Abstract
This paper focuses on informal language usage by students of Cross River University of Technology, Calabar, Nigeria. This includes the use of slang words from primarily the substrate and superstrate language of the mother tongue (MT) and Nigerian Pidgin (NP) respectively. Participant observation was used for this work including lectures and other forums. Focus is on the speech discourse of students. The NP in particular is a contact language which has grown in stature due to factors of relevance as a common language in a pluralistic society like the Cross River State in particular, and Nigeria in general. Its use has also expanded due to urbanization. The MT has been observed to be influential through direct translation of certain expressions. Findings have shown that the informal use of language by the students has inadvertently affected their competence in standard and formal language use.
Highlights
All speeches occur in an interactive context in which interactants–speakers and hearers – make choices from the linguistic system
Slang introduces new vocabulary or forms of words. This is what was discovered among the students of CRUTECH campus, Calabar, as we examine the language and origins of these slang usage
The student switches code to Nigerian Pidgin (NP) when speaking to his fellow students his peers in his level. If he is not familiar with a particular student, he speaks to him in standard English (SE) and if he discovers within the course of the interaction that the other person is from his linguistic community, he switches to his language (MT/LI)
Summary
All speeches occur in an interactive context in which interactants–speakers and hearers – make choices from the linguistic system. Slang is sometimes referred to as vernacular(especially when it is associated with a particular social group) and some forms of slang fall under the term colloquialism referring to informal conversational styles of language. These terms do not carry a negative connotation. For example the words turkey and banana are regular vocabulary items in English and can be used in formal styles with their literal meaning In slang they can be used as insults (referring to stupid or foolish people). The student body could be said to be mostly from Southern Nigeria
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