ABSTRACT
This project is an attempt to explore the recurring grave concerning the academic performance of students.
Though a large percentage of students in Nigeria learn as a second language and are instructed in it, the Nigerian pidgin seems to interfere with their acquisition of the language and their in it much more than in their mother tongues.
The impact of pidgin contributes in no small measure to the dismal performance of students in their academic careers.
INTRODUCTION
Nigeria is a country with four hundred indigenous languages, out of which three are regarded as major ones, namely: Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba, representing the three major geo-political zones – North, East, and South respectively.
Despite this fact, is used in diverse degrees in different parts of the country and it has become a lingua franca for many, while it is a Creole in some Southern and Eastern States like Rivers, Lagos, Delta, Edo, and Cross Rivers.
Marcheseand Schnkal (1980) confirms this after a major evolution in the Delta area of Nigeria, they say; “… in a particular part of Nigeria, the areas around Warri and Sapele, Nigerian pidgin is more of a Creole.
Creole is a mixture of a European language with a local language and is spoken as a first language.
Some view it as a variety of English, while others see it as a distinct language.
A look at the structure of Nigerian pidgin (NP) portrays that it has structures and patterns of of its own.
Though at its initial stage, NP was considered the language of those who could not speak good English, many know better now.
It is, therefore, no wonder that it is not only used by undergraduates in Nigerian universities during a conversation with the uneducated public, but it has become a fascinating medium of casual exchange among students themselves.
Fisherman (1997) asserts that; “no language considered inferior is aptly logical”. This is because where two or more speech communities come in contact, a lingua franca or common language of communication emerges.
He further points out that it is the social situation use popularly known as a context that affects the morpho-syntactic pattern of a language.
REFERENCES
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StudentsandScholarship Team.
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