The Communicative Implications Of Nigerian English Usage

1.2 The Statement of the Problem

The English language in Nigeria to some extent is very different from that spoken in other places. Apparently, some Nigerian expression are blends of English and the vernacular languages. This is noticed at all levels of linguistics-lexis, syntax, phonology and semantics. The above scenario clearly indicates the true state of the English of most Nigerian users, some educated speaker inclusive. The situation no doubt is worrisome. What then is the essence of language if in the course of communication, either in speech or writing extra efforts is made to explain certain peculiar expressions that are different from the standard forms in area of lexis, syntax, semantics, phonology? Or where lies the power to conquer the world, as English is language of power and intellectualization, if the English of some Nigerians is such that could be understood only within the Nigerian speech community? Such linguistic existence in a country that claims to use English as its official language should be studied.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study are to investigate the variety of the English language used by Nigerian speakers. Specifically the study will ascertain:

1. Whether the variety is truly “Nigerian English”

2. Whether the English of Nigerians is a deviation or a variant 

3. The study will equally ascertain and analyze the implication of the features of Nigerian English with regards to communication.

1.4 Relevance of the Study

The significance of this study arises from the pivotal role of the English language internationally and, of course, in the multilingual, multicultural Nigerian society. Within the international community , it is “a window on the world”, within the multilingual nations of Nigeria, the language is a unifying factor. Based on the above status, the quality of the English language in Nigeria should be of world standard as anything short of that, as in the case of the nativized variety, may hinder effective communication. Onochie (156) warns “It is better not to communicate at all, for no action will be taken, than to communicate what is misunderstood, for a wrong action may be taken by the listener”. The findings of the investigation would reveal the grave implications of the local flavour the language has developed in Nigeria and would help users to realize that some “Nigerian English” expression appear to be a “misnomer”. In other words Nigerian users of English would be predisposed to know the conflicting variants in Nigerian English and consequently avoid them. They should not think that Nigerian has fully evolved and developed their own English. The knowledge of the result would also enable the ESL teachers to know which model of the English language should be adopted for pedagogical purposes. Again the result of this investigation would be useful as reference material for researchers working on related area(s)

1.5 Scope of the Study

The study will be restricted to investigating the characteristics of the local variation of the English language in Nigeria. Slang expressions in use in Nigeria, syntactic and lexical variations, semantic shift etc. will be examined as the local flavour gained by the English usage in Nigeria. Grave implications of these on the comprehensive development of standard Nigerian variety shall be highlighted. Corpus of these variants shall be drawn from students’ expressions and those of public users of the English language in Nigeria.

1.6 Research Questions The following research questions shall guide the researcher in the investigation.

1. To what extent is Nigerian English variant characterized?

2. To what degree is the typology of the English used in Nigeria truly Nigerian English?

3. To what degree is the English spoken in Nigeria a variant or a deviation?