An analysis of the auxiliary structure of basic Nigerian pidgin sentences

Abstract

Studies have shown that many Nigerians do not recognize pidgin as a “language” but this is a social factor. The existence of pidgin as a language should not depend on “social” recognition or “social” approval. The basis for accepting Nigerian pidgin (and perhaps all pidgins) as a language should be in the facility of its usage by all its speakers and in the possible identity of syntactic forms that manifest in the usage by all. Premised on the foregoing, this study strives to illustratively analyse the auxiliary structure of basic Nigerian pidgin sentences since the issue of basic word order is one of the universals of human language. It is believed that the outcome of this study will change the opinions of some stakeholders in the world of communication towards pidgin as a language in Nigeria.