The general feeling is that people thought it was a good thing, respectful but also funny. How did people react when they heard Prince Charles speaking pidgin? This interview has been edited for length and clarity. We talked to Nsofor about pidgin, a language that he speaks with his friends, at home and in his work as a health advocate. Another questioned why Nigerians were "doing backflips" for a former colonizer. "Prince Charles spoke pidgin English in Lagos, so what!" tweeted one person. Some Nigerians wondered why it made international headlines. Today, the language is widespread among all social classes and is increasingly popular among young people, writers, politicians and musicians. In the past, Nigerian pidgin English was seen as a language for uneducated people. In this hub for business and trade, people spoke "business English" to get by - often spelled as "pigeon English," reflecting local pronunciation of the word "business," according to Salikoko Sangol Mufwene, a professor of linguistics at the University of Chicago. The term "pidgin" was first recorded in English in 1807 in Canton, China. More than 75 million people are believed to speak pidgin across Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. A hybrid of English and local languages, it traces its roots to the Atlantic slave trade in the 17th century. Pidgin English is the lingua franca in Nigeria, where more than 300 languages are spoken, according to Francesco Goglia, a researcher at the University of Manchester. cjnoLeW6Im- BBC News Africa November 8, 2018 I’m doing well.Prince Charles tried out some choice phrases in Pidgin as he addressed Nigerians in Lagos at the end of his nine-day tour of West Africa. How bodi? / How you dey? – How are you doing today?Ħ. (Listen to how pronounce the first 26 Pidgin English phrases listed below here and don’t forget to add “o” at the end of sentences in Pidgin for extra emphasis, like “Thank you o!”)ġ. Here are 26 Nigerian Pidgin English phrases you need to know. Variations of Pidgin English can be found all over the world, from the Caribbean to China, and each comes with its own library of everyday words.Īs you travel across West Africa, the style of Pidgin spoken becomes more familiar, but still differs based on local language elements infused into it.Įven if you don’t find yourself traveling to Nigeria in the distant future, try one of these phrases on one of your Nigerian friends, and fully bask in their glowing response. With more than 250 ethnic groups speaking over 500 languages and dialects, English is the country’s official business language, whether you’re actually on business or just on safari.įor citizens without easy access to higher education and white collar jobs, picking up a few words of English and mixing it with elements of their native tongues has been the default way of communicating across tribal cultures. Pidgin English remains the “great” equalizer - a way of communicating on a base level that cuts through bullshit. Pidgin English is extremely popular in most parts of Africa, particularly West Africa, and has been accepted as the de-facto language of blue collar trade and merchants. There’s a certain intimacy that this form of broken English emits a down-to-earth, survivalist approach to everyday living and hustling in Africa’s most populous nation. Speaking Nigerian Pidgin transforms them from visiting foreigner into one of the hundreds of well-integrated expatriates in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital. If they open up with Pidgin English instead, I instantly perk up.
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