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Cook stew of pidgin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2001

Moba Jesse
Affiliation:
Faculty of Letters and Social Sciences, University of Douala, Cameroon, Central Africa

Abstract

This paper discusses pidgin English, and far from calling it a corrupt and decayed form of the English language (as has been the case in many well-meaning literary circles), shows that pidgin has poetic resources capable of expressing a wide range of mentalities, tastes, customs, and even fashion itself. Because of this flexibility, pidgin reveals a high degree of closeness to the original speech patterns, notably in an attempt to preserve syntactical equivalents. Thus, if pidgin is adopted as a lingua franca throughout the sub-Saharan African region, it will enable Africans to take new pride in their artistic traditions and non-Africans to share in the joy and excitement of Africa's art.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
© 2001 Cambridge University Press

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