Idioms in Nigeria English

JOURNAL OF ENGLISH STUDIES - VOLUME 7 (2009), 7-22
IDIOMATIC VARIATION IN NIGERIAN ENGLISH: IMPLICATIONS

FOR STANDARDIZATION IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION
DELE ADEYANJU*
University of Ibadan
ABSTRACT. A global phenomenon that involves language use, which has

not been given sufficient attention by researchers, is idiomatic variation. In
this study, we provide a classification of idioms in Nigerian English based on
factors of stability in both formal and colloquial usage, length of usage, and
international intelligibility. We also examine the implications of idiomatic
variation for standardization in the context of globalization. Against the
backdrop of the debate on whether or not the native speakers’ English should be
the sole medium of international communication, this study attempts to explain
the reasons why different varieties of English should be accorded recognition
and allowed to function as media of international communication provided
they meet the condition of international intelligibility. In addition to a general
discussion of idiomatic variation in Nigerian English, the study provides
real examples of idioms in different contexts of communicative performance
targeted at global/transnational audience with a view to addressing the subject
of “contending with globalization in World Englishes”.
Keywords: idiomatic variation, Nigerian English, standardization, international

communication, idiom, globalization.
* Correspondence should be sent to: Dr. Dele Adeyanju. University of Ibadan. Department of English.
Ibadan-Nigeria. E-mail: [email protected]
7 Journal of English Studies,

vol. 7 (2009) 7-22
Journal of english studies.indb 7 07/07/10 10:58

DELE ADEYANJU
VARIACIÓN IDIOMÁTICA EN EL INGLÉS NIGERIANO:

IMPLICACIONES PARA LA ESTANDARIZACIÓN
EN EL CONTEXTO DE LA GLOBALIZACIÓN
RESUMEN. Un fenómeno global que afecta al uso del lenguaje y al que los
investigadores no han prestado suficiente atención es la variación idiomática. En
este estudio, damos una clasificación de frases hechas en inglés nigeriano basadas
en factores de estabilidad tanto en el uso formal como en el coloquial, en el alcance
de su uso, y en su inteligibilidad a nivel internacional. También examinamos las
implicaciones de la variación idomática para su normalización en el contexto de la
globalización. Frente al debate sobre si el inglés de los hablantes nativos debería ser
o no el único medio de comunicación internacional, este estudio intenta explicar
las razones por las que diferentes variedades del inglés deberían ser reconocidas y
permitidas para servir como medios de comunicación internacional siempre que
cumplan con la condición de ser comprensibles a nivel internacional. Además de
una discusión general sobre la variación idomática en inglés nigeriano, el estudio
proporciona ejemplos reales de frases hechas en diferentes contextos de actuación
comunicativa dirigida a un público global/transnacional con miras a abordar el
tema “enfrentarse a la globalización en los ingleses del mundo”.
Palabras clave: variación idiomática, inglés nigeriano, estandarización, comunica-

ción internacional, frase hecha, globalización.
1. INTRODUCTION
This study attempts to examine the implications of Nigerian English idioms

for standardization in the context of globalization. The study focuses on idiomatic
variation – an aspect of Nigerian English that has not been exhaustively addressed
by researchers. Idiomatic variation merits a careful study as it poses serious
pedagogical problems for teachers and learners in an ESL context. The meaning of
an idiom is both figurative and unpredictable. Unless efforts are made to determine
idiomatic expressions in Nigerian English that merit standardization, users of other
varieties will continue to experience difficulties in understanding our variety of
English. This does not augur well for mutual intelligibility in the age of globalization.
Problems associated with lack of mutual intelligibility among speakers of World
Englishes could be tackled with conscious efforts to codify and standardize each
variety. In doing this, considerable attention should be paid to idiomatic variation
with a view to checkmating its negative influence on mutual intelligibility.
Considering the active participation of Nigerians in sub-regional activities
and the growth in the number of foreigners participating in Nigerian economy,
it is imperative that Nigerian English be standardized to cope with the demands
Journal of English Studies, 8

vol. 7 (2009) 7-22

IDIOMATIC VARIATION IN NIGERIAN ENGLISH: IMPLICATIONS FOR STANDARDIZATION IN THE CONTEXT...
of globalization. The issue of standardization of Nigerian English has remained

problematic without a consensus among scholars as to what should be accepted
as standards and what should not. The problem has higher stakes attached to it in
the context of globalization with the dominant role of English in global information
dissemination.
Using idiomatic variation as an illustration, the present study seeks to bring to the
fore the Nigerian/West African perspective which concurs with the World Englishes
(WE) paradigm. An idiom, according to Adegbija (2003: 41), is “any word or group
of words whose meaning cannot be guessed or deduced from the meanings of the
component parts”. The phenomenon of idiom, though universal, has its peculiarities
in different sociolinguistic environments. In other words, it varies from one society to
another owing to factors of culture, influence of the mother tongue and peculiarity
of usage. It is also pertinent to note that idiomatic variation is not the same as lexico-
semantic variation. As rightly stated by Adegbija (2003: 41), several scholars who have
written on lexico-semantic variation in Nigerian English such as Adegbija (1989) and
Bamiro (1994) “have tended to lump up lexical variation with idiomatic variation”
without making any conscious attempt “to make the necessary distinction between
lexical items and idioms”. In an effort to distinguish between lexico-semantic variation
and idiomatic variation, Adegbija (2003: 41) opines, “[…] whereas the meaning of the
lexical items houseboy and house girl in Nigerian English can be easily deduced from
the component parts, the meaning of the idiom, small boy in the sense of ‘someone
who is immature or inexperienced’ […] cannot be easily deduced”. We may also add
that in Nigerian English, while the meanings of the lexical items, bush-meat, go-slow
can easily be deduced from the component parts, the meaning of the idiomatic
expression, khaki boys in the sense of military men and long throat in the sense of
greed cannot be easily deduced.
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
Kachru’s Three Circles Theory on the spread of English talks of the inner
circle, the outer circle and the expanding circle (Kachru 1986). The inner circle,
according to the theory, refers to countries where English is used as L1, e.g. U.K.,
U.S.A., Australia, etc. The inner circle is largely endonormative as speakers find
among themselves the norms of correctness and appropriateness to be propagated
through language education (Bruthiaux 2003). Thus, the inner circle’s English is
norm providing. The ELT prescriptivists would want the entire English-speaking
world to stick to this norm as the medium of international communication. The
outer circle consists of countries where English is used as L2, especially former
British colonial territories, e.g. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, India, etc. In such countries,

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DELE ADEYANJU
English is not only a medium of inter ethnic communication and collaboration;

proficiency in it is seen as a ticket for rising up on the socio-economic ladder.
This circle of English users is said to be norm developing. There is therefore
a gradual shift from exonormative to endonormative in quest of linguistic self-
reliance. In spite of this gradual shift, there exists among English users in this
circle, a perception that Anglo-American norms are somehow superior to their own
variants (Bruthiaux 2003: 2). The expanding circle consists of users of English as a
foreign language (FL). These are countries that are neither in the inner nor in the
outer circles, notably Brazil, Italy, Morocco, etc. Such foreign users of English have
the tendency to be exonormative as they look unto L1 users for linguistic norms.
Since this circle is norm dependent, the idea of seeking for linguistic self-reliance
(which characterizes the outer circle) has not arisen.
Although Kachru’s theory has been criticized on grounds of being “descriptively
and analytically inconsistent” and failing to account for dialectal variation within
each variety of English (Bruthiaux 2003: 3), the theory remains a handy tool for
explaining the spread of English even in the context of globalization, as it accords
hitherto denigrated varieties the needed recognition. The English-speaking world
would have suffered the loss of the innovative capability and communicative
potentials of non-native Englishes if not for Kachru’s Three Circles Theory.
The dominant role of English in the era of globalization remains unquestionable
but it does not have to be a single global English as no language can be used
exactly the same way all over the world and adequately express the socio-cultural
heritage of all its users.
Globalization, according to Fairclough (2000: 165), is “the tendency for
economic, social, political and cultural processes to take place on a global scale
rather than within the confines of particular countries or regions”. This implies
“the universalization of concepts, movements, technology, markets, etc. in the
context of a compressed world” (Awonusi 2004: 85). This however does not
imply the neutralization of cultural peculiarities of different linguistic entities.
Since language is an expression of culture, it becomes unavoidable for L2 users of
English to bring in innovations that give expression to their cultural heritage. As
rightly opined by Bamgbose (1998: 1), “a non-native English situation is basically
an innovative situation involving certain well-known processes of Nativization”.
Adegbija (2004: 23-29) explicates different levels of domestication (Nativization)
of English in Nigeria. They include lexical domestication, idiomatic domestication,
phonological domestication, grammatical/syntactic domestication, pragmatic/
cultural domestication and semantic domestication. The present study focuses on
idiomatic domestication as seen in the following data.

vol. 7 (2009) 7-22

3. DATA PRESENTATION
Adegbija (2003: 42-46) presents an inventory of one hundred and two Nigerian
English idioms. Although the list is by no means exhaustive of all idioms in the
repertoire of Nigerian English, it contains most of the well known idioms whose
usage cuts across different geo-political zones of the country. The present study
utilizes this list but provides additionally a classification of the idioms in the list
based on stability in both formal and colloquial usage and restriction to colloquial
usage. Another classification done is on the basis of age (length of usage), and
international intelligibility. In addition we present real examples in communicative
performance targeted at global/transnational audience. Thus we have illustrations
I to VI as follows:
NO. IDIOM MEANING

1. public dog a woman who is sexually liberal
2. son of the soil an indigene of a place
3. kola a bribe
4. to be sick upstairs someone who appears deranged
in speech or behaviour
5. carry over a course in an institution that has
to be repeated
6. to observe a wake-keeping to have an evening but usually
night program in honour of a
dead person
7. not to be on seat not to be available in the office
8. to let someone land to allow someone to conclude a
particular argument or statement
9. to take in to become pregnant
10. to join one’s ancestors to die
11. to carry out an introduction to have a formal presentation of
a bridegroom and his relations to
the bride and her relations

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DELE ADEYANJU
12. to branch to have a brief stop over at

another place apart from one’s
intended destination
13. to chase a girl to woo a girl
14. to escort a guest to see the guest off
15. to put to bed to give birth to a baby
16. to be a 419 to be a dupe
17. national cake the common wealth belonging
to all Nigerians from which
everyone should have a share
18. to send off or send forth to arrange a farewell program for
a person
19. go-slow traffic jam
20. tokunbo fairly used or second hand item
21. black market any illegal transactions
22. to put hands together to clap
23. to go in search of greener pasture to seek better economic
opportunities
24. minimum wage the basic salary paid to workers
25. a hit and run any person who hits another
with a vehicle without waiting
to see what has happened or to
take care of the injured person,
etc.
Illustration I. Idioms that are fairly stable in both formal and colloquial usage.
NO. IDIOM MEANING

1. wetin you carry any policeman
2. to have a siddon look attitude to watch the course of events
without being involved

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3. I dey kampe I am unmoved by the ranting of

my opponents
4. to smell pepper to be given a very rough deal
5. long leg the use of undue influence to
achieve a goal
6. a man of timber and caliber a man of tremendous social,
political and economic influence
7. to settle a person to bribe
8. to wet the ground to provide prior gratification or
bribe that makes a later course of
action or conduct smooth
9. to step aside to temporarily vacate a position,
particularly an uncomfortable
one, with the intention of
returning to it at a more
auspicious time
10. to hit to suddenly make great wealth
11. to take a machine, bike, okada, etc to ride on a commuter
motorcycle
12. to wash to celebrate an achievement
13. to be untouched to be a virgin
14. the Aninis the armed robbers
15. woman wrapper one who is excessively fond of
women
16. to shack oneself dry to be drunk
17. a letter bomb a heart breaking news
18. a no-man’s land something that belongs to
nobody or to everybody
19. Toronto fake
20. black assurance native medicine

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DELE ADEYANJU
21. Casanova any lady who is reputed to be a

flirt
22. Rambo convoy a gang of armed robbers
23. to eye a person to seduce
24. to be in soup to be involved in a big problem
25. bedsharer an illicit sexual partner
26. sweet sixteen a good-looking lady looking
younger than her age
Illustration II. Idioms that are restricted mainly to colloquial usage.
NO. IDIOM MEANING

1. son of the soil an indigene of a place
2. been-to someone who has been abroad
before
3. to smell pepper to be given a raw deal
4. cash madam a lady who flaunts her wealth in
appearance and perhaps speech
5. bottom power a woman who can use her
feminine charm and sexuality to
influence others
6. long leg the use of undue influence
7. to branch to have a brief stop over
8. to take in to be pregnant
9. to carry out an introduction to have a formal presentation of
the bridegroom and his relation
to the bride’s relations
10. to chase a girl to woo a girl
11. to take the light to make a power cut

vol. 7 (2009) 7-22

12. tokunbo fairly used or second hand

13. to put hands together to clap
14. to be stinkingly rich to be excessively rich
15. to go to the great beyond to die
16. to join one’s ancestors to die
17. a man of timber and caliber a man of tremendous social,
political and economic influence
18. to observe a wake-keeping to have an evening program in
honour of a dead person
19. not to be on seat not to be available in the office
20. to let someone land to allow someone to conclude
his verbal contribution
21. to wet the ground to provide prior gratification or
bribe that makes a course of
action or conduct smooth
22. to change gear to abruptly change a policy or
known norms of behaviour, etc.
Illustration III. Idioms that have been consistently used for a very long time in
Nigerian English.
NO. IDIOM MEANING

1. to be kudied to be killed or assassinated for
taking a notable stand opposed
by the powers that be
2. to have a siddon look attitude to watch the course of events
without being involved
3. I dey kampe I am unmoved by the ranting of
my opponents
4. Toronto anything suspected to be fake
5. to be untouched to be untouched: to be a virgin

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DELE ADEYANJU
6. a letter bomb A letter bomb: any heart

breaking news
7. Rambo convoy Rambo convoy: a gang of armed
robbers
8. to be wade To be wade: to have plenty of,
especially money
9. an Aso Rock a heavily fortified and
impenetrable building
10. a maradona a dribbler or one who mystifies
others by virtue of his deceptive
and wily skills
11. to step aside to temporarily vacate a position,
particularly an uncomfortable
one, with the intention of
returning to it at a more
auspicious time
12. woman wrapper one who is excessively fond of
women
Illustration IV. Idioms that are fairly recent in Nigerian English.
NO. IDIOM MEANING

1. to cope up with to cope with
2. to round up to round off
3. to voice out to voice
4. to recite off-head to recite off-hand
5. to discuss about to discuss
6. to congratulate for to congratulate on
7. to comprise of to comprise
8. to vanish away to vanish
9. to be at alert to be on the alert

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10. to eat one’s cake and have it instead of to have one’s cake and
eat it
11. to have more grease to one’s elbow more power to one’s elbow
12. to explain off to explain away
Illustration V. Idioms that share the same semantic sense with similar native English idioms.
NO. IDIOM SOURCE CONTEXT

1. ….dancing around M.K.O. Abiola, on the BBC interview (1993)
the well and not annulment of the 1993
daring to jump…. Presidential election
2. Abacha was all Gani Fawehinmi, in V.O.A. interview
evil; he killed reference to Arch shortly after Abacha’s
SaroWiwa…; Bishop Olubunmi death in 1998.
whoever said Abacha Okogie’s claim that
had any good side Abacha ‘had his own
should have his head good side’
examined
3. We’ll hold vigil for Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti Reaction to the death
Lucky Dube at the of Lucky Dube, a
Africa shrine notable South African
artist (2007)
4. …We should keep Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti Reaction to Lucky
the flag of oneness, Dube’s death (2007)
resilience and
excellence flying
which Lucky Dube
represented
5. Lucky was one of Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti Reaction to Lucky
the Shining Lights in Dube’s death (2007)
Africa
6. He started from Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti Reaction to Lucky
nothing, weathered Dube’s death (2007)
the horrifying storm
of life and became
a phenomenon in
world music

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DELE ADEYANJU
7. London Metropole Nigerian Tribune, Newspaper’s caption

Hotel stands still for Wednesday 14th on an award night for
Nigerian Artistes November 2007 artists in London
8. The new image is a Mike Abiola, Editor of At an award night for
challenge to us to African Voice News- artistes in London in
continue to build paper November 2007
bridges with African
films
9. Our youths are now Governor Ikedi Keynote address
too much in a hurry Ohakim of Imo State, at the 13th Igbo
to make it Nigeria World Congress in
Detroit, Michigan
U.S.A. (Saturday
Sun Newspaper
(22/9/2007).
10. If we revere Governor Ikedi Same as above
hardwork then we Ohakim of Imo State,
must never worship Nigeria
sudden unexplained
wealth
11. Here today, we burn Governor Ikedi Same as above
and consign to the Ohakim of Imo State,
dustbin of history the Nigeria
memory and guilty
legacy of the civil
war…
12. You can never cure Governor Ikedi Same as above
a disease you do not Ohakim
know
Illustration VI. Real examples of idioms in communicative performance

targeted at global/transnational audience.
4. DATA ANALYSIS
Illustration I above presents examples of idioms that are fairly stable in both
formal and colloquial usage. Idioms such as “public dog”, “kola”, “to take in”, “to
put to bed”, “to escort a guest”, etc. are commonly used in both formal and informal
contexts in Nigeria. Their usage also cuts across different geo-political zones of the

vol. 7 (2009) 7-22

country. Their usage across different contexts and geo-political zones for a long time
is a testimony to their social acceptability. Most idioms in this category may stand
the test of time if considered as candidates for standard Nigerian English idioms.
Illustration II presents examples of Nigerian English idioms whose usage
is restricted mainly to colloquial contexts. Thus we have in this category, pidgin
expressions such as “I dey kampe” (attributed to former President Obasanjo); “siddon
look” (attributed to the late Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige); “wetin you carry”
(attributed to policemen at check points); and other expressions such as “a man
of timber and caliber” (attributed to the late Dr K. O. Mbadiwe); “to step aside”
(attributed to former military ruler, General Babangida); “to wet the ground” (derived
from Yoruba idiom (d’omi si’le ko tele tutu) etc. Idioms in this category are hardly
used in formal contexts. Although their usage cuts across different geo-political
zones, their restriction to colloquial usage may limit their chances of being admitted
into the candidacy of standard Nigerian English idioms.
Illustration III presents examples of idioms that have been consistently used
for a very long time in Nigerian English. Such idioms as “son of the soil”, “bottom
power”, “to take in”, “tokunbo”, “to put hands together”, “to be stinkingly rich”, etc.
have not only existed for long in Nigerian English, their usage cuts across different
geo-political zones as well as contexts of usage. The age-old existence of the idioms
in this category implies their stability in Nigerian English and subsequently, the
likelihood of their being accepted as candidates of standard Nigerian English idioms.
Illustration IV presents more or less the opposite of Illustration III in terms
of age or length of usage. The existence of this class of idioms is fairly recent
and their stability in Nigerian English cannot be guaranteed for now as some of
them remain unpopular with the vast majority of the Nigerian elite. Thus, idioms
such as “to be kudied” (attributed to the assassination of Mrs. Kudirat Abiola);
“Toronto” (attributed to the fake certificate of Third Republic Speaker of the House
of Representative, Alhaji Buhari who claimed (falsely) to have graduated from the
University of Toronto); “Maradona” (referring to a dribbler or one who mystifies
others by virtue of his deceptive and wily skills), etc. may be confined to colloquial
usage and as such, not be admitted into the candidacy of standard Nigerian English
idioms until they have gained more popularity among the elite.
Illustration V presents examples of idioms referred to by Adegbija (2003: 46) as
sharing: the same semantic sense with similar idioms in native English contexts but
are structurally or lexically different from their exact native equivalents, sometimes
by the use of a different verbal particle or a different lexical item. Thus expressions
such as “to cope up with” (instead of to cope with); “to round up” (instead of to
round off); “to voice out” (instead of to voice) etc. which are probably derived from
their native English equivalents but structurally modified to reflect Nigerian usage
have not only existed for long in Nigerian English, they are very popular among

vol. 7 (2009) 7-22

DELE ADEYANJU
the Nigerian elite of different geo-political zones. Idioms in this category have
an additional advantage of mutual intelligibility with speakers of English in other
nations due to their similarity with native English idioms. They therefore stand the
chance of being accepted as good candidates of standard Nigerian English idioms.
Illustration VI presents different contexts of communicative performance in
which Nigerian English idioms feature. Such contexts include interviews on British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA) as well as speeches
involving prominent Nigerians targeted at global/transnational audience. Such
idiomatic expressions as “dancing round the well and not daring to jump” (by M.K.O.
Abiola); “should have his head examined” (by Gani Fawehinmi); “the shining light
in Africa” (by Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti); “never worship sudden, unexplained wealth”
(by Ikedi Ohakim), etc. might be problematic for users of other varieties of English
if no efforts are made to standardize Nigerian English.
5. IMPLICATIONS OF IDIOMATIC VARIATION IN NIGERIAN ENGLISH
In the past, several scholars queried the authenticity of Nigerian English as

a legitimate dialect of the English language, but over the years, such scholars
realized the existence of regional variations of English usage. This realization has
invariably doused the controversy over the acceptability or otherwise of Nigerian
English. However, the problem that remains unsolved till date is the question of
standardization of Nigerian English. We cannot talk of standard Nigerian English if
no efforts are made to standardize the idiomatic expressions peculiar to it. Idiomatic
variation in Nigerian English has implications for formal usage, age (length of
usage) social acceptability and international intelligibility particularly in the context
of globalization.
6. IMPLICATIONS FOR NORMAL USE
Idioms that are used not just as colloquial expressions but in formal contexts
could be considered standard while those whose usage is restricted to informal
contexts cannot be accepted as standard. The reason for this is that such idioms that
are used in formal contexts such as in literary works and official documents have
the tendency to be permanently entrenched in the language due to their apparent
acceptance by the elite and their expanded role (employed for both formal and
colloquial usage) while the idioms that are restricted to colloquial usage may not
remain permanent in the language due to their restricted usage. Illustration I of our
data is therefore proposed as representing a class of standard Nigerian English idioms
while Illustration II represents a class of idioms that cannot be accepted as standard.

vol. 7 (2009) 7-22

7. IMPLICATIONS FOR AGE OR LENGTH OF USAGE
Idioms that are as old as Nigerian English cannot be divorced from our variety
of English. They have been able to stand the test of time and their stability remains
unquestionable. Such idioms as we have in Illustration III should therefore be
considered standard, while idioms that are recent in Nigerian English such as we
have in Illustration IV cannot be considered standard as no one knows how stable
they will be in Nigerian English.
8. IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTELLIGIBILITY
Idioms that share the same semantic sense with native English idioms as
exemplified in Illustration V should be considered standard as their usage enhances
international intelligibility – a most crucial factor of English usage in the age of
globalization. Communicating with international economic partners such as China,
ECOWAS and OPEC member nations makes international intelligibility mandatory.
In fact, any idiom that impedes effective communication with nationals of other
countries should not be accepted as standard Nigerian English idioms.
9. IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY
Idioms that have not enjoyed social acceptability across cultures and geo-political
zones should not be accepted as standard Nigerian English idioms. Examples such
as “to hit”, “to shack oneself dry”, “black assurance” (Illustration II), “to be kudied”,
“Toronto” (Illustration IV), etc. have not enjoyed a reasonable degree of social
acceptability especially among the Nigerian elite. They should therefore not be
accepted as standard Nigerian English idioms.
9. CONCLUSION
In this study, efforts have been made to classify the idioms in Nigerian
English into different classes with a view to determining which of them could be
recommended as standard and which could not. The study observes that idioms
that are stable in formal usage and those that satisfy the condition of international
intelligibility are suitable for inclusion in standard Nigerian English idioms. The
same applies to idioms that have the same semantic sense with native English
idioms but structurally different from their exact native English equivalents. The
study also reveals that in the context of globalization, idiomatic variation has
implications for standardization in the areas of age (length of usage), degree of
formal usage, social acceptability and international intelligibility.

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DELE ADEYANJU
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JOURNAL OF ENGLISH STUDIES - VOLUME 7 (2009), 7-22

IDIOMATIC VARIATION IN NIGERIAN ENGLISH: IMPLICATIONS

ABSTRACT. A global phenomenon that involves language use, which has

Keywords: idiomatic variation, Nigerian English, standardization, international

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VARIACIÓN IDIOMÁTICA EN EL INGLÉS NIGERIANO:

Palabras clave: variación idiomática, inglés nigeriano, estandarización, comunica-

This study attempts to examine the implications of Nigerian English idioms

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of globalization. The issue of standardization of Nigerian English has remained

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English is not only a medium of inter ethnic communication and collaboration;

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NO. IDIOM MEANING

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12. to branch to have a brief stop over at

NO. IDIOM MEANING

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3. I dey kampe I am unmoved by the ranting of

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21. Casanova any lady who is reputed to be a

Illustration II. Idioms that are restricted mainly to colloquial usage.

NO. IDIOM MEANING

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12. tokunbo fairly used or second hand

NO. IDIOM MEANING

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6. a letter bomb A letter bomb: any heart

Illustration IV. Idioms that are fairly recent in Nigerian English.

NO. IDIOM MEANING

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NO. IDIOM SOURCE CONTEXT

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7. London Metropole Nigerian Tribune, Newspaper’s caption

Illustration VI. Real examples of idioms in communicative performance

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5. IMPLICATIONS OF IDIOMATIC VARIATION IN NIGERIAN ENGLISH

In the past, several scholars queried the authenticity of Nigerian English as

6. IMPLICATIONS FOR NORMAL USE

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7. IMPLICATIONS FOR AGE OR LENGTH OF USAGE

8. IMPLICATIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL INTELLIGIBILITY

9. IMPLICATIONS FOR SOCIAL ACCEPTABILITY