Citation: Khamis Hamza IBRAHIM, Ayuba SABO and Yerima MAINA (2023). The Use of Pidgin English in a Media: A Panacea for a Peaceful Co-Existence. Yobe Journal of Language, Literature and Culture (YOJOLLAC), Vol. 11, Number 1. Department of African Languages and Linguistics, Yobe State University, Damaturu, Nigeria. ISSN 2449-0660
THE
USE OF PIDGIN ENGLISH IN A MEDIA: A PANACEA FOR A PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE
By
Khamis Hamza IBRAHIM
Ayuba SABO
Yerima MAINA
Abstract
This
work examines the critical role of mass media in combating insecurity and
sustaining peaceful co-existence through the use of Pidgin English. Unity FM
and Highland FM Jos were used as the study subject. Some related literature
were reviewed. Baby Talk Theory was used as a Theoretical Framework. Two
programmes were selected from each radio station. The programmes were recorded,
transcribed and analysed. Apart from recordings, interview and observation were
used in collecting the data. The findings of the research revealed that mass
media has been contributing enormously in tackling insecurity in the society
and the simplistic nature of Pidgin English calls for unlimited listeners to
the programmes. The study recommends that journalists should be trained
regularly on terrorism and conflict reporting to always keep them abreast of
modern techniques that could be used in ensuring effective use of mass media
via the use of Pidgin English in combating insecurity in Nigeria.
Keywords: Pidgin English, mass media, Baby Talk Theory, broadcasting,
tackling insecurity, peaceful co-existence
Introduction
Technology
has dominated the world by extensive improvements in audio/visual mass media
such as TV and radio. Television and radio are not just entertainment tools
anymore, but can be used as pedagogically valuable technology that can provide
authentic language input for language learning (Bahrani and Sim, 2011). Shehu
(2016) highlighted that electronic media, radio and television is known as one
of the arms of the mass media that have the capacity of transmitting messages
and information from one part of the world to another. Transmission of messages
and information through television and radio create the awareness that
strengthens the feeling of togetherness. The invention in information
technology especially in the areas of radio and television has been described
as a potent enabler of globalization.
According
to Ibrahim, (2019), mass media plays important roles in communication. Some of
these roles include: media has a central role in mediating information and
forming public opinion. The media casts an eye on events that few of us
directly experience. He adds that mass media presents the opportunity to
communicate to a large number of people and to target particular group of
people. Mass media differs from other forms of communication because it has the
capacity to reach simultaneously many thousands of people who are not related
to the sender. However, all these roles are possible when appropriate
linguistic tools are employed and correct pronunciations of words are
articulated (Ibrahim, 2002).
The
use of Pidgin English will no doubt bring about unlimited listeners together.
Pidgin English is one of the varieties of English, it is a grammatically
simplified means of communication that develops between two or more groups that
do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations
such as trade or where both groups speak languages different from the language
of the country in which they reside (but where there is no common language
between the groups). This study therefore, focuses on the role of mass media in
using Pidgin English for peaceful co-existence in the society.
The
main aim of this research is to analyse the role of mass media in bringing
about peaceful co-existence in the society by using Pidgin English.
The
objectives are:
1.
To find out whether mass media contributes in tackling insecurity in the
society.
2.
To find out whether Pidgin English can be an effective way of sustaining peace
in the society.
The research questions guiding this study are:
1.
To what extent does mass media contribute in tackling of insecurity in the
society?
2.
In what ways can the use of Pidgin English be effective in sustaining
peace in the society?
Research
Instruments and Data Collection
The
principal method employed in this research work is interview. This was used
with the aim of sampling the opinion of the entire population of the area of
study. The interview method gives room for simple observation of behaviuors
displayed by the respondents. Relevant sources were also collected from
documents reflecting the topic under study. Such documents include various
encyclopedia, text books and pamphlets. In addition to the interview and
documentary, recording of programmes from selected radio stations were obtained
and used. The radio stations that were used are Unity FM and Highland FM Jos.
The news items that were obtained from Unity FM were those of 6th July,
2020 and 15th July, 2020 while those of Highland FM were
obtained on 5th August, 2020 and 20th August, 2020. The items
were obtained from the radio stations and the transcriptions and analyses of
the recorded news programmes were done by the researchers.
Lack
of adequate attention (co-operation) by most of the respondents (80% of them)
was one of the challenges encountered by the researchers. Most of them paid
little or no attention to the questions since they considered our visit as
ridiculous and non-profitable to their primary assignments. Some of them were
reluctant to cooperate with the researchers because they thought it would be
used to assess their spoken English.
The
Roles of Mass Media and Pidgin English in The Promotion of Peaceful-Co-existence
The
term ‘media’ in this research refers to both mass media (television, radio,
newspapers) and to social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, online blogs).
Effective and democratic media are essential part and indispensable for
societies trying to make a transition towards peace and democracy. Kuusik
(2010) stated that mass media is a pervasive part of daily life especially in
industrialised countries and thus able to shine a light on conflicts anywhere
in the world. He added that broadcasting news by using community radios can
help reach people in different areas, even with different languages easily.
Media and journalism can be a great assistance in conflict management and peace
building. The media can be a good tool in a healthy and functioning environment
but more is needed than ethical and responsible reporting to ensure lasting
peace and safety. Kuusik (2010) concluded that the potential of the media in
conflict and post-conflict situations remains a net positive, and has been
sadly underutilised to this point in time.
According
to Idris (2020) the media can serve as a driver of peace in diverce: building
bridges between people and groups: improving governance; increasing knowledge
of complex issues; providing early warning of potential conflicts; as an outlet
to express emotions; and as a motivator for action to promote peace. He further
explicated that the media can be used to build relationships. It can support
greater cohesion and understanding between people who consider themselves
different from one another. It can give voice to the most marginalized in
society. It also provides early warning of potential conflicts, and possibly
create pressure to address the conflict.
Alobo
(2015), elaborated on the roles of Pidgin English in Promoting Peaceful
Co-existence. According to him one of the threats to peaceful co-existence in
Nigeria today is ethno-centrism. Nigeria Pidgin English, which has no native
speakers, is therefore capable of eliminating ethno-centrism, thereby promoting
peaceful co-existence and national unity in Nigeria. Pidgin English has made it
possible for people from diverse linguistic backgrounds to relate and interact
cordially and peacefully. It therefore promotes harmonious and peaceful
co-existence among Nigerians. He noted that most media organizations from time
to time deliberately chose Nigerian Pidgin English as a medium of educating,
entertaining and preaching of peace and unity. The Nigeria Television Authority
(NTA) and various state television channels and radio FM stations are good
examples of such media organizations. This no doubt goes a long way to promote
much needed peace and unity in Nigeria.
The
History of Broadcasting in Nigeria
According
to Adejummobi (1974), broadcasting in Nigeria can be traced to 1932; in fact,
December 1932, when the BBC started what they called the Empire Service, and
Lagos was one of the receiving centers. For a short while, Lagos would only
receive; it could not re-broadcast, and even then if it had wanted to
re-broadcast, there were not many receiving sets. So, between 1932 and 1934,
the primary duty of the station was to receive, but the station evolved a
system in which it could redistribute BBC news. The programme was wholly
BBC-nothing local, and in fact until 1951, when the Nigerian Broadcasting
Service was inaugurated, most of the programmes on the wireless (because it was
under the posts and Telegraphs Department then) were BBC programmes, with one
or two local items.
Ibenegbu,
(2018) elaborates on the history of radio broadcast in Nigeria. According to
him, the radio broadcasting started in Nigeria in the year 1933. The very first
Radio Distribution System was installed in Lagos. It was governed by the
Department of Post and Telegraphs. The primary goal of the radio system was to
serve as the BBC reception base. In 1935, the system was changed to the Radio
Diffusion System, which later served in the Second World War.
A
few years later, in 1939, the Ibadan Station was created. The first real
establishment of the Nigerian Broadcasting Service was launched in 1950. The
NBS covered: Kaduna, Enugu, Kano, Ibadan and Lagos. Thanks to the Bill of the
House of Representatives, Nigeria got its first broadcasting corporation in
1956. Then twenty –two years later, the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria
was established. The first external radio service was created in 1990. It was
called the Voice of Nigeria. It is estimated that Nigeria has over five hundred
radio stations. It includes both the government-owned radio stations and
private organisations. Nigerians can also enjoy international transmissions
since 2007.
Theoretical
Framework
There
are so many theories that can be used for this study on Nigerian Pidgin
English. Todd (1992) came up with classical monogenetic theory. This theory
exists in different versions, which relate pidgins and creoles around the word
either to a seafarers’ jargon based on English or to one based on French. The
Nautical Theory assumes that pidgins are derived from the lingua franca spoken
by the crews of ships. The Substratum Theory has the idea that lexifier
language contributes the vocabulary to the Pidgin while grammar comes from the
substrate. Another theory as mentioned by Hummel (2000) is The Relexification
Theory. This theory is also known as “The Monogenetic Theory”, and it says that
all European- language- based Pidgins are descended from Sabir.
The
study uses The Baby Talk Theory as its theoretical framework because of it
suitability. This theory – also known as the ‘Foreigner Theory’- it is based on
the utterances of travelers who heard pidgin languages and were very surprised
by the similarities to the talk of small children. The innovative feature of
this theory is that pidgin is usually makes use of lots of content words and
few function words, the rare morphological change and the reduction of
pronominal contrasts. The theory postulates that either the indigenous people
learned an imperfect version of the superstrate language, or the European
colonisers simplified their own language to make it easier for the substrate
speakers to learn.
The
first major work in this area was an observation made by a scientist. In 1876,
scientist Charles Leland remarked that there are similarities between the
“negro minstrelsy” and baby talk. In his opinion, everyone who can understand
baby talk could understand a pidgin language. He explicates that Pidgin English
and baby talk share some similarities in some aspect for instance a high
proportion of content words, only a few function words and less rigidly
established word classes are features of baby talk as well as of pidgin
languages.
Methodology
Survey
method is used for this study. This method involves collection of data about a
target population from a sample generalizing the finding obtained from the
analysis to the entire population (Jen, 2002). The instruments used for the
data collection in this study are interview schedule, observational checklist
and recordings of programmes from the radio stations. The instruments were
validated by two experts in Kaduna State University and Bauchi State
University. The instruments were found to have face and content validity and
therefore used for the study after effecting corrections from the validators.
To help find the effectiveness of Pidgin English as a panacea for a peaceful
co-existence, the researchers used a reporting technique to analyze the data.
Major
Findings of the Study
The
following are the major findings of the study.
Research
Question 1: To what extent does mass media contribute in tackling of
insecurity in the society?
In
order to answer this question, the researchers used questions 1, 2 and 6 on the
interviewed schedule. The result revealed that mass media has been contributing
immensely in tackling insecurity in the society. From the respondents that were
interviewed, the finding revealed that (22.2%) of them disagreed with the
question while (64.4%) are agreed that mass media has indeed help in tackling
the issues of insecurity and bring about peaceful co-existence in society.
The
result revealed that those that disagreed with the notion were of the opinion
that media have been accused of contributing in worsening the state of
insecurity and conflicts in Nigeria due to reportage primarily aimed at
maximizing profit and increasing audience base. Their views were not different
from that of Pate (2011) as cited by Nwabueze and Ebeze (2013) who listed out
common practices adopted by the media which tend to contribute negatively to
crises situations as follows: selective reporting of prejudicial stereotypes
about groups and individuals, reporting inter-group conflicts out of their
fundamental sociological, economic, political and other contexts, shallow
episodic coverage, total blackout on some groups, individuals or community, use
of inflammatory, misleading and sensational headlines to attract sales,
publishing inflammatory statements against some people or groups as letters to
the editor, attributing statements by individuals to groups making generalized
statements etc. The researchers observed that for sustainable peace to be
maintained the mass media need to desist from such activities in order to make
meaningful impact in combating insecurity in Nigeria, otherwise they (mass
media) will continue to be seen as fueling insecurity.
Majority
of the respondents (70%) however, were of the view that mass media has been
making significant impact in combating insecurity in Nigeria. According to
them, the mass media constitutes one of the most important institutions of
socialization and in fact, the major cultural industry responsible for the
distribution of ideas in the Nigerian society. The study also discovered that
the mass media plays the roles of surveillance and correlation. These functions
are at the core of mobilization against acts of insecurity as well as the acts
will breed insecurity on the society. It is expected that through effective
information, the society would gradually turn against such acts.
In
responding whether there are programmes that discourage insecurity, the
journalist from Highland FM and Unity FM Jos responded that such programmes do
exist. Such crime specific programmes include Police Diary on Radio Nigeria,
and Eagle on radio sponsored on Radio Nigeria by the Economic and Financial
Crime Commission (EFCC). It was also observed that several pages of the some
newspapers are dedicated to crime and security issues.
Research
question 2: In what way can the use of Pidgin English be effective way
in sustaining peace in the society?
Interview
questions 3, 8 and 9 were used to answer this research question. It was
discovered that 62 (95.3%) agreed that the simple nature of Pidgin English
calls for unlimited listeners to the programmes and agreed that it can be
effective in sustaining peace in the society. Most of them affirmed that, they
use Pidgin English because of its simple nature. It is part and parcel of the
people unlike Standard English (SE) which is learnt as a second language. On
the other hand, 3 (4.7%) of the respondents were of the view that their
listening to the Pidgin English has nothing to do with the nature of the
language. They claimed that they enjoyed the programmes for educative and
entertaining benefit. This finding corroborates Acheoah (2019) where he pointed
out that the extrinsic features of Nigerian Pidgin English enables it to link
the various ethnic groups in the country with the socio-cultural values that
define their day-to-day life style.
Conclusion
Peace
and security of life and property are prerequisites for nation-building.
Governance cannot thrive in an atmosphere of chaos and insecurity. Nigeria and
other African nations have been plagued by so much insecurity that nation
building has become elusive. Language has to be used to sensitize, educate and
unite war-torn nations. Within the context of this study, Nigerian Pidgin
English was examined to ascertain how effective it is, in sustaining peace and
combating insecurity in the society. The study discovered that through Nigerian
Pidgin English programmes in radio stations in Nigeria, physical, emotional,
psychological and religious violence can be curbed. Nigerian Pidgin English
provides the decorum, national cohesion, peace, justice, solidarity and
brotherhood which Nigeria is in dire need of.
Recommendations
In
view of the findings and discussion therefore, the researchers put forward the
following recommendations:
1. Where possible, the
Federal, State and Local Governments should employ a tripartite method as a
matter of urgency to put in place all necessary machinery for the effective
implementation of the legislation with stringent measure to encourage the use
of Pidgin English in presenting programmes that are related to security.
2. Because of the ability of
Pidgin English as a potent tool for passing across messages to the less
educated Nigerians, it is recommended that Pidgin English should be used, not
only in comedy programmes, but also in other important programmes that will bring
about peaceful co-existence.
3. Owing to the extensive use
of Pidgin English in Nigeria, the researchers recommend that the government
pays serious attention to the language and give it official recognition.
Linguists should provide a standard orthography of Pidgin English and set up a
board to look into the issue of standardizing it.
4. Journalists should be
trained regularly on terrorism and conflict reporting to always keep them
abreast of modern techniques that could be used in ensuring effective use of
mass media via the use of Pidgin English in combating insecurity in Nigeria.
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