West African Pidgin English

West African Pidgin English
Native toNigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea
Native speakers
75,000,000 (2017)[1]
English Creole
  • Guinea Coast
    • West African Pidgin English
Latin script
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Glottologwest2851
IETFcpe-011

West African Pidgin English, also known as Guinea Coast Creole English,[2] is a West African pidgin language lexified by English and local African languages. It originated as a language of commerce between British and African slave traders during the period of the transatlantic slave trade. As of 2017, about 75 million people in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana and Equatorial Guinea used the language.[1]

Because it is primarily a spoken language, there is no standardized written form, and many local varieties exist.[3] These include Sierra Leone Krio, Nigerian Pidgin, Ghanaian Pidgin English, Cameroonian Pidgin English, Liberian Pidgin English,[4] the Aku dialect of Krio,[5] and Pichinglis.

  1. ^ a b Kasaree, Najiba (August 22, 2017). "Working towards a standard Pidgin". BBC Academy. BBC. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  2. ^ "The Origin of Pidgin". www.afrostylemag.com. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  3. ^ Freytas-Tamura, Kimiko de (December 30, 2017). "The BBC in Pidgin? People Like It Well-Well". The New York Times. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  4. ^ Gilbert, Glenn (June 1, 2005). "The Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages and the Society for Pidgin and Creole Linguistics, In Retrospect". Creole Language in Creole Literatures. 20 (1): 167–174. doi:10.1075/jpcl.20.1.09gil. ISSN 0920-9034.
  5. ^ "Aku People of Gambia". www.accessgambia.com. Retrieved April 1, 2021.

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