A STUDY OF SYNTAX OF NIGERIAN PIDGIN AND CREOLE

Abstract

Nigerian Pidgin is indisputably the most efficient means of inter-ethnic communication among the densely, culturally and linguistically heterogeneous people of Nigeria. Nigerian Pidgin has nativized and expanded in some parts of the country. In these areas, it has creolized and become the first language of some speech communities. These languages have been viewed as inferior languages that do not have regular pattern in terms of syntax. This paper therefore adds and agrees to existing studies that Nigerian Pidgin does have syntax. Data were generated mostly from a library research, while few others were got randomly from a daily observation of Nigerian Pidgin used by students of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The study is based on the systemic-functional grammar. The findings of the research proved that Nigerian Pidgin does have pattern in sentence formation. It is recommended that Nigerian Pidgin be accorded the respect of a fully fledged language.