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Languages in Nigeria: Identities, dynamics and didactics - Naija Project

Nigeria Pidgin (NP) is spoken by more than 50 million speakers all over Nigeria, in a variety of forms that go from the vehicular “broken English” to the more elaborate and complex varieties developled by standup comedians, song writers, journalists and students. The broad intercomprehension that exists between the Pidgins spoken in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Sierra Leone give it a strong potential as a language for commerce and regional integration and could be useful in the present context of globalisation. Despite this powerful social and political potential NP suffers from a lack of recognition that hinders its development as a potential linguistic integrator for the Nigerian nation.

This project co-led by B. Caron and Prof. Egbokhare of the University of Ibadan, aims at publishing a dictionary, a grammar and a teaching method. It will lead to the establishment of a computerized corpus made available online in the form of audio files transcribed and glossed, according to the methodology established by the CORPAFROAS project.

Special care will be taken to ensure integration of young Nigerian & European researchers into this project, to put into practice the role of training for and through research which is part of the specification of the IFRA. The "Nigerian Pidgin project" Congress was launched during a conference held in Ibadan, 8-9 July 2009. The objectives that were reached at the conference were: a consensus on the nature of Nigeria Pidgin ; the agreement on a reference sociolect, and a standard spelling; establishment of a scientific committee; establishment of an Academy of Nigeria.


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