Effects Of Nigerian Pidgin On Students’ Proficiency In English
[A Case Study of MOUNTAIN TOP UNIVERSITY]

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Language is a form of communication using words either spoken or gestured with thehands and structured with grammar, often with a writing system. Nigeria pidgin is avariety of language and an amalgamation of two disparate languages, used by two population having no common language as a lingua franca to communicate with each other, lacking formalized grammar and having a small, utilitarian vocabulary and no native speakers.

Nigeria as a nation is blessed with so many ethnic languages there are over 520 languages spoken in Nigeria, there are still some major languages in states such as Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, which have most speakers in Nigerian states. It is mainly spoken in the southern and eastern states like port-harcourt, edo, lagos, and delta.

Nigeria Pidgin is a debased form of language, which has a corrupt form of English, with no definite structure and associated with illiteracy and low status.

In Nigeria, Nigerian Pidgin used to be seen generally as the code of the illiterates as well as a bastardization of English and its use was, therefore, considered a mark of thelevel of one?s proficiency in English. Akande (2008) has noted, the sociolinguistics reality in Nigeria today is spoken by university graduates, professors, lawyers, and journalists. It has also been demonstrated that Nigerian Pidgin is not used only in Informal settings but also in offices and other formal settings. In other words, he claim that Nigeria Pidgin is the code of the illiterates does not seem to have validity as there are a lot of educated speakers in Nigeria who can use  both standard english and Nigeria Pidgin proficiently (Akande2008).

It is rather fascinating to note that what essentially started as an emergency language amid the white traders, who later twisted expatriate bosses, and their black merchants? has now become an exclusive campus language spoken among the crowded Inhabitants of the nigerian undergraduates in advanced institutions of learning. thus, At collective rooms, kiosks, conversation midpoints, viewing centers, play grounds, convention grounds, recreation joints, movie grounds and a host of other consultations points where and when learners are relieved of their academic schedules, they are seen intermingling active in Nigerian pidgin.

However, Nigerian pidgin is the lingua franca mostly used in Nigeria. It is been perceived by some scholars as a prominent form of language. A close view of Nigerian pidgin is that it is a disjointed form of language, which consist of word-hoards from Nigeria Indigenous languages and european language. consequently, it is clear that Pidgin english is widely used by students during their interaction with ignorant people and uneducated people.

It has become a captivating means of interaction and communication among students themselves. Fisherman (1997) asserts that “no language considered inferior is aptly illogical. This is because, where two or more speech communities come in contact, a lingua franca or common language of communication emerges. He further points out that it is the social situation use popularly known as context that affects the morpho -syntactic patterns of a language.

The term Pidgin English refers to a language that is developed in the situation where the speakers of another language have to communicate but do not have a common language to share with another (Ndolo, 2005).

Nigeria Pidgin English is a blend of English and local languages, which makes it easier for human beings to converse and interact with one another. It is equally verbal by individuals of a second language used for interface of diverse languages.

According to Linton (1982), he stated that „?the culture of a society is the way of life of its people, the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation.” These cultures, norms beliefs, ideas, can only be inherited from generation to generation through language. In grammar, every language is wisely weighed to signify the communicative needs of its folks and has to be recognized without any prejudice.

The existence of Pidgen English began because of the colonial masters coming into africa. well- respected philosophers noted that there is no language that is an island meaning that language can also be developed through a preexisted one. (Akinfeleye, 2008}. Nigeria Pidgin has brought the people of nigeria together regardless of their divergence in culture and language by creating a confined culture and language for itself, which blends from diverse cultures.

Furthermore, language is the most imaginative infinite instrument for conveying information and it benefits us to interpret and communicate with people of the same and different background. Having said this, we can concur that pidgin is a language of its own and not just a supplementary tongue as some people observe, since it serves as an instrument of social discourse particularly in multilingual environment as in Mountain Top University.