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Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! - Education (2) - Nairaland

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Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by LordOfNaira: 10:12am On Mar 18, 2018
ortakida:



Let me bust your bubble. Read this:

"If I catch my husband dey sexing with another woman, what I do him?"

That's a combination of Jenifa's English ("What I do him"wink and pure wrong use of Pidgin English ("sexing"wink.

If you SERIOUSLY dare speak this one outside people go laff you die.

Forget it, pidgin English is what it is, substandard English. No one has an official language that is a corruption of another language.

3 Likes

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by marvin906(m): 10:13am On Mar 18, 2018
hajoke2000:
the broken language of the broken people.



how stupid can you get
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by Aboguede(m): 10:13am On Mar 18, 2018
So you are good in English? What has WAS got to do with the present?

You don dey fin who go Fuk and dis tym e bi like na person wife dey enter ur eye abi? Dem go soon bit you



NwaAmaikpe:
shocked


Nice one,
Its about time the pidgin English was cultivated and given the status of a regular language.

I really need a good Pidgin English teacher.
Female, preferably married.
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by buJu234: 10:14am On Mar 18, 2018
Guy pigin English na warri language..

Every other states dey learn
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by ortakida: 10:15am On Mar 18, 2018
TAGf:
Who dey shocking agbada for skinny?? Op does this Sound well
Eh get as this one dey sound for ear ooo...
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by INDUSTRIALFAN(m): 10:17am On Mar 18, 2018
anibirelawal:



CONFIRM!
as I saw this your quote, I come dey asking myself if you is Sabi speaking pidgins at all.



Now the above is badly spoken.....

Does it sound correct to you?
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by sammytexy: 10:17am On Mar 18, 2018
This Nigeria Ehnnnnn.

We been run commot English unto say rules plenty.
The pidgin wey dey save us dem still dey generate rules for am. cry cry cry cry

4 Likes

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by itzme1234: 10:18am On Mar 18, 2018
Bors i fit teach you ooooo. Based on you u be na. Na to pale u small sha
���������
quote author=NwaAmaikpe post=65918213] shocked


Nice one,
Its about time the pidgin English was cultivated and given the status of a regular language.

I really need a good Pidgin English teacher.
Female, preferably married.[/quote]
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by Aboguede(m): 10:20am On Mar 18, 2018
Very correct.

No minn the opi em just wan show em self


internationalman:
What are you saying OP?

Pidgin English doesn't have correction that's why we love it. No fear of embarrassment.

It only has two rules...

1 If you claim to speak it better, you are only diverting to pure English.

2 The more badly you speak it the better you are at speaking it.

3 Likes

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by INDUSTRIALFAN(m): 10:20am On Mar 18, 2018
hajoke2000:
the broken language of the broken people.
well done ma... I see you re an intact China. Probably repaired. Allow us access to our broken language.

1 Like

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by anibirelawal(m): 10:22am On Mar 18, 2018
INDUSTRIALFAN:
as I saw this your quote, I come dey asking myself if you is Sabi speaking pidgins at all.



Now the above is badly spoken.....

Does it sound correct to you?


That one na jenifa pidgin english version na. grin
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by INDUSTRIALFAN(m): 10:23am On Mar 18, 2018
anibirelawal:



That one na jenifa pidgin english version na. grin


ah ah... But you concur say if e bad well well Na him better pass na
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by Eke40seven(m): 10:26am On Mar 18, 2018
EsotericMonk:
Its called PIDGIN because it has no rules. Nigerians just like to complicate simple things and sound smarter than they really are.
Even the normal engish language, we would rather use a higher sounding symonym compared to the English man who would use simpler words. Very soon schools bd tutorial centres would spring up for learning pidgin.
How is that a bad thing? Do you know that Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Catalan, Corsican, etc were all "Vulgar Latin"? In essence pidgin Latin, when the Roman Empire ruled over these places but today, these languages have been standardised to form proper official languages spoken around the world.

3 Likes 1 Share

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by Eke40seven(m): 10:30am On Mar 18, 2018
buJu234:
Guy pigin English na warri language..

Every other states dey learn
Who tell you that one? You think say na only Nigeria dey speak pidgin for Africa? Many countries don dey speak am before the language enter Naija...
Check Sierra Leone first.
sammytexy:
This Nigeria Ehnnnnn.

We been run commot English unto say rules plenty.
The pidgin wey dey save us dem still dey generate rules for am. cry cry cry cry
Oboy! Rules dey do but we learn am as per part of our "mother tongue or street tonghe. So we learn am naturally as you learn your native language so you no go notice the rules and regulations.
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by anibirelawal(m): 10:31am On Mar 18, 2018
INDUSTRIALFAN:
ah ah... But you concur say if e bad well well Na him better pass na


na joke .
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by INDUSTRIALFAN(m): 10:32am On Mar 18, 2018
anibirelawal:



na joke .
grin
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by SuperSuave(m): 10:35am On Mar 18, 2018
judey1992:
you just make me remember one warri guy wey i meet for A10 hostel Wailo Camp (bauchi state). the guy mk me love warri pidgin like bae
No be lie bro. If you meet correct Warri people, Dem go make you love pidgin. I met many in NYSC camp and still miss them till date. Funny set of people grin

2 Likes

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by Jakumo(m): 10:42am On Mar 18, 2018
ortakida:
Do you know that Pidgin English is one of the most popular languages in the world? In Nigeria, it is spoken by at least 70 million people. In the South South region of Nigeria, it is the first language of a lot of people. Pidgin is also spoken in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and beyond.

Pidgin English is the most popular language used in Nigerian songs. At least 5 in every 6 Nigerian songs contain a fairly large amount of Pidgin. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the late famous musical legend, sang most of his songs in Pidgin. And he was still extremely popular!

At one point, Nigeria almost made the language one of its official languages.

Despite its popularity, a lot of people still get a lot of things wrong about Pidgin English. The main thing is that Pidgin also has its own basic rules too. And I share 3 of those basic rules below. But first, why is the language so darn popular?!

Why is Pidgin English So Popular?
The popularity of Pidgin English can be traced to its simplicity and usage. Although Pidgin is usually blended with local languages, it is somewhat easy to learn and understand if you can speak English.

This is the chief reason why Pidgin English became popular. It is a language that synthesizes English and other native languages to make communication easier. But it doesn’t mean it is extremely easy to speak though.

Over the years still, Pidgin English has evolved greatly. Speaking Pidgin English is not just about meshing two languages together for the sake of communication. Pidgin English now has its own form, its own structure and, yes, its own “grammatical errors”.

And lately, I found out that a lot of people don’t know this.

Sometimes I hear people say sentences in Pidgin English, and I’ll be like: “which kain Pidgin be this again?” That is not a joke; I get quite stupefied by how some sentences sound.

In the past, though, I had no idea what made them wrong. So I started checking.

Rules of Pidgin English
First Rule
While checking, I discovered the first rule of Pidgin English: Always speak in English present tense.

Let’s always keep in mind that Pidgin English is, hmmm, a “fork” (Github?) of the regular English language. And the most important thing that Pidgin English forked from regular English is present tense.

Pidgin English must always be spoken in present tense. Anything else just sounds plain wrong.

Here’s an example. “I dey cum now now.”

Translated to regular English, this is “I will soon be back”.

Other examples are: “Oga show quick”, “I don dey go oo”, “You don dey come?”, “You dey count money?” among others.

You can say these in several types of Pidgin you like, but they must always be in the present tense. Failure to observe this rule will let you make a fool of yourself. And that sucks.

This rule may not be fixed though, even though the language is so widely spoken and undocumented. The only word I can remember for now that breaks this rule is “whine”. You can say “Your whining don dey too much.” Its present continuous and it passes the first rule.

Second Rule
A second rule of Pidgin English is that you must use real words. For any word you use, make sure it exists in the English dictionary, exists in a local language or is slang. Anything outside of these is just damn wrong.

Words like wakaa, shege, collat, oga, padi, shebi, nna, abi, pesin, oyinbo, trafficate and others, may or may not be in the English dictionary. But we use them because they are either in our local languages or they are slangs.

Keep this rule in mind.

Third Rule
A third rule, or principle, in Pidgin English is that the language is very flexible, or rather, extendable. That is you can create your own words and if they go viral enough, then congratulations, you’ve invented a new word.

A word like “yori-yori”, was never in the popular Pidgin English dialect until the music group, Bracket, used it as the title of their popular song some years back.

“Science students” has always been there as a harmless phrase. But when Olamide used it as the title of his song, the phrase got a whole new meaning.

Shaku Shaku”, is another word that just went popular recently.

Bonus: There's also a very interesting principle that may or may not count. Pidgin English is usually spoken with an accent! And there are so many accents. For instance, you've got the Warri Pidgin accent, the Igbo pidgin accent and the regular Lagos pidgin accent.

A lot of people don't immediately realize how important this is, until they remember Warri jokes.

And I dare say that this is the hardest part about speaking Pidgin. The language get as eh dey roll for tongue, if you no grab am well eh go hard to speak.

Conclusion
So yeah, Pidgin English is alternative language. It is popular amongst illiterates. But it is also popular amongst business men, academics, presidents, wives of presidents (Patience Jonathan), and pretty much everybody that wants to broaden their communication outreach in West Africa.

But Pidgin English is not a silly language that can be spoken anyhow. It has evolved and now has its own form and maybe structure. Understanding the three basic rules above will help you understand how to speak and understand the language easily.

https://africanjotter.com.ng/pidgin-english-basic-rules/


As a Professor of Brokenology, in the famous University of Linguistics, Waffi-Town Campus, I must to see ya particular, to take know whether you be fake 'tory-man, or corret man.
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by JastSiryin(m): 10:44am On Mar 18, 2018
ortakida:



Let me bust your bubble. Read this:

"If I catch my husband dey sexing with another woman, what I do him?"

That's a combination of Jenifa's English ("What I do him"wink and pure wrong use of Pidgin English ("sexing"wink.

If you SERIOUSLY dare speak this one outside people go laff you die.
So are you implying that "Wetin I go do am" makes any gaddamn sense in the english lexicon.

1 Like

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by horia: 10:49am On Mar 18, 2018
farouk0403:
Where was pidgin English originated from?
did it originate from. You say?
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by martineverest(m): 10:52am On Mar 18, 2018
ikechizoba:
Waffi pigin na the bomb,e dey scatter brain. That kevwe girl for MR DO GOOD series,wet them dey show for Africa magic ,that girl dey use pigin English mesmerize the viewers...
the lady knows the slangs used in waffi,but doesn't naturally have the accent......compared to basorge tariah and the other urhobo guy in the show
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by Nobody: 10:54am On Mar 18, 2018
martineverest:
the lady knows the slangs used in waffi,but doesn't naturally have the accent......compared to basorge tariah and the other urhobo guy in the show

yes,that okiemute guy ,he is extra good
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by martineverest(m): 10:57am On Mar 18, 2018
really sad that most ppl see pidgin English as a bad language.. it's our brand of English that is widely spoken in West Africa....seirra leone e,Liberia, Jamaica and Haiti have made theirs official
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by martineverest(m): 10:58am On Mar 18, 2018
ikechizoba:


yes,that okiemute guy ,he is extra good
thanks for reminding me the name
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by duwdu: 10:59am On Mar 18, 2018
internationalman:
What are you saying OP?

Pidgin English doesn't have correction that's why we love it. No fear of embarrassment.

It only has two rules...

1 If you claim to speak it better, you are only diverting to pure English.

2 The more badly you speak it the better you are at speaking it.

This makes a lot more sense! Thanks for posting.

On a further note, I think Pidgin got more easily assimilated the more diverse the languages or dialects of two adjoining communities or people, are. In other words, its spread has been much more rooted in societies that do not have a single, widely used local language of their own, but have a common (English) colonizer, such as with our own South-south geopolitical zone.

........
P34c3
.....
...

2 Likes

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by Broderick555: 10:59am On Mar 18, 2018
Where u com Waffy make i use pass tense take nack pidgin for u weather u nor go like am.well sha i like ur voltage,ur teeth complete,omor nah later life o.
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by urbanemind(m): 11:00am On Mar 18, 2018
INDUSTRIALFAN:
ah ah... But you concur say if e bad well well Na him better pass na
Oga mind u , dat sentence wey jenifa make na for English no be pidgin, so na English blunder not pidgin.

1 Like

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by bayaar(m): 11:03am On Mar 18, 2018
When Erigga Said "pidgin Be Like Igbo, E No Dey Hard Me Wrap (rap)... I Felt Dat Shii

1 Like

Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by INDUSTRIALFAN(m): 11:08am On Mar 18, 2018
urbanemind:
Oga mind u , dat sentence wey jenifa make na for English no be pidgin, so na English blunder not pidgin.
well I coined that one from my head. I don't watch Jennifer's diary so if the bad pidgin I typed up there has similarities, it's purely coincidental.
Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by zinaunreal(m): 11:13am On Mar 18, 2018
South Africans shey you dey learn abi? Werey ni eh. Them go show up now begin dey blow grammar spoil the thread

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