Sociocultural dimensions of Nigerian Pidgin usage (western Niger Delta of Nigeria)

This study examines the language usage practices of Nigerian Pidgin speakers in Southern Nigeria. Nigerian Pidgin is multi-varied in use by virtue of its emergence out of initial trade contacts between Europeans and various language groups on the Nigerian coast. The problem that the study addresses concerns gaining a better understanding of the status of Nigerian Pidgin within its multilingual setting where speakers have options in language use. The ways of speaking of five Nigerian Pidgin speakers formed the focus of this study with regard to how they negotiated status and social identities in everyday social activities and relationships at home, school, market within the framework of their social histories.;The methodology used in the study was ethnographic and the role of the researcher was that of a participant-observer. Data was obtained through direct and indirect methods. Relationships that were established within a Nigerian Pidgin speaking community yielded interactions and observations of Nigerian Pidgin usage in different social contexts. Interviews, and a sample survey were conducted as follow up on the researcher's observations.;The findings of this study show that there is an interplay between users and their social context which is the underlying mechanism by which users, in the process of symbolic communication of certain goals and identities within social interaction, create status for Nigerian Pidgin. The study also contributes to the body of work in language studies in which language is viewed from a broader perspective of users' social experience.