This project
is an attempt to explore the recurring grave concerning the academic
performance of students. Though a large
percentage of students
in Nigeria learn English as a second language and are instructed in it,
the Nigerian pidgin seems to
interfere with their acquisition of
the language and their performance in
it much more than their mother tongues. The impact
of pidgin contributes in no small measure to the dismal performance of students in their
academic career
Nigeria is a multilingual country
with four hundred
indigenous languages, out of which three are regarded as major ones, namely: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, representing the three major geo-political zones - North, East and South
respectively. Despite this fact, Nigerian Pidgin is used in diverse degrees
in different parts of the country and it has become a lingua franca for many, while it is a Creole in some Southern and Eastern States like Rivers, Lagos, Delta, Edo, and Cross Rivers.
Marchese and Schnkal
(1980) confirm this after a major evolution
in the Delta area of Nigeria, they say; "... in a particular part of Nigeria,
the areas around Warri and Sapele, Nigerian
pidgin is more
of a Creole. Creole is a mixture of an European language with a local language
and is spoken as a first language.
Some view it as a variety of English, while others see it as a distinct language. A look at the structure of
Nigerian pidgin (NP) portrays that it has structures and patterns of behaviour
of its own. Though at its initial stage, NP was considered the language of those who could not speak good English, but many know better now. It is therefore, no wonder that it is not only used by undergraduates in Nigerian universities during conversation
with the uneducated public, but it has become a fascinating medium of casual exchange among students themselves. Fisherman (1997) asserts
that; "no language
considered inferior is aptly logical". 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 pattern
of a language. Since pidginisation, according to Hymes (1971:84), is a "complex process of
Sociolinguistics", we shall now consider the use of Nigerian Pidgin English
among students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
The term pidgin is used to refer to a language which develops in a situation
where speakers of different languages
have a need to communicate but do not share a common
language. Once a pidgin has emerged, it is generally
learned as a second language
and used for communication among people who speak different
languages.
Language is the most creative
and unlimited instrument for social communication and it helps us to understand the deep seated social relevance, culture involvement and the
human relatedness of language. Having said this,
we can therefore agree that pidgin is a language
of its own and not just a supplementary tongue as some people see it,
since it serves as an unlimited
instrument of social communication especially in a multilingual society
like Nigeria.
Linton (1982) states that "the culture of a society is the way of
life of its members, the collection
of ideas and habits which they learn, share and transmit from generation to generation". These cultures,
ideas and habits can only be transmitted from generation to generation through
language. In Linguistics, every language is considered adequate
to represent the communicative needs
of its people as such should not be made to suffer
any biases.
This cannot be said of Nigerian Pidgin
- even though it is a language because various
attempts have been made by different factions
to eradicate the use of Nigerian Pidgin English. These attempts have however been unsuccessful because
of the significant value the language has to its users. It is a language that has brought
people together in spite of
their differences in ancestral culture and language by creating a local culture for itself which blends ideas from different
cultures.
Moreover, this use of Pidgin as a lingua Franca
affects many Nigerians in academic careers,
especially, those students
that come from the environments where it is spoken.
It is very pertinent to note that what actually started as an
"emergency language" between
the white merchants, to ease communication with the natives has
now become "an elitist campus language" spoken among the teeming population of the Nigerian
students in higher institutions of learning, thereby
overlapping the standard
English to such an extent
that the students’
competence is impaired.
This Study is important because
its results can go a long way in finding
out the causes of students'
competence. This work will in no doubt contribute
to one's knowledge, especially in the Department of English, Usmanu
Danfodiyo University, Sokoto
as it will highlight some issues in relation to written English.
It will be a guide for the effective educational system.
This research is carried out to examine the effect of Pidgin English on students’
competence. It is a fact that students deviate from the norms of codified
English in most of their essays and communications.
The following are the set of objectives to be achieved
a. To show the impact of Nigerian
Pidgin in a University Community; using 300 level students of MELL
To assess the extent of its popularity and the communicative situation within which it is used.
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