Nigerian English Salutations

MC

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Nov 11, 2012, 10:19:24 AM11/11/12

to

I found this article interesting... You may too.

+++

"Nigerian English has a whole host of what I call stereotyped phrases of
salutations that would strike most native English speakers as curious at
best and incomprehensible at worst. While some of these phrases are
creative coinages or semantic extensions based on the socio-cultural
uniqueness of Nigerian cultural expressions which the English language
hasn't lexicalized, others are the products of an insufficient
familiarity with the conventions and idioms of the English language.

In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that regularly
appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."

http://allafrica.com/stories/201211110297.html

--

"If you can, tell me something happy."
- Marybones

R H Draney

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Nov 11, 2012, 4:33:43 PM11/11/12

to

MC filted:

>
>In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that regularly
>appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."

Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are there only four
in the article?...r

--
Me? Sarcastic?
Yeah, right.

MC

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Nov 11, 2012, 5:33:33 PM11/11/12

to

In article <k7p5j...@drn.newsguy.com>,

R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net> wrote:

> MC filted:
> >
> >In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that regularly
> >appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."
>
> Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are there only four
> in the article?...r

Gosh. I don't know.

Mike L

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Nov 11, 2012, 5:46:33 PM11/11/12

to

On 11 Nov 2012 13:33:43 -0800, R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>
wrote:

>MC filted:
>>
>>In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that regularly
>>appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."
>
>Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are there only four
>in the article?...r

If you want the other six, you have to give him your bank details.

--
Mike.

J. J. Lodder

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Nov 11, 2012, 5:56:11 PM11/11/12

to

R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net> wrote:

> MC filted:
> >
> >In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that regularly
> >appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."
>
> Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are there only four
> in the article?...r

He is still waiting for the other six letters to arrive,

Jan

Stan Brown

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Nov 11, 2012, 6:33:43 PM11/11/12

to

On Sun, 11 Nov 2012 10:19:24 -0500, MC wrote:
> In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that regularly
> appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."
>

The top one, of course, is "The united Nations wants to compensate
you for your loss in a previous fraudulent transaction."

--
"The difference between the /almost right/ word and the /right/ word
is ... the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning."
--Mark Twain
Stan Brown, Tompkins County, NY, USA http://OakRoadSystems.com

Reinhold {Rey} Aman

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Nov 11, 2012, 6:34:36 PM11/11/12

to

MC wrote:

>
> R H Draney wrote:
>> MC filted:
>>>
>>> "In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that
>>> regularly appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."
>>
>> Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are
>> there only four in the article?...r
>
> Gosh. I don't know.
>

Look at the article's title:

"Nigeria: Top 10 Peculiar Salutations in Local English (I)" <-----

It's only page/part (I) of (II) pages/parts.

--
~~~ Reinhold {Rey} Aman ~~~
Rey's my name,
Lashon HaRa's my game.

Glenn Knickerbocker

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Nov 11, 2012, 10:18:37 PM11/11/12

to

On 11 Nov 2012 13:33:43 -0800, R H Draney wrote:
>Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are there only four
>in the article?...r

And why, in discussing "well done," didn't he say "rare"?

http://users.bestweb.net/~notr/arkville.html "I felt like I was in a
ŹR demented Wallace Stevens poem, with food poisoning." Spalding Gray

R H Draney

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Nov 12, 2012, 12:08:50 AM11/12/12

to

Reinhold {Rey} Aman filted:

>
>MC wrote:
>>
>> R H Draney wrote:
>>> MC filted:
>>>>
>>>> "In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that
>>>> regularly appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."
>>>
>>> Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are
>>> there only four in the article?...r
>>
>> Gosh. I don't know.
>>
>Look at the article's title:
>
>"Nigeria: Top 10 Peculiar Salutations in Local English (I)" <-----
>
>It's only page/part (I) of (II) pages/parts.

I only saw two on the first page...it added numbers 3 and 4 when I selected
"View All", and nothing further when I tried to select the second page....r

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

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Nov 12, 2012, 8:31:16 AM11/12/12

to

"View All" displays both pages as one.

There are only 4 numbered sections whether you elect page 1 then 2 or
View All.

Aha!

I've found the same article at the author's website:
http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2012/11/top-10-peculiar-salutations-in-nigerian.html

It is dated November 11, 2012 and says "To be concluded next week".

The page has a list of "related articles" - all 67 of them.

1. A Comparison of Nigerian, American and British English
2. Why is "Sentiment" Such a Bad Word in Nigeria?
3. Ambassador Aminchi's Impossible Grammatical Logic
4. 10 Most Annoying Nigerian Media English Expressions
5. Sambawa and "Peasant Attitude to Governance"
6. Adverbial and Adjectival Abuse in Nigerian English
7. In Defense of "Flashing" and Other Nigerianisms
8. Weird Words We're Wedded to in Nigerian English
9. American English or British English?
10. Hypercorrection in Nigerian English
11. Nigerianisms, Americanisms, Briticisms and Communication
Breakdown
....
64. Reader Comments and My Responses to "The English Nigerian
Children Speak"
65. Q and A on American English Grammar and General Usage
66. Q and A on Prepositions and Nigerian Media English

67. Americanisms Popularized by American Presidential Politics (I)

--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

Athel Cornish-Bowden

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Nov 12, 2012, 9:32:37 AM11/12/12

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On 2012-11-12 00:33:43 +0100, Stan Brown <the_sta...@fastmail.fm> said:

> On Sun, 11 Nov 2012 10:19:24 -0500, MC wrote:
>> In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that regularly
>> appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."
>>
>
> The top one, of course, is "The united Nations wants to compensate
> you for your loss in a previous fraudulent transaction."

These things are becoming internationalized. Today I received a message
telling me that my email account would be cancelled if I didn't update
my information. Nothing unusual about that, you'll say, but this one,
addressed to me as an English speaker who lives in France, was written
in Spanish, was sent from Poland, and had a return address in Germany.
Nothing about Nigeria, however.

--
athel

MC

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Nov 12, 2012, 10:16:50 AM11/12/12

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In article <bmt1a89m6fm85qkii...@4ax.com>,

Looks like a site worth exploring.

MC

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Nov 12, 2012, 10:21:58 AM11/12/12

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In article <copespaz-DAA184...@news.eternal-september.org>,

The author is on Facebook and I just sent him a note to tell him that
his site is being discussed here - along with a Friend request.

R H Draney

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Nov 12, 2012, 12:34:24 PM11/12/12

to

Athel Cornish-Bowden filted:

>
>These things are becoming internationalized. Today I received a message
>telling me that my email account would be cancelled if I didn't update
>my information. Nothing unusual about that, you'll say, but this one,
>addressed to me as an English speaker who lives in France, was written
>in Spanish, was sent from Poland, and had a return address in Germany.
>Nothing about Nigeria, however.

That beats a song in English about a Spanish revolutionary by a Swedish
group...(I have a recording somewhere of a "Dancing Queen" cover translated into
Chinese, but sadly nothing of the kind on "Fernando")....r

Dr Nick

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Nov 12, 2012, 2:26:00 PM11/12/12

to

The other six are all "dear friend", aren't they?

I sometimes wonder how long it will be before Nigeria recovers from the
damage it's email fraud industry has done to its reputation.

Peter Duncanson [BrE]

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Nov 12, 2012, 3:30:37 PM11/12/12

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In his article _ Divided by a Common Language: Comparing Nigerian,
American and British English_ Farooq A. Kperogi says:
http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2007/09/divided-by-common-language-comparing.html

It seems to me that there are four fundamental sources of Nigerian
English. The first source is what I call linguistic improvisation.
There are many unique Nigerian socio-cultural thoughts that simply
cannot be expressed in the "standard" form of the English language.
So we either translate our local languages to take care of this
lack, or we appropriate existing English words and phrases and imbue
them with meanings that serve our communicative purposes.
....

A second source of Nigerian English is drawn from innocent
grammatical errors initially committed by our media and political
elite. These errors were repeated several times in the media and, in
time, got fossilized
....

A third source is old-fashioned British English idioms and
expressions that have lost currency in Britain since the 1960s.
....

The fourth source is derived from Americanisms interspersed with
British English to create a unique identity that is both American
and British and, in a sense, neither American nor British.

It is important to stress that Nigerian English is not bad or
substandard English. It is a legitimate national variety that has
evolved, over several decades, out of our unique experiences as a
post-colonial, polyglot nation.

However hard we might try, we can't help writing and speaking
English in ways that reflect our socio-linguistic singularities.
Even our own Wole Soyinka who thinks he speaks and writes better
English than the Queen of England habitually betrays "Nigerianisms"
in his writings. Or at least that's what the native speakers of the
language think. For instance, when he was admitted into the Royal
Society of Arts, the citation on his award read something like: "Mr.
Soyinka is a prolific writer in the vernacular English of his own
country."

I learned that Soyinka's pride was badly hurt when he read the
citation. But it needn't be. It was Chinua Achebe who once said, in
defense of his creative semantic and lexical contortions of the
English language to express uniquely Nigerian thoughts that have no
equivalents in English, that any language that has the cheek to
leave its primordial shores and encroach on the territory of other
people should learn to come to terms with the inevitable reality
that it would be domesticated.

I don't think there's anything there that regular AUEers would consider
revolutionary or heretical.

I shall explore further.

Jerry Friedman

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Nov 12, 2012, 4:53:27 PM11/12/12

to

On Nov 12, 1:30 pm, "Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <m...@peterduncanson.net>
wrote:
...

> In his article _ Divided by a Common Language: Comparing Nigerian,
> American and British English_ Farooq A. Kperogi says:

> http://www.farooqkperogi.com/2007/09/divided-by-common-language-compa...

>
> It seems to me that there are four fundamental sources of Nigerian
> English. The first source is what I call linguistic improvisation.
> There are many unique Nigerian socio-cultural thoughts that simply
> cannot be expressed in the "standard" form of the English language.
> So we either translate our local languages to take care of this
> lack, or we appropriate existing English words and phrases and imbue
> them with meanings that serve our communicative purposes.

...

> It is important to stress that Nigerian English is not bad or
> substandard English. It is a legitimate national variety that has
> evolved, over several decades, out of our unique experiences as a
> post-colonial, polyglot nation.

...

> I don't think there's anything there that regular AUEers would consider
> revolutionary or heretical.

...

I think that later excerpt might look heretical to a few regulars
here. The earlier one would attract some scorn at Language Log--what
are these supposed thoughts that can't be expressed in standard
English?

--
Jerry Friedman

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Nov 12, 2012, 11:11:10 PM11/12/12

to

On 13/11/12 06:26, Dr Nick wrote:
> Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> writes:
>
>> On 11 Nov 2012 13:33:43 -0800, R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> MC filted:
>>>>
>>>> In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that
>>>> regularly
>>>> appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."
>>>
>>> Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are there
>>> only four
>>> in the article?...r
>>
>> If you want the other six, you have to give him your bank details.
>
> The other six are all "dear friend", aren't they?

Not in my experience. The letters I receive from Nigeria often have the
salutation "Dear". Not "Dear Peter" or "Dear Mr Moylan". Just a bare "Dear".

> I sometimes wonder how long it will be before Nigeria recovers from the
> damage it's email fraud industry has done to its reputation.

Oy!

It's not only the e-mail. It was interesting to see the "all gangsters
are Nigerian" stereotype in the South African film "District 9".

Dr Nick

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Nov 13, 2012, 3:18:52 AM11/13/12

to

Peter Moylan <inv...@peter.pmoylan.org.invalid> writes:

> On 13/11/12 06:26, Dr Nick wrote:
>> Mike L <n...@yahoo.co.uk> writes:
>>
>>> On 11 Nov 2012 13:33:43 -0800, R H Draney <dado...@spamcop.net>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> MC filted:
>>>>> In the list that follows, I identify top 10 salutations that
>>>>> regularly appear in popular Nigerian speech and writing."
>>>> Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are
>>>> there only four in the article?...r
>>> If you want the other six, you have to give him your bank details.
>> The other six are all "dear friend", aren't they?
>
> Not in my experience. The letters I receive from Nigeria often have
> the salutation "Dear". Not "Dear Peter" or "Dear Mr Moylan". Just a
> bare "Dear".
>
>> I sometimes wonder how long it will be before Nigeria recovers from
>> the damage it's email fraud industry has done to its reputation.
>
> Oy!

Argh!

> It's not only the e-mail. It was interesting to see the "all gangsters
> are Nigerian" stereotype in the South African film "District 9".

Mind you, Florida is getting close in my opinion (no, I haven't won a
bloody holiday, now get off my phone) - Tony take note.

tony cooper

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Nov 13, 2012, 10:06:16 AM11/13/12

to

On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 08:18:52 +0000, Dr Nick
<nosp...@temporary-address.org.uk> wrote:

>> It's not only the e-mail. It was interesting to see the "all gangsters
>> are Nigerian" stereotype in the South African film "District 9".
>
>Mind you, Florida is getting close in my opinion (no, I haven't won a
>bloody holiday, now get off my phone) - Tony take note.

But Florida is only the destination, not the source. Those telephone
rooms from which the calls emanate are not usually in Florida. I have
received calls offering a paid holiday, including airfare, in Orlando.

--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

Message has been deleted

Cheryl

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Nov 13, 2012, 12:09:04 PM11/13/12

to

I don't think that stereotype is limited to South Africa. I've heard
comments from others such as Egyptians (who live about as far from South
Africa AND Nigeria as you can get and still be in Africa) about fake
witch-doctors and other lowlife Nigerians.

It's a shame. I spent a few years in Nigeria long before its present
problems made it rather dangerous, travelled around a bit, and didn't
find any more criminals per capita than I've found anywhere else. In
fact, most Nigerians were very friendly and helpful.

And ingenious. It took me a while to realize that although, say, a motor
park, a place you went to find long-distance transportation, looked like
a sea of chaos, in fact, it ran fairly smoothly and regular users knew
where to find vehicles going to the commoner destinations and how to
estimate when they might leave.

That's a country with a lot of potential.

--
Cheryl

tony cooper

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Nov 13, 2012, 1:57:50 PM11/13/12

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On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:56:06 +0000 (UTC), Lewis
<g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:

>In message <96o4a8hdrq10t5u87...@4ax.com>

>Didn't the Caller ID show the call as coming from somewhere in Florida?
>
>I used to get tons of calls on my landline from Florida, and they were
>all scams. Not just telemarketer scum, but actual scams.

You're assuming all telephones show Caller ID. Until very recently,
mine didn't. We recently changed to a package deal with Brighthouse
on cable, phone, and internet that does provide Caller ID. Not being
used to Caller ID, I forget to look at the little panel.

Robin Bignall

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Nov 13, 2012, 2:46:33 PM11/13/12

to

On Mon, 12 Nov 2012 19:54:36 -0500, MC <cope...@mapca.inter.net> wrote:

>In article <3um2a81lt3av4oaod...@4ax.com>,
> "Peter Duncanson [BrE]" <ma...@peterduncanson.net> wrote:
>
>> I don't think there's anything there that regular AUEers would consider
>> revolutionary or heretical.
>>
>> I shall explore further
>
>I've been exploring - discovering all kinds of things I never knew.

That happens every time I go exploring. Quite depressing.
--
Robin Bignall
(BrE)
Herts, England

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Nov 14, 2012, 11:25:00 PM11/14/12

to

On 13/11/12 19:18, Dr Nick wrote:

> Peter Moylan <inv...@peter.pmoylan.org.invalid> writes:
>
>> It's not only the e-mail. It was interesting to see the "all gangsters
>> are Nigerian" stereotype in the South African film "District 9".
>
> Mind you, Florida is getting close in my opinion (no, I haven't won a
> bloody holiday, now get off my phone) - Tony take note.

I've recently been woken up in the middle of the night, more than once,
by a text message saying that I've won a million pounds. The sending
numbers vary, but they all start with 44. That's neither Nigeria nor
Florida.

Message has been deleted

tony cooper

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Nov 15, 2012, 1:56:25 AM11/15/12

to

On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:34:03 -0500, Stan Brown
<the_sta...@fastmail.fm> wrote:

>On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:06:16 -0500, tony cooper wrote:
>> I have
>> received calls offering a paid holiday, including airfare, in Orlando.
>>
>
>Good god! Couldn't they have come up with some more attractive
>destination to offer?

I have suggested that they consider Ithaca as a Destination City. One
of the reviews of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ranked #6 in the
Ithaca list of most popular tourist attractions) states "A great place
to kill time near the airport".

Garrett Wollman

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Nov 15, 2012, 3:09:03 AM11/15/12

to

In article <t549a81siar96jr7e...@4ax.com>,
tony cooper <tony.co...@gmail.com> wrote:
>I have suggested that they [phone spammers] consider Ithaca as a

>Destination City. One of the reviews of the Cornell Lab of
>Ornithology (ranked #6 in the Ithaca list of most popular tourist
>attractions) states "A great place to kill time near the airport".

But Ithaca is Gorges!

-GAWollman
--
Garrett A. Wollman | What intellectual phenomenon can be older, or more oft
wol...@bimajority.org| repeated, than the story of a large research program
Opinions not shared by| that impaled itself upon a false central assumption
my employers. | accepted by all practitioners? - S.J. Gould, 1993

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Nov 15, 2012, 6:24:38 PM11/15/12

to

On Nov 14, 11:56 pm, tony cooper <tony.cooper...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 14 Nov 2012 20:34:03 -0500, Stan Brown
>

> <the_stan_br...@fastmail.fm> wrote:
> >On Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:06:16 -0500, tony cooper wrote:
> >> I have
> >> received calls offering a paid holiday, including airfare, in Orlando.
>
> >Good god! Couldn't they have come up with some more attractive
> >destination to offer?
>
> I have suggested that they consider Ithaca as a Destination City. One
> of the reviews of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (ranked #6 in the
> Ithaca list of most popular tourist attractions) states "A great place
> to kill time near the airport".

Orlando has its attractions too. I got my life Wood Stork in the
Orlando airport while my plane was taxiing.

--
Jerry Friedman

tony cooper

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Nov 15, 2012, 6:29:25 PM11/15/12

to

You're lucky it wasn't sucked into one of the engines.

Snidely

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Nov 16, 2012, 1:05:13 AM11/16/12

to

tony cooper speculated:

He's also assuming that the consumer-level caller ID shows the actual
calling number. For a call from an individual subscriber, that is
usually the case. For a call from a PBX, it could show your own
number (if they had already chosen it).

/dps

--
Who, me? And what lacuna?

Snidely

unread,

Nov 16, 2012, 1:09:38 AM11/16/12

to

Peter Moylan formulated the question :

> On 12/11/12 14:18, Glenn Knickerbocker wrote:
>> On 11 Nov 2012 13:33:43 -0800, R H Draney wrote:
>>> Why, after announcing that he'll identify ten salutations, are there only
>>> four in the article?...r
>>
>> And why, in discussing "well done," didn't he say "rare"?
>
> I was struck by the example "That piece of meat is tough because it is
> not well done". I would have said "... because it IS well done".

Depends on the cut, innit? Some pieces need to be cooked long hours to
break down connecting tissue, etc. C.f. "pulled pork" and "pot
roast".

Mark Brader

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Nov 25, 2012, 12:19:08 PM11/25/12

to

Nick Atty:

>> Mind you, Florida is getting close in my opinion (no, I haven't won a
>> bloody holiday, now get off my phone) - Tony take note.

Tony Cooper:

> But Florida is only the destination, not the source. Those telephone
> rooms from which the calls emanate are not usually in Florida. I have
> received calls offering a paid holiday, including airfare, in Orlando.

I have heard it stated in Canadian news reports that the world capital
for telephone-based scams is Montreal.
--
Mark Brader "Never trust anybody who says 'trust me.'
Toronto Except just this once, of course."
m...@vex.net -- John Varley, "Steel Beach"

My text in this article is in the public domain.

MC

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Nov 25, 2012, 2:02:41 PM11/25/12

to

In article <vbWdncrRkoCRzi_N...@vex.net>,

m...@vex.net (Mark Brader) wrote:

> I have heard it stated in Canadian news reports that the world capital
> for telephone-based scams is Montreal.

I've heard that too. I also know a couple of Montrealers involved in
that trade.

--

"If you can, tell me something happy."
- Marybones