The ideological debate on Nigerian Pidgin and its use in education

Nigerian Pidgin is an extended pidgin with millions of speakers in Nigeria, and it is also a creole, since some communities use it as a first language (Faraclas 2013, Mazzoli 2017). It is a common lingua franca in former English colonies in West Africa and has potential for transnational use. Notwithstanding its importance at multiple levels, Nigerian Pidgin is not mentioned in language related policies in Nigeria, and its use in education is limited and stigmatized. This is due to aggressive ideologies that identify Nigerian Pidgin as an inferior language, especially with respect to English in Nigeria. In this paper, based on fieldwork data collected in southern Nigeria, I outline positive and negative ideologies related to Nigerian Pidgin, and argue that innovative ideologies have emerged among native speakers of Nigerian Pidgin, which constitute a base for elaborating endoglossic policies and introducing Nigerian Pidgin in the classroom.