Proving The Standard Of The English Spoken In Nigeria
And it's relevance to linguistics
In my previous article, which can be found here,
I made a case for an emerging English which many are yet to come to terms with called Nigerian English.
As a student of the English language, I am pretty much aware that language variants must pass certain criteria before such can be called a dialect. This process is called language standardization.
Since the English spoken in Nigeria has existed in its right, I may be correct to say that the concept of “standard English” is somewhat ambiguous and a direct and deliberate creation of society to establish a class and standard for a language. This, as Hudson (1980:32) posits, is a deliberate attempt to reduce variations in language by standardizing dialects.
It is typical for society to create unnecessary classes.
Academically, Scholars have agreed on the existence of American and British standard English, despite their phonological and grammatical variations. However, some have dismissed the notion of standard Nigerian English as a rapidly growing variety. For example, what is referred to as British Standard English is nothing more than the idiosyncratic usage of the language by the English royal family and by the political, intellectual, literary, and media elite of the country (see Wales, 1994).
If Wales considers standard British as the idiosyncratic usage of the upper class, it begs the question as to why standard Nigerian English, spoken by the political and educated class with international intelligibility, is not accepted as a standard variety.
However, I share the sentiment that the rejection of standard Nigerian English is more discriminatory than pure academic proof. In my view, Nigerian English has met all the criteria of language standardization, as I shall demonstrate shortly. Odumuh is right to say that: “our position is that there exists at the moment a single superordinate variety of standard English in Nigeria which can be regarded as Nigerian English.”
To defend my position that there is a standard Nigerian English, I align myself with Yule (1985:180) who defines Standard English as the variety that forms the basis of print in newspapers and books, which is used in the mass media and schools. It is the variety normally taught to those who want to learn English as a second language.
Additionally, Richards et al (1985) assert that the standard variety of a language is the one which has the highest status in a community or nation and which is usually based on the speech and writing of educated native speakers of the language. (p. 271).
I concur with Quirk (1962) when he posits that “Standard English is essentially an ideal, a model of experience we seek when we wish to communicate beyond our immediate community with members of the nation as a whole or with members of a wider community: English-speakers as a whole.” (p. 100). Nigerian English, in an ideal sense, qualifies as such an ideal. However, Quirk also acknowledges that “as an ideal, it cannot be perfectly realized, and we must expect that members of different wider communities and course, ‘Nigeria’ may have different realizations operating in a continuum.”
I have always been sceptical of scholars who dismiss standard Nigerian English while also acknowledging the grammatical variations of American English compared to the conventional British-prescribed English. Bobda (1988) argues that there are systematic contrasts that constitute conflicting, competing, multiple standards between Standard British and American forms on the one hand, and standard forms of English in the outer and expanding circles, such as in Nigeria, on the other hand.
The principles which underlie such a selection or discrimination of standard usage are not always clear. For example, the use of the double negative is considered non-standard in expressions like “You don’t know nothing,” but is considered standard in expressions like “It is not uncommon,” “It is not unconnected,” and “I am not ungrateful for your help.”
However, I shall use Hudson’s criteria to prove the existence of standard Nigerian English. According to Hudson (1996:33), for a language to be considered a standard, it must pass through selection, codification, elaboration of function and acceptability (by the educated class and internationally intelligible).
The selection of a standard variety in a language can often fall to a designated body. For instance, the French Language Academy has the authority to privilege the elite dialect of the language and enforce its usage globally. In Nigeria, the Nigeria English Studies Association (NESA) plays a similar role, although no known selection committee has successfully chosen a specific variety as the standard. In the case of standard British English, it emerged from the prestige dialects of the East Midlands and London, which were used by the royalty and Oxbridge. Similarly, standard Nigerian English has emerged from the popular usage of English among the educated, political, and artistic class, making it highly intelligible to any listener of the language.
Codification, the process of validating a standard through the use of textbooks and prescriptive grammar guides, has also been limited in the case of standard Nigerian English. However, the variety has been widely used in other mediums such as newspapers, books, mass media, and schools. Works of Nigerian writers like Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, and Chimamanda Adichie, who have used the idiosyncrasies of Nigerian English to convey their message effectively, have dominated the world and academic space. Well-read and celebrated newspapers in Nigeria also use this English in their everyday news. Dictionaries such as “A Dictionary of Nigerian English Usage”, Fountain Junior Fiction Series by Herbert Igoanusi, Ajani (2007), and “Dictionary of Nigerian English” by Blench and Dendo (2005) have also played a role in the codification process.
In an elaboration of function, Standard Nigerian English is used in all facets of Nigerian society, including everyday transactions and communication. It is spoken and written in official settings such as the national assembly, courts, administrative offices, and most national functions. It is also rare to hear Received Pronunciation (RP) spoken in Nigeria.
Finally, acceptability is crucial for a standard variety to be adopted. In Nigeria, standard Nigerian English is widely accepted by the educated and political class, while some of its distinct features may be considered incorrect by speakers of Standard British English. For example, expressions like “I am opportune to represent my people” and the use of words like “uprightly” instead of “upright” are popular among English speakers in Nigeria.
This shows that the English spoken in Nigeria has become a standard in its own right, much like Standard British English was chosen by the lower class because of its prestige.
Ekpe (2007:78) adds that, from 1960 onward, ‘Standard Nigerian English’ has been marked by the features and characteristics typical of phase 4: (the endonormative stabilization) which are:
• It is used in a wide range of communicative situations such as administration, politics, media, education and academia, trade and commerce, book publication and film industry.
• It is used by Nigerian creative writers to express their worldview and as a communicative vehicle. This can be seen in the creative works of esteemed and award-winning writers such as Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and Chimamanda Adichie.
• The standard Nigerian English comes out of the development of the local form of English (non-standard). The Nigerian English is evident that English in Nigeria is now widely seen as an indigenous language with acceptable local features.
- This variety being an emerging acceptable local variety of English has passed through a lot of linguistic filters as many scholars like Jowitt (1991), and Adegbija (2004) among others have made conscientious efforts in describing it. This has exerted much influence on this evolutionary phase of Nigerian English.
In conclusion, the notion of standard Nigerian English is a thing of reality and not a myth or imaginal creation. The native speakers of the English language have to come to terms that there exists a kind of English in Nigeria that can be called standard in all ramifications as discussed above.
In the next article, I will bring out the phonological, lexicon, syntactic and semantic features of Nigerian English.
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