By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Twenty-nine Nigerian words have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), notching up 86 taken from Africa’s most populous nation and the world’s fourth largest English-speaking country after India, Pakistan, and the United States.
Words making the cut in the latest edition include Kannywood, derived from Hausa; and unique Nigerian coinages, Ember months and next tomorrow – in recognition of how Nigerians help shape English, the most spoken language in the world.
OED is published by Oxford University Press (OUP), based in the United Kingdom.
English is Nigeria’s lingua franca, used in standard form or in broken (pidgin) by vast multitudes in daily communication among 200 million people carved out in 250 ethnic groups and over 300 languages.
Kannywood describes the Nigerian Hausa-language film industry, based in Kano. Ember months refer to the last months of the year from September to December.
Next tomorrow means the day after tomorrow.
Also featuring in the OED are Nigerian expressions to rub minds, which means to consult and work together; and barbing salon – a place to get a haircut.
The latest additions, found on the OED website, join at least 57 other words of Nigerian English origin already in the dictionary.
Danica Salazar, the OED World English Editor, told CNN the new words were included as part of a project to ensure the dictionary reflected the full spectrum of the English language.
“The Oxford English Dictionary is a historical dictionary and its job is to tell the story of the development of the English vocabulary,” she said.
“A very important part of this is how English has become a global language used in different parts of the world by people from different backgrounds.
“And these people are creating new words that give different flavors of the language.
“So we are recognising there are now many different centres of English around the world – and that one of these happens to be Nigeria, which is in fact one of the largest English-speaking countries in the world.”
Salazar disclosed that OED used linguistic research technology to track the evolution of words and identify which are notable.
“Our job is to tell the story of English, and that story would not be complete without including the part Nigerians play in that.
“The fact we are adding more and more world English words really reflects the global reach of English.”
