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RE: NAIJAPIDGIN HANGOUT: RECITING PIDGIN VERSES
It is the second largest means of interaction after the English language in Nigeria but it is not recognized as a language.
Boss, I don't quite agree with the above mention.
I think Pidgin English is the First largest means of interaction in Nigeria. In markets, corporate offices, churches, public places etc, Pidgin english is the lingua franca.
As per recogniction, I think google's recognition is enough. Google now offers Pidgin English translation.
Anybody dey with me? Who else agrees with me?
When you have it as the official means of communication, then I will agree. When it is spoken all over northern nigeria as well as western nigeria, I will agree. When it has books published using its lingo, a dictionary of meanings, then it will be the first means of communication until then it is the second.
You have also not considered that it is not taught anywhere and it is not even considered to be a language but a pidgin.
Finally Latin can be found on Google but does that make Latin the first means of communication in Italy or even the Vatican?
@steemnignaija, English Language is not spoken all over northern and western Nigeria, but Pidgin english is spoken all over Nigeria. Same applies to it's understanding.
Effective communication demands the use of a language generally understood by the people.
Means of interaction is not about written books. It is about how you are able to effectively communicate with one another.
Most of our mother tongues (dialects) are not taught anywhere, yet we learn and internalize them via socialization.
For Latin, I don't think it falls into this context. When we talk about communication, we talk about the people and the language they understand the most. So when we talk about means of interacting in Nigeria, in my unshakable opinion, our lingua franca - Pidgin English not only wears the crown in Nigeria, it owns it. Virtually everyone speaks it (including people without formal education) because we have learnt and internalized it.
Note:
Officially, English is our first language and French is the second. Pidgin does not even come into the picture.
However, unofficially, Pidgin English is our most popular means of interaction in Nigeria and in my unshakable opinion our First means of interaction while the official one (English) comes second.
@nicewoody69, first of all, i am a proponent of making the Nigeria pidgin a more socially welcome means of communication. I love the creole. I speak it more than i speak the English language.
I have spent some time in the west, I am presently in the north, I have visited the east and I grew up in the south. I have lived in a community where different ethnic groups lived together and I will tell you categorically that the Naija pidgin is not spoken by everybody in Nigeria.
In the west, the popular form of communication is Yoruba and English, in the north it is Hausa, in the east it is Ibo and English. It is in the south where languages are many and dialects are more that you find the common means of communication to be English and pidgin.
Let me ask you this, what do most persons from the western, northern or eastern part of Nigeria speak mostly. Is it not their indigenous language?
If you go to a government office, in the aforementioned parts of the country which language do they use mostly?
How many aged men and women speak pidgin fluently in those parts of the country?
In a average market in the north, east or west of Nigeria, which language do you hear the most?
I do not say that pidgin is not spoken all over nigeria. I say that compared to the English language, it is second. You have to consider fluency in speaking, ratio of people speaking the language, etc.
Indigenous languages are the first language most parents teach their children. In the south, in Warri to be precise, the first language most children learn is pidgin. Which part of the country does that? So how is pidgin the lingua franca of Nigeria?
The lingua Franca of Nigeria are three languages and a pidgin; Ibo, Yoruba, Hausa and pidgin. English remains the official language.
The other languages are taught in schools, pidgin is not. The other languages have written alphabet, pidgin is slowly evolving a writing system and it makes use of the English language. So please what is your argument?
@warpedpoetic, it's okay if you do not agree with me.
Well, I still do not agree with pidgin being the second largest means of interaction and english language being the first.
I have also gone round the country, north, east, south and west and to a large extent I know what is obtainable.
Well, take it as my personal opinion. English to me is the second and Pidgin English is the first largest means of interaction in Nigeria.
Maybe you should do some digging on the internet. So many blogs handled a similar topic. I know the internet is a dumping ground for filtered and unfiltered info but you can filter.
Thanks for the argument all the same it was an interesting one.