What Nigerian English Is Not!
Undoubtedly, Nigerian English is not a vulgar variety. Mark you, as a full-fledged regional dialect, Nigerian English is a variety governed with standard rules in respect to global acceptability. Unarguably, English is an international language that enjoys relevance in almost all speech communities around the world. Consequently, speakers of English are categorised into three groups namely the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle (Kachru 1985). The Inner Circle, which comprise native speakers whose first language and mother tongue is English, are norms-providing. The Outer Circle consists of countries like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, India, etcetera, who use English predominantly as second or official language. Meanwhile, the Expanding Circle includes countries that introduced English as a foreign language in schools and universities, mostly for communicative interaction with the other speakers. Such countries include Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Japan, China, Korea, among others.
As a member of the Outer Circle, Nigerian English expediently relies on norms provided by the native speakers. That is, as a recognised, localised, nativised and indigenised variety, the Nigerian English is norms- abiding and does not provide room for grammatical distortions whatsoever. While it has been allowed to be adapted and blended to convey the Nigerian sociocultural worldview, speakers of Nigerian English are expected to strictly adhere to standard grammar in order to speak with utmost global intelligibility.
To steer clear, saying “more grease to someone's elbow’’ is a distorted expression which should never be regarded as Nigerian English. To clarify, an expression used to encourage someone or express approval of their action, is “more power to your elbow’’. Similarly, idiomatic expressions like: “half bread is better than none’’, “begger has no choice’’ “on a platter of gold’’ “night vigil’’ are not in standard usages. Rather, these expressions can appropriately be rendered as “half a loaf is better than none’’ “beggars cannot be choosers’’ “given on a silver platter’’ and “vigil’’respectively.
Moving on, when a particular activity involves a great amount of physical and mental effort to execute, such activity is described as being “taxing’’ (not tasking). On a similar note, when one does something in one's personal advantage without regard for others, that is regarded as “self-interest’’, not “selfish-interest’’.
Also, utterances such as “funny enough’’, “knowing fully well’’, “instalmentally’’ “unattentive’’ and “cross-carpet’’do not exist in English lexicon as at today. Nigerian language users who crave global engagement are expected to say; “funnily enough’’, “knowing full well’’, “by instalments’’, “inattentive’’ and “defect’’ respectively.
To round off this piece which may be the last series on Nigerian English, an attempt has been made to prove that Nigerian English is indeed a variety and not a vulgarity of English. Hence, impermissible structures, unttrances, sentences and expressions should not be regarded as Nigerian English, but a flaw on the part of the speaker.
© 06th of October 2022.
Damilare Adeleye