Nnadiebube Journal of Languages and Literatures

This paper discusses that Nigerian English (NE) is a paradigmatic variety in the World Englishes paradigm whereby English has transcended its Anglo-American roots to adapt to various cultural settings through nativization, acculturation, and lexical invention, thus acting as a vehicle of socio-cultural identity in the multilingual environment of Nigeria. The key issue being considered is the ongoing marginalisation of NE as a non-standard form of deviation of the standard variety of English, though it has played a central role in promoting national unity amid ethnic disunity as a tension compounded by the homogenising forces of globalisation and the demands of culturally responsive language policies. Data was gathered through oral interaction data, newspapers, and online sources on the basis of a qualitative interpretive methodology and identifies a table of 20 localised lexis and phrases, including, but not limited to, “wahala”, “japa”, “naija”, and “suya”, to show how these term mark ethnic, cultural and social identities by shifting semantics, borrowings and neologisms. The findings reveal tendencies of lexical selection, frequency and variation between spoken and written forms, showing active identity negotiation, performance and contestation, such as the youth-oriented so-called yahoo boy in online language playing with hustler stereotypes or the metaphorical pepper don rest by asserting economic sustainability. The paper concludes by concluding that NE is not a linguistic deviance but a valid, creative national form of expression that enables Nigerians to take ownership of cultural sovereignty that calls upon the scholars and educators to appreciate the depth of expression in NE to bring about greater linguistic equity and pedagogical relevance in the post- colonial society.

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