Identification of Nigerian English idioms: a methodological perspective
Sociolinguists who study varieties of language often need to make decisions about whether a particular linguistic element or expression constitutes a feature of the variety being studied. Comparing the specific variety, for instance, a variety of English, with the parent or native form of English is...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis
2016
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| Online Access: | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54485/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54485/1/Identification%20of%20Nigerian%20English%20idioms.pdf |
| _version_ | 1848852556991692800 |
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| author | Muhammad, Umar Aliyu Yap, Ngee Thai Chan, Mei Yuit Wong, Bee Eng |
| author_facet | Muhammad, Umar Aliyu Yap, Ngee Thai Chan, Mei Yuit Wong, Bee Eng |
| author_sort | Muhammad, Umar Aliyu |
| building | UPM Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Sociolinguists who study varieties of language often need to make decisions about whether a particular linguistic element or expression constitutes a feature of the variety being studied. Comparing the specific variety, for instance, a variety of English, with the parent or native form of English is generally carried out to examine for systematic differences between the two forms. The task becomes more challenging when the feature of interest involves figurative meaning such as idioms and idiomatic expressions. In a recently completed project that sought to examine idioms in Nigerian English, questions and issues about methodology were raised. Among these were the questions of how idioms in the regional variety could be identified as distinct from idioms that are originally found in the parent variety, and more importantly, what evidence could be offered to support claims that a particular idiom is a feature of the regional variety. In this article, we discuss the issues connected with the difficulty of examining idioms in a specific variety of English known as Nigerian English, and propose a framework for evaluating the idioms. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-15T10:39:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | upm-54485 |
| institution | Universiti Putra Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-15T10:39:58Z |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | upm-544852018-03-21T01:41:48Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54485/ Identification of Nigerian English idioms: a methodological perspective Muhammad, Umar Aliyu Yap, Ngee Thai Chan, Mei Yuit Wong, Bee Eng Sociolinguists who study varieties of language often need to make decisions about whether a particular linguistic element or expression constitutes a feature of the variety being studied. Comparing the specific variety, for instance, a variety of English, with the parent or native form of English is generally carried out to examine for systematic differences between the two forms. The task becomes more challenging when the feature of interest involves figurative meaning such as idioms and idiomatic expressions. In a recently completed project that sought to examine idioms in Nigerian English, questions and issues about methodology were raised. Among these were the questions of how idioms in the regional variety could be identified as distinct from idioms that are originally found in the parent variety, and more importantly, what evidence could be offered to support claims that a particular idiom is a feature of the regional variety. In this article, we discuss the issues connected with the difficulty of examining idioms in a specific variety of English known as Nigerian English, and propose a framework for evaluating the idioms. Taylor & Francis 2016 Article PeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54485/1/Identification%20of%20Nigerian%20English%20idioms.pdf Muhammad, Umar Aliyu and Yap, Ngee Thai and Chan, Mei Yuit and Wong, Bee Eng (2016) Identification of Nigerian English idioms: a methodological perspective. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 34 (4). pp. 279-288. ISSN 1607-3614; ESSN: 1727-9461 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2989/16073614.2016.1258999 Nigerian English idioms; Methodological perspective; Sociolinguists 10.2989/16073614.2016.1258999 |
| spellingShingle | Nigerian English idioms; Methodological perspective; Sociolinguists Muhammad, Umar Aliyu Yap, Ngee Thai Chan, Mei Yuit Wong, Bee Eng Identification of Nigerian English idioms: a methodological perspective |
| title | Identification of Nigerian English idioms: a methodological perspective |
| title_full | Identification of Nigerian English idioms: a methodological perspective |
| title_fullStr | Identification of Nigerian English idioms: a methodological perspective |
| title_full_unstemmed | Identification of Nigerian English idioms: a methodological perspective |
| title_short | Identification of Nigerian English idioms: a methodological perspective |
| title_sort | identification of nigerian english idioms: a methodological perspective |
| topic | Nigerian English idioms; Methodological perspective; Sociolinguists |
| url | http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54485/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54485/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54485/ http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54485/1/Identification%20of%20Nigerian%20English%20idioms.pdf |