The Phenomenon of Global Varieties of English

The phenomenon of "New Englishes" refers to the varieties of English that have evolved in regions outside of native English-speaking countries, particularly in post-colonial nations where English has become a second language or an official language. This evolution occurs as English interacts with local cultures, languages, and sociolinguistic contexts, leading to unique forms of the language that differ from the traditional British or American standards.

can be traced back to the colonial era when the British established control over the country in the late 19th century. English was introduced through missionary schools and colonial administration, becoming the language of governance, education, and commerce. The language's status as the official language of Nigeria was cemented during this period, and it continued to play a crucial role after Nigeria gained independence in 1960.

 argue that it reflects the sociocultural realities of Nigeria and serves the communicative needs of its speakers. It is used in formal settings, including education and government, and has developed its own set of rules and norms. Nigerian English includes localized expressions, unique pronunciations, and lexical borrowings from indigenous languages.

A key criterion for distinguishing between errors and variants is **intelligibility**—whether the feature in question is understood by other speakers of Nigerian English. If a feature enhances communication and is widely accepted, it can be regarded as a variant. For example, the use of "go-slow" for traffic jam is a common lexical variant in Nigerian English. However, grammatical mistakes like “I am understand” would be considered an error rather than a legitimate variant.

Establishing an endonormative standard for Nigerian English would involve codifying acceptable features of the variety, such as localized idioms, pronunciation patterns, and syntactic structures, while discouraging genuine errors that hinder communication.

While some indexical markers of Nigerian English can be explained by **extension** (e.g., the extended use of certain verbs or prepositions in Nigerian English), others may arise from **restriction** (e.g., simplifying certain grammatical constructions compared to Standard English). However, not all features of Nigerian English can be neatly categorized into these two terms. Many features are the result of creative linguistic innovation or cultural adaptation, making the variety a rich and complex system that goes beyond simple extension and restriction.