TayserMahiri:


The Ghanians and Cameroonians just lack a local pidgin language. Swahili is spoken in so many countries and spreading very rapidly. It is even an official language of the AU. Wait untill it is offered in nigerian universities and you guys will be taken...

Jay254:


Honesty should not be so painful to admit... Obama came to Kenya,Ghana, Senegal and S.A... Chinese Primier Visited Kenya,S.A and Nija... Trump had phone call conversation with presidents of Nija, S.A, Egypt and Kenya...

MtuMsuper:

pidgin has power in nigeria no doubt. How do you talk to a market woman in Kano or Maiduguri? Do you use pidgin ad well?
Believe me when i say i will be well understood as a kenyan if i went to anywhere in Eastern DR Congo , all i would need is a crash course in Congolese Kiswahili. This very day, i heard some Congolese swahili speakers talking, it was just sweet listening to them. We have plenty of congolese in kenyan cities, what can​ we do about it, we live in an unbalanced world that doesnt obey the laws of entropy , and we have to absorb the imbalance from their end. We might be next.

TayserMahiri:


Thank you for the crash course. Then pidgin must be very subjective to the speaker. The words to be used where, and in which order must be a matter of prerogative depending on the mother tongue of the speaker? Or you guys have come up with a universal standard ?

TayserMahiri:


Thank you for the crash course. Then pidgin must be very subjective to the speaker. The words to be used where, and in which order must be a matter of prerogative depending on the mother tongue of the speaker? Or you guys have come up with a universal standard ?

MtuMsuper:

If i stick in nairaland too long, i go soon sabi pidgin pass warri man. How de market?
(Give me a pass/fail, how did i fare?)

MtuMsuper:

If i stick in nairaland too long, i go soon sabi pidgin pass warri man. How de market?
(Give me a pass/fail, how did i fare?)

uzzyfire:
that's d beauty of pidgin, u don't need to know when ,where, or how to use words. its a very expressive language.
yeah pidgin varies , like d way I speak pidgin is not d same way someone from southern or northern Nigeria speaks it. I'm from d eastern part of Nigeria and my pidgin accent is very different from someone in d western part of Nigeria

Nowenuse:


Pls stop lying. Only Northern Ugandans do favour swahili, i have read articles on why many Southern Ugandans reject swahili claiming that it is a language of military and oppression (due to Idi Amin).
They are trying to promote swahili in Southern Uganda, but it's still not working out.
Museveni can speak swahili to the country because most northern ugandans understand the language, but the capital is in the south. This is why you hardly see Ugandan artistes singing or acting in swahili. The Buganda people are the largest and most influential ethnic group in the country and until they agree to adopt swahili, the language will never dominate Southern Uganda.

Yes i fully agree, if EAC is one country, they have what it takes to 'Swahili-nize' Africa, because their media and influence will be so powerful and they will start taking over other countries, unless Nigeria ups her game and officialize pidgin.

In years to come, pidgin will be Nigeria's official language because younger people who favour the language more than older people will gradually get in power.

TayserMahiri:


You make me laugh. I know of a few examples in history where people lost their lives due to word meaning confusions/ misunderstandings. Lets just say, pidgin will remain a language of use in not so serious business matters.

Nowenuse:


No universal standard yet, but due to increased interraction and socialization. A unified standard is evolving. There are some agencies that are forming a pidgin dictionary and official standard.

TayserMahiri:


Lately, many Ugandans have become fed up with Luganda due to NRM Uganda which they term as backwards and unprogressive and are favoring swahili due to its association with business and kenya. And maany Ugandan artists sing in swahili. You just do not know them. Tell me any Ugandan artist and if they have never sang in swahili I will be surprised. Chameleone, Babe Cool, Juliana and many all know swahili. Uganda made Swahili a required subject in primary schools in 1992.

This is why Swahili, which was merely a language of note 50 years ago is one to watch out for. In fact, it is being compared to Chinese which was literally nothing 100 years ago and today is the most widely spoken. Today, over 100 universities offer swahili language worldwide on a consistent basis.

1. Swahili is spoken by over 100m people in Africa so it’s pretty hard to ignore a language that’s spoken by so many people. Its importance as a lingua franca is recognised by foreign media organisations such as the BBC, which broadcasts radio programmes in Swahili. Voice of America and Deutsche Welle have adopted similar tactics in their attempts to appeal to readers on the continent.


2. If you’re dealing with East Africa in any way, then it’s essential you take notice of the Swahili language. Swahili is a Bantu language and therefore spoken by many communities that inhabit the Great Lakes region and other areas of southeast Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Mozambique. It’s particularly useful to have knowledge of Swahili if doing business in Kenya. The country is the largest economy in East and Central Africa and has seen massive growth in areas such as telecommunications in the last decade.

3. Swahili is the national or official language of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as being one of the official languages of the East African Community and African Union. It is a language of influence politically, economically and socially, and a knowledge of it can deepen business relationships.

4. Swahili plays an important part in education in several African countries. Uganda made Swahili a required subject in primary schools in 1992. It is also a compulsory subject in Kenyan schools and a distinct academic discipline in many public and private universities. With the next generation of leaders, as well as consumers all speaking Swahili, ignoring it would be short sighted.

5. Inter-African trade at this point in time is low. Poor transport connections and infrastructure have thus far capped business movements between African countries. However, as investment is made in improving logistics, trading languages will emerge to aid communication between different peoples. Swahili is well placed to become such a tool.

6. Swahili will become a language associated with IT and technology and, as a result, arts and culture. As investment continues in IT infrastructure and mobile and online solutions in countries such as Kenya, the economy will grow. When an economy grows so do people’s spending power, their exposure to information and their inventiveness and creativity. The result will be a flourishing tech-culture scene expressed through Swahili. “Swahilihood” is a term already starting to make appearances online.

7. Knowledge of Swahili will enhance the credibility of researchers interested in Africa. Areas such as big data, social media and digital information are growing and to gain critical insight into Africa’s evolving markets, having an understanding of Swahili will be very important.

TayserMahiri:


It takes time before a standard emerges. And sadly, you cannot force standards on people,

Nowenuse:


I never argue or dispute the fact that Swahili has the greatest potentials in Black Africa. However it is not there yet.

Hausa language is spoken as well by over 100 million people. At least 70- 80 million Nigerians speak Hausa, 20 million Nigeriéns speak Hausa, 8-10 million Cameroonians, 5-8 million Ghanains and fewer millions in Togo and Benin republic speak Hausa.
Hausa language does not have potentials like swahili because majority of the people who speak the language are poverty stricken muslim illiterates.
However, the BBC started broadcasting in Hausa decades ago same time they started in swahili. Deutschewelle, Radio franca and China also broadcast in Hausa and the language is also studied in many universities worldwide.
I have seen many white people who learn hausa from Europe/America and spoke it fluently.
I think, Swahili, Hausa and Amharic almost have equal status internationally, only that swahili has more political relevance and spread.

Navio, Eddy Kenzo, Radio & weasel and many other popular Ugandan artistes, i've never heard them sing swahili but Luganda. I don't argue the fact that Swahili is widely used in Uganda and many more Ugandans are learning the language due to trade with other EA countries. The govt is also trying to enforce it in their curriculum, but it is facing rejection by many.

https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/uganda/ugly-history-kiswahili-prompts-many-resist-teaching-ugandas-schools/

Introducing a language into the curriculum is not enough to make people master it.
French was forced into Nigerian curriculum in the spirit of ECOWAS brotherhood decades ago, but today less than 1% of Nigerians speak it. We just don't have the interest, because we don't see the need and use for it. All our french speaking neighbours are of no influence to us at all. If we had more wealthy and influential french speaking neighbours, we might have taken it with more interest. Ghanaians speak french better than us because of their neighbour Ivory coast (which has as much influence as them, if not greater than them).

uzzyfire:
yeah ur ryte, pidgin isn't a language self, its a slang version of English . its like wen black americans talk

TayserMahiri:


It takes time before a standard emerges. And sadly, you cannot force standards on people,

uzzyfire:
actually pidgin originated from sierra Leone and Cameroon that's where Nigerians learnt it from.

Nowenuse:


Sierra leonan pidgin is quite very different from Naija's own, ours is deeper however and has evolved differently from theirs.

Pidgin actually started from both Nigeria and Sierra leone during the slave trade with Nigeria and the portuguese along the coasts in the 15th century, but it was later popularized during the colonial period.

forgiveness:


If God is willing, I will visit Nairobi this year or next year to see for myself.

Nowenuse:


Pls stop lying. Only Northern Ugandans do favour swahili, i have read articles on why many Southern Ugandans reject swahili claiming that it is a language of military and oppression (due to Idi Amin).
They are trying to promote swahili in Southern Uganda, but it's still not working out.
Museveni can speak swahili to the country because most northern ugandans understand the language, but the capital is in the south. This is why you hardly see Ugandan artistes singing or acting in swahili. The Buganda people are the largest and most influential ethnic group in the country and until they agree to adopt swahili, the language will never dominate Southern Uganda.

Yes i fully agree, if EAC is one country, they have what it takes to 'Swahili-nize' Africa, because their media and influence will be so powerful and they will start taking over other countries, unless Nigeria ups her game and officialize pidgin.

In years to come, pidgin will be Nigeria's official language because younger people who favour the language more than older people will gradually get in power.

Nowenuse:


This is why you hardly see Ugandan artistes singing or acting in swahili.

Nowenuse:

The Buganda people are the largest and most influential ethnic group in the country and until they agree to adopt swahili, the language will never dominate Southern Uganda.

Yes i fully agree, if EAC is one country, they have what it takes to 'Swahili-nize' Africa, because their media and influence will be so powerful and they will start taking over other countries, unless Nigeria ups her game and officialize pidgin.

Nowenuse:


Nigeria's brokin is the most increasingly spoken language. In some places, like the state i am now, even the political leaders speak it with the people when adressing them. Almost all the elderly people speak it. Even in official settings it is spoken.

Pidgin is the increasing urban language in most of Nigeria. The northern part of the country used to be the people arguing against the language being our national/official language, but now the language is gradually penetrating the North (e.g my home city Jos in the north, pidgin is now gradually displacing Hausa as lingua franca).
Many Ghanaians and Cameroonians are now adopting the language.

Just30:
in Ghana, the kind of pidgin we speak is a corruption of many other languages and it is spoken in dormitories.

Just30:
in Ghana, the kind of pidgin we speak is a corruption of many other languages and it is spoken in dormitories.

Kenyanstar:


You are just plain bitter and paranoid.....


Most famous Ugandan artists like Chameleon( who once lived and stayed in Kenya) has 90 percent swahili in his songs. Bobi whine, Blu 3 etc have mostly swahili songs.



The Baganda are Bantus and most swahili words are loaned from Bantu language. There are dofferent and diverse spoken swahili which is different from written. Most Bagandas are business people and reason enough why their need to know spoken swahili is essential to their businesses.

Nowenuse:


I never argue or dispute the fact that Swahili has the greatest potentials in Black Africa. However it is not there yet.

Hausa language is spoken as well by over 100 million people. At least 70- 80 million Nigerians speak Hausa, 20 million Nigeriéns speak Hausa, 8-10 million Cameroonians, 5-8 million Ghanains and fewer millions in Togo and Benin republic speak Hausa.
Hausa language does not have potentials like swahili because majority of the people who speak the language are poverty stricken muslim illiterates.
However, the BBC started broadcasting in Hausa decades ago same time they started in swahili. Deutschewelle, Radio franca and China also broadcast in Hausa and the language is also studied in many universities worldwide.
I have seen many white people who learn hausa from Europe/America and spoke it fluently.
I think, Swahili, Hausa and Amharic almost have equal status internationally, only that swahili has more political relevance and spread.

Navio, Eddy Kenzo, Radio & weasel and many other popular Ugandan artistes, i've never heard them sing swahili but Luganda. I don't argue the fact that Swahili is widely used in Uganda and many more Ugandans are learning the language due to trade with other EA countries. The govt is also trying to enforce it in their curriculum, but it is facing rejection by many.

https://globalpressjournal.com/africa/uganda/ugly-history-kiswahili-prompts-many-resist-teaching-ugandas-schools/

Introducing a language into the curriculum is not enough to make people master it.
French was forced into Nigerian curriculum in the spirit of ECOWAS brotherhood decades ago, but today less than 1% of Nigerians speak it. We just don't have the interest, because we don't see the need and use for it. All our french speaking neighbours are of no influence to us at all. If we had more wealthy and influential french speaking neighbours, we might have taken it with more interest. Ghanaians speak french better than us because of their neighbour Ivory coast (which has as much influence as them, if not greater than them).

uzzyfire:
wat do u min

Nowenuse:


It still came from Nigeria cos it sounds Nigerian