Naijá Pigin is open to a lot of influences from English and local Nigerian languages, especially from Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba and the Edo and other group of languages spoken in the Niger Delta.

While much of the vocabulary of Naijá Pigin is derived from English its major lexifier, the rest of the vocabulary come from its other contributory languages such as Edo, Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba, as well as a significant contribution from Portuguese. See the following examples.

From English:

chop------------‘to eat/to consume’
domot----------- ‘door mouth area’
doti-------------‘dirt’
pesin------------ ‘someone’
trowe------------‘throw away’
tok---------------‘to speak’
waka-------------‘to walk’

From the Edo:

kpangolo----------'container’
kpekere-----------‘plantain chips’
okada-------------‘motor-bike’
ororo--------------‘vegetable oil’
ozeba-------------‘a big problem’

From Hausa:

dabaru-----------‘to destroy’
dogo-------------‘a tall person’
gworo------------‘cola nut’
koboko-----------‘horse whip’
suya-------------‘spicy grilled meat’

From Igbo:

akamu----------- ‘corn starch /pap’
biko--------------‘please’
obodo------------‘land/country’
okrika------------‘second-handed item’
ogbanje----------‘a water spirit’
ugu--------------‘pumpkin leaves’

From Yoruba:

adire-------------‘tie and dye’
agbo-------------‘herbal medicine’
ashawo----------‘a prostitute’
shakara----------‘show-off’
she--------------‘hope’
shele-------------‘happen/take place’

From Portuguese:

kpalava-----------`trouble’
pikin-------------- ‘child’
sabi-------------- ‘to know’

Compounding

akara-wuman---------- Yoruba/Igbo+English---------------- ‘a women who fries and sells bean cakes’
boku-bai--------------- French + English-------------- ‘wholesale’
egbe-weja------------- Edo + English----------------- ‘a bouncer at a club, a thug or hoodlum’
go-slo----------------- English + English-------------- ‘traffic jam’
ova-sabi--------------- English+Portuguese----------- ‘one who shows he knows too much’

boku∙boku------------- French---------- ‘in large number’
boi∙boi---------------- English---------------- ‘a male household servant’
sabi∙sabi-------------- Portuguese------------ ‘someone who thinks he or she knows everything’
waka∙waka------------ English---------------- ‘someone who about aimlessly or without any destination’ or ‘a prostitute’

OP PÓint of order pls!!!!
Okrika- Used wares originated from Okrika Kingdom, of Rivers State and not igbo.

Thank you

kai-----ehn-----hausa
wetin-----what------igbo
kpesh-----to f*ck-----italian
palava----problem----portuguese

Nice thrend op. very educational

dotmanxp: kai-----ehn-----hausa
wetin-----what------igbo
kpesh-----to f*ck-----italian
palava----problem----portuguese

Very educative.
Good job @ OP

How can you say Akara+Wuman is Yoruba + english? Akara is Igbo not Yoruba. It should have been Igbo + English

DikeOha882: How can you say Akara+Wuman is Yoruba + english? Akara is Igbo not Yoruba. It should have been Igbo + English

Corrected Akara is used by both Yorubas and Igbo so I added Igbo to it.

neuljosh:

Corrected Akara is used by both Yorubas and Igbo so I added Igbo to it.

Good, but akara is an Igbo word. Nwata n' akara n'ata ego ya. An Igbo proverb

Nice and lovely, as an ardent speaker of pigin english I love this

so some pigin originated from Portuguese as well. I actually learnt something. Thanks OP for the educational post. Such should make FP. Mynd44 your attention is needed.

I wish it (pidgin) can be made official so some people don't need to bomb grammar while expressing themselves then 'english' can return to England without being murdered.

Most Edutaining thread I've read on NL since August 1st.


Nice one OP.
Thanks for sharing.

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;DLol

Warri no dey carry last, if e get worst na 2nd to d last.

space for sale

luku luku...looking too much.
Talku talku ..one dat talks too much.
Folo folo...the " O yes member" always say yes to everything..
Typical Nigerian tautology!
.....and the list are endless!

Noted

OP, omo your head dey their. I owe you one bag of supporter of APC

Akara is Yoruba QED

neuljosh:
From the Edo:
kpangolo----------'container’
kpekere-----------‘plantain chips’
okada-------------‘motor-bike’
ororo--------------‘vegetable oil’
ozeba-------------‘a big problem’

Na Edo win am oooo
"Kpangolo" this cracks me up all the time..

Op yόϋ missed one " waka com"

DikeOha882: Good, but akara is an Igbo word. Nwata n' akara n'ata ego ya. An Igbo proverb

My mom always sings that

What is going on here

1 free nano silver drink 4 u........

Nice 1

[size=16pt]
origin of pidgin in Nigeria can be traced to when the Igbos migrated from their land due to erosion dirt and poverty to lagos
they needed to communicate and do business but they lacked education so they just mumble the little English they can hear e.g
give me food make I chop
a beg make una give me house because poverty dey for our place
your money or your life.
I go shoot you if you no give me your car key
tuface don release new album make we pirate am
etc
that is the origin of pidgin in Nigeria
[/size]

Ororo, pangolo and pekere is Yoruba....

Ashawo just had to come from Yoruba

Joblessness at its peak

Lol