FEATURES OF NIGERIAN ENGLISH:

Introduction
Now I will be talking about some interesting features of Nigerian English. Nigerian English
grammar emanated because of the necessity of the users to categorize phenomena and
distinctions from their reality that British English did not include in its existing
vocabulary.
This event has also developed the Nigerian Pidgin English, which is very widespread.

Phonology:
● The absence of a consonant cluster. It is common to find consonant deletion among
Nigerian English language learners. For instance, the /l/ sound in the words
‘example’, ‘help’ or ‘mental’, look how he says ’semicircle’,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWNWLBFmTNo&t=365s 7:09, the l is deleted
from his pronunciation, or look how she says doctor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixP5semb1S8 16:42, the omission of the c in the
group /kt/ is obvious.
In Received Pronunciation counts clearly with the consonants cluster in words such
as: helped /lpt/, next /kst/, crisps /sps/
Example in the presentation.

● Non-rhotic, which we have seen before and (make open question about what it is)
the “r” in words such as “car” or “art” is not pronounced.
​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIf82HTIYe8 2:23 Here you see that she omitted
the “r”. Or here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Cn67veiMvQ 2:34 look how she
says ‘turkey’, she omitted the ‘r’.
Maybe you might notice that this is something similar with Received Pronunciation
since they are non-rhotic too.

Syntactic
● Use of double subjects: The man he is happy / Me I don have money.
In Received Pronunciation the correct form is “The man is happy” or “I don’t have
money”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcIcVapfqXw 2:29
This song that you sure know of Rema, who is Nigerian, can hear how he says “As
me I wake up na she dey my mind” using a double subject.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FK2-1B1ryg 0:33 ‘Me I no dey bother’

● Besides, there is a feature which is about reduplication such as well well, big big or
fine fine. Ex: Dis food sweet well well.
In RP, there is not the existence of this kind of phenomena, to say something like
this, you just say thay: This food is delicious.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soRXAbUiVoo&t=157s 3:16 Here she says, listen
well-well and she explains that it is like to require paying attention or to be listening
properly.
Vocabulary and idioms:
● Use of some idioms: Such as ‘K-leg’, in which Received Pronunciation is known as
‘knock knee’. But in Nigerian English it is used to express more than this, it is also
used in a figurative way to say that something has gone awry or wrong. E.g: ‘His
plans have developed K-leg’.
Another idiom is ‘to have long legs’ which means that you are close to people who
have power or you have good connection with ‘high places’. E.g: ‘I went to that
exclusive restaurant because I have long legs. ‘I couldn’t enter this University even
though I passed the exam and I don’t have long legs either’.
Received Pronunciation counts with many idioms too such as ‘a walk in the park’,
‘like two peas in a pod’, ‘it is raining cats and dogs’ or ‘through thick and thin’.

● The transfer: this refers to the transfer of the meaning, culture and sense of the
native languages of Nigeria into English, or making a reinterpretation of existing
meanings in English that is more reasonable in Nigerian English.
E.g: In Received Pronunciation it is said “She understands English” but in Nigerian it
is ‘She hears English’. 'Big man’ has the sense of ‘wealthy man or woman’ E.g: ‘He
got a good job and became a big man’. E.g: ‘junior’ in the sense of ‘younger’ in
Received Pronunciation ‘she is my younger sister’. E.g: ‘sick upstairs’ in the sense of
‘insane’ or ‘crazy’.

ACTIVITY
To end up, we want you to make a survey as an activity, you only have to scan the QR code
on the screen and answer the question, then we will see the key answers.