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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 737 – 742

GlobELT: An International Conference on Teaching and Learning English as an Additional

Language, Antalya - Turkey

Investigating the preference for pidgin instead of Standard English

by students of English as a foreign language
Martha A Onjewua, Agnes A Okpeb*
a
Department of languages, College of Administrative Studies and Social Science, Kaduna Polytechnic, Kaduna, 800246, Nigeria
b
Department of Languages,Kaduna, 800001, Nigeria

Abstract

The claim of Ghani, Ataman & Egele (2012, p.321) that “students’ common language of discourse, interaction and entertainment
is always Pidgin . . . never Standard English generated the curiosity to undertake this study. The purpose of the study was to
determine the factors responsible for students’ preference for pidgin English with a view to come up with the strategies to
minimize if not eradicate the factors in order to pave way for a better mastery of Standard English. The study engaged the survey
design involving the administration of a set of questionnaire on students. Data obtained were interpreted using frequency counts
and context analysis. The findings suggest that majority of students come from backgrounds where Pidgin English dominates. A
further finding was the inadequacy of the time allocated to the teaching of Standard English in schools. The discussions of the
study noted that the factors identified in the findings are difficult to tackle because they are beyond the control of learning
institutions since students are mostly none residents and it is impossible to impose rules pertaining to students’ language of
communication beyond the classroom. The conclusion was that although difficult, the problem should be resolved.
Recommendations made included the increase in the time allocation for English language teaching in schools, establishment of
adult literacy centres and hosting of sensitization workshops in schools to create awareness of the situation and ways to restore
Standard English.

© 2015
© 2015 The
TheAuthors.
Authors.Published
Publishedby
byElsevier
ElsevierLtd.
Ltd.This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Hacettepe Universitesi.
Peer-review under responsibility of Hacettepe Üniversitesi.
Keywords: pidgin, common language, Standard English, preference

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected]

1877-0428 © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer-review under responsibility of Hacettepe Üniversitesi.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.07.605
738 Martha A. Onjewu and Agnes A. Okpe / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 737 – 742

1. Introduction

Nigeria is a multilingual country with a population of approximately 150 million (Danladi, 2013). The first
contact that Nigeria had with the English language was necessitated by the visit of some British merchants who later
became her colonial master (Adegbite, 2003). Presently, it is surprising that Pidgin has overtaken Standard English
which was first introduced to Nigeria, perhaps, as a result of the heterogeneous nature of the country (Egbokhare,
2001) and it is quite interesting to note that what actually started as a “contingency language” then has now become
“an elitist campus language” spoken among the teeming population of Nigerian students in higher institutions of
learning. In other words, pidgin which, Quirk, Greenbeaum, Leech & Svartvik, (1985, p.28) posited as “the
traditional interference used chiefly by the prosperous and privileged sections of a community”, represented by the
unskilled and illiterate class of society is now being proudly spoken by students of tertiary institutions on campuses
and the situation is not different in many other formal institutions like business premises, social and even formal
gatherings; in short, these days, there is no time and place where pidgin is not spoken deliberately.
So far, Pidgin is a language accepted and recognized though unofficially by Nigerians at all levels of education
and classes as a language that is effective for communication. The reason for such a development may not be far
from the thinking of Egbokhare (2001) as well as Ugot and Afolabi (2011) that Pidgin thrives in a linguistically
heterogeneous environment which of course is the situation in Nigeria where about 500 hundred indigenous
languages exist (Mark, 2012).
There is now what is called Nigerian Pidgin English which is a version of English and ethnic Nigerian languages
spoken as a kind of lingua franca across Nigeria and is referred to simply as “Pidgin”, “Broken English” or
“Broken”. It is estimated that Nigerian Pidgin English is the native language of approximately 3 to 5 million people
and is a second language for at least another 75 million. Hence, a pidgin operates as a de facto lingua franca, a
bridge between social classes, ethnicities and educational levels. Pidgin has a wider reach than Standard English
(Mark, 2012).

1.1. Statement of the problem

The official language for formal or official communication as well as teaching and learning from the upper
primary school in Nigeria is Standard English. Ideally, at the tertiary level of education such as the Polytechnics and
Universities, students are expected to have mastered Standard English. However, what obtains is a predominance of
spoken Pidgin English and very poor written Standard English language command. Many times, students have to be
cautioned against speaking Pidgin English to lecturers or to one another in the Lecture room. At times, soon after
being cautioned, the students revert to speaking Pidgin which from all indications they are more comfortable with as
confirmed by Abdullahi-Idiagbon (2010, p. 50) “As once a student at various times in a College of Education and
Universities as well as a lecturer at a College of Education, Polytechnic and presently at a University, I have
observed both as a student and a lecturer, how students use pidgin-English in different circumstances as a means of
communication”. Meanwhile, such a situation is an anomaly because it lacks any potential in the ability to show that
students are being well schooled as well as not enhancing their mastery of the Standard English language as
expected.
In a related study conducted Ghani, Ataman & Egele (2012) found out that all teachers interviewed were
disappointed with the falling standard of English Language… and feared that if the trend continued, the role of
Standard English as medium of instruction will be replaced by Pidgin while the students involved in the same study
expressed the desire to continue speaking Pidgin.
The foregoing trends call for urgent intervention which is the crux of the matter in this present study.

1.2. Purpose of the study

A casual walk around the premises of any tertiary institution in Nigeria confirms the predominance of Pidgin
over Standard English language among students these days but one of the aspects of the situation that requires
research attention is the determination of the factors responsible for such a development with a view to minimize if
not abolish such factors responsible completely. Given the expected roles of Standard English in Nigeria as the
 Martha A. Onjewu and Agnes A. Okpe / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 737 – 742 739

official language of education, governance, commerce and industry, international communication, media, science
and technology, law and legal drafting as well as social interaction ( Bamgbose in Adedimeji, 2000) such a situation
should not be allowed to go on without a check bearing in mind the consequences of the situation; Nigerians would
continue to demonstrate a poor mastery of the Standard English Language; continue to lack the ability to adequately
comprehend spoken and written Standard English and lose the already acquired proficiency in Standard English as a
result of not speaking it often enough.

1.3. Significance of the study

x Investigating the causes of students’ preference for pidgin instead of Standard English as done in this paper could
facilitate further action to be taken in order to revise the trend.
x By eradicating or minimizing the causes of students’ preference for Pidgin instead of Standard English, a better
atmosphere would be created for an improved mastery of Standard English as well as all other courses and study
materials taught and written in Standard English.
x A better mastery of Standard English on its part could enhance students’ knowledge of school curriculum and
place them on a better pedestal to communicate better nationally and internationally.
x Completing the questionnaire for this study could make students realise the extent of their involvement with
Pidgin English which could spark off the zeal in some of them to revise the trend for good.

1.4. Research questions

This study was guided by the following research questions:

1. At what places do students prefer to speak Pidgin instead of Standard English?
2. What are the causes of students’ preference for Pidgin instead of Standard English?
3. What measures could be taken to minimize or completely eradicate students’ preference for Pidgin instead of
Standard English?

2. Methodology

This study engaged a survey research design by utilizing a questionnaire containing 10 items designed and
administered on a thousand students randomly selected from three tertiary institutions in Kaduna, Nigeria, namely
Kaduna State University, Kaduna Polytechnic and Good Shepherd Major Seminary. The questionnaire contained
direct and open ended questions which sought the view of students on whether they spoke Pidgin English regularly,
to their colleagues in school, friends outside of school, their family at home and everywhere. The questionnaire also
requested the students to state whether they realised that speaking Pidgin English could hamper their mastery of
Standard English and if they would have preferred to be taught in Pidgin English in addition to asking them to list
all the occasions when they spoke Pidgin Instead of Standard English as well as the reasons for their preference to
speak Pidgin instead of Standard English. The data obtained were analyzed using frequency counts and context
analysis.

2.1. Presentation and analyses of data.

Table 1: Responses to questionnaire items 1 - 5

S / No Questionnaire Item Response Yes % No %

Frequency
1. Do you speak Pidgin English regularly? 975 345 35 630 65
2. Do you prefer to speak Pidgin English in class to your 975 150 15 825 85
classmates?
3. Do you prefer to speak Pidgin English at home to your family 975 465 48 510 52
740 Martha A. Onjewu and Agnes A. Okpe / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 737 – 742

members?
4. Do you prefer to speak Pidgin English outside of school to your 975 585 59 390 41
Friends?
5. Are you given adequate time to learn Standard English? 975 45 5 930 95
6. If possible, will you prefer to speak Pidgin instead of Standard 975 135 14 840 86
English everywhere?
7. Do you realise that speaking Pidgin could affect your mastery 975 915 94 60 6
of Standard English?
8. If you have a choice, will you prefer to be taught at school in 975 90 9 885 91
Pidgin instead of Standard English?

The data contained in the table above could be interpreted to mean that majority of respondents representing
65%, 85% and 52% denied their preference to speak Pidgin more regularly than Standard English, to classmates and
to family members, respectively.
On the other hand, the majority of them confirmed their preference to speak Pidgin to friends outside of school
and everywhere to the tune of 59% and 86% respectively. These responses confirm the natural observation of these
researchers as well as the claim by Abdullahi-Idiagbon (2010) and Ghani, Ataman & Egele (2012) that students’
common language of discussion is always Pidgin.
Meanwhile, 95% of the respondents posited that they were not given adequate time to learn Standard English,
94% of them accepted that speaking Pidgin English could affect their learning of Standard English and 91% of them
ascertained that they would like to continue being taught at school in Standard English.
To sum up these results, we opine that the acceptance of item 6 in the questionnaire by the respondents says it all;
if possible, they would prefer to speak Pidgin instead of Standard English everywhere. Their earlier denial might
have been because they realised the uselessness of their preference for Pidgin and hence the acceptance by 94% of
them of the awareness that Speaking of Pidgin could affect their mastery of Standard English and the choice by 91%
of them to be taught in Standard English.
Item 9 on the questionnaire requested respondents to list all the occasions when they prefer to speak Pidgin
instead of Standard English to which they gave the following responses:
At home
While chatting with friends
With people who do not understand Standard English
Outside of the classroom
Informal environments
In the market
When cracking jokes
On social media: Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter
With family members
In church
At parties

These responses obtained further confirmed that the respondents preferred to speak Pidgin nearly “everywhere”
contrary to their earlier denial in items 1, 2 and 3 of the questionnaire.
Item 10 on the questionnaire requested respondents to list all the reasons why they prefer to speak Pidgin instead
of Standard English to which they gave the following:

To fit in
To communicate easily with people who do not understand Standard English
It makes communication effective
Because Standard English is rigid
Because most people understand Pidgin English
There is no fear of making a grammatical error
 Martha A. Onjewu and Agnes A. Okpe / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 199 (2015) 737 – 742 741

Easy to learn; no rules governing it.

It is entertaining

To determine the cause of the preference of the respondents for Pidgin instead of Standard English was the crux
of the matter in this research and from the reasons listed above the main cause that could be deduced is mass
illiteracy which is still prevalent in Nigeria. Mass literacy is responsible for the limited people with access to the
learning of Standard English or being at official meetings of institutions and associations, conferences, workshops
and seminars where deliberations must hold in Standard English.
Relatedly, as a result of mass illiteracy, majority of the people who relate with the respondents are found
“everywhere” and in order for the respondents to communicate effectively with them or to “fit in” or “carry
everybody along” as they put it, pidgin is the better choice because “there is no fear of making grammatical errors”,
“it is easy to learn”, “it makes communication effective” and “there are no rules governing it”. Also, the respondents
claimed that speaking Pidgin is fun and it is entertaining as well, surprisingly!

3. Conclusion

The findings above suggest that majority of respondents come from backgrounds where Pidgin English
dominates and attested to the inadequacy of the time allocated to the teaching of Standard English in schools
alongside factors which are difficult to tackle because they are beyond the control of learning institutions since
students are mostly none residents and it is impossible to impose rules pertaining to students’ language of
communication beyond the classroom. However, the claim that Pidgin is easier and that it has no rules are not
reasonable because when Standard English is well learnt, it is easy to speak as well and its rules become none issue.
In fact, there should be no excuse for the replacement of Standard English with Pidgin, considering the roles of
Standard English, nationally and internationally.

4. Recommendations

x Government, curriculum planners and school authorities should look into ways of increasing the time allocated
for English language teaching in schools to enable a better mastery of it since outside school, students have
minimal places and people with whom to speak Standard English.
x Government and non-governmental agencies should make the establishment of adult literacy centres a priority in
order to cater for the need of adult education in general as well as the teaching of Standard English to adult
learners.
x Teachers of English language should be constantly retrained to keep abreast of best practices in the teaching of
English Language so that the time available for teaching of Standard English would be put to more judicious use.
x There is still need for the Government of Nigeria at all levels to establish more schools to increase school
enrollment of the populace.
x Educational associations and learning institutions should host sensitization workshops in schools to create an
awareness of the situation and look into other ways to restore Standard English.
x English language teachers should go the extra mile to be dedicated to their job in such a way as will make the
study of the language interesting to students.
x Also, teachers of English language should join hands with their school authorities to initiate the means for the
restoration of Standard English to its rightful place.

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Danladi, S.S. (2013). Language Policy: Nigeria and the role or English Language in The 21st Century. European Scientific Journal 9 (17) 4 – 16
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