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Nigerian Pidgin, also known simply as Pidgin or Broken (Broken English) or as Naijá in scholarship, is an English-based creole language spoken as a lingua franca across Nigeria. The language is sometimes referred to as Pijin or Vernacular .
There are over 520 native languages spoken in Nigeria. [1] [2] [3] The official language is English, [4] [5] which was the language of Colonial Nigeria.The English-based creole Nigerian Pidgin – first used by the British and African slavers to facilitate the Atlantic slave trade in the late 17th century [6] – is the most common lingua franca, spoken by over 60 million people.
West African Pidgin English arose during the period of the transatlantic slave trade as a language of commerce between British and African slave traders. Portuguese merchants were the first Europeans to trade in West Africa beginning in the 15th century, and West African Pidgin English contains numerous words of Portuguese origin such as sabi ('to know'), a derivation of the Portuguese saber. [3]
The word aproko also shows the diversity and creativity of Nigerian Pidgin, which is a language that blends elements from different languages and cultures. [5] However, the word aproko also has some negative connotations, such as being intrusive, disrespectful, or dishonest.
Nigerian English, also known as Nigerian Standard English, is a variety of English spoken in Nigeria. [1] Based on British and American English, the dialect contains various loanwords and collocations from the native languages of Nigeria, due to the need to express concepts specific to the cultures of ethnic groups in the nation (e.g. senior wife).
Pidgin English is a non-specific name used to refer to any of the many pidgin languages derived from English. Pidgins that are spoken as first languages become creoles . English-based pidgins that became stable contact languages, and which have some documentation, include the following:
The origin of "Ehen!" can be traced to the Nigerian Pidgin language, which developed as a result of linguistic interactions between various ethnic groups, local languages, and English. [4] The term itself is an onomatopoeic representation of a vocalized pause, often used to draw attention or signify understanding. [5]
A pidgin [1] [2] [3] / ˈ p ɪ dʒ ɪ n /, or pidgin language, is a grammatically simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups of people that do not have a language in common: typically, its vocabulary and grammar are limited and often drawn from several languages.