Role Of Pidgin As A Means Of Communication In Unifying Students
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic
DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL
Role Of Pidgin As A Means Of Communication In Unifying Students
Chapter one
1.0 General Introduction
This Chapter will be divided into six sections: background information, statement of the problem, aim and objective, significance of the study, and scope of inquiry.
1.1 Background Of The Study
The context for this study is analysed from two perspectives: The History of Pidgin, which also reiterates the manner in which pidgin happens, and Pidgin in the Twenty-First Century.
1.1.1 A History of Pidgin
Fundamentally, a pidgin is a simplified form of linguistic communication that is created impromptu or by convention between individuals or groups. Pidgin’s origins can be traced back to 1850, when it was first printed. Shaibu (2013) defines Nigerian Pidgin English as a hybrid of indigenous languages and English. It primarily employs English vocabulary incorporated into Yoruba, Benin, or Igbo grammar.
Nigerian Pidgin English was once seen as primarily the code of the illiterate, as well as a bastardisation of English, and was thus deemed indicative of academic skill in English.
In the example of Nigeria, Akande (2008:37) observes that the social linguistic reality there now is such that Nigerian Pidgin English is spoken by university graduates, professors, attorneys, and journalists.
According to Holm (1988), linguistic communication is almost as old as language itself. To back up this claim, he mentions that in ancient Egypt, a commerce language emerged among many Hamito-Semitic languages in touch in the Nile Valley, which can be considered pidgin.
A pidgin, also known as pidgin language, is a simplified version of a language that emerges as a means of communication between two or more groups who do not share a common language. It is widely used in trade and circumstances where both sides speak languages other than the country’s official language.
Major language changes often take centuries, but the language contact that creates pidgins results in ‘rapid language change and evolution’ (Patrick, 2006). A pidgin language is a variant formed by mixing two or more existing languages through the process of ‘pidginisation’.
When people need to communicate but speak different native languages, they can blend their own languages to form a new ‘pidgin language’. This language is subsequently spread through word of mouth and becomes the accepted means of communication across the many linguistic populations.
Pidgin is a broad term that refers to a variety of regional hybrids that emerged as a result of historical events such as empire expansion, settlement, migration, and global trade. English-derived Pidgins can be found in Africa (West African Pidgins include Nigerian Pidgin, Cameroonian Pidgin, and Sierra Leone Krio), Indonesia (Tok Pisin, spoken in Papua New Guinea), Asia, and the Caribbean.
They are inventive, original, and frequently highly literal. For example, in Tok Pisin, ‘gras bilong het’ (or grass belong head) signifies ‘hair’. Because of their spontaneous adaptability, Pidgins differ from other languages in that they can be as structured or as unstructured as needed, with no hard restrictions.
Pidgins are not used as mother tongues, but the language evolves, is adopted, and changes over time, eventually becoming a first language for future generations.
Pidgin has historically occurred in contexts where the native language is viewed as secondary, or outlawed in the case of slavery, and it is at this point that Pidgin may transition to become a Creole, or a stable, ‘nativised’ language. Scholarly dispute continues, however, as to when a Pidgin language can evolve into a Creole and displace a national language over time.
3
As an example of how language evolves, from ‘no common language’ between English and native tribes, to ‘Pidgin’ languages, to ‘Creole’, the tongue follows four key stages of development:
Restricted – Pidgin originated as a necessary tool for limited communication between English and native language groups.
Extended contact can lead to the development of Pidgin, which can be utilised by locals of other languages and other language groups.
If Pidgin survives and evolves enough through inter-native use, it can become a Creole language and replace the native language as a mother tongue for future generations.
Standardization/decreolization – Creole becomes more standardised and structured over time, resulting in a stable language that differs from the original loose Pidgin structures.
Pidgin English is now widely spoken and accepted around the world, particularly in West Africa and Oceania. In 2012, for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations, Prince Charles visited Papua New Guinea, introducing himself as the “Numbawan pikinini bilong Misis Kwin” (or ‘number one child belonging to Mrs Queen’), demonstrating Pidgin’s resilience and longevity (despite its humble beginnings) – if royalty can speak it, Pidgin has come a long way.
To be deemed pidgin, it must be stable and follow norms of meaning, grammar, and pronunciation. Some of its characteristics include a limited vocabulary, the elimination of many grammatical devices such as number and gender
the lack of inflectional and derivational morphemes, the lack of verbal inflection, the loss of prepositions and indicators of time, aspect, and mood, the absence of locative prepositions and plural indicators, and movement rules, among others.
4
1.1.2 Pidgin in the Twenty-first Century
It was recently revealed that most people, particularly students at various Nigerian educational schools, prefer to interact in pidgin when they are in an informal situation. It is also worth noting that Pidgin has managed to earn a position in the corporate sphere.
People switch to Pidgin in the middle of a formal chat to better explain themselves or to provide an example to contrast the message they are attempting to convey. Obafemi Awolowo University is a classic example of a multilingual situation; people from many cultural origins share a room and must communicate.
This group of people prefers to communicate in pidgin whenever they engage in conversations in an informal setting because there are no standard rules governing its usage, as opposed to Standard English, which must follow the rules of concord, syntax, phonology, and semantics, among others.
In other words, they find it more convenient to express themselves in pidgin because they are always careful not to breach the laws of concord, syntax, grammar, and so on.
Akande and Salami (2010) presume that the urban characteristics of university campuses have a significant impact on students’ use and attitudes towards Nigerian Pidgin English. They believe that, in addition to their education, students who live in university towns are more likely to engage in urban networks with multilingual and multicultural content.
It is worth noting that many university students speak Nigerian Pidgin English. Essentially, it might be claimed that Nigerian Pidgin English unifies its users because it is the language of both the educated and the uneducated, regardless of linguistic backgrounds.
According to Akande (2008:38), it might serve as a symbol of identity and togetherness. It is an inter-ethnic code offered to Nigerians who share no other language.
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem
After conducting numerous research processes, it is clear that students at Obafemi Awolowo University feel more at ease while expressing themselves in Pidgin. This study investigates the degree to which Pidgin is used, the different varieties, the gender involved, and the cultural undertone.
Previous research on Pidgin has focused on its origins and qualities. Studies on how it plays a uniting role among its users in a multilingual setting, such as Obafemi Awolowo University halls of residence, have garnered insufficient scholarly attention. This type of research would also highlight the beneficial uses of pidgin in Nigeria.
1.3 Aims and Objectives
The purpose of this study is to describe how pidgin unites inhabitants of the selected halls of residence at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife who come from various linguistic origins. This study aims to investigate unique speech patterns among inhabitants of Moremi and Fajuyi halls.
b. Discuss how pidgin improves communication among selected responders. c. Analyse recorded talks in context of time, mood, and scenario to demonstrate pidgin’s unifying effect.
6
1.4 Significance of the Study
Pidgin is an important code for communication in a multilingual society with many cultural differences that have dominated the day-to-day conversations of Obafemi Awolowo University students.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the frequency with which pidgin is used, the syntactic groups, and the cultural undertone reflected in the type of pidgin used among the students, as well as the purposes for which pidgin is used.
The purpose of this study is not only to describe how pidgin is used, but also to provide a thorough understanding of how pidgin works as a unifying force among students at Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife.
1.5 Assumptions.
Underlying the Study
a. Students utilise a variety of idioms, including local dialects, British English, and Pidgin.
b. Students use Pidgin in many different ways.
c. Pidgin facilitates communication within a multilingual speech community.
1.6 Scope of the Study
There are many different languages in the world, and it is impossible for one person to be skilled in all of them. The Moremi and Awolowo halls of residence at Obafemi Awolowo University are typical instances of multilingual societies.
Pidgin is commonly used during student conversations because most conversations in the academic environment are formal, which limits students’ ability to carefully select words in order to avoid the rigorous processes of Standard British English.
Need help with a related project topic or New topic? Send Us Your Topic