Probing the Functions of Nigerian Pidgin English in FPO Akporobaro’s “The Prostitute”: A Stylistic Approach (Published)
Nigerian Pidgin English, which originally arises from the contact of the indigenous languages with the English language has nowadays become is a lingua franca, a means of communication commonly used by people. Its place in Nigerian literary creativity is all the more important as patterns of this variety of English occur in various pieces of writings. The aim of this paper is to, through a stylistic approach, examine the functions of Nigerian Pidgin English used in the poem entitled “The Prostitute”, published by FBO Akporobaro in his collection of poems The Lament of the Town Crier and other Poems. Through a descriptive research design based on the qualitative approach, the analyses of the poem, in its context of production, reveal that instances of phonology and cohesive features are used to provide aesthetic value to this text.
Keywords: Lingua Franca, Nigerian Pidgin English, Phonology, cohesive features, the prostitute
Language and Culture as Conflict Resolution Tools: Rethinking English as Lingua Franca (Published)
Language as a structure of meaning giving and reality creation is composed of words, phrases and sentences. Humans’ communications are based on these features to describe an event, explain one’s emotions, needs, interests and fears etc. Language is used to resolve or escalate dispute. People from different culture and social units perceive the world through the lens provided by their distinctive languages. Meaning that language provides repertoire of words that name the categories into which the language users have divided their world. In fact, definitions of words are linguistically, culturally and contextually bound. This is because words carry meanings that make sense to members of a shared social environment. Dispute resolution relies heavily on words (language). However, there is an underlying assumption in Nigeria that all these words should be in English – the second language. The researcher posits that if English is to be a conflict resolution tool in Nigeria. It must accommodate the diversity of culture and language usage. The paper therefore explores the challenges of English language in intercultural conflict resolution, and emphasizes the need to consider the different uses of the language in national and transnational conflict resolution.
Keywords: Conflict Resolution, Culture, English, Language, Lingua Franca