The Influence of the Nigerian Pidgin English on Eha-Amufu Secondary School Students’ Usage of the Standard English

Ogechi Chiamaka Unachukwu, Goodluck C. Kadiri, Amaka Grace Nwuche

Abstract


The use of Pidgin English in the Nigerian context has gone beyond verbal communication to become more of a mode of behaviour as its expression has moved from informal conversation to formal situations. The above scenario necessitated this study which investigates Eha-Amufu secondary school students’ usage of the Standard English in view of the use of the Nigerian Pidgin English (NPE). The study sets to find out what informs the usage and the extent the Nigerian Pidgin English has affected the use of the Standard English of these students using the affective filter hypothesis from Stephen Krashen’s 2003 Second Language Acquisition (SLA) theory. Using the questionnaire and essay writing as research instruments, data were collected from a sample of 200 students and willing teachers from four selected secondary schools in Eha-Amufu. Findings reveal that the use of the Nigerian Pidgin English is traceable to homes and peer group influence and has grossly affected the students’ Standard English usage. The finding that students do not use Nigerian Pidgin English in their written essays was largely contradicted by the avalanche of the Nigerian Pidgin English expressions found in the written essays of the students which also reveal its adverse effect on the Standard English both in spelling and contextual usage. This research, therefore, concludes that a deliberate and conscious effort at instilling in the minds of Eha-Amufu students the knowledge of the adverse effect of NPE usage on their academic performance and the danger of its persistent use will go a long way in mitigating the adverse effects of Nigerian Pidgin English usage on the Standard English usage among them.

Keywords


Standard English; Nigerian Pidgin English; Eha-Amufu; Students’ Performance; Multilingual

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abdullahi-Idiagbon, M.S. (2010). The sociolinguistics of Nigerian pidgin English in selected

university campuses in Nigeria. Ife Studies in English Language, 8, (1), pp.50-60.

Agbo, O. (1998). Nigerian pidgin and the development of English as a second language:

Problems and prospect. M.A. thesis, University of Nigeria nsukka.

Akujiobi, O.S. & Chukwu, E. (2012). Challenges of effective English language learning in Nigerian secondary schools. In Bahir Dar (Ed). International journal of arts and humanities. (1, 57-68), Ethiopia: Bahir Dar.

Amao, T. (2012). The use of pidgin English as a medium of social discourse among Osun state university students. M.A. Thesis, Osun State University.

Balogun, T.A. (2013). In defense of Nigerian pidgin. Journal of languages and culture, 4 (5), pp. 90-98.

Egbokhare, F. (2001). The Nigeria linguistics ecology and the changing profiles of Nigerian pidgin. In H. Igboahuri (Ed). Language attitude and language conflict in West Africa. Ibadan: Encrofit Publishers.

Elugbe, B. (1995). Nigerian pidgin: Problems and prospects. In A. Bamgbose, A. Banjo & A. Thomas (Ed). New Englishes: A West African perspective (pp.284-299). Ibadan: Mosuro publishers.

Elugbe, B.O. & Omamor, A.P. (1991). Nigerian pidgin: Background and prospects. Ibadan: Heineman Educational Books.

Emenanjo, E.N. (2010). A standard orthography: An imperative for written texts in a developing language. In E.N. Emenanjo (ed). Empowering small Nigerian languages (1-8), Port Harcourt: Grand Orbit Books

Fasan, R.O. (2011). Mother tongue, popular music and being retrieval. Paper Presentation in the CODESRIA 13th General Assembly, Casablanca, Morocco.

Kperogi, F. (2014). Pidgin English and Nigerian English. Retrieved on 17/1/2015 from www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/brokens-english-pidgin-english.html

Krashen, S. (1981). Second language acquisition and second language learning. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

------------ (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

------------ (1985). The input hypothesis: issues and implications. New York: Longman.

------------ (1989). Language acquisition and language education: Extensions and applications. New York: Prentice Hall International.

------------- (2003). Explorations in language acquisition and use: The Taipei lectures. Portsmouth: Heinemann.

Krashen, S. & Terrell, T.D. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom. Oxford: Pergamon Press.

Obiechina, O. (1984). Towards the classification of Nigerian pidgin English. London: Longman.

Oko, O. (2003). The effects of Nigerian pidgin on performance of English language of students in secondary schools in Ebonyi state. M.A. Thesis, University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Olaore, I. A. (1992). English for national development: A realistic approach. Paper Presented at the 13th Conference of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria (LAN), University of Abuja.

Otagburuagu, E. J. & Okorji, R. I. (2003). The use of English and linguistics manual. Enugu: Bewak Publishers Ltd.

Otagburuagu, E.J. (1999). The English language and multi-lingualism in Nigeria. RAN Journal, 8, pp. 80-103.

Quirk, R., Greenbeaum, S., Leech, G. & Svartvik, J. (1985). A comprehensive grammar of the English language. London: Longman.

Trudgill, P. (1995). Sociolinguistics: An introduction to language and society. Harmonsworth: Pengium.

Wardhaugh, R. (2010). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Oxford: Blackwell.

Wilson, F. B., Fasingha, W. & Gomba, N. O. (2013). Varieties of pidgin English and their effects on the teaching and learning of English language. A Seminar Paper Presented as Part of the Course: Business Communication, Rivers State Polytechnic, Bori.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.9n.4p.1

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.




Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2012-2023 (CC-BY) Australian International Academic Centre PTY.LTD

International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature

To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the journal emails into your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.