BBC News Pidgin is an online news service in West African Pidgin English that was launched by the BBC World Service in 2017.[1][2] It is based in Lagos, Nigeria.[1]

Pidgin, first used by British and African slavers to facilitate the Atlantic slave trade in the late 17th century, has become one of the most widely spoken languages in West Africa, with up to 75 million speakers in Nigeria alone. However, it does not have a standard written form.[1] In turn, the BBC developed a "standardised" form of Pidgin aiming to serve all West African speakers which has certain traits not found in other forms, such as increased usage of inflections.[3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "BBC starts Pidgin digital service for West Africa audiences". BBC News. 21 August 2017. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  2. ↑ Bradley, Sian (23 August 2017). "Wetin dey happen? The BBC's Pidgin news site is a huge deal". Wired. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
    - de Freytas-Tamura, Kimiko (30 December 2017). "The BBC in Pidgin? People like it well-well". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  3. ↑ Oyebola, Folajimi; Ugwuanyi, Kingsley (2 January 2023). "Attitudes of Nigerians Towards BBC Pidgin: A Preliminary Study". Language Matters. 54 (1): 78–101. doi:10.1080/10228195.2023.2203509. ISSN 1022-8195.
  4. ↑ "Working towards a standard Pidgin". BBC. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 14 October 2023.


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