Yogbish: The Nativized Nigerian English Shaping Identity and Culture

Yogbish: Nativization, Identity, and the Reclassification of Nigerian English {Part I}

Author: Alfred Mwiti

Affiliation: Independent Scholar,               Language & Cultural Studies

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Abstract

Nigerian English has traditionally been positioned within linguistic discourse as a non-standard or transitional variety of British English, frequently evaluated against Received Pronunciation as a normative ideal. This study contends that such classifications are theoretically insufficient and sociolinguistically reductive. Drawing on frameworks from World Englishes, language contact theory, and postcolonial linguistics, the article argues that Nigerian English has evolved into a nativized linguistic system characterized by internal consistency, sociocultural grounding, and an independent developmental trajectory.

Central to this evolution is sustained interaction between English and indigenous Nigerian languages, most notably Yoruba and Igbo. These interactions have produced distinctive phonological realizations, semantic extensions, syntactic patterns, and pragmatic conventions that reflect indigenous cognitive and communicative norms. Rather than representing linguistic deficiency, such features constitute systematic processes of adaptation and localization.

To capture this linguistic autonomy and cultural ownership, the study introduces the term “Yogbish” as a proposed reclassification of Nigerian English. The nomenclature functions both descriptively and symbolically, foregrounding African linguistic influence while resisting colonial hierarchies embedded in traditional evaluative models. By reframing Nigerian English as Yogbish, the article challenges deficit-oriented paradigms and advances a decolonized understanding of global English varieties, contributing to broader debates on language legitimacy, identity construction, and the politics of naming in postcolonial societies.

Keywords

Nigerian English; Yogbish; World Englishes; Language Contact; Postcolonial Linguistics; Nativization; African Englishes

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Author:- Alfred Mwiti (2026). Yogbish: Nativization, Identity, and the Reclassification of Nigerian English.

Author Information

Alfred Mwiti is an independent scholar and writer with interests in sociolinguistics, postcolonial studies, African literature, and World Englishes. His work explores language as a site of identity, power, and cultural reclamation in postcolonial societies.