|
Translate English to Nigerian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The official language spoken in Nigeria is English, that is Nigerian English.
But the major language spoken are
Hausa-Fulani,
Igbo/
Ibo, Yoruba, Ijaw, Kanuri, Ibibio and Tiv.
Nigerian English (NE) is a term used to describe the kind of English that reflects young generations take ridiculous short cuts to writing and speaking English today as second language competence of the target standard forms of English as a lingua franca across Nigeria.
Nigerian English is sort of a Pidgin English - Broken English spoken across Nigeria. It is often considered a creole
since most speakers are not native speakers although many children do learn it early. It's superstrate is English with Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba as the main
substrate languages.
Alternatively, Nigerian English is a very sweet language as it allows you freestyle.
It is a combination of Nigerian native languages proper transliterated into "The Queen's Colonial British English", and then some contemporary Americanisms. "We like it like that", the young generations will say!
At times, Nigerian English, often known simply as Pidgin (Pidgin English) or Broken (Broken English), is a popular
lingua franca, though with varying regional influences on dialect and slang.
Nigerian Pidgin English could be considered as a lingua-franca in Nigeria, as well as Hausa language.
The Nigerian English or pidgin English is widely spoken within the Niger Delta Regions, predominately in Agenebode, Benin City, Ewu,
Port Harcourt, Sapele and Warri.
Nigeria is a Federal Constitutional Republic of 36 states with a population approximately 180+ million
and over 520 languages.
To trace the devlopment of Nigerian Pidgin English one has to go into the development of West African Pidgin English.
Early traders have let few recorded comments on the form of language used between the African and Europeans.
As early as the 16th Century English Adventures were aware of the profitable nature of the slave trade. By the 18th
century the influence o fthe English was widespread on the West African Coast.
A form of pidgin existed in Calabar at the end of the 18th Century and evidence of this can be found in a
diary kept by an Efik Chief Antera Duke between 18th January 1785 and 31st January 1788.
The geographical proximity of Calabar and Cameroon makes for a likelihood that a related variety existed there. The
earliest recorded contact was by the Portuguese in 1472.
Geographically, the Nigerian Coast was in a good position for the slave trade. The pidgin English which evolved here was
a continue of the pidgin Englishes used all over the West African Coast visited by British Ships.
Nigerian English is the variety of English that has been used in the region of the Niger, West Africa,
for purposes of trade since at least the 18th century, at missions since the 19th century, and
increasingly in administration, education, media and workplace, especially since the formation of a unified Nigeria
in 1914.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, the eight most populated country in the
world and the most populous country in the world in which the majority of the population
is black
This dictionary of Nigerian English was stimulated by some enquiries from the
Access Bank, Bank Of Nigeria, Diamond Bank, Guaranty Bank,
Nigeria bank, Nigeria First, Nigeria Plc, Nigeria World, Skye Bank, Standard Chartered Bank,
Uba Bank and Unity Bank; on words of putative West African origin.
The Bank of Nigeria faces an increasingly uphill struggle in its attempts to capture Nigerian English words
to be used for advertising and capture customers;
Almost every Nigeria bank has now developed a set of distinctive
uses of Nigerian English, some more divergent than others.
It is surprising, however, that Nigerian English has never been the subject of a published dictionary or a dictionary
book you can visit bookshop or Amazon online and buy;
Rumours had it there is a mighty hidden manuscripts, but these have yet to see the light of day.
This website, www.NigerianEnglish.com is a work in progress of Nigerian English Dictionary draft that will eventually, with time, become a
collective product.
It is not possible that one individual could produce anything very comprehensive; Nigeria is too diverse and
regionalised.
But it seems sensible to lay down an initial marker; then additions can be made.
Borrowing on its part, was identified in Nigerian English as many words evolving from cultural and religious
backgrounds of Nigerians. These are referred to as loan or foreign words.
Environmental influences, deriving from linguistics, social, cultural, political and economic factors have combined to
produce the variety of English that is found in West Africa.
It is easy to argue that Pidgin or Brokin english is another form of Nigerian English.... could this be possible?
These ideas are intended to raise some issues on sources, interpretation and the definition of Nigerian
English, as at times Nigerian English is sometimes written, especially in newspapers and magazines.
Nigerin English is a Pidgin English. Nigerian English can be regarded as distinct from Pidgin English, although the
exact location of the boundary between them differs from speaker to speaker.
Nigerian English spoken across Nigeria. It is often considered a creole since most speakers are not native speakers
although many children do learn it early.
It's superstrate is English with Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo as the main substrate languages.
Some expressions are regarded as strictly Pidgin, for example "pickin" for 'child' and
"sabi" for 'to know'.
We've thought it best to be quite inclusive, but no doubt some of
the entries will be questioned. For example:-
Done
he done go .........he went[Pidgin]
Got
the thing got spoiled
the water got finished
Has
he has go..........he went
Use to
he use to come here .......... he comes here regularly {back formation from used to}
E make brain .......... It makes sense
Abeg no vex .......... Please don't be annoyed
Drop something .......... Tip some cash
How market? .......... How is business?
Oya shake body .......... Dance
Strange but true facts. One of the more surprising things about Nigerian English is the extent to which it has a
common lexicon and grammar with other West African Englishes, notably Ghanaian.
A guide to Ghanaian English showes an interesting comparison with the present document and parallel forms are noted.
In this webpage there is not information about Cameroun, Sierra Leone and Gambia and that should shed more insights.
However, this could be as a result of early days of colonial presence on the west coast or the more recent products
of the massive migration of Ghanaians to Nigeria during the oil-boom era of the 1970s and 1980s?
In the 1970s, Ghana was facing a lot of economic hardship, just about the same time Nigeria had an oil boom, Nigeria's economy was
flourishing.
Citizens of some West African countries (mostly Ghanaians) flocked into Nigeria in search of green pastures. In the early 1980s the oil
boom somewhat subsided and there was also economic downturn in Nigeria due to low oil prices, jobs were no longer readily available even for Nigerians.
The time Nigeria expelled up to 2 million African migrants. The time the term "Ghana Must Go"
was coined, but it was not in the very distant past. Ghana has gone and become great!
Probably both, but only a detailed studying of earlier sources will provide answers.
The English language may only be used sporadically depending on a Nigerian's education level,
even the highly educated may not speak it in the home and may only read and write english in the
workplace.
In Nigerian education today, English plays a key role. The education system in Nigeria is structured in the
6-3-3-4 model with 6 years primary education, 3 years junior secondary level, 3
years senior secondary level and 4 years tertiary education at Universities.
The 1998 National Policy on Education specifies that "the medium of instruction in the primary school
shall be the language of the environment for the first three years.
During this period, English shall be taught as a subject. From the fourth year, English shall progressively
be used as a medium of instruction and the language of immediate environment and French shall be taught as
subjects"
The Nigerian English tends to have fewer vowel sounds than Standard or American English, and fewer final consonants and
consonant clusters.
Thus many English vowels are not differentiated by Nigerians and many mid and final consonants sound indistinct. For example,
Nigerians do not produce the r sound in such words as art, door or worker.
There is often no distinction between words like chip and cheap and ones like caught, cot, and court.
Nigerians speaking English often speak tonal and syllable-timed, giving Nigerians speaking American English a jerkiness,
both in timing and intonation.
Nigerian English is rich in proverbs and colorful sayings. Nigerians speaking American English tend to attracted to English
proverbs and overuse the phrases as idioms.
There are many differences in Nigerian and American English in written grammar.
There is a tendency toward pluralizing nouns
that are singular in American English (as in I gave them some advices) and the pronoun themselves
is often used instead of one another as in That couple really love themselves;
"Is because she is a freshman" .... "Me I don't have money"
"How family?" instead of "How is your family"
"you say truth" instead of "you say the truth"
/i:/ and /i/ are both pronounced [i] so that bead and bid are [bid]
/u:/ and /v/ are pronounced [u] so that full and fool are [ful]
/a:/ and /ae/ are pronounced [a] so that bard and bad are [bad]
/æ/, /a:/, and /^/ are confused, so that cat, cart and cut are all [cat]
Nigerian learners of American English tend to have difficulties with spelling and pronunciation, stress and intonation.
Spelling words like stomach, tongue and touch, gives Nigerian learners of American English many difficulties in pronunciation.
Also, Nigerian learners have trouble stressing words for questioning, such as Do you want the chocolate one or the vanilla one?
This rhythm and stress difficulties make it hard for Nigerian learners to understand sarcasm in American English.
It does not matter which languages you speak in Nigerian. You see, Nigerian languages are tonal, hence each word has a fixed tone
regardless of context.
Ihe intonation of Nigerian English is limited to the rise in a question for a yes/no answer and a final fall for a statement.
Nigerian English is a fast and shortened version of the English language. The official language of Nigeria is
Nigerian English!
Nigerian english is the main lingua franca ("A medium of communication between peoples of different languages") throughout
Nigeria in West Africa.
Learn nigerian pidgin english or nigerian pidgin english phrases or just nigerian pidgin english
dictionary or nigerian broken english?
In any case, you're guaranteed to pick up one or two things in nigerian english movies or
youtube nigerian movies english.
We hope you take away features of nigerian english dictionary, nigerian pidgin english and english to nigerian phrases, such as
meaning of Numbers in Nigerian English Dictionary or you may say...
A pocket dictionary of selected Nigerian student slangs or
Nigerian English Usage.
• 404 - Dog meat 404 is ready sign outside an eating establishment Cross River, Akwa Ibom only
• 419 - Monetary fraud he is trying 419 on them the number of the act defining this as a crime
• 504 - Peugeot 504 saloon car, once almost the only brand on the roads
• 911 - Mercedes-Benz 911 truck, with built-up wooden sides, the common workhorse of commercial goods transport in Nigeria
Nigerian Word |
Continuous Meaning |
ENGLISH NIGERIAN |
|
|
|
A. |
|
|
1 white |
|
N50 |
1-0-1{one-zero-one} |
|
regularity or otherwise of daily meals {where 1 indicates the presence and 0 the absence of a meal} |
247 |
|
twenty four hours a day and seven days a week |
419 |
|
fraud/fraudster/fraudulent activities |
a.p.u |
|
Aproko Progressive Unit. |
aba made |
|
Fake or counterfeit products |
abdulmutallab |
|
misplaced opportunity |
abeg |
|
Please (a polite addition to a request or command) |
abeg fly |
|
Leave, go away. |
abeg limi |
|
Please, leave me alone! |
abeg lock up |
|
keep your mouth shut |
abi |
|
Isn't it |
abi |
|
is it true? {checking conformity with fact, reason, truth or some standard or principle} |
abi na wetin |
|
What is it? {Usually used while irritated} |
Abi? |
|
sentence tag meaning 'Don't you agree?'; Isn't that right? {Corresponds to Hausa Ko?} |
abj |
|
abbreviation for Abuja the capital city of nigeria |
abk |
|
Is a Slang for the city of "Abeokuta"... In Ogun State Nigeria |
aboki |
|
been foolish or in the dark about things |
aboki |
|
friend |
about |
|
just, about to I'm about leaving. I'm just leaving |
abroad |
|
as in Standard English, but also refers to being away from home area; We love ourselves abroad; We have good relations with other people from our home area when away from it. |
abs |
|
slang for Abuja |
ABU |
|
Ahmadu Bello University, the foremost tertiary institution in northern Nigeria |
abu |
|
Amadu Bello Univeristy |
abuna |
|
Hausa 'thing' but often used jocularly for penis; pussy; woman private part |
abura |
|
timber tree Mitragyna stipulosa |
abuse |
|
to insult that boy abused him well-well; the other man insulted him a great deal; insult it is an abuse it is an insult |
acada |
|
academic |
acada |
|
academe, academic work, studies student slang; an intellectual or talks in an intelligent way; a university student; a bookworm |
acata |
|
See Akata: word for African American |
acatay |
|
a Nigerian who resides abroad but comes back to visit from time to time {mostly during Christmas celebrations} |
acha |
|
cereal, fonio, Digitaria exilis; Hausa - Only grown in the Middle Belt |
achaba |
|
motor-cycle taxi; Hausa - Only in Northern towns. see okada; Motorcycle for public transport, usually spoken in northern Nigeria. see: machine |
Act of God |
|
tin trunk painted in black and red; Southern Nigerian English - Outdated expression used by schoolboys in the 1970s. |
acting big man |
|
One exercising of power in the absence of the boss |
actor and boss |
|
the actor is the main good guy in a movie 'the hero' and the boss is the main adversary to the good guy in the movie especially in action movies |
Actually! |
|
exclamation of strong agreement State government has many people chopping money. Actually! |
Ada mu eee |
|
my father! {Idoma} |
adamu |
|
a foolish person |
add |
|
to add something to something; Add more! typically heard in a restaurant, when the diner wants more porridge or stew or soup |
adire |
|
traditional tie-dyed indigo cloth {Yoruba} |
adro |
|
Asylum, money paid to Asylum seekers |
Afara |
|
Trade-name for Terminalia superba |
African nutmeg |
|
tree sp. with edible nut Monodora myristica. |
African olive |
|
fruit of Canarium; schweinfurthii which closely resembles the European olive |
African salad |
|
any combination of green vegetables |
African time |
|
jocular way of referring to the typically casual approach to punctuality; characteristic of Nigeria not African time, please! Please be punctual! |
afta |
|
after or later |
after |
|
later; Some time after |
afu |
|
worthless amount of money |
agaba |
|
a Masquerade. |
agada |
|
having bow legs |
again |
|
intensifier We will go to the market, again does not mean for a second time, but simply intensifies the expression. I have no money again similarly. compares to puts in Hausa kuma, Igbo ozo and Yoruba mo. |
agaracha |
|
a woman of easy virtue |
agbada |
|
a kind of flowing dress for men, especially among the Yoruba; {e.g. Chief Odiaka wore agbada to the wedding ceremony} |
agbada |
|
man's long robe {Yoruba}; large traditional garment usually worn by men over a shirt. |
agbaya |
|
A bad elderly person |
agbero |
|
labourer who carries heavy goods for a fee. |
agege bread |
|
a popular low class bread baked in lagos. common among labourers |
agharacha |
|
woman of easy virtue |
agidi |
|
locally prepared mashed rice cake |
agree |
|
to want to, but also applied to inanimate objects the kettle did not agree to boil |
agric |
|
any crop or livestock variety; introduced by the agricultural services; Sometimes also applied to implements. {These agric beans do not taste well or He bought an agric plough} |
agro |
|
feeling Horny |
ah-ahn! |
|
my goodness! |
aircon |
|
This means airconditioner |
airforce 1 |
|
flying Witch |
ajayi |
|
an overachiever or someone that works excessively to impress the authority |
ajebo |
|
someone who is was born with a silver spoon in their mouth or who is spoilt and has not experienced the harshness of life |
ajebutter |
|
someone who is was born with a silver spoon in their mouth or who is spoilt and has not experienced the harshness of life |
ajepaco |
|
someone who was brought up in the harsh way of life, also a local champion. |
ajepako |
|
The opposite of ajebota. see ajebota |
ajuwaya |
|
a slang for serving members of the Nigerian Youth Service Corps. It is derived from the pidgin version of the the phrase "As you were"; A military term that is the equivalent of "at ease", the opposite of "attention" or "alert" |
ak; eke |
|
The Police, Policeman |
akagum |
|
stingy person |
akamu |
|
porridge type with chewy lumps in it served in the morning in the North {Hausa and Yoruba land}; Pap made from corn |
akanchan; akagum |
|
stingy person; tight fisted person |
akanuche |
|
Wisdom or discretion. |
akara |
|
fried bean-cake {Igbo and Yoruba land}; Now widespread in many languages; Fried cake made out of mashed black eyed peas. |
akata |
|
akata is a word used to describe Black/African Americans; akata can also be used to describe Africans who have lived in America so long that they have adopted the African American Culture |
akawo |
|
a system of daily savings operated by an individual for small business owners. |
akimbo |
|
posture with legs or arms outward/apart or with hands resting on hips |
akpruka |
|
Something Strong or Solid |
akpu; fufu; santana |
|
flour made out cassava and further processed into a mash potato like meal. Mostly eaten by the igbos |
alan pozzer |
|
This is a poser |
alanta |
|
a style of dance that involves raising your legs and moving your arms up and down |
alarm |
|
hunger; stomach making noise |
alaye |
|
lagos way of saying area boy. See area boys |
alert |
|
The text message you receive when a deposit has been made to your bank account |
alhaja |
|
technically any woman who has been on a pilgrimage to Mecca, but often used as a title of respect |
alhaji |
|
technically any male who has been on a pilgrimage to Mecca, but often used as a title of respect, or as shorthand for a businessman of Northern aspect The alhajis have bought up all the petrol Used ironically to imply a class of crooked businessmen. |
all night |
|
night vigil |
all what |
|
everything I believe all what you say |
allawee |
|
a sum granted for any purpose, like a reimbursement. Pocket money. |
alligator |
|
crocodile; Regularly used to distinguish the Dwarf crocodile Osteolaemus tetraspis from the Nile crocodile niloticus. {BBC reported news item... a cargo of live Dwarf Crocodiles intercepted at Heathrow on their way from Nigeria to Japan, saying that they were falsely described as alligators.} |
alligator pepper |
|
Malagueta pepper, Aframomum melegueta. A groundfruiting plant with spicy seeds still widely used as a condiment but no longer exported to Europe. "Alligator" for "Malagueta" seems to be either a mishearing or a folk-etymology |
almanac |
|
large coloured wall-poster usually showing photos of members of a club, association, football team etc. often with small calendar inserted pointing to its original function |
alobam |
|
Another way of saying "Partner in crime"; used to refer to someone as a very close friend. |
altar |
|
rack for drying fish or keeping utensils, etc., in kitchen |
am |
|
replaces him or her in a sentence |
amala |
|
black food made from yam-flour with ground yam skin incorporated iYoruba} |
amebo |
|
Gossip; Name of a character in a Nigerian soap opera (The village headmaster), with a penchant for gossiping. |
ami{n}go |
white man Amigo! |
is shouted at foreigners in the southeast of Nigeria In Bonny in the form amingo. Presumably connected with the Spanish presence in Equatorial Guinea or former trade by Spanish in the Bonny area. |
amiboh |
|
a talkative, Gossip or the act of pokenosing into affairs of others. |
amodu |
|
one who does work effectively but without charisma and loses all gratitude as the consequence |
among |
|
implies 'among the group previously referred to' they are among they are among the group we are talking about |
amount |
|
usually short for 'amount of money' but occasionally applied to other things previously referred to he gave me some amount he gave me some money |
an |
|
ending to indicate the inhabitant of a particular state Kwaran, Bayelsan |
and co |
|
people wearing the same costumes. It maybe twins, group of people or couples; refers to set of matching cloths made for families, age-grades, associations etc. they are sewing and co. for the wedding |
anini |
|
now long-disused coin, originally one-tenth of a penny, but symbolising something of very low value like the English farthing gained additional currency in the early 1990s due a notorious bank-robber {armed robber} nicknamed Lawrence Anini |
ankle |
|
Sexual activity involved in by a male and a female. Its actually the latest pidgin word for fuck or sex |
anoda |
|
Another |
ansa |
|
Answer |
answer |
|
to respond to a call or command, but not a question, to be named he answers Obi he is called Obi |
anumanu |
|
Animal |
anuofia |
|
Wild animal {an insult word} |
anyhow |
|
placed at the end of a sentence to suggest "indiscriminately" the children were playing in the garden, anyhow |
anyway |
|
Placed before a sentence to tone down or mitigate the implications of a previous statement or question |
anywhere belle face |
|
This is used to describe someone who is playing football and kicks the ball in random directions without thinking. |
aparatus |
|
penis |
apkroko |
|
gossip, see: Amebo |
Apollo |
|
eye-infection So named because it first appeared at the time of the Apollo 11 moonshot |
apple; iPhone 6S |
|
Apple smart phone; The new advanced pressure-sensitive touchscreen features in the iPhone 6S have come a |
applicant |
|
unemployed person who is supposed to be applying for jobs he is an applicant {unemployed school-leaver} |
aproko |
|
someone who pokes his/her nose into other people's affairs. |
arangee |
|
same as word arranged |
area |
|
neighborhood; familiar person or friend {comedian Francis Agoda, popularly known as I Go Dyeie or I Go Die uses Area during performing |
area boy |
|
Local tout. very rough and uncivilized person. |
area boys |
|
Hooligans; touts that do nothing but loitering around the neighborhood and basically make a their living off the streets |
area-boy |
|
young man without a job who engages in criminal acts, usually in gangs in towns |
aristo |
|
suga daddy, a man dating a girl who is young enough to be his daughter |
aristos |
|
sugar daddies or mummies - rich old men and women who date younger people |
arrange yua sef |
|
make your own arrangements; Everyman to himself. |
arro |
|
stupid person |
arrow |
|
a very daft and stupid person |
arts |
|
usually commercial painting particularly trucks and signs art by Laranto Arts, Jos commonly seen on back of trucks |
art-work |
|
work of art can be pluralised, i.e. art-works |
as at |
|
meaning "As of" As of now I'm broke, no money! |
as in eh |
|
An exclamation, used when frustated or surprised. |
as in; As in wetin now? |
|
Expression used to ask for clarification; literally, Meaning what? Can also be used in a sarcastic way to illustrate how unfeasible a request is. |
as requested |
|
follow up |
asala |
|
Walnut {fruit} |
ashana |
|
A woman who engages in sexual intercourse for money |
ashawo |
|
prostitute; a commercial sex worker; |
ashawo/donatus |
|
prostitute |
ashewo |
|
prostitute; loose girl; Slut; Whore; And sometimes the word is used if you flirt a lot |
ashi |
|
h.a.r.l.o.t |
ashy |
|
Prostitute, wayward girl. |
aso ebi |
|
These are outfits made from matching/identical fabrics as a uniform in parties, weddings and funerals. These outfits are used to identify individuals as part of a group during the event; {Abby and her friends dey wear pink aso ebi for her wedding} |
Aso rock |
|
inselberg adjoining Presidential villa in Abuja, hence a symbol of power and decision-making |
aso-oke |
|
practice of a family all wearing the same type of cloth; Husband and wife were wearing aso oke {in Yoruba land - aso oke}; heavy type of cloth; The designers... spared no details with aso-oke {in Yoruba land - aso oke} |
assignment |
|
homework, student essays, projects etc. they give us too many assignments almost certainly borrowed from American English, perhaps in the era when the Peace Corps taught in secondary schools in the 1960s |
at all |
|
Emphasises absence or negativity people were not enjoying, at all; see: for where; this means no way OR not easily possible; can be used as another way of say 'no' |
At all! |
|
A common standalone response to a negative question or one expecting a negative answer. Is this man here? Response At all! |
atiku |
|
Atiku is a 'multipurpose' word which can be used to mean two different but similar things e.g decamp and recamp; For example, when my ex did an Atiku on me, I was devastated until she Atikued back again |
attachment |
|
additional hair sewn on to owner's hair, less subtle than weavon |
atutupoyoyo |
|
An ugly being |
August break |
|
dry spell in rainy season from late July to August |
aunty |
|
term of respect used by children {younger person} to address adult women has become very common since 1980s} Similar to uncle |
automatically |
|
as a matter of course now he is elected Governor, automatically he will chop money |
awara awara |
|
swiftly; smoothly or successfully |
awoko |
|
Staying up late a night till day break. |
awoof |
|
Free stuff; charity |
awuf |
|
surplus {money/food/drink} |
awuuff |
|
Free stuff or highly discounted stuff. |
ayama |
|
filthy!; yuck!; disgusting; gross |
ayangba |
|
Prostitute |
ayo |
|
mancala, board game {Yoruba} |
azonto |
|
a style of dance |
Whether nigerian english gospel songs or nigerian english worship songs or even nigerian english praise and worship songs.
This webpage can be of help to nigerian english phonology.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary or the Pocket Oxford Dictionary can not be compared with nigerian english dictionary or
nigerian pidgin english dictionary or even english to nigerian dictionary.
This nigerian english dictionary is a completely revised edition which has been type-set by computer in order to simplify the
incorporation of up-to-date material in future impressions.
nigerian english slang nigerian english accent
|