Recently, Oxford English Dictionary (OED) officially published its
latest updates, featuring an amazing collection of Nigerian English
words that beautifully reflect Nigeria’s culture, creativity, and the
unique ways we express ourselves as Nigerians.”
Some of these words include 419, abi, adire, agbero, area boy,
cross-carpet, cross-carpeting, and eba.
Others are edo, gele, jand, japa, kanuri, kobo Naija, suya, Yahoo, yahoo boy and yarn dust.
In this interview with Daily Query’s IKECHUKWU NNADI in Enugu, Dr. Kingsley Ugwuanyi, a consultant with Oxford English Dictionary (OED) explains how those words found their way into OED, assuring that more will follow.
Let me start by asking you, who is Dr. Kingsley Ugwuanyi?
Well, I am an English language expert, if you like. I am a teacher. I
teach at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, in the department of English Literature, as a senior lecturer.
However, currently I’m on research leave because I am undertaking a
research fellowship at SOAS University of London. That is where
I’m based at the moment and as you probably know, I also consult
for the OED on Nigerian English words as well as other African words, especially West African English words.
In summary, I am on research leave with interest in what we call ‘Words English.’ Specifically I study ‘Nigerian English’ and want to look at people’s attitudes towards that brand of English, apart
from the emergence of new words. Yeah, that’s what I have been studying all this while.
How did these Nigerian words get into the Oxford English Dictionary (OED)?
I have spoken about this on many platforms and I will just say that
the OED actually aims to tell a complete story of the English language
and by that, they want to capture words in the English language as they are used across the world; they don’t want to just tell the story of English language as it is used in the UK, the US or other traditional centres of English like Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the rest.
They also want to tell the story of English language as it is used in
the other parts of the world like Nigeria, Ghana, Singapore or
Jamaica.
What happens is that the OED has at its disposal, a range of tools. One of them is called the Oxford English Corpus. This is a database containing written texts and spoken texts in English language appearing from all over the world. There is also another one that chronicles words written in newspapers. On a daily basis, OED updates words from newspapers from about 20 countries across the world. Using these tools, when words pop up in this Corpus, the OED editors will have a look at these words, make a list of them and begin to look at the context in which the words are used.
They also look at meaning and draft tentative meanings or definitions,
if you like. They also look at the history of the words. And they come
to people. They come to consultants like us, because we have the extra advantage of speaking the language in question, the English language.
So, we begin to look at these words – what do they mean, how long Have they been used, or are they being used across the length and breadth of the country? Are they words most Nigerians will understand what they mean?
And once a word ticks all of these boxes, it is drafted and goes
into rigorous editorial and lexicographical processes during which different departments at OED look at it – the pronunciation, the definition, the history and all of that. This is dictionary making. It is not just about meaning. We look at a whole lot of things – meaning, history, context and more. We also look at whether the word is formal or informal and all of that.
As a Nigerian, and of course one who helped in the actualisation of this project, how does this make you feel?
Well, of course it makes me feel very proud. First as a Nigerian, my
country. And also I am proud of my own work and contribution. I am
also proud of the OED and what they have done. As I have said many times on many other platforms, it is not just about I working on this, consulting for OED on this. It is about a team – there is a team. You can’t imagine how many editors that would work on a particular
word.
Before a word goes through the process of being published, it must go
through many tables of different editors. So, it is something that makes me very proud because Nigeria is being announced globally as a result of this. It is being put visibly on the global map of English language. It is something that distinguishes us and promotes our identity as Nigerians. Not just as Nigeria but across the globe. Of course, we know the reputation of OED, a very prestigious dictionary. And when these words appear on OED, they come with a lot of significance. When these words appear in the dictionary, it makes me feel proud. I am also sure that the feedback I have got from many Nigerians makes us feel very proud.
What are the social, economic and cultural impacts of this listing of Nigerian words in OED?
Well, socially I don’t want to use the word validation. Of course OED is
not telling us what to speak. Dictionary just recognizes that these
words are in use. But that recognition is something that comes with social value. For instance, sometimes some people would ask you why you would say japa. Just say migrate, or travel overseas. But, there is a cultural meaning which japa carries, which ordinary English words like migrate or travel abroad might not carry. The meaning is unique.
When Nigerian English begins to contribute to the widening and
ever widening vocabulary of English language, it is something we
should be proud of as Nigerians, and it comes with a lot of social and cultural impacts because we are projecting our culture and way of life in the very consciousness of other people. Such other people across the world reading about suya and mamaput, for instance, when they come to Nigeria, they will like to test suya. And I so much hyped suya when I was talking with one of the editors that he couldn’t resist asking me to bring him some suya when next I travelled to Nigeria. I described suya as one of my best snacks in the world, so to speak. And that is it. We are selling our culture, our identity to the rest of the world by this.
Does it have economic impacts? Yes, because for example, it creates opportunities, it creates recognition. And of course you can see that when big corporations like Microsoft and or Google are listing varieties of English, they beckon on us. They list Nigeria. They list Nigerian English. They can also consult those who are doing this in Nigerian English space to give them some contributions. So, it does have a lot of social, cultural and economic impacts on Nigerians.
Does an individual or say ordinary Nigerian have any chance to make contribution of words to be listed in OED?
The answer is straight yes. You can make contribution.
What are the processes involved in this?
The OED has a short form on their website. In that form, you can just
list the words or any word you feel can be added. You mention it, you
mention the reason why you think it should be added. Give the definition and examples of how this word is used or a source that
has used this word. That is one way.
However, there is no guarantee that when you suggest, it must be
taken. But imagine that a particular word has been suggested by a
thousand Nigerians at different points in time. That is actually sending a strong message to the OED that this word is actually important and that they should add it. They won’t just add it. They will do their own due diligence, make their own research. All right, but then you are sending a message. So, yes everybody has a say. OED is becoming more inclusive. More public-facing. But this is actually one way of making people contribute to the work they are doing.
What words are we currently looking out for to appear in the OED in the near future?
(Chuckles) As I have said elsewhere, I do not have the only say
about which words will appear and which will – I do not know. It is possible for me to say this word will appear, then the word doesn’t appear in the end. So, it is just for us as Nigerians to be on the look out. The truth is that this is an ongoing project. And OED seems more resolved, I will say seems more passionate about it. More and more Nigerian words will be added but I am not in a position to say, yes this word will be added and this one will not be added and when. But all I can say is that we are still working on more words and more will be added in due time.
As a contributor to the acceptance of these words in OED, how does this make you feel vis-a-vis the notion that Nigeria is not all that regarded as good English speaking country?
I cant say really that Nigeria is not regarded as a good English
speaking country. What does good mean? Good is a relative term. I
think Nigerians generally speak good English. The word good is a value judgment. And what is good for one may not be good for another. So, the kind of English or the variety of English spoken by any country is good as far as they are concerned and should be good for all. But then again, this development happening with Nigerian English appearing in the OED is also something that continues to popularize the version of English we speak. So, certainly it is a good development and step in the right direction.
From your own observation, which country in Africa has its indigenous words, so to speak, the most in OED?
I don’t have the statistics. Really, I do not have the statistics but I
I have worked on a few other varieties and strongly believe that Nigeria has the highest number. Of course, you know the position of Nigeria, the status of Nigeria in Africa. In terms of population, Nigeria is the most populous black country in the world. And that is a major factor. And Nigerians travel a lot too.
Nigerians are known all over the world and that contributes also
to the growth of our English. I would think that Nigeria has the highest number in Africa but I don’t have the exact statistics, so I can’t speak for certainty.
Lastly, we want you to rate the standard of written and oral English in Nigeria…
I really don’t know what you mean by rating it. But, if you are thinking about the standard of the spoken English or written English, in terms of comparing what people speak and use, for example, what we find in public examinations, there is a whole lot of difference. This is because most of our public examinations like NECO, WAEC, JAMB are still patterned after British English.
But, the earlier we begin to accept our own form of English, our own kind of English, the better for us. This is because, as I have argued elsewhere, one of the reasons Nigerian children perform badly, so to speak, in English is that the kind of English, the model of English, the variety of English they are tested in, that they are expected to write in NECO, WAEC and JAMB, all of those public examinations, is completely different from the variety of English that they know and use and are familiar with.
So, if they are tested in the variety of English they are familiar
with, they are likely to do better. This is what I think.
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