Abstract
With reference to Nigeria, this article explores some innovative grids for youth language variants. First, I expound on the geo-linear notion of urbanity and youth languages, and the conceptual complexities of the sub-cultures in a multilingual space—for which I find urbanese and translingualism more descriptively resourceful. I describe mainly the structuring potential of the music media (modern Nigerian hip hop, especially) and meaning negotiations in casual talks. From the analysis of lyrical fragments and informal chats, I also weigh up the discursive trajectories of these creations—which amply consist of mainly diglossic shifts, argot metaphors, neologisms, phraseologies, meaning extensions and translingual gleanings. In general, I illustrate the mediating force of the Nigerian hip hop genre in the evolution of youth’s language varieties, and argue that such lingos remain nebulous and linguistically dependent on the host systems; and that, at the heart of stylistic levelling and postmodern deconstructions are diverse elements of language shift—chiefly youth-driven.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Nigerian Pidgin (NP) , formally known as Anglo Nigerian Pidgin (ANP), is believed to have morphed from language contacts between the indigenes of coastal areas of the Nigerian territories, and the Portuguese sailors in the fifteenth century—giving rise to Negro-Portuguese; and later the British missionaries and traders in the eighteenth century (Brosnahan 1958). NP has, over the years, undergone structural naturalization or (readjustment) in that it is now being used even among mutually intelligible speakers with a common mother tongue.
- 2.
A group or class of mostly rough-looking men who call in passengers at motor parks.
- 3.
Aro is a township, home to a major psychiatric facility in Nigeria .
- 4.
Kisangani is the third largest urbanized city in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) .
- 5.
Lagos is Nigeria’s most metropolitan city and nerve centre of musical productions.
- 6.
Olamide won the City People’s Best Artist of the Year and the Best Rap Artist of the Year in 2015.
- 7.
The interview excerpts were drawn from a larger corpus of naturally flowing discourse I collected over a span of two years for the AUYL Project hosted at the University of Cape Town (UCT), SA.
References
Abdulaziz, M. & Osinde, K. (1997). Sheng and English: Development of mixed codes among the urban youth in Kenya. International Journal of the Sociology of Language (Sociolinguistic Issues in Sub-Saharan Africa), 125, 45–63.
Adeniran, W. (2009). Multilingualism and language use in Porto Novo. In F. McLaughlin (Ed.), The languages of urban Africa. London: Continuum.
Ajayi, T., & Balogun, O. (2014). Politeness in the Yoruba and French languages. International Journal of Language Studies, 8(4), 77–94.
Alim, H. S. (2006). Roc the mic right: The language of hip hop culture. London: Routledge.
Alim, S. (2009). Translocal style communities: Hip hop youth as cultural theorists of style, language, and globalization*. Pragmatics, 26(2), 171–195.
Alim, S., & Pennycook, A. (2007). Introduction: Glocal linguistic flows: Hip hop culture(s), identities, and the politics of language education. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 6(2), 89–100.
Babalola, T., & Taiwo, R. (2009). Code-switching in contemporary Nigerian hip hop music. Itupak Online Journal of African Studies, 1, 1–26.
Beck, M. (2010). Urban languages in Africa. Africa Spectrum, 45(3), 11–41.
Beck, M. (2015). Sheng: An urban variety of Swahili in Kenya. In N. Nassentein & A. Hollington (Eds.), Youth language practices in Africa and beyond. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Blommaert, J. (2003). Commentary: A sociolinguistics of globalization. Journal of Sociolinguistics, 7(4), 607–623.
Bokamba, E. (2009). The spread of lingala as a lingua franca in Congo Basin. In F. McLaughlin (Ed.), The languages of urban Africa. London: Continuum.
Bosire, M. (2006). Hybrid languages: The case of Sheng. In A. Olaoba & P. Michael (Eds.), Selected proceedings of the 36th annual conference on African linguistics. Somerville: Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
Dakubu, K. (2009). The historical dynamic of multilingualism in Accra. In F. McLaughlin (Ed.), The languages of urban Africa. London: Continuum.
De Féral, C. (2009). Urban practices and new identities: Pidgin and francanglais in Cameroon. In M. Brenzinger & A.-M. Fehn (Eds.), Proceedings, 6th world congress of African linguistics. Cologne: Köppe.
Eckert, P. (2012). Three waves of variation study: The emergence of meaning in the study of sociolinguistic variation. Annual Review of Anthropology, 41, 87–100.
Gbogi, M. (2016). Language, identity, and urban youth subculture: Nigerian hip hop music as an exemplar. Pragmatics, 26(2), 171–195.
Githinji, P. (2006). Bazes and their shibboleths: Lexical variation and Sheng speakers’ identity in Nairobi. Nordic Journal of African Studies, 15(4), 443–472.
Hollington, A., & Makwabarara, T. (2015). Youth language practices in Zimbabwe. In N. Nassentein & A. Hollington (Eds.), Youth language practices in Africa and beyond. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Hurst, E. (2015). Overview of the tsotsitaals of South Africa; their different base languages and common core lexical items. In N. Nassentein & A. Hollington (Eds.), Youth language practices in Africa and beyond. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Hurst, E., & Mesthrie, R. (2013). ‘When you hang out with the guys they keep you in style’: The case for considering style in descriptions of South African tsotsitaals. Language Matters, 44(1), 3–20.
Jacquemet, M. (2005). Transidiomatic practices: Language and power in the age of globalization. Language & Communication, 25, 257–277.
Kießling, R. (2005). Bàk mwà mè dó – Camfranglais in Cameroon. Lingua Posnaniensis, 47, 87–107.
Kießling, R., & Mous, M. (2004). Urban youth languages in Africa. Anthropological Linguistics, 46(3), 303–341.
Kouega, J.-P. (2003a). Camfranglais: A novel slang in Cameroon schools. English Today, 19(2), 23–29.
Kouega, J.-P. (2003b). Word formative processes in Camfranglais. World Englishes, 22(4), 511–538.
Ladi, F. (2012). Multilingualism and hip hop consumption in Nigeria: Accounting for the local acceptance of a global phenomenon. Africa Spectrum, 47, 1–19.
Landi, G., & Pasch, H. (2015). Sango Godobé: The urban youth language of Bangui (CAR). In N. Nassentein & A. Hollington (Eds.), Youth language practices in Africa and beyond. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Liadi, F., & Omobowale, O. (2011). Music multilingualism and hip hop consumption among youths in Nigeria. International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology, 3(12), 469–477.
Mafeni, B. (1971). Nigerian Pidgin. In J. Spencer (Ed.), The English language in West Africa. London: Longmans.
Mann, C. (1993). The sociolinguistic status of Anglo-Nigerian pidgin. International Journal of Language, 100–1(1), 167–178.
McLaughlin, F. (2001). Dakar Wolof and the configuration of an urban identity. Journal of African Cultural Studies, 14, 153–172.
McLaughlin, F. (2009a). Introduction to the languages of urban Africa. In F. McLaughlin (Ed.), The languages of urban Africa. London: Continuum.
McLaughlin, F. (2009b). Senegal’s early cities and the making of an urban language. In F. McLaughlin (Ed.), The languages of urban Africa. London: Continuum.
Nassenstein, N. (2015). Imvugo y’Umuhanda – Youth language practices in Kigali (Rwanda). In N. Nassentein & A. Hollington (Eds.), Youth language practices in Africa and beyond. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Omoniyi, T. (2006). Hip-hop through the world Englishes lens: A response to globalization. World Englishes, 25(2), 195–208.
Oribhabor, E. (2010). Shuo, Na Wafi. Ibadan: IFRA.
Osoba, J. (2015). Analysis of discourse in Nigerian pidgin. Journal of Universal Language, 16(1), 131–159.
Rampton, B. (1998). Speech community. In J. Verschueren, J.-O. Östman, B. Jan, & B. Chris (Eds.), Handbook of pragmatics. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.
Silverstein, M. (1998). Contemporary transformation of local linguistic communities. Annual Review of Anthropology, 27, 401–426.
Smitherman, G. (1997). The chain remain the same: Communicative practices in the hip hop nation. Journal of Black Studies, 28(1), 3–25.
Spady, J. (1991). Influencing international values, trends and styles. In J. G. Spady & J. Eure (Eds.), Nation conscious rap: The hip hop vision. Philadelphia: Black History Museum Press.
Spitulnik, D. (1996). The social circulation of media discourse and the mediation of communities. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 6(2), 161–187.
Walker, F. (2014). An Afrocentric rhetorical analysis of Johnnie Cochran’s closing argument on O.J. Simpson trial. In R. Jackson II & E. Richardson (Eds.), Understanding African American rhetoric: Classical origins to contemporary innovations. New York: Routledge.
Wilson, C. (2015). Kindoubil: Urban youth languages in Kisangani. In N. Nassenstein & A. Hollington (Eds.), Youth language practices in Africa and beyond. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Isiaka, A.L. (2018). Plurality, Translingual Splinters and Music-Modality in Nigerian Youth Languages. In: Hurst-Harosh, E., Kanana Erastus, F. (eds) African Youth Languages . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64562-9_8
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64562-9_8
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-64561-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-64562-9
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)