why is this thread still on.
Anyone who knows anything about Nigerian languages will agree that Hausa is the most complete and easiest to learn.

Yes that explains why Hausa language is the EASIEST to learn and the most widely spoken in all of West Africa.

If you believe that Kano has 1 million more people than Lagos and the North has double the people that the South of Nigeria does (i.e. you buy the latest Nigerian census figure) then perhaps that silly claim that Hausa is the most widely spoken in all of West Africa is true.

But we all know that is complete bollocks.

hausa's the easiest somebody in this room tell me that you don't know what uwaaka,aboki or wahala mean.

@ chiogo

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I been to lagos and i ain't never met anybody with aids. what do u know? It's a yoruba state, not an igbo state.and there is no aids there. You join all these dumb-ass kids here talkin' 'bout how there are lots of people with aids in africa.Now u helpin' them make it clear by sayin' lagos 'cause am def. sure i never came across anyone with aids all 6 years i lived there. You ever been to lagos anywayz? It's got most of d finest cities there is in nigeria.Trust me, when u want to visit naija (to have fun), lagos shld be on your top list or u want to go to your hausa village to have fun?

my hausa village what u talking about?i know my grandfathers village is right there in kano,and that village is 10 times better then lagos,girls with they mother learning how to cook,boys out farming fulani men on his cow,my cousins cooking suya,a hole bunch of beautiful girls c'mon girl what could be sweeter then this.

Earlier in this thread, soulpatrol posted this in Hausa:

you tok am po true which means, I trust, "true talk." This is interesting to me because it looks as though it would sound very similar, phonetically, to "you talk ample truth" in English.

OK, here's my question: Is Pidgin spoken commonly? Is it difficult to learn to speak? Is it difficult to learn to write? What languages (other than English) is it most predominantly based on or use?

I really like this site, and I've learned quite a bit about Nigeria in the time I've spent here. I feel it would be beneficial to learn Pidgin to help me understand some of the postings. Several of you (and I certainly include you, ikamefa!) have been extremely helpful with providing translations.

Unfortunately, Pidgin isn't spoken widely in the US where I live. I've seen some self-instruction methods on line that are priced a bit more than I would be comfortable paying, given that I don't know how good they are.

Tell me more about Pidgin and its place in the Nigerian linguistic scheme.

where are you from?

YOUNGDICE$:

hausa's the easiest somebody in this room tell me that you don't know what uwaaka,aboki or wahala mean.

abi o. tell it to them u forgot to add "ina sonki", "burantashi" , "shege barawo", buro ubanka, shege, iskanchi etc na all the bad bad words people dey always sabi for hausa. i love that language, its so sweet to speak. i tell u, if u ain't never lived in the north before, u've never lived a complete fulfilled naija life. hausas may be portrayed as uneducated or ignorant or fanatical, but them sha get more heart than their yoruba counterparts and they dont go about backbiting like we do and using juju to kill each other. this is coming from a yoruba girl o.  i had so much fun growing up among them and assimilating the culture. they're just one of a kind! 

hausa feofle rule walahi! i tok am po true pa

Why do they speak a different pidgin English though?

i think northern pple hausanized the pidgin english

ko.

yels

@babyosisi:
I live in Michigan, but I spend a lot of time outside of that state.

@soulpatrol:
Does i tok am po true pa mean "I talk much truth" or something like that?

drrionelli:

@babyosisi:
I live in Michigan, but I spend a lot of time outside of that state.

@soulpatrol:
Does i tok am po true pa mean "I talk much truth" or something like that?

huh? " " _{good! clapping for rionelli}

@ikamefa:
Tell me the truth--is my translation even close to what she was saying?

i tok am for true pa- is hausa pidgin for " am telling the truth "


yes you were close to the answer

ditto

nothing as sweet as naija pigdin. i've heard other variations of pidgin - sierra leone, ghanian, even jamaican. but i still think ours is sweeter to the ear. it just flows better. them warri or is it wafi people's pigdin is soooo musicel the way them sabi twist the thing well. nothing beats it! no be so?

OK, let's see--

"sabi" in Pidgin means "to know," "knows" or "knowledge" in English?

Come on, now--help me out!

all of the above o, my bros. pidgin translation is not that strict about words.

Thank you! I suppose I'm going to eventually get a grasp of Pidgin!

Maybe we should do threads on how to learn Nigeria's many languages. Have a post of a word or a phrase a day that those who don't speak the language could learn.

Is Pidgin common to the various other languages or does each have its own? In other words, is there a Yoruba Pidgin, Igbo Pidgin, Hausa Pidgin?

na wa for this kind of question oooo.pigin is pigin, it just depends on the accent that the person uses. like some igbos use igbo accent tp speak it and stuffs like thal lol

Thanks, jo-z!

The reason I ask is that, as you say, it is what it is. I know that the French spoken in Canada is somewhat different from the French spoken in France, which differs from the French spoken in Senegal or Madagascar. All have commonalities, but each is different. Indeed, I know of Parisians who cannot understand Quebecois well at all!

am glad u understand

I would like to ask, jo-z, what the translation for the following would be:

na wa for this kind of question oooo.

This was in your post, but I don't know what it means.   

@drrionelli
r uu nigerian?

hausa then yoruba. shikena and opari.

lovemajek:

hausa then yoruba. shikena and opari.

which one is shikena and opari again ooooo?

shikane is its finish,why opari is finito.

and i bet you someone somewhere is wondering what the word "finito" means.

shikena is the hausa word for finish and opari is the yoruba word for finish.

finito - finish, the end. i hope that helps o. _{lawd, na who even send me come do translator? chei}

Thank you for your interpretations, you are hired.

em, what is my starting salary o. i dont come cheap

Name your price, remember $1 is now 1.25 naira sha o.