SOURCE: Amala
The debate on the acceptance and indoctrination of ‘Nigerian English’ has permeated across a number of years. While some schools of thought uphold the notion of ‘Nigerianness in English’, others doubt its linguistic sustainability. We are however, not gathered to discuss the debates and criticisms against Nigerian English. We are gathered for a good cause, which is in favour of the acceptance of Nigerian English.
Literary artists like Chinua Achebe have wielded this tool in portraying the Nigerian-African beauty. In the words of Chiamaka Ngozi Adichie for instance:
“My English-speaking is rooted in a Nigerian experience and not in a British or American or Australian one. I have taken ownership of English”.
By and large, this summarises the raison d’etre of Nigerian English. This, of course, means expressing the Nigerian sensibilities using the English language. It has thrived upon borrowing from other languages in enriching its word stock. Ideally, languages like Spanish, German, French have been benevolent to Nigeria’s lingua franca. British English’ is ‘British’ because it conveys the experiences of the British people. However, expressions like ‘Amala’ as opposed to ‘French fries’ or ‘Hamburger’ may not resonate with the British. ‘Buka’ for instance, represents a local food store by a roadside. ‘Okada’ on the other hand, is a motorcycle that can be used as a taxi service. Another, is ‘put to bed’ which is employed when a woman gives birth.
As a nation, we have a ton of cultural underpinnings that are peculiar to us. Arguably, these may not be necessarily conveyed using the White Man’s language. Nigerian English, therefore, tweaks the English language to accommodate those.
As a result…
A list of the following Nigerian expressions have made it to the Oxford Dictionary Entry:
- Agric [adj, n]
- Barbing salon [n]
- Buka [n]
- Bukateria
- Chop [v]
- Chop-Chop [n]
- Danfo [n]
- To eat money, in eat [v]
- Ember months [n]
- Flag-off [n]
- To flag off in flag [v]
- Gist [n]
- Guber [adj]
- Kannywood [n]
- K-leg [n]
- Mama put [n]
- Next tomorrow [n, adv]
- Non-indigene [adj, n]
- Okada [n]
- To put to bed, in bed [v]
- Qualitative [adj]
- To rub minds [together], in rub [v]
- Sef [adv]
- Send-forth [n]
- Severally [adv]
- Tokunbo [adj]
- Zone [v]
- Zoning [n]
In conclusion, you can read more here: https://public.oed.com/blog/nigerian-english-release-notes/
The post Nigerian English Becomes Globally Accepted In The English Dictionary appeared first on Amala.
