Keywords
stand-up comedy
Nigerian pidgin
code-switching
orality
How to Cite
Abstract
Nigeria is complexly multilingual. Arising from this, Nigerian stand–up comedians employ a variety of linguistic strategies to communicate with the audience. This research investigates the peculiarities of language use in Nigerian stand-up comedy by analysing patterns of code choices in the comic performances of four comedians. Because the stand-up comedy industry is predominant in the Southern part of Nigeria, the comedians chosen for this study are representative of the three geopolitical zones of southern Nigeria. The analysis of the data indicates that (1) although Nigerian stand-up comedians primarily use Nigerian Pidgin (NP) they also employ language alternation and code-switch between NP, English, and a variety of indigenous languages. (2) NP is mainly used in the oral medium. Consequently, features of orality: repetition, parallel structures, anaphora, lexical cushioning, semantic extension, metaphor imagery, sentence fragments, and rhetorical devices, are other dominant features of Nigerian stand-up comedy.
References
Abram, M.H., & Harpham, G. (2005). Glossary of literary terms. 8th ed. Michael Rosenberg.
Adetuyi, C.A., Jegede, O. O., & Adeniran A. A. (2018). Linguistic features of Pidgin in stand-up comedy in Nigeria. World Journal of English Language, 8(2), 1-11.
Agbo, O. F., & Plag, I. (2022). The relationship of Nigerian English and Nigerian Pidgin in Nigeria: Evidence from copula constructions in Ice-Nigeria. Journal of Language Contact, 13, 351-388.
Akande, A. T. (2008). Is Nigerian Pidgin English English? Dialectologiaet Geolinguistica African Identities, 18(1), 3-22.
Akporobaro, F. B. O. (2001). Introduction to African oral literature: A literary-descriptive approach. Princeton Publication Company.
Arole, W. (2018). My mother. https://youtube/ObF5TzMT5VIE Retrieved 9th February 2020
Balogun, T. A. (2013). In defence of Nigerian Pidgin. Journal of Languages and Culture, 4, 90–98. https://doi.org/10.5897/JLC12.007.
Bakker, P. (2009). Pidgins versus creoles and pidgin creoles. The handbook of Pidgin and Creole studies (pp. 130-157). John Wiley and Sons.
Benneth, C. (2018). World class hospital. https://youtube/ObF5TzMT5VIE (Acapella)
Benneth, C. (2018). Stolen mace. https://youtube/ObF5TzMT5VIE (Acapella)
Bowoto, J. (2019). Ali Baba Show. https://youtube/WB_sb-bQ9f8 (Akpororo). Retrieved February 8, 2020.
Bowoto. J. (2017). Tboss open bobby. https://youtube/B-Gu0ljyhR0. (Akpororo). Retrieved February 8, 2020.
Braimoh, J. J. (2020). Linguistic expressions of Pidgin in Nigerian Stand-up comedy. [Unpublished PhD Thesis. University of Mississippi].
Bullock, B., & Toribio, A.J. (2012). Themes in the study of code switching. In B.E. Bullock & A.J. Toribio (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of code-switching (pp. 1- 18). Cambridge University Press.
Coupland, N. (2007). Style: Language variation and identity. Cambridge University Press
Darah, G., (2005). Battles of songs: Udje tradition of the Urhobo. Malthouse Press.
Deuber, D. (2006). Aspects of variation in educated Nigerian Pidgin: Verbal structures. In A. Deumert & S. Durrleman (Eds.), Structure and variation in language contact (pp. 243–261). John Benjamins.
Emama, E.O. (2017). The utility value of Urhobo, English, and Pidgin in selected rural Urhobo communities. Abraka Humanities Review, 7(3), 42–50.
Faraclas, N. (2008). Nigerian pidgin English: Morphology and syntax. In R. Mesthrie (Ed.) Varieties of English: Africa, South, and Southeast Asia. Vol. 4 (pp. 240-26). De Gruyter Mouton.
Filani, I. (2015). Discourse types in stand-up comedy performances: an example of Nigerian stand-up comedy. European Journal of Humour Research, 3(1), 41–60.
Filani, I. (2016). Humour strategies in Nigerian stand-up comedy. [Unpublished Doctoral Thesis, University of Ibadan].
Highet, G. (1992). The anatomy of satire. Princeton University Press.
McNeil, D. (2009). Gesture and communication. In J. Mey (Ed.), Concise encyclopedia of pragmatics (pp. 229-307). Elsevier.
Mey, J. (2006). Pragmatics: An introduction. Blackwell.
Myers-Scotton, C. (1993). Dueling languages: Grammatical structures in codeswitching. Clarendon Press.
Mowarin, M. (2009). Aspects of lexico-semantic processes in Nigerian Pidgin. Journal of the Linguistic Association of Nigeria, 12, 57-67.
Mowarin, M., & Emama, E.O. (2020). Linguistic devices and rhetorical strategies in Nigerian stand-up comedy. Abraka Humanities Review, 10(1), 1-19.
Okpewho, I. (1992). African oral literature: Background, character, and continuity. Indiana University Press.
Oyeleye, L. (2005). The new linguistic order: A critical examination of the impact of globalisation on the English language. In B. Oyediran & L. Oyeleye (Eds), Perspectives in language and literature (pp. 1-21). Obafemi Awolowo University Press.
Raheem, S.O. (2018). Sociolinguistic study of social political activism and non-violent resistance in stand-up comedy in Nigeria. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies, 12(6), 75–91.
Raheem, S.O. (2019). Multiculturalism and diversity: A study of stereotypes in Nigerian stand-up comedy performances. Ife Studies in English Language, 14(1/2), 58-79.
Sekoni, R. (1992). The narrator, narrative pattern, and audience experience of oral narrative performance. In I. Okpewho (Ed.). The oral performance in Africa (pp. 83–91). Spectrum Books.
Wilkinson, J. (1986). Nigerian Pidgin and comedy. Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dell’ Istituto italiano per L’Africa e L’ Oriente, 41(4), 616–626.
Yule, G. (1996). Pragmatics. Oxford University Press.
Yu, H. (2014). The syntax of topicalisation of nd/dp after ‘de’ in Chinese. Theory and Practice in Language Studies. 4(12), 2594-2598.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2024 The European Journal of Humour Research