Pigin English

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The name Pidgin English could be a little misleading because it creates the impression that it is another version of English. In reality, despite its evident descent from the English language, Pigin English or better still, Pigin is an entirely unique language, with very few similiarities to English besides the fact that a significant proportion of its vocabulary is etymologically related to English, much the same like Spanish or French words can be backtraced to Latin words. A more direct ancestor of Pigin would very likely be Jamaican slang because of the grammatic similiarity. As a matter of fact, it is widely believed that Pigin was introduced in West Africa during the colonial days by Caribbean missionaries.

Pigin is spoken by most of the English speaking North West and South West provincial pupulations of Cameroon which includes over three million individuals, a significant proportion of Nigeria's more than one hundred and fifty million citizens as well as in Ghana, Liberia Sierra Leone plus expatriate communities in from these countries, in Europe and the USA. What these countries all have in common is their geographical locale(West Africa) and their colonial History(Britih/American rule or influence). In the Nort West And South West provinces of Cameroon, Pigin is fast becoming the first language especially in metropolitan cities like Bamenda and Kumba where native tribal languages are becoming more and more obscure. English the official language of the two provinces is mostly reserved for government, international commerce and education.

In spite of its popularity, ittle is known about the existence of Pigin since there are no international, state or local organizations that officially govern or promote the use of the language. That leaves room for a lot of variation within the language. The lack of rules governing the use of the language has allowed words and expressions to invade the language to such an extent that diferent regions have evolved quite distinct ways to speak the it. Nigerian English for example differs sharply from Cameroonian English, not only in terms or accent and intonation, but also in terms of vocabulary and grammer. There is even a version of Cameroonian Pigin known locally as Mboko, which is considered slang by mainstream Cameroonian Pigin speakers. Mboko originated from the coastal and French speaking city of Douala and is heavily laden with words and phrases from French and Bassa, the indeginuous language of Douala.

An even more prominent feature that has retarded the spread of the Pigin Language beyond its traditional stronghold(English speaking West Africa), is the lack of literature. The main reason for this backdrop is probably the fact that Pigin is often demonised in academic circles as an "enemy to the Queen's language". In some schools it is a crime to speak Pigin on campus, let alone it the classroom. Some parents particularly in urban middle and upper class homes forbid their kids from speaking Pigin. This paranoi seems to stem from the misconception that frequent use of Pigin inhibits one's ability to speak good English. However, one institution has made great strides in promoting Pidin Literature. The Catholic church in the Bamenda Archdioses of Cameroon, has Pigin versions of most church rites, services and prayers. The problem is, these translated manusripts don't quite sound like Pigin spoken on the streets.

Should this entry not be merged with or linked to 'Pidgin' ?