Pidgin English

There is debate among scholars and speakers as to how to formally classify Nigerian Pidgin English. Historically, some have looked down upon it as a type of "broken English", or dismissed as merely an uneducated dialect of the standard language. More recent understanding, however, recognizes it as a language in its own right, with sufficient differences in vocabulary and structure to distinguish it from standard English. Nonetheless, there is discussion as to whether it should still be considered a pidgin - as the name implies - or whether it has developed sufficiently to be considered a creole.


In linguistic terms, a pidgin is a simplified language developed for communication between two or more groups of people who do not share common languages, and must thus speak to one another using a language in which none of them are fluent. In the process, they may dramatically change the language - greatly reducing the complexity of the grammar, adapting the pronunciation to eliminate difficult sounds, and adding words from their own languages as needed. Pidgins are thus created out of necessity, and do not have native speakers. They also rely heavily on context and non-verbal clues, although basic standards tend to emerge over time.


A creole, in contrast, is what happens when children grow up speaking a pidgin as their primary language. At that point, it ceases to be merely a second language learned as needed and becomes the native language of a new generation. Creoles have a more stable form than pidgins, both in vocabulary and grammar. Not all pidgins evolve into creoles, however, and even when they do, the transition may be gradual, or may take place unevenly in different areas.


Nigerian Pidgin English is a good example of a language on the border between a pidgin and a creole. It was formed during the colonial era early in the 1900s, when the region came under the rule of Great Britain and many native Nigerians who spoke mutually incomprehensible languages were required to communicate with each other in English. Even today, the vast majority of its speakers learn it as a secondary form of communication, not as a primary language. It is still used mostly between speakers from different ethic groups rather than speakers from the same group, and there are wide variations in how the language is spoken from place to place in Nigeria. Nonetheless, the language has become extremely widespread within the country, and communities of native speakers have developed in certain areas. The number of natives may be small compared to the total number of speakers, but it is sizeable enough to have drawn increased attention to Nigerian Pidgin English in recent years