Is it wrong to ask anyone ‘How was your night?’ Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose, PhD.

Is it wrong to ask anyone ‘How was your night?’
Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose, PhD.

The expression, “How was your night?” is a very common one in Nigeria. Given the socio-cultural reality of long, constant and regular greeting habits among many Nigerian nations, especially the Yoruba, many expressions of greetings, including, but not limited to “well done” and “How was your night,” have become popular in Nigerian English. Nigerian English is a recognised variety of English which depicts the experiences of its users. Inasmuch as a word or utterance does not distort the the standard global usage of the language, every country where English has been adopted is entitled to their own right of nativisation and indigenisation of the language. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Since English has made itself available as the most geographically dispersed language in the world, then it must be ready for all sorts of socio-cultural embellishments, so long as this does not affect global intelligibility.

I have, over the years, consistently ministered the gospel of standard English usage, especially in conformity with global best practice. Nonetheless, what has remained amazing is the quickness with which baseless and unfounded “lessons” on English spread like wildfire. Some of such include the claim that news means “north, east, west and south” and “How was your night” means “how was your sex last night.” These and many others are baseless and unfounded.

It is troubling to have a generation of youth who would rather publicise news than verify them. For one, no standard dictionary gives “How was your night” as an idiomatic expression, and one then wonders where the sexual connotation emerged from. Curious to know more, I found out that a Nigerian said he asked a “white” man (who might be an illiterate white, anyway. Being a white does not necessarily make anyone a good user of English) how his night was, and the man was angry, only for the Nigerian to later realise that, to ask about a person’s night connotes inquiring about their sexual exertions during the night. THIS CLAIM DOES NOT EXIST IN ANY STANDARD DICTIONARY! Dictionaries and good grammar textbooks have the final say on what obtains in any language.

What is more, it’s surprising how the nonstandard versions of words and expressions are usually preferred by many Nigerians. Among very many instances of such wrong or misapplied usages, we often hear:
“Send forth” instead of “send-off;”
“Lousy” instead of “noisy;”
“Funny enough” instead of “funnily enough;”
“Know fully well” instead of “know full well;”
“Toast bread” instead of “toast;”
“Round up” instead of “round off;” among inexhaustible others. Alas, we don’t find many people join the crusade of preaching against these globally wrong usages! But, of course, many are quick to share the posts that news means north, east, west and south, and that to ask about a person’s night is to care to know about their sexual experience.

As I round off this piece, I hope to make two major submissions. The first borders on the topic of this article, which is that, to ask about a person’s night is by no means a problem, and does not necessarily mean to inquire about their sexual experience; although it is also alarming that many Nigerians will ask about your night even at midday. The second submission is to encourage Nigerians to verify broadcasts before sharing them. The data with which you want to hurriedly share a piece of information can equally be used to establish the truthfulness of the claim you are about to disseminate. All you need to do is download a Google app like you downloaded your WhatsApp.

(c) 2019 Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)