Language of Power: Pidgin in the Colonial Governance of Northern Nigeria
Pidgin was indispensable as a working language of colonial governance in Northern Nigeria, epitome of the distinct and continuing role of pidgin as a language of the workplace in West Africa. The study is largely based on archival materials and oral interviews of some former African employees. N...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Ghana
2015-05-01
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| Series: | Legon Journal of the Humanities |
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| _version_ | 1818277370531938304 |
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| author | Philip Atsu Afeadie |
| author_facet | Philip Atsu Afeadie |
| author_sort | Philip Atsu Afeadie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pidgin was indispensable as a working language of colonial governance in Northern Nigeria, epitome of the distinct and continuing role of pidgin as a language of the workplace in West
Africa. The study is largely based on archival materials and oral interviews of some former African employees. Notably, British colonial authorities adopted pidgin as a language of
government in Northern Nigeria, as they lacked a wider medium for inter-ethnic communication. African political agents were employed as intermediaries, based on their
knowledge of pidgin and other local languages, enabling them bridge communication between government and chiefs. And pidgin was hard to replace. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:00:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-71113d74280c48ec9c3b6fb778440514 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2458-746X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T23:00:28Z |
| publishDate | 2015-05-01 |
| publisher | University of Ghana |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Legon Journal of the Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-71113d74280c48ec9c3b6fb7784405142022-12-22T00:08:49ZengUniversity of GhanaLegon Journal of the Humanities2458-746X2015-05-01261193710.4314/ljh.v26i1.2Language of Power: Pidgin in the Colonial Governance of Northern NigeriaPhilip Atsu Afeadie0University of Ghana , LegonPidgin was indispensable as a working language of colonial governance in Northern Nigeria, epitome of the distinct and continuing role of pidgin as a language of the workplace in West Africa. The study is largely based on archival materials and oral interviews of some former African employees. Notably, British colonial authorities adopted pidgin as a language of government in Northern Nigeria, as they lacked a wider medium for inter-ethnic communication. African political agents were employed as intermediaries, based on their knowledge of pidgin and other local languages, enabling them bridge communication between government and chiefs. And pidgin was hard to replace.intermediariespidgincolonial admi nistrationNorthern Nigeriaevolution |
| spellingShingle | Philip Atsu Afeadie Language of Power: Pidgin in the Colonial Governance of Northern Nigeria Legon Journal of the Humanities intermediaries pidgin colonial admi nistration Northern Nigeria evolution |
| title | Language of Power: Pidgin in the Colonial Governance of Northern Nigeria |
| title_full | Language of Power: Pidgin in the Colonial Governance of Northern Nigeria |
| title_fullStr | Language of Power: Pidgin in the Colonial Governance of Northern Nigeria |
| title_full_unstemmed | Language of Power: Pidgin in the Colonial Governance of Northern Nigeria |
| title_short | Language of Power: Pidgin in the Colonial Governance of Northern Nigeria |
| title_sort | language of power pidgin in the colonial governance of northern nigeria |
| topic | intermediaries pidgin colonial admi nistration Northern Nigeria evolution |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT philipatsuafeadie languageofpowerpidgininthecolonialgovernanceofnorthernnigeria |