CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The arrival arrival of the colonial master in Africa is thought to have signaled the start of the use of English in the West African sub-regions. In other words, Africa's former colonial masters brought English, which is also Nigeria's official language, to the continent. Nigeria's multilingualism is one of the reasons why English is widely accepted as the official language of communication. Because the majority of Nigerians are illiterate or semi-literate, using English as the official language of communication is a major challenge. As a result, different varieties of English emerged, including Pidgin English, also known as Nigerian English.

Pidgin English, according to Adedoyin (2009. 40), evolved from a contact English (ce). He considers it to be the first variation of Nigerian English. He emphasized that when two people come into contact, the need for communication necessitates the development of a communication language, a type of inter-language that is a hybrid of the two languages in contact. He emphasized that Nigerian Pidgin English is a strong variety among both the less educated and the educated. As a result, pidgin English is defined as a language variety used in an inter-ethnic context. Pinggin is defined by the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary as "any of several languages resulting from contact between European traders and local people, for example, in West Africa and the far east, containing elements of the local language(s) and French or Dutch, still used for internal communication."

Yule (2006.) believes it is a type of language that was created for practical objectives, such as commerce between groups of people who had a lot of interaction but didn't speak the same language. According to Opara (2009.52), pidgin English began in Nigeria as a commerce language comprised of both foreign and indigenous languages. It also arose from the necessity for communication among Nigerians living in towns and cities of many ethnic groups who did not speak the same language. Nigerian pidgin English, according to Spencer (2001), arose as a result of intertribal marriages. It is impossible to overstate the importance of Pidgin English in Nigeria.

This version of English cuts across institutions, establishments and societies yet it remains the unofficial lingua-franca in Nigeria. It is the most effective means if interaction among the illiterate servants of the learned masters, the market women, and several other groups of people. The various ways in which the Nigerian business world and the media use Pidgin English demonstrate its popularity. Aside from using pidgin English for radio and television advertisements, some billboards use pidgin English to communicate with their audience.

Ken Saro Wiwa (2005), for example, used pidgin English in his work Sozaboy (2005). The Palm Wine Drinkard, another Amos Tutuola creation, is also written in Pidgin English. Soyinka (2004) in his work, The Trial of Brother Jero and The Road respectively used the pidgin English to accent the socio-economic aspects of Nigeria of them. In most of his works, the level of pidgin compared with English seems to increase in favour of the former with the degree of informality of its speakers particularly worth mentioning is the road. Notwithstanding, pidgin English though plays an important role in Nigeria, it also has some adverse effects on students’s learning of the English language. They are also taught this language at a young age. They may learn it from their parents of within the environment which they live. Subsequently, they carry the language to school where it becomes difficult for them to learn the proper language.

Often, several families live in the same compound or in a geographical area who do not understand one another’s language; Pidgin becomes a convenient means of communication among them. Children growing up in such an area use Pidgin English as their official language and do not make any mistakes. Pidgin English is the most common means of communication outside the classroom, especially in southern Nigeria, where we have different ethnic groups residing in the same settlements, such as cities like Lagos, Port Harcourt, Warri, and other urban areas.

Because they learned Pidgin early in life, it is difficult for the children of such settlements to use correct or proper English in the classroom. Analysts have expressed reservations about its continued use in light of this. They believe that students who speak Nigerian Pidgin English risk losing their fluency in standard English, given that English is not only Nigeria's official language, but also an internationally recognized medium of communication in the modern world.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Nigerian Pidgin is a language, just like English, and there is enough space for both to coexist and enrich each other. Despite this – and the fact that Nigerian Pidgin English appears to be the most popular mode of communication among various groups and is easier to pick up than any other language in the country today – The issues that may contribute to students' poor performance in regards to the use of pidgin English include the fact that it was the language they grew up learning, and it may be difficult for them to distinguish between pidgin and standard English in both spoken and written form, depending on the environment in which they find themselves (Mike, 2020). Another possibility is that the use of pidgin hampered proper communication because the students' language options in the country are limited. Finally, several studies have been conducted on the impact of Nigerian Pidgin English on Nigerian students, but not a single study has been conducted on the influence of pidgin English on tertiary students' academic performance in Nigeria (A case study of University of Lagos, Lagos state).

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The main aim of the study is to determine the influence of pidgin English on the academic performance of tertiary students in Nigeria. Other specific objectives of the study include;

1. to determine the extent to which pidgin English affect the academic performance of tertiary students.

2. to determine the factors enhancing pidgin English amongst tertiary students.

3. to determine the relationship between pidgin English and standard English and its effects on the academic performance of tertiary students.

4. to proffer possible solution to the problems.

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