English (Nigerian)
Germanic
Nigerian English (locale en-NG) is an institutionalized national variety used in Nigeria’s highly multilingual society. English is the principal language of federal government, the legislature, higher education, nationwide media, and much interethnic communication, although the constitution does not simply declare it the sole official language. Historically based on British English, Nigerian English has been shaped by contact with Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and many other languages, producing considerable regional and social variation. Widespread pronunciation tendencies include reduced vowel-length contrasts, monophthongization of some diphthongs, substitutions for /θ/ and /ð/, less reduction of unstressed vowels, and a more even rhythm; vocabulary, grammar, and discourse also contain established Nigerianisms. It should be distinguished from Nigerian Pidgin, or Naijá, a separate English-lexifier language with its own grammar and social functions.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in English (Nigerian)
Water
water
/ˈwɔːtə/
Fire
fire
/ˈfaɪə/
Sun
sun
/sʌn/
Moon
moon
/muːn/
Star
star
/sta/
Mother
mother
/ˈmɔðə/
Father
father
/ˈfɑːðə/
I
I
/aɪ/
You
you
/ju/
Name
name
/nem/
Eye
eye
/aɪ/
Hand
hand
/hænd/
Heart
heart
/hɑːt/
Love
love
/lɔv/
Tree
tree
/tɹiː/
House
house
/haʊs/
Dog
dog
/dɔɡ/
Cat
cat
/kæt/
Eat
eat
/iːt/
Drink
drink
/dɹɪŋk/
One
one
/wʌn/
Two
two
/tu/
Hello
hello
/həˈlɔ/
Thank you
thanks
/θæŋks/
Good
good
/ɡʊd/
Cuckoo
cuckoo
/ˈkʊkuː/
Computer
computer
/kɔmˈpjuːta/
Sushi
sushi
/ˈsuʃi/
Words compared
Compared with related Germanic languages
| Meaning | English (Nigerian) | English (Kenyan) | English (Philippine) | English (Canadian) | English | English (Ghana) | English (Welsh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɑːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɑɾɚ/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ | water /ˈwɔːtə/ |
| Fire | fire /ˈfaɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /ˈfaɪə/ | fire /ˈfaɪɚ/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ | fire /faɪə/ |
| Sun | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ | sun /sʌn/ |
| Moon | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ | moon /muːn/ |
| Star | star /sta/ | star /staː/ | star /stɑr/ | star /stɑɹ/ | star /stɑːɹ/ | star /staː/ | star /staː/ |
| Mother | mother /ˈmɔðə/ | mother /ˈmɔðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðɚ/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ | mother /ˈmʌðə/ |
| Father | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈfɑðə/ | father /ˈfɑðɚ/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ | father /ˈfaːðə/ | father /ˈfɑːðə/ |
| I | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ | I /aɪ/ |
| You | you /ju/ | you /ju/ | you /ju/ | you /ju/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ | you /juː/ |
| Name | name /nem/ | name /neːm/ | name /neɪm/ | name /neɪm/ | name /neɪm/ | name /neɪm/ | name /neːm/ |
| Eye | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ | eye /aɪ/ |
| Hand | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hænd/ | hand /hand/ |
| Heart | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /hɑɹt/ | heart /hɑːt/ | heart /haːt/ | heart /hɑːt/ |
| Love | love /lɔv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ | love /lʌv/ |
| Tree | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /tɹiː/ | tree /triː/ | tree /tɹiː/ |
| House | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ | house /haʊs/ |
| Dog | dog /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɔg/ | dog /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ | dog /dɔɡ/ | dog /dɒɡ/ |
| Cat | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kæt/ | cat /kʰat/ |
| Eat | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ | eat /iːt/ |
| Drink | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ | drink /drɪŋk/ | drink /dɹɪŋk/ |
| One | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ | one /wʌn/ |
| Two | two /tu/ | two /tu/ | two /tu/ | two /tu/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ | two /tuː/ |
| Hello | hello /həˈlɔ/ | hello /həˈlo/ | hello /həˈloː/ | hello /həˈloʊ/ | hello /həˈləʊ/ | hello /həˈloː/ | hello /həˈləʊ/ |
| Thank you | thanks /θæŋks/ | thank you /tæŋk juː/ | thanks /θæŋks/ | thank you /θæŋk juː/ | thank you /θæŋk juː/ | thanks /θæŋks/ | thanks /θaŋks/ |
| Good | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ | good /ɡʊd/ |
| Cuckoo | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ | cuckoo /ˈkʊkuː/ |
| Computer | computer /kɔmˈpjuːta/ | computer /kɔmˈpjuːta/ | computer /komˈpjuter/ | computer /kəmˈpjuːtɚ/ | computer /kəmˈpjuːtə/ | — | computer /kəmˈpjuːtər/ |
| Sushi | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuʃi/ | sushi /ˈsuːʃi/ | — | sushi /ˈsuːʃi/ |
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