Task 1: The use of Pidgin English in Nigeria
Task 1 is based on the text “Nigeria harnesses Pidgin English power” from “Vedlegg 1”. For the first part (1A), you are required to select the correct answers based on the text, and for the second part (1B), you have to discuss what the use of Pidgin English in Nigeria, as described in the article, tells us about the development of English as an international language.
In what follows, we will provide you with an outline of the text and then help you answer the task requirements.
Outline: “Nigeria harnesses Pidgin English power”
“Nigeria harnesses Pidgin English power” is an article written by Yinka Ibukun and published in Guardian Weekly in 2010.
The article discusses Nigerian Pidgin English, a form of English mixed with words from 500 Nigerian dialects. The writer argues that Pidgin English has become a lingua franca among Nigerians because it is the language most people of different origins and classes use to communicate.
The article presents the case of a Nigerian driver who only listens to Wazobia FM, a radio station which only broadcasts in Nigerian Pidgin English and then moves on to provide a brief background of how the language evolved and of how it is currently used.
The article also announces an initiative of the Naija Languej Akademi to standardise this spoken version of English, which has never been analysed or used in the written form. The initiative aims at eventually introducing Pidgin English or Naija Languej in schools, which would recogni...
