 Thank you everyone for coming to this linguistics webinar for SOAS University of London. Our speaker today is Bamiudile Oluwukere, who is trained as a lawyer, but he's also a Nigerian-Pigeon English writer, teacher, and translator. He's the founder of Pigeon English Akata, a virtual Pigeon English school, and the author of a pedagogical grammar of Pigeon English. So we're excited to have him here today with us to share his perspectives on Nigerian Pigeon English and its role in Nigerian society. So thank you for joining us. We look forward to your presentation. It should be about 30 or 40 minutes, then we'll have time for questions and conversation from our participants afterwards. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Hello, everyone. Just as Joe said, my name is Bamiudile Oluwukere. He actually did a great job pronouncing my name. It's a compound name, not easy to pronounce, but he did a great job. And I want to say a very big thank you to Joe, to Vasiliki and the entire team for making this possible. I take it not a light platform, but I want to say thank you. Thank you so much. I'm really grateful. Thank you. I will be talking to us today about demystifying Nigeria-Pigeon English. I'm sure a good number of firsts have been hearing about Nigeria-Pigeon English. So I'll be talking along those lines just to educate us on what Nigeria-Pigeon English is all about. And to start with the content of today's presentation, just a minute, please, I'll be talking on the concept and overview of Nigeria-Pigeon English, likewise definition of Nigeria-Pigeon English, as well as the key characteristics of Nigeria-Pigeon English, and relevance of Nigeria-Pigeon English, and the usages of Nigeria-Pigeon English. If you have any question, please just feel free to ask me the question at the end of this presentation. Nigeria is a multilingual country of over 500 languages. And it's also a heterogeneous society. We have more than 250 ethnic groups that are enshrined in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. But I missed all of these 250 ethnic groups. We have three major ethnic groups. They are Ausa, Ibo, and Yoruba. Ausa, Ibo, and Yoruba. The Ausa represents the northern part of Nigeria. The Ibo represents the southeast and the Yoruba represents the southwest. These are the three dominant ethnic groups in Nigeria. Nigeria has a population of over 200 million people, over 200 million people. And it's interesting to know that more than 70% of this population understands and converses with Pigeon English virtually every day. And in a particular place called Worry in Delta State, we have over 900,000 people there that speak Nigeria-Pigeon English as their first language of conversation every day. They speak Nigeria-Pigeon English there as their first language of communication. Aside from Worry, we have other cities like Asaba, Binin, Potakot, Yenogua. They also speak Pigeon English there. And each of these cities has a minimum of 500,000 people. So you can imagine how many they are all together that will be speaking Pigeon English when you merge all the cities in Nigeria together. Now, these are just few cities out of the innumerable ones we have in Nigeria. Nigeria-Pigeon English is a language that everybody that is born in Nigeria do not need to go to school to learn. We don't need to go to school to learn it. Once you were born in Nigeria, it's a language that you learn. You grow up with it. I never went to school to learn Pigeon English. I was born and I was raised with it. And that is how it is with everyone that is a Nigerian. Interestingly, when we have foreigners coming to Nigeria, they also learn this language effortlessly. They learn it easily because the moment they begin to mingle, they the moment they begin to mingle and relate with us, they find it very easy to learn this language. We have so many Chinese in Nigeria and a good number of them understand Pigeon English very well. In fact, some of them even speak it and they speak it very well because I've actually related with a good number of Chinese and Lebanese and they understand this language very, very well. Nigerian Pigeon English is a nationwide language. It's a nationwide language, even though it's not yet recognized by the government as a formal means of communication. Nevertheless, it is a nationwide language. It's a language that wherever you go to in Nigeria, you find people conversing with it. If Nigeria has 36 states, so if you go to any of the 36 states, including the federal capital territory, Abuja, you find people conversing with this language. It's something which is alarming. It's interesting when you travel around and you see how people are conversing in this language. That is not to say that we don't have people who speak the conventional English. That is British English. We have people who speak it and speak it very well. But this has become a norm for all of us in Nigeria, particularly when we are conversing. We use Pigeon English maybe for if you go to the market, for example, you want to buy something, you don't have to speak to them using conventional English. You go there and you speak Pigeon English to them. Likewise, even in schools, we have a lot of students. When I was in school, I do speak British English. That is conventional English to my friends. But more often, I speak Pigeon English with them. This is because this is what we speak every day, every time. You know, it's part of us. It's part of what it has become our native English. I call it Nigeria native English. That is this language. And this is why it's a nationwide language. Everyone belonging to the different ethnic group, we have over 250 ethnic group in Nigeria. Everyone understands this language. Everyone. I am still here to find a Nigerian who does not understand Pigeon English. I've not seen any. Even those who are in the inter inter far north, they still understand this language. They may not be speaking it every day, but they understand it, you know, let alone those who are in Lagos. Now, Lagos is the most the commercial center of Nigeria with a population of over 20 million. I'm sure you've been hearing about Lagos, Lagos, Lagos. Now, everyone in Lagos, everyone in Lagos, over 20 million people understands this language. In fact, a good 90% of those who reside in Lagos actually speak this language very well because you can't be in Lagos and not understand Nigeria Pigeon English. You would hear people speak it on the streets, in the market places, different everywhere you go, you find people speaking it, even in their homes, in amusement parks, so many places, you know, you find people conversing in this language. And it's interesting, actually, it's really, really interesting, you know, now I'll be talking to us now about my own definition of Nigeria Pigeon English. You know, I have been able to define it, you know, and this is what I've been telling people that Nigeria Pigeon English is a version of English, just like we have other versions of English. You know, Nigeria Pigeon English also is a version of English. There are so many versions of English we have today. You know, the conventional English we all know is British English, the one which you speak all the time and American English as well, you know, and there are other versions of English, like as you can see on the slide, there is Chicano English that is Mexican American English. There is American that is Jewish American English. There is English that is Chinese type of English. There is Indian that is the Indian type of English and several others, even there's Australian English. There is Canadian English, so many versions of English. Now, Nigeria Pigeon English is also a version of English. It's a version of English. And like I said earlier, it is our native English, our own grown English for all of us who are Nigerian, you know, who are Nigerians, all of us who are Nigerian. This is our native English. It's a language that consists of homophones and homonyms. Homophones and homonyms that cut across different ethnic groups we have in Nigeria. We all know what are homophones. Homophones are those words that, you know, sound alike with a different meaning. Homonyms are those words that are spelt alike with a different meaning. And we have a good number of these homophones and homonyms in Nigeria Pigeon English. A good number of them come from Ausa ethnic group, Igbo ethnic group and Yoruba ethnic group. And an example of this is this three syllable word I have here, which is wazubia. You know, the first part of that word, wa, comes from the Yoruba ethnic group. It means come. The second part of the word, which is zoo, which comes from the Ausa ethnic group in the north, means come also. And the third part, biya, which is from the Igbo ethnic group, it also means come. And the other words that we have in Nigeria Pigeon English, that stems from the different ethnic group as well as these three dominant ethnic group. For example, we have words like a bouki that we use in Pigeon English. It's actually from the north, you know, we have words like Ikebe, you know, Ikebe, you know, we have words like O'imbo. O'imbo is a word that stems from the Igbo ethnic group and there are so many others. Even from Isoko, there's a word we use in Pigeon English, Koro, K-O-R-O, Koro. It actually stems from Isoko ethnic group and there are so many, so many. This is actually one of the beauty of this language, you know, it's something that it's interesting to know that you find words from different ethnic group in Nigeria Pigeon English. And that is why it's been easy for everyone to speak this language. Once you were born in Nigeria, it's very easy because you find words which are in your own native language, either Yoruba, Ausa, Igbo, Ishikiri, Igbo Yoruba, whatever language you find words from those ethnic groups in Nigeria Pigeon English. So it's very easy for anyone to learn it, you know, now the relationship of Nigeria Pigeon English with the conventional English is actually a symbiotic relationship. I call it a symbiotic relationship. That is a mother to child relationship. As you can see in the diagram I have here, the conventional English that is British English, you know, is the mother of Nigeria Pigeon English. In fact, a lot of words, a lot of diction that we use in Nigeria Pigeon English, you know, they come from the conventional English and it's, for example, we still use the word high. That is the first person pronoun I in Pigeon English is still the same word. We also still use the word go in Pigeon English, even the word come, you know, for example, if I want to say that I'm going in Nigeria Pigeon English, I will say I go, I go. That's just to let you know that I'm using the first person pronoun I, you know, and go, you know, those are two conventional English words and there are still so many words that we use that come from the conventional English. You know, so the relationship is a symbiotic relationship, you know, a mother to child relationship. And that explains, you know, the history as well, you know, the history, you know, when during the slave trade era, you know, that was actually when Pigeon English came into Nigeria, you know, and it grew up from from the the Martians, you know, the British Martians, the Portuguese Martians, those period, you know, that was when Pigeon English actually came into Nigeria and till date, we still make reference to that time, you know, we still make reference to that time when we're talking about the history of Nigeria Pigeon English. I hope everyone is here with me. I hope I'm still clear. OK, all right. Now, the features of Nigeria Pigeon English, the number of features I have here, there are still so many, but I just, I liked this one because of this presentation we're having today. The first one here is Nigeria Pigeon English is a trans-ethnic language, is a trans-ethnic language spoken by all ethnic groups in Nigeria. We have over 250 ethnic groups, you know, it's a trans-ethnic language. None of these ethnic group can say that this language belongs to them only. It's everyone's language, you know, everyone. It is our national, sorry, it is our nationwide language. It belongs to everybody, you know, everybody. And the good thing about this is that this Pigeon English, like I've said earlier, is a language that we find easy to learn once you are born in Nigeria. You don't have to go to school to learn it. Once you are born in Nigeria, you grew up knowing it, you know, it's a trans-ethnic language spoken by all the different ethnic groups we have in Nigeria. You know, that is the first one. The second one is it's a pan-African language. It's a pan-African language in the sense that it's a language that actually you find other Africans, particularly West African, you know, they converse with. When you go to Ghana, for example, you hear of Ghanaian Pigeon English, you know, I'm sure a good number of us have heard about Ghanaian Pigeon English, Kamehounian Pigeon English. It will interest you to know that there are a good number of words in Ghanaian Pigeon English, Kamehounian Pigeon English, which stems from Nigeria Pigeon English. For example, the word Abeg. Abeg is a word which means please in Nigeria Pigeon English. They use it in Ghanaian Pigeon English, in Kamehounian Pigeon English, even in Creole, that they speak in Serial loan. They use Abeg. In fact, it's a word that cuts across West Africa, you know, it cuts across. There's no way you go to West Africa. Once you say Abeg, they know what you're saying. Likewise, there's the word Wahala. Wahala, you know, Wahala means trouble, you know. Anywhere you go to Ghana, Serial loan, Kamehoun, they understand this word, even Waka, W-A-K-A, Waka, which means to walk, you know. It's a word known to all those who speak Pigeon across West Africa, you know. So it's a language that identifies with other countries in West Africa, you know. It identifies with other countries in West Africa and not just in West Africa, even in East Africa. When I was in Uganda, I got to know that there's a place they called in, there's a place in Moroto district where they call a motorcycle. They call it Okada, just like we call it in Nigeria Pigeon English. They call it motorcycle Okada, you know. You want to call a motorcycle in Pigeon, you say Okada. So in Uganda, somewhere in Moroto district in the eastern part of Uganda, they call motorcycle Okada. And also there's a district in Uganda by the name Ginger. There's a district in Uganda by the name Ginger. You know, Ginger is actually a word we use in Pigeon English, which means to to step up oneself, you know, to step to spoil yourself up a little, you know, to spice up yourself, you know, spice up yourself. If I want to use the word, I would say, Jory, Ginger, your swagger, you know, Jory, by taking you know, something like that because I can, you know. So that's just to let us know that in Nigeria, Pigeon English, you find words, you find words other African countries in Nigeria, Pigeon English, you know, and the third the third feature. Hello, Joe, can you hear me? Yes, I just stopped the video to make sure the audio quality is better. Oh, OK, OK, because I wasn't saying this. I wanted to be sure. OK, so the third point is that it's a dynamic language. It's a dynamic language, just like you can see on the slide. You can have we have words, you know, like pie and kaput, you know, they are two different words, but with the same meaning, you know, pie means to die. Kaput also means to die, you know, so we have a good so many words that actually have the same meaning in Nigeria, Pigeon English, and it's very easy to to to to to to to to find such words when you speak this language very, very easy. You just get to know them easily, you know, that these words mean the same thing, you know, it means the same thing. And thoughtfully, it's humorous. It's humorous. It's a language that is sweet to the ears. It's very, very sweet. A lot of people find it interesting, you know, when they hear Nigerians conversing in this language, you know, when I was in Uganda, for example, I had so many people in East Africa approach me and tell me that, told me that they like hearing our Pigeon English because it makes them to laugh, you know, they enjoy it for comedy and, you know, all sorts, you know. So it's it's it's it's humorous language. And five, it's a language that is easy to learn. Nigeria Pigeon English is amongst the few languages in the world today that are easy for one to learn. Very, very easy. It's not difficult for anyone to learn Nigeria Pigeon English. All my students, it doesn't take them longer time before they start conversing in this language. After one or two months of training with them, they begin to speak Nigeria Pigeon English fluently, you know, that's just to let us know that it's it's easy to learn, you know. Now, the relevance of Nigeria Pigeon English internationally and nationally. I'll start with national that is for us in Nigeria. The first thing I have to say is that this language answers the question of our national identity. It's the only language we have that answers the question of our national identity. We don't have any other language that can actually satisfy this purpose. Nigeria Pigeon English is the only language that answers the question of a national identity. That is because it's a language that is nationwide, you know, it's a language spoken nationwide. It's spoken by the vast majority of Nigerians, the vast majority of Nigerians. And even those who are not Nigerians that live in Nigeria, they also are able to pick words, are able to understand these words, you know, even though they are not Nigerian, but if they are if they are married to Nigerian, for example, they find it easy to learn this language, you know, and even went to Korra, for example, the easiest way people get to know we are Nigerians is when they hear us speak this Nigerian Pigeon English. For example, I was in Kenya sometime years ago and the moment people heard me speak Nigerian English, the next and the third is you are a Nigerian, how did you know it's a national identity? And secondly, it's it's it's solves the issue of our national unity, you know, for some time, we've been having different ethnic crisis, you know, you know, we've been having different ethnic crisis. And I keep telling people that the only thing we need to do now is foundational, which is to ensure that we make Nigeria Pigeon English a national language, you know, it's already a nationwide language, you know, but we need to recognize it and make it a national language because it's the only language that unites all of us, you know, when when we come together, maybe I'm Igbo, you are Yoruba, another person is also the only language that we can speak amongst ourselves and we all will understand easily is Nigeria Pigeon English. There is no other language that I can speak to someone who is also or Igbo or Isoco or whatever tribe, you know, and they would reply me, you know, to show that they understood what I was saying, there's no other language other than this Nigeria Pigeon English. So it's a language that solves the issue, you know, of our national unity, you know, now coming to international relevance of Nigeria Pigeon English, it promotes trans-boundary relationship. It's a language that promotes better trans-boundary relationship between Nigeria and the committee of nations in Africa and also all over the world, Europe, America, you know, it promotes better trans-boundary relationship. People are able to relate with us, you know, better, you know, by getting to know such words that we use in Nigeria Pigeon English, you know, they are able to relate with us better because this language actually portrays our culture as well. It portrays the different cultures, values, norms, you know, and ideas that we have in Nigeria. You know, so for foreigners who come into Nigeria or that we get to meet abroad, you know, they're able to relate with us, you know, by virtue of getting to know some words, you know, or by learning this language, they're able to relate with us better. And secondly, it gives rise to language tourism, you know, in Nigeria Pigeon English, you'll find words, you know, in different words of other countries. For example, in East Africa, Swahili is a language peculiar to Kenya, Tanzania, and some parts of Uganda. Now, we have words in Nigeria Pigeon English that are words that are homophone, you know, which you find in Swahili language. For example, there's a word in Nigeria Pigeon English. It's called Toto, T-O- T-O, Toto, you know, it means a woman's private part. Now, in Swahili, there's a similar word that, you know, is pronounced as umtoto. Umtoto, it means a child in Swahili. And we have several others. For example, we also have the word ingozi, ingozi in Swahili, it means skin, you know, but in Nigeria Pigeon English, it's a name of a person. You know, we also have the word butter, you know, you know, and there are several other words, several other words which you find in Nigeria Pigeon English that are also in Swahili, you know, and it's like that with several other languages all over the world, you know. Usages of Nigeria Pigeon English, usages of Nigeria Pigeon English, Nigeria Pigeon English is a language that is used mostly for business, trade, you know, business, trade, you know, we have we have a lot of horse Nigerians, you know, when we want to buy something, for example, like you want to buy something from the market or supermarket, wherever, you know, you find a lot of us speak Pigeon, you know, we say how much, how much it is, how much we did, you know, it's not, you know, and we all understand it, you know, we all understand it. It's also a language that we use for public campaigns, all kinds of campaigns, be it religious campaigns, political campaigns, all kinds of campaigns, you find a lot of people doing the campaigns, speaking Nigeria Pigeon English, you know, our election is fast approaching, the 2023 election is fast approaching, you know, and you find a lot of people, you know, politicians communicating with the people in Nigeria Pigeon English, because they know that this is the language that people understand the most, you know, they know this is the language everybody understands and even they themselves, they're able to express their thoughts better, you know, using Nigeria Pigeon English. And also it's a language that has very good advertisement value. You find so many companies, so many companies are using words, you know, that are peculiar to Nigeria Pigeon English, you know, you find so many actually, there are lots of telecoms in Nigeria that they use words of Nigeria Pigeon English. There's even one major one that uses the word brekete, you know, it's a telecom in Nigeria, they use the word brekete for one of their adverts, you know, even even so many, even DSTV actually has a package they call YANGA, you know, one of the DSTV packages is called YANGA. YANGA is actually a word in Pigeon English and there are so many others, so many others, you know, so it's also a language that has better cultural adaptability, you know, you want to adapt easily, it's a language that would enable you, you know, to blend easily with us in Nigeria. And also, it's a language that is good for poem, you know, for poem, you know, you need to hear some poems in Nigeria Pigeon English. They are very interesting. For example, there's a poem I taught some of my students some time ago, it's let me just say some part of it is YAMFUFU or YAMFUFU code YAMFUFU in the port three days old, you know, YAMFUFU is is a powder like meal, you know, that we eat in Nigeria, you know, and if you're in Nigeria, for instance, you would have heard of FUFU, you would have heard of EBA and all those kind of things, you know, so there are poems in Pigeon English like this one and several others. Even their idiomatic expressions like in my book, the Pigeon English book, Len Nigeria Pigeon English volume one, you'll find a good number of idiomatic expressions and proverbs in that book, you know, and also it's a language that is very good for music, you know, that's why you see most of our music, a lot of them, they are in Nigeria Pigeon English. In fact, there are lots of songs, you know, most of our artists, you know, they use Pigeon English, you know, to make their songs a good number of them. You hear of Davido, Whiskey, Two-Face, most of their songs are in Pigeon English. You know, we have movies, which is also good for movies. We have a good number of movies, so many, you know, that are in Pigeon English. You know, it's also good for stand-up comedy. We have so many comedians who actually use this language, you know, to converse. We have people like basket mouth, I go die, you know, so many. It's also good for sitcoms, you know. So these are some usages of this language. There are still many more, but I just, I liked those ones, you know. So coming to, before I, I hope we're all hearing, Joey. Yes, still here, thank you. Okay, because as if I'm just talking to myself, you know. So I just want to be sure, basically. And I hope I'm not Russian. No, you're good. Okay, all right. So simple expressions in Nigeria, Pigeon English. I want to just teach us some of words, you know, how to express yourself, you know. Like, I don't know if Pio Paolo is on this, is on this, is here. Pio Paolo, Dikalo actually was in Cameroon. He learned Pigeon, you know, Cameroonian Pigeon. And the words he learned in Cameroonian Pigeon. Sometimes you get to know that those words are also in Nigeria Pigeon English. When I'm speaking to him sometimes, and I say those words, he says it, we understand each other, you know. Because like I said, it's a pan-African language, you know, because we have words that are peculiar to, you know, to us in West Africa in Nigeria Pigeon English. So if you want to express yourself in Nigeria Pigeon English, you know, simple expressions, you want to say what's up. For example, you say, waiting the sup. What's up? Waiting the sup. I don't know if I should ask Joey, would you like to try to pronounce, waiting the sup? Waiting the sup. Okay, good. Let me clap for you. I'm clapping for you. You know, it means what's up, you know. That's actually how we say what's up in Nigeria Pigeon English, you know. Another word is, if you want to say how are you? You say are you there, are you there, you know? Are you there, you know? Are you there? So in response, I would say I get kankpe, I get kankpe, I get kankpe, you know, another expression is how are you buddy? I want to ask you how is your buddy or how is your health? I would say how are you buddy, how are you buddy? How are you body? Now, in response, you can say, my buddy is the kankpe, my body There are different expressions, you know different expressions we use. Another expression we have is Aya Piquin. Now Piquin means child in Pijin English and it's also, you find that word in Jamaica Patoa, it also means Piquin, in Jamaica Patoa, that is Piquini in Jamaica Patoa, you know, and there are other expressions, you know, but I just sort of just put in this one here just for us just to learn, you know, so that we can have a feel of this language. So having said all that I have to say, I think I want to hear if anybody has a question or maybe something to advise on or, you know, I think I'm good. Yeah, that's great. Thank you so much for me today. It's great to get to hear a bit of your passion for Nigerian Pijin English and your insider's perspective on the language as well. We do have a bit of time for questions. There's been a couple of people that already wrote questions in the chat, so I could read some of those out for you or then we could see if there's more questions after that. I'll start with the second question actually, Nina Watson was asking about uses of the language and you did touch on that some of that already, but could you say more about how much Nigeria Pijin English is used in writing? Are there books or newspapers or magazines or is it used on social media? Do you see it used in written form or is it primarily used in the oral form? Okay, now in terms of literatures, we don't have so much literatures in Nigeria Pijin English. In fact, that is actually part of what I'm working on, you know, to encourage people to write, to write books, you know, in Nigeria Pijin English. I have written two books, Nigeria Pijin English volume one and volume two, you know, and I know there are a couple of books, but there are not much, you know, I know there's a book on Pijin English written by Olaro Timi. There's another one I saw recently by MK Uswa, you know, but there are not much, there are not much at all. There are not much. What we have that are in Nigeria Pijin English mostly are in movies, movies. You see a good number of movies, you see they are in Pijin English, you know, likewise our songs, music, you know, there's so many of our songs, they are in Nigeria Pijin English. A good, like, like Davido, for example, we know of Davido, we know of Whiskey, we know of Two-Face, we know of a good number of our artists, they are, they sing, you know, using Nigeria Pijin English. But in terms of literature, we still have to work on that, you know, we have to work on that. And like I said, it's, though it's an informal language that we speak in Nigeria at the moment, but the reality is it is a nationwide English, you know, it's not yet recognized by the government as a formal means of communication. But even people in government, they speak this language, they speak this language when they are doing their political campaigns, because they know the only language that the people can understand and can relate them better with is Pijin English, you know. So, and I'm hoping, you know, that soon the government would actually recognize Nigeria Pijin English, because with recently we have more people pushing for this, you know, we have, I've actually had one of the emirs in Niger State telling the government that they need to recognize Nigeria Pijin English, you know, and as a formal means of communication, you know. And I've also talked about this, you know, in some platforms, like when I was at NTA, you know, NTA is the national television station here in Abuja. I was actually talking on the government, calling on the government to recognize this language, you know, to give it formal recognition, because this language is the only language that we can call our own, our own English. We don't have any other English, and it's the only language, like I said, that you'll find everyone that is a Nigerian, you know, every one of us will speak it, whether you are Ausa, Ibu, Yoruba, when we converge, you know, when we converge, you know, the only language we can speak that all of us understands, we have a common understanding, you know, is Nigeria Pijin English? We don't have any other language. If, for example, if you are from the northern part of Nigeria, I'm from the western southwest, you know, and I want to converse to you, the only language that I can speak that I know you can answer me, you know, is Pijin, you know, Pijin, you know, so in terms of literature, we don't have much literature yet, but I'm hoping we know that soon we're going to have more literature, more books, you know, more books, more poems, you know, that will be written in Nigeria Pijin English. I hope I've answered that question. Yeah, that does answer it. Can I just ask about the BBC's Nigeria Pijin website that they do? Have you seen that? And from your perspective, is it very popular in Nigeria? Because that is a written form of the language, whether it's very natural or very popular, I don't know. Yeah, BBC Pijin is doing a great job. They are doing a fantastic job because most of the news that you find on maybe like, you find social media, they also, you know, translated in Pijin, you know, and there are lots of people who, you know, have access to BBC Pijin and they read it. Actually, I followed their news a lot, you know, I followed their news a lot. Like, when they were talking about the, there's a news that was going on in Nigeria some time ago, I actually got to know of that news via BBC Pijin. And they are doing a great job. They have, there are lots of people who also listen to BBC Pijin a lot actually. I may not be able to tell you the exact number, but I know they are in the millions, they are in the millions because BBC Pijin is well known, well known all over Nigeria. And not just in Nigeria, but even Africa is well known and they're doing a fantastic job. Very, very great because they're even helping to promote this language. You know, I did not mean for, for organizations like BBC Pijin and, you know, and several others, you know, and individuals, this language would have gone into extension. You know, this language would have gone into extension, you know, because, you know, prior to now, there were people who feel that this is bad English. And I kept on telling people, this is not bad English. It's, it's, it's a language, you know, that belongs to us in Nigeria. It reflects our norms, our values, our ideals and everything that pertains to us in Nigeria. It reflects it, you know, we even have names, you know, Pijin English Names. Some of my postings on, on Instagram and Facebook, you see, I post some names, Pijin English Names, like God Day, God became, you know, their names, you know, Pijin English Names, and there are so many, you know, and that's just to let everyone know that this language is very, very key. And I'm happy that we have BBC Pijin, you know, because you are doing a great job, very, very great job, very, very great job. Got another question for you. This one from Gwyneth James. She was asking about clarification about what you said earlier. When you said that Nigeria Pijin English is easy to learn. Who is it easy for? Do you mean Nigerians or non-Nigerians? And in what ways is it easy to learn? And I guess I would also add for, is this only for people who already speak English? Or do you find people who don't speak English already? Is it still easy to learn Nigeria Pijin English if they haven't had English first? I meant it's easy to learn firstly to those who are born in Nigeria or foreigners who live in Nigeria. Right now, we have so many foreigners in Nigeria. We have Chinese, a lot of them. We have Indians. We have Lebanese, so many. In fact, I can't tell you the exact number, but the few ones have come in contact with it. They understand Nigeria Pijin English. They don't even have to go to school. I don't have to teach them, because they relate by virtue of their relationship with Nigerians. They are able to learn these words effortlessly. That is one. Now, to those who are in the diaspora, like my students, for example, it doesn't take them much time before they begin to speak this language. Max, two months, three months, they begin to speak it very well, because the words are not hard to pronounce. Like when I ask Joey, when I ask you to say within the sub, for example, you said it well. And I'm sure that word will now be part of your vocabulary, to be hard for you to forget that word, because you already said it with your mouth. So anyway, you see that word within the sub. You know what it means? It means WhatsApp. And that's how it is. It's easy to learn. It's not hard. It's not hard like some native languages that are peculiar to us in Nigeria. Those ones are very hard. We have easy ones as well, but we have some very hard ones that even me myself, I find difficult to learn. You know, but Nigeria Pigeon English is very easy to learn. For those who are born in Nigeria, it's very easy. You don't have to go to school to learn it. For those who live in Nigeria, any part of Nigeria, in any of the 36 states or the federal capital, you don't have to go to school to learn Nigeria Pigeon English. You learn it when you meet people, whether in the office, in the school, in the marketplaces, in the mall, you learn it because you have people speaking in Nigeria Pigeon English. And over a short period of time, you also find yourself conversing with this language. Likewise, for those who are in the diaspora, you know, it's just a matter of time. The moment you're able to get someone to teach you or you listen to the songs, you get to listen to a good number of Nigerian artist songs, you learn these words as well. It's easy. It's not hard. It's not hard at all. You mentioned it was easy to pronounce, but I was glad you didn't ask me to pronounce the word with the K-P with the double articulated labial velar stop because that one may have been more difficult to pronounce. There's another question here from Lilian Houdyeb. Lilian says, very rich and interesting presentation. Thank you. You mentioned the Wari people who use Nigeria Pigeon English as their first language. Did they also speak an indigenous Nigerian language? And if yes, what's the relationship between the two languages as far as this population is concerned? Do you know more about that area and other languages that are spoken there? Now, Wari, they have their native languages. When I was in Wari in 2019, I was in Okbe. I was in Wari. Wari has about eight or 10 local governments. We have Okbe, Wari South, Wari, not so many local governments, you know, and they have their native languages. They have their native languages. But the major means of communication, the major, the major form of communication in Wari, anywhere in Wari is Nigeria Pigeon English. In fact, when I was there in 2019, I was there for almost three months, you know. Every time I moved around, I heard people speaking Nigeria Pigeon English in the palace of the king. When I was doing advocacy, you know, linguistic advocacy and other work, I found people speaking Nigeria Pigeon English. They have their native languages as well. But they speak those native languages, you know, perhaps maybe when they are in their homes, or maybe in their, should I use the word, in their social fold, you know, they use those languages, but you hardly find them using their native languages. Unlike the way you find people in Wari conversing in Nigeria Pigeon English. Everywhere you go to in Wari, everywhere on the road, supermarket in fact is their first language, you know, their first language means of communication. They have other languages too, but you find them speaking Nigeria Pigeon English more. There are some languages in Wari. I can't pronounce in some of those languages. Might not be easy for me, but they have a good number of native languages. And those native languages, some of them have words, you know, in Nigeria Pigeon English. They have words, you know, in Nigeria Pigeon English and it's interesting when you hear Wari people speak Pigeon, you know, it's in fact they have a peculiar accent for Pigeon in Wari, you know, which is peculiar to Wari, is peculiar to Bini. You know, when you go to those cities that I mentioned, Wari, Bini, Potacot, you know, you hear people speak Pigeon there, their Pigeon is very interesting, you know, they have a peculiar accent. So there's some some variation in the way people speak it in different areas. Yes, something like that, you know, something like that is peculiar to them, very peculiar to them. I have another question here from Ben Carson. He says, thank you for the presentation. I'm neutral linguistics and recently wrote about how using indigenous language as a means of instruction in is beneficial to primary education in Africa. Do you know if you would find standard British English in classrooms or would the teacher use Nigeria Pigeon English or one of the three dominant national languages? Well, like I said earlier, the government is yet to recognize Nigeria Pigeon English as a former means of communication. Now, aside from that, everywhere you go to in Nigeria, you find people conversing in this language is a conversational language, but it is still informal. Now, in schools, the teachers, the lecturers, when they want to deliver their lecture, they use conventional English. When I was in school, for example, the lecturers would come to class to deliver lecture using conventional English. That is British English that we know or American English. No lecturer would go and deliver lecture using Nigeria Pigeon English because they know the government is yet to recognize it formally as a means of communication. So they won't do that. They won't. But when you go to a lecturer's office, for example, which is a private dealing between you and the lecturer, of course, the lecturer can speak to you in Pigeon English because he knows that is our conversational English, our informal English. So it's like that everywhere. Even in the government offices, when the government is addressing the public, you don't find them speaking Pigeon English. When they're making a public, a formal broadcast, you don't hear them speak Pigeon. They may speak Pigeon privately, but when it's a formal occasion or an official assignment, they speak conventional English. Have I answered that question? Yeah. Just a follow-up question on the use of English in schools and English in general in Nigeria. We had a presentation just over a year ago on Nigerian English and argument there is that there's a type of English spoken in Nigeria that's distinct from British or whatever different kinds of English. And that could be destigmatized and treated as a national language, which is distinct from Pigeon because it's closer to world Englishes. And if you just accept Nigerian English as the national language in the schools, that could function as a language of national identity, something that has more international use in terms of understanding and being able to understand it. So I'm just wondering what your perspective is on the importance of recognizing Nigeria Pigeon English as a nationwide language versus the another proposal that we can focus on. Nigerians could focus on Nigeria English, which is closer to these international languages as a marker of national identity, which is something that would be easier to implement in schools, for example. Yeah. Yeah. Like I said, conventional English, British English is the formal means of communication in Nigeria. It is stated like that in the 1999 Constitution that British English is our formal English. Yeah. So the proposal would be to change that and make it Nigeria English as the formal. No, no, no. That's not what some of us are advocating. We're not saying... Oh yeah, I'm saying I've heard other people advocate that position. So I'm wondering what is your response? No, no. I'm not advocating that because British English is a universal language. It's not just in Nigeria. In fact, there are billions of people who speak British English. In fact, there are lots of languages in the world, but British English still remains a universal language. So I'm not saying that the government should set aside British English. No. What I'm only advocating for is give Nigeria Pigeon English a formal recognition that it is a conversational language. That's what I'm advocating. The reason being we've had people with wrong mindsets that Nigeria Pigeon English should not be tolerated among youths or teenagers because they feel it's bad English. And I've told such people it's wrong because the relationship between Nigeria Pigeon English and British English is a symbiotic relationship. We have a lot of words in Nigeria Pigeon English that stems from British English. For example, there's a word in British English, B-E-W-L-E, bell. Am I correct? Barred from French, but yes. Is it French? Well, it's also used in English. In English, yes. I know it's French, but I said more in English because I think it's a name or something like that. It means is he a girl or something or something. It means beautiful in French. Beautiful. Thank you. Yes. Now in Pigeon English, that word means B-E-W-L-E. It means it's pronounced as B-E-W-L-E. It means stomach. Stomach. It means stomach. That is human stomach. That's what it means. You would hear some of us say, ah, my B-E-W-L-E, they pain me. That is my stomach is paining me. So I tell people what I'm advocating for is for the government to recognize Nigerian Pigeon English as a conversational language, you know, a conversational language that can be used for communication, you know, in different platforms so that people won't start having this mindset that it's bad English, it's illiterate English. In fact, there are some people who feel that those who speak Pigeon English, they are illiterate and I kept on telling them that they are wrong. You know, they are wrong. They are wrong, you know. So what I'm advocating basically, you know, it's for the government to recognize, give it a formal recognition, you know, that it's a conversational language because in reality, it is a conversational language. It's the only language that is spoken nationwide. We don't have any other language in Nigeria. I mean ethnic language that has that attention, that has 70% of our people speaking it. There's no other language. There's no other language. I'm from the Southwest, you know, the population of Yoruba in the Southwest is about 15% of the total population. I've traveled a number of states in Nigeria, you know, and I hardly, when I go to the North for example, I hardly find people who speak Yoruba in the North, you know, but I met several who understood Pigeon English because when I go to meet them, I say, are you there? Do you answer me? Are they fine? You know, it's a language that is spoken across the country, you know, it's a nationwide language, but it's not yet a national language. And that's what I'm eating, that the government should recognize it as a conversational language because in reality, that is what it is. Perhaps let's transition to what will probably be our last question as we're running out of time here, but there's a question from Ola Walea Kimbadi who says, for Nigerian Pigeon, also known as Niger, to rise to the status of national language, what areas do you think we need to work on to make it more prestigious? For instance, I think it's inclusion into the school curriculum will add value to it more. Absolutely. I share the same thinking. I share the same thinking, you know, because in our schools right now, we teach native languages like Ausa, Ibo, Yoruba, you know, particularly in the high schools. When I was in high school, I was taught Ibo. I was taught French as well. I was taught how to speak French. I learned some words in French when I was in school. I was taught Ibo. I was taught a bit of Ausa, you know, in school. It's part of the school curriculum, but I wasn't taught how to speak Pigeon. I grew up learning it, like I said, so it would be good for the government to actually include it, you know, include it, not necessarily for students to be taught how to speak Pigeon English, but like I said, as a means of communication. You know, if the lecturer feels he could express his thoughts better in Pigeon English, it should be allowed to do it, you know, because I've discovered that sometimes when I want to say some things to some people, it's better said in Nigeria Pigeon English for purpose of better comprehension, you know, it's better said in Nigeria Pigeon English. So I shared the same thought, just like Uluwoli said, it would be good for the government to actually look in that direction. It will help a lot. It will help a lot. It will help a whole lot, you know. That's great. I think that might be a good note for us to end our conversation on. So let me say thank you to everyone who came and participated. There's more questions and comments in the chat and I can forward those to you. But I mean, Delaysa, you have those as well. Thanks to everyone there, especially Josephine Alexander has a lot of good points that she added to the chat that we weren't able to get to in conversation. So thank you, especially to Bami Delay for putting this presentation together and sharing your perspective with us. We hope everyone enjoyed this time together. Thank you, Joy. Thank you, Joy. Thank you. And to all the team, thank you so much as well. Thank you. Thank you.