIGERIA

NIGERIA A country of West Africa and the most populous country in Africa. Languages: English and the main languages of each state (official); the most widely spoken of the estimated 400 indigenous languages are Hausa (27%), Igbo (11%), Yoruba (18%); Nigerian Pidgin English is a widely used LINGUA FRANCA. English is the language of education after the first three years of primary school.

History

The Portuguese established the first trading posts along the Guinea coast in the 15c and various European nations traded in the area for gold, ivory, and slaves. British contacts with Nigeria go back at least to the 16c and varieties of English were well established in coastal areas in the 18c. British missionaries began to teach English in Nigeria during the first half of the 19c, but relations between Britain and parts of Nigeria were not formalized until 1861 when the settlement of Lagos was declared a colony. The Berlin Conference of 1885 recognized Britain's claim to the Oil Rivers Protectorate created in 1882 in the Niger delta area. This was enlarged and renamed the Niger Coast Protectorate in 1893. The Protectorate of Southern Nigeria and the Protectorate of Northern Nigeria were created in 1900 from territories controlled by the Royal Niger Company. These were amalgamated into the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria in 1914. Nigeria became independent in 1960, a republic within the Commonwealth in 1961, and a federal republic in 1963.

Nigerian English

A wide spectrum of English is used in Nigeria, including standard English whose spoken forms are influenced by various mother tongues, more general English whose structures are influenced by the mother tongues, the Indian English of many traders and teachers, and Nigerian Pidgin English, which is part of the continuum of WEST AFRICAN PIDGIN ENGLISH is used throughout the country as a lingua franca. It is sometimes acquired as a mother tongue in such urban areas as Calabar and Port Harcourt, but almost always in conjunction with one or more local languages. It has many forms that reflect mother-tongue and English influence and, although a number of PIDGIN dictionaries have been written and cyclostyled, it has not yet been standardized. It has been used in prose by many writers, including Chinua Achebe, and as a vehicle for poetry by Frank Aig-Imoukhuede and for drama by Ola Rotimi.

Pronunciation

(1) All varieties of Nigerian English are non-rhotic. RP is no longer the norm for the media, but continues to have prestige and to influence pronunciation. (2) There is a tendency towards syllable-timing that becomes more pronounced as one moves from standard English to Pidgin. Polysyllables tend to have all syllables equally stressed. (3) The central vowels /ə/ and /ɪ/ in RP tend to be replaced by /a/, /ɔ/, or /ɛ/, so that but can rhyme with got or in hypercorrect forms with get, and all three can occur in church. (4) There are fewer vowel contrasts in Nigerian English: often no distinction between cheap and chip, caught, court, and cot, pool and pull. (5) The diphthongs in RP day and dough tend to become the single vowels /e/ and /o/; those in hear and hair tend to have the SCHWA replaced by /a/. (6) There are differences in the pronunciation of consonants in different parts of the country. The initial consonants in thin and then tend to be replaced by /t, d/ in Igbo and Yoruba-influenced English, and by /s, z/ in Hausa-influenced English. Igbo and Yoruba speakers tend to replace the final consonant /ʒ/ as in rouge by sh (‘roosh’), while Hausa speakers often use /dʒ/ (‘roodge’).

Grammar

Educated Nigerians use standard forms especially in the written medium, but the following features are widely described as occurring in general Nigerian English: (1) Uncountable nouns are often treated as countable: I had only fruits to eat; I am grateful for your many advices. (2) Definite articles are sometimes used as if the rules of standard English have been reversed: Lorry was overcrowded; What do you think of the Structuralism? (3) The use of prepositions can differ from BrE and AmE norms: He came to my office by four o'clock (that is, at four o'clock); She is the best teacher for our school (in our school). (4) PHRASAL VERBS are sometimes used differently (as in He couldn't cope up with any more money worries) or drop their particles (Pick me at the corner: not pick me up). (5) The MODAL VERBS could and would are often used instead of can and will: He has assured me that he could come tomorrow; They say that he would be attending our next meeting. Will is also sometimes used for would: I will first of all like to thank you. (6) Themselves is often used with like/love for each other: The husband and wife loved themselves dearly; Why do they like themselves so much?

Vocabulary

There are three groups of distinctive words in Nigerian English: (1) BORROWINGS from local languages and Pidgin: danshiki (Hausa) male gown, oga (Yoruba) master, boss, obanje (Igbo) spirit child, dash (Pidgin) to give, a gift. (2) LOANTRANSLATIONS from local languages: have long legs to exert influence, throw water to offer a bribe. (3) Items given local meanings or coined for local purposes: come, as in I'm coming I'll be with you soon, You've come! Welcome; decampee a person who moves to another political party; hear to understand, as in I hear French; senior elder, as in senior sister elder sister. See WEST AFRICAN ENGLISH.