A Sociolinguistic Implication of the Use of Nigerian Pidgin among Students of the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa

Abstract

This study examines the sociolinguistics implication of the use of Nigerian Pidgin among HNDII students of the Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa. Pidgin emerges when people from different linguistic backgrounds need a means of verbal communication. Interviews and direct observation methods of investigation are used as means of gathering data for the study. Fishman’s theory of domain analysis is employed as a framework of analysis for the study. The study discovered the presence of Nigerian Pidgin on campuses and how it affects to a great extent the teaching and learning of Standard English in Nigerian higher institutions. This study has also been able to provide answers to such questions as who speaks Nigerian Pidgin, to whom, where and for what purpose. The implication of the use of Nigerian Pidgin in academics was also explored. On the whole, this research concludes with the notion that Nigerian Pidgin is used as a means of informal communication among students on Nigerian campuses; as such, it has negative implications on the teaching and learning of Standard English in our educational process.