GRAMMAR AND THE GRAMMATICALITY OF NIGERIA ENGLISH BASED PIDGIN IN OWERRI AREA
Abstract
This paper discusses pidgin as it is used in Owerri Area in Imo State Nigeria, it defines pidgin as a contact language; an interplay between two or more languages from the source language to the target language. Various definitions of pidgin are explicated in the paper. It defines grammar as a set of rules governing a language in both the spoken and written form. It also draws its strength from the grammaticality of a language which is the various forms and applications of these grammar rules. The Nigeria English Based Pidgin (NEBP) of which Owerri manifestation is at the core of the paper is examined. The first part of this paper is theory based while the second part of the paper is laden with grammatical applications. Core examples are given in phonology, morphology, syntax and semantics. This paper is anchored on Gile’s accommodation theory of 1970 which postulate that there should be adjustment in communication to accommodate interlocutors to enhance mutual intelligibility in a stretch of discourse. We found that phonological laws are loose, the syntax rules are not rigid while morphological rules are not strict but meaning is usually assured, we conclude by saying that a little bit of academic discipline should be brought into Nigeria English Based Pidgin(NEBP) since it is now widely used for news broadcast and advertorials even on sensitive national issues like electioneering campaigns, national census censitization even Health issues like EBOLA and COVID-19 campaign or awareness Nigeria English base pidgin is not left out.
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