Food › Re: My Homemade Meat Pie Recipe by wyzoe: 5:19pm On Mar 20, 2018 |
cococandy I want |
Celebrities › Re: Shan George Calls Teddy A’s Dick A 'Tiny Noodle' (BBNaija Photo) by wyzoe: 6:27pm On Mar 18, 2018 |
Tamarapetty: Tiny noodle u'd love to taste! rada rada.
haven't u heard of ''SMALL BUT MIGHTY'' What's a white walker? |
Education › Re: Dear Nigerians, Pidgin English Has Basic Rules Too! by wyzoe: 12:50pm On Mar 18, 2018 |
ortakida: Do you know that Pidgin English is one of the most popular languages in the world? In Nigeria, it is spoken by at least 70 million people. In the South South region of Nigeria, it is the first language of a lot of people. Pidgin is also spoken in Ghana, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and beyond.
Pidgin English is the most popular language used in Nigerian songs. At least 5 in every 6 Nigerian songs contain a fairly large amount of Pidgin. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the late famous musical legend, sang most of his songs in Pidgin. And he was still extremely popular!
At one point, Nigeria almost made the language one of its official languages.
Despite its popularity, a lot of people still get a lot of things wrong about Pidgin English. The main thing is that Pidgin also has its own basic rules too. And I share 3 of those basic rules below. But first, why is the language so darn popular?!
Why is Pidgin English So Popular? The popularity of Pidgin English can be traced to its simplicity and usage. Although Pidgin is usually blended with local languages, it is somewhat easy to learn and understand if you can speak English.
This is the chief reason why Pidgin English became popular. It is a language that synthesizes English and other native languages to make communication easier. But it doesn’t mean it is extremely easy to speak though.
Over the years still, Pidgin English has evolved greatly. Speaking Pidgin English is not just about meshing two languages together for the sake of communication. Pidgin English now has its own form, its own structure and, yes, its own “grammatical errors”.
And lately, I found out that a lot of people don’t know this.
Sometimes I hear people say sentences in Pidgin English, and I’ll be like: “which kain Pidgin be this again?” That is not a joke; I get quite stupefied by how some sentences sound.
In the past, though, I had no idea what made them wrong. So I started checking.
Rules of Pidgin English First Rule While checking, I discovered the first rule of Pidgin English: Always speak in English present tense.
Let’s always keep in mind that Pidgin English is, hmmm, a “fork” (Github?) of the regular English language. And the most important thing that Pidgin English forked from regular English is present tense.
Pidgin English must always be spoken in present tense. Anything else just sounds plain wrong.
Here’s an example. “I dey cum now now.”
Translated to regular English, this is “I will soon be back”.
Other examples are: “Oga show quick”, “I don dey go oo”, “You don dey come?”, “You dey count money?” among others.
You can say these in several types of Pidgin you like, but they must always be in the present tense. Failure to observe this rule will let you make a fool of yourself. And that sucks.
This rule may not be fixed though, even though the language is so widely spoken and undocumented. The only word I can remember for now that breaks this rule is “whine”. You can say “Your whining don dey too much.” Its present continuous and it passes the first rule.
Second Rule A second rule of Pidgin English is that you must use real words. For any word you use, make sure it exists in the English dictionary, exists in a local language or is slang. Anything outside of these is just damn wrong.
Words like wakaa, shege, collat, oga, padi, shebi, nna, abi, pesin, oyinbo, trafficate and others, may or may not be in the English dictionary. But we use them because they are either in our local languages or they are slangs.
Keep this rule in mind.
Third Rule A third rule, or principle, in Pidgin English is that the language is very flexible, or rather, extendable. That is you can create your own words and if they go viral enough, then congratulations, you’ve invented a new word.
A word like “yori-yori”, was never in the popular Pidgin English dialect until the music group, Bracket, used it as the title of their popular song some years back.
“Science students” has always been there as a harmless phrase. But when Olamide used it as the title of his song, the phrase got a whole new meaning.
“Shaku Shaku”, is another word that just went popular recently.
Bonus: There's also a very interesting principle that may or may not count. Pidgin English is usually spoken with an accent! And there are so many accents. For instance, you've got the Warri Pidgin accent, the Igbo pidgin accent and the regular Lagos pidgin accent.
A lot of people don't immediately realize how important this is, until they remember Warri jokes.
And I dare say that this is the hardest part about speaking Pidgin. The language get as eh dey roll for tongue, if you no grab am well eh go hard to speak.
Conclusion So yeah, Pidgin English is alternative language. It is popular amongst illiterates. But it is also popular amongst business men, academics, presidents, wives of presidents (Patience Jonathan), and pretty much everybody that wants to broaden their communication outreach in West Africa.
But Pidgin English is not a silly language that can be spoken anyhow. It has evolved and now has its own form and maybe structure. Understanding the three basic rules above will help you understand how to speak and understand the language easily.
https://africanjotter.com.ng/pidgin-english-basic-rules/ Only your third point is valid and it contradicts the first two. |
Music/Radio › Re: A thread for acoustic guitarist: beginners,amateurs and professionals by wyzoe: 7:44am On Mar 18, 2018 |
Does anyone here play the blues? |
Gaming › Re: How Can I Improve On My Skills In Playing CHESS? by wyzoe: 7:40am On Sep 20, 2017 |
EniHolar: Yes... Yes... Yes How do we go about it? I don't post here regularly. I'd like to help. |
Gaming › Re: How Can I Improve On My Skills In Playing CHESS? by wyzoe: 11:49pm On Sep 07, 2017 |
temmypotter: I also recommend the chess titans on your PC, I don't know anyone personally who has won at a level 10 on that game. Chess Titans even at level ten isn't much of a challenge. @ EniHolar are you still interested in chess? Most of the advice here won't do you much good. |
Politics › Re: Shekau Must Be Captured Dead Or Alive Within 40 Days - Buratai by wyzoe: 8:57am On Jul 23, 2017 |
Capture him, shave his beard on camera. Myth gone. |
Politics › Re: Mbe Nwaniga Compares Ojukwu's Biafra To Kanu's Biafra by wyzoe: 9:36pm On Jul 22, 2017 |
MediumStout: Despite the fact that I'm a yoruba, i see Osinbajo as a weakling rather than a pastor. The position he holds currently does not require diplomacy. Nnamdi Kanu has clearly violated the bail conditions given by the courts yet the bastard is Still roaming free. Why on earth will such a renegade be allowed to roam free in the south east filled with gullible frustrated youths who are ready to become another Bokoharam This is why i love Buhari. Nnamdi Kanu would have remained in prison If baba was around. Buhari doesn't care about court orders and that's the way to deal with non entities like Kanu. Biafra is treason, biafra is dead and buried in 1970. One Nigeria we shall remain  Has Kanu violated his bail terms? Yes, and several times. However, it is not for Osinbajo to order his arrest. The judiciary ought to issue a bench warrant at his next court date for violating his conditions of bail. It's left to see if the judge will do so or not. The judiciary in theory is independent of the Executive and Legislature. |
Travel › Re: Masters Degree In Canada Or NYSC Program? by wyzoe: 9:21am On Jun 16, 2017 |
Pidgin2: Go for your NYSC, anyone telling you to abandon NYSC is an enemy of progress, does not understand the value of the programme, and is not someone you should be listening to. Baby come lets talk. Seems you need a spanking. Can he not do the NYSC after the masters? He said hes just 24. |
Romance › Re: Why Can't You Smile In Your Passport Photo? by wyzoe: 11:48am On May 19, 2017 |
rheether: Can anyone offer a reasonable reason why smiling is forbidden on passport photos? Not only can you smile on your passport, you're also advised to wear polished shoes. Ok seriously this time, you can smile. Seems to be in Nigeria only where this is prohibited. I've seen people with smiles in passports. Or passports with people's smiles. |
Travel › Re: Migrate To Canada Or Stay With 400 K Monthly Salary In Nigeria by wyzoe: 7:02pm On May 06, 2017 |
Pidgin2 your reaction SystemSpecs: Stutern, a Lagos-based online platform has published the salary distribution of employed graduates in Nigeria. Stutern carries out studies on employment in Nigeria and Nigerian universities and this year, they created something called the Nigerian Graduate report. According to the report released, statistics were obtained between 2010-2016. Stutern embarked on a study into the salary distribution of employed graduates and below is what was found out.
1. More than 50% of Nigerians currently earn N50,000 or less on a monthly basis. 2. 1 in 4 new graduates earn less than N20,000 monthly as starting salary. 3. Over 80% of employed graduates currently earn not more than N150,000 per month. 4. Most graduates earn between N20,000 - N50,000 monthly both as starting salary and current salary. 5. Only about 1.92% earn above N150,000 monthly.
https://www.naij.com/1103088-this-graduates-earn-nigeria-starting-salary.html Do you wonder why people are looking for an exit? |
Romance › Re: Help! My boyfriend won't take me back. by wyzoe: 7:57pm On May 05, 2017 |
HerPov: I really really really really really really need advice  Well, talk to him. Better yet, send him a message. Explain that you're very much in love with him and that you don't mean it when you break up. Tell him that you have mood swings and that you'd probably do it again but you promise to work on yourself. I'd listen if I were the one and I'm sure he would too (if he loves you). If it works out, make sure you work on yourself. If it doesn't, still work on yourself. |
Politics › Re: Okorocha: "What Fits Me Is President, Not Governor" by wyzoe: 8:30am On Apr 11, 2017 |
Delusions of grandeur |
Travel › Re: Coming Back To Nigeria - Advice Needed by wyzoe: 9:27am On Mar 16, 2017 |
Follow up.
Did your cousin eventually relocate?
If yes, what was his experience? |
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Career › Re: Fg January Salary 2017 by wyzoe: 8:05am On Feb 01, 2017*. Modified: 11:32am On Jun 20, 2019 |
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Romance › Re: Man Kneels Down To Propose To Her Woman After 4 Years Of Dating (Pics) by wyzoe: 12:42pm On Jan 24, 2017 |
ffrreeee: Congratulations I still ask my husband why he didn't propose like this during our time. He just came around one day and said let's start making preparation for our wedding I asked him, just like that? Aren't you proposing? Then he said, what's the need? We v been dating for almost 3years and i know you love me, so why waste time on that childish act. Abeg start contacting the vendors. I was dumbfounded Na so e suppose be. |
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Politics › Re: IPOB: Nnamdi Kanu To Drag Buhari, Security Agencies To UN, ICC by wyzoe: 7:25pm On Jan 23, 2017 |
Silentscreamer: I hope kanu wins.. Buhari has no right to detain dat man, he has done nothing wrong. You don't think it's wrong to incite people to murder Nigerians? |
Foreign Affairs › Re: 2.5million: Crowd Marching Against Trump In The U.S. (photos). by wyzoe: 4:47am On Jan 23, 2017 |
freecocoa: I swear I thought same too, just see better opportunity to hammer.  See naija blood. Abeg chop knuckle. |
Foreign Affairs › Re: 2.5million: Crowd Marching Against Trump In The U.S. (photos). by wyzoe: 9:02am On Jan 22, 2017 |
Being a Nigerian, all I can think of is who got the contract for those pink hats  |
Foreign Affairs › Re: Women Around The World Protest Against President Trump by wyzoe: 11:12pm On Jan 21, 2017*. Modified: 11:40am On Jun 20, 2019 |
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Celebrities › Re: Destiny Amaka Throwback And Now Pictures by wyzoe: 5:37pm On Jan 21, 2017 |
wablex: The curvy of cus. if dats hw shes nw tin she's sick Is it such a difficult thing to type coherently? |
Business › Re: Agent Needed by wyzoe: 4:50pm On Jan 21, 2017*. Modified: 6:59pm On May 06, 2017 |
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