The similarities between languages, (at the level of phonology, lexicon and structural properties of various kinds) are not due to their common descent, but to intensive language contact. The comparison of Nigerian Pidgin English structures with similar patterns of the main languages of the area indicates that all these languages contribute to each other in the process of their individual development. ![]() It is a contact language which shares numerous structural similarities with the languages of the area which make its substratum. The analysis indicates that Nigerian Pidgin English should not be perceived only as a result of simplification of the source language which is given a status of ‘broken English’. The questions of grammaticalization resulting in the change of lexical units to grammatical units was subject of a particular interest. However, the work was not oriented at establishing the systemic properties of the language but rather aimed to distinguish features influenced by the African languages which function as its linguistic substrate. The language is in the process of ongoing development and structural properties are manifested differently in texts representing the language from different zones of Nigeria and created in different times. ![]() ![]() It deals with the phonological representation, the patterns of expressing grammatical categories and the rules of word formation leading to creating new units. The dissertation presents the analysis of Nigeria Pidgin English at various levels of the language structure.
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