BETWEEN EMERGING NIGERIAN ENGLISH AND STANDARD ENGLISH

English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)

BETWEEN EMERGING NIGERIAN ENGLISH AND STANDARD ENGLISH

Certain words and expressions have become parts of Nigerian lexical and structural inventory. It is however important to know that such expressions will be considered inappropriate in standard spoken and written English. Some of them are:

1. Lekan is my tight friend (nonstandard).
Lekan is my bossom friend. Lekan is my intimate. (standard). It should be noted that the word “intimate” can be used as noun as seen in the example.

2. He is a 419 (nonstandard).
He is a dubious person. He is a fraudster (standard).

3. I saw some known faces (nonstandard).
I saw some acquaintances (standard).

4. We need a gateman (nonstandard).
We need a gatekeeper (standard).

5. There was a go-slow (nonstandard).
There was traffic jam (standard).
Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (GAB)
Academic Advisor, Distance Learning Centre, University of Ibadan;