A STUDY ON HOW PIDGIN ENGLISH INFLUENCES STUDENTS IN NIGERIA

Background of the study: The term "pidgin" is used to describe a language that emerges out of a circumstance in which individuals who speak a variety of languages are forced to communicate with one another despite the fact that they do not have a common language. Once a pidgin has come into existence, it is typically studied as a second language and utilised for communication among individuals whose native languages are distinct (Solomon, 2022). Language is the most creative and limitless vehicle for social communication, and it enables us to comprehend the profound social significance, cultural participation, and human relatedness of language. Language also enables us to express ourselves creatively and without limits (Aleksandra, 2022). Pidgin serves as an unlimited instrument of social communication, which is especially useful in a multilingual community such as that found at Madona University. Having said all of this, we can therefore agree that pidgin is a language in its own right and not just a supplementary tongue, as some people consider it to be, because of the reasons stated above. "The culture of a civilization is the manner of life of its members, the collection of ideas and habits which they learn, share, and transfer from generation to generation," R. Linton is quoted as saying (Aleksandra, 2022). Language is the only medium via which these ideas, customs, and cultural traditions may be passed on from one generation to the next. In the field of linguistics, every language is deemed adequate to represent the communicative needs of its people, and as such, it should not be made to suffer any biases that are applied to other languages.

Even if it is a language, it is not possible to say this about Nigerian Pidgin English due to the numerous efforts that have been made by various factions to eradicate the use of Nigerian Pidgin English (Ajibade, Adeyemi, & Awopetu, 2022). The considerable significance that the language has to its speakers has, however, made it impossible for these initiatives to be successful. It is a language that has brought people together in spite of the disparities in the languages and cultures of their ancestors by fostering the development of a local culture that is a synthesis of concepts from a variety of cultures.