The principal historical dictionary of the English language, Oxford English
Dictionary (OED) has recognised some frequently used Nigerian English as
standard English words and included it in its recent update.
OED effects its updates on a quarterly basis and the recent, January 2020
constitute the Third Edition of the dictionary.
In a statement on its websites, OED said; “The material added to the
dictionary includes revised versions of existing entries (which replace the
older versions), and new words and senses both within the alphabetical sequence
of revised entries and also across the whole A to Z range.”
“The OED‘s latest update sees the
addition of several Nigerian English words, including bukateria, danfo, and
tokunbo.”
There were no lesser than
twenty-nine (29) new words from Nigerian English in the new update. Nigerian
English in OED update agric, adj. & n. barbing salon, n. buka, n.
bukateria, n. chop, v./6 chop-chop, n./2 danfo, n. to eat money, in eat, v.
ember months, n. flag-off, n. to flag off in flag, v. gist, n./3 gist, v./2
guber, adj. Kannywood, n. K-leg, n. mama put, n. next tomorrow, n. & adv.
non-indigene, adj. & n. okada, n. to put to bed, in put, v. qualitative,
adj. to rub minds (together) in rub, v./1 sef, adv. send-forth, n. severally,
adv. tokunbo, adj. zone, v. zoning, n.
To buttress the impact of Nigerian English in literature, the OED World
English Editor, Danica Salazar, referenced a quote by Nigerian renown female
author, Chimamanda Adichie, “My English-speaking is rooted in a Nigerian
experience and not in a British or American or Australian one. I have taken
ownership of English.”
“By taking ownership of English and
using it as their own medium of expression, Nigerians have made, and are
continuing to make, a unique and distinctive contribution to English as a
global language,” Salazar commended. “We highlight their contributions in this
month’s update of the Oxford English Dictionary, as a number of Nigerian
English words make it into the dictionary for the first time,” she added.
Majority of the English words from according to Salazar; “are either
borrowings from Nigerian languages or unique Nigerian coinages that have only
begun to be used in English in the second half of the twentieth century, mostly
in the 1970s and 1980s.