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Article published In:
English World-Wide
Vol. 42:3 (2021) ► pp.299–323

The ideological debate on Naijá and its use in education

| University of Groningen

Naijá (also known as Nigerian Pidgin) is an extended pidgin with millions of speakers in Nigeria, and it is also a creole since some communities use it as a first language (Faraclas 2013; Mazzoli 2017). It is a common lingua franca in former English colonies in West Africa and has potential for transnational use. Notwithstanding its importance at multiple levels, Naijá is not mentioned in language-related policies in Nigeria, and its use in education is limited and stigmatized. This is due to aggressive ideologies that identify Naijá as an inferior language, especially with respect to English in Nigeria. In this paper, based on fieldwork data collected in southern Nigeria, I outline positive and negative ideologies related to Naijá, and argue that innovative ideologies have emerged among Naijá native speakers, which constitute a base for elaborating endoglossic policies and introducing Naijá into the classroom.

Keywords: language ideology, Nigerian Pidgin, Naijá, English-lexifier creole, nativization, creoles in education, West Africa
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Language ideologies, language policies and the classroom
  • 3.Background on Naijá and language policies in Nigeria
  • 4.Data collection
  • 5.Language ideologies about Naijá
    • 5.1Ideologies that determine positive attitudes: “Intimacy” – “general language” – “easiness” – “postcolonial collective identity”
    • 5.2Ideologies that determine negative attitudes: “Poor language” – “levity” – “lack of economic value” – “interference”
  • 6.Implications for language-related policies on Naijá
  • 7.Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 10 November 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/eww.00074.maz
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