Title: Syntactic Analysis of Nigerian Pidgin Used in BBC News Coverage of the February 25th, 2023 Presidential Election
Mosunmola Oluyinka Adebay
University of Africa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria
Abstract
Pidgin English is used by different ethnic regions in the world to perform different communicative roles. The world is in the age of Pidgin, such that notable personalities like Emmanuel Macron, the President of France, and the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Paul Arkwright, and Bill Gates, an American philanthropist, have used it at some point in their interviews with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The BBC, among other functions, uses Pidgin to spread information to expand its reach not only to the old but also to the young, educated or otherwise. It is a language that is spoken all over the world, with its many varieties, yet understood by many. This study investigates the type of sentences used in the Pidgin used by the BBC to report the February 25, 2023, Presidential election in Nigeria in terms of their unique features and syntactic structures. This study is significant in several ways. It contributes to the understanding of Nigerian Pidgin syntax in media discourse, shedding light on its linguistic features and structures. The study highlights the increasing recognition and acceptance of Nigerian Pidgin in formal contexts, such as news reporting by prominent media organizations like the BBC. By examining the syntactic patterns and code- switching practices, the research contributes to the broader understanding of language dynamics and sociolinguistic aspects in Nigeria. Overall, the findings have implications for language policy, emphasizing the potential of Nigerian Pidgin as a national language that promotes inclusivity and unity among Nigerians. Quirk et al.’s (1985) concept of syntactic analysis is adopted to describe the types of sentences used. The study concludes that BBC Pidgin has clause structures similar to Standard English with minor differences. In addition, BBC Pidgin has unique syntactic features that differ from those of Standard English. The study further reveals that BBC Pidgin has the same simple and multiple sentences as Standard English.
Keywords:
Nigerian Pidgin, Syntactic structure, BBC News, Presidential Election
How to Cite this Paper:
Adebay, M. O. (2023). Syntactic Analysis of Nigerian Pidgin Used in BBC News Coverage of the February 25th, 2023 Presidential Election. Atras Journal, 4(1), 119-142.
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