Emeka Nweze
The Oxford English Dictionary has acknowledge the growing popularity, as well as the ‘unique and distinctive’ contribution of Nigerian English to English as a global language and hence, added a number of words and phrases into its dictionary. Apparently,, Nigerians have taken “ownership of English” and have used it as their own medium of expression.
The majority of these new additions are either borrowings from Nigerian languages like Buka, and Danfo or unique Nigerian coinages such as Guber,. Gist and Next Tomorrow. More so, these words have only begun to be used in English in the second half of the twentieth century, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s.
See the full list of 29 words below.
- Agric, adj. & n.
- Barbing salon, n.
- Buka, n.
- Bukateria, n.
- Chop, v./6
- chop-chop, n./2
- Danfo, n.
- to eat money, in eat, v.
- ember months, n.
- flag-off, n.
- to flag off in flag, v.
- Gist, n./3
- gist, v./2
- guber, adj.
- Kannywood, n.
- K-leg, n.
- Mama put, n.
- next tomorrow, n. & adv.
- non-indigene, adj. & n.
- Okada, n.
- to put to bed, in put, v.
- qualitative, adj.
- to rub minds (together) in rub, v./1
- sef, adv.
- send-forth, n.
- severally, adv.
- tokunbo, adj.
- zone, v.
- Zoning, n.
