Nigerian Pidgin (NP) is one of the many languages spoken in Nigeria. It arose out of contact between European merchants and some indigenous populations living along the coasts of Nigeria. These people belonged to ethnic groups that spoke different languages. The interaction between these people and the European merchants led to the formation of NP.
Portuguese merchants were the first Europeans to arrive on the coast of Nigeria in the 15th century. Their interaction with inhabitants on the coasts led to the introduction of some Portuguese words into NP.
Later, between the 1800s and 1960, Great Britain colonized Nigeria bringing about the integration of many English word into NP. The language thus developed to become an English based pidgin that hundreds of millions of Nigerians use in communicating with each other.
At last count, Nigerian Pidgin is spoken in Nigeria by over 100 million Nigerians who belong to over 250 ethnic groups who speak more than 500 different languages. NP is also spoken by over 17 million Nigerians in diaspora. Many citizens of various countries in Africa speak NP because it is the most popular pidgin in Africa. People from many countries of the world have also learned how to speak NP.
Nigerianpidgin.com is an active website written 100% in Nigerian Pidgin using the standardized orthography of the language. It is a practical implementation example of what you can do with the language.
It is a website where you can learn to read and write the language for use in all aspects of your life and business. It is a place where you can learn about the Bible and Christian living.
Our founder, Roy Okonkwo, has translated the entire Bible into Nigerian Pidgin. He developed the alphabet and orthography of the language. Roy participated in the standardization of the Nigerian Pidgin orthography at the University of Ibadan in 2003. Portions of the translated Bible, the alphabet and orthography done by Roy were the materials used by the team for the standardization of the language. Members of the standardization team included experts in orthographies of Nigerian languages, Linguists and Educationists.
The first magazine in Nigerian Pidgin (Mesi Nius),using the standardized orthography was written and produced by Roy.
Our team has been recognized by the Unicode Consortium for our contribution of Nigerian Pidgin standardized orthography data to Unicode’s Common Language Data Repository. This was a very important step for the recognition of the language.
Click here to visit Nigerianpidgin.com