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Samuel Nnam Final Thesis LA CRÉOLISATION : PROCESSUS, DIMENSIONS, ET CONTRAINTES : LE CAS DU PIDGIN NIGRÉIAN A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts in French and Francophone Intercultural Studies University of Regina, Saskatchewan By Samuel Okechukwu Nnam Regina, Saskatchewan March, 2020 © 2020: O.S Nnam UNIVERSITY OF REGINA FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES AND RESEARCH SUPERVISORY AND EXAMINING COMMITTEE Samuel Okechukwu Nnam, candidate for the degree of Master of Arts in French and Francophone Intercultural Studies, has presented a thesis titled, La Créolisation: Processus, Dimensions, Et Contraintes: Le Cas Du Pidgin Nigérian, in an oral examination held on March 6, 2020. The following committee members have found the thesis acceptable in form and content, and that the candidate demonstrated satisfactory knowledge of the subject material. External Examiner: Dr. Sylvia I.C. Madueke, University of Alberta Supervisor: Dr. Michael Akinpelu, La Cite Universitaire Francophone Committee Member: Dr. Emmanuel Aito, La Cite Universitaire Francophone Chair of Defense: Dr. Fadila Boutouchent, Faculty of Education ABSTRACT Nigerian Pidgin evolved as a result of language contact with the colonialists and foreign traders. It is one of the fast-growing languages in Nigeria, it is the only language that has no native speakers, making it a unifying language. In spite of the fact that Nigerian Pidgin is probably the language with the highest population of users in Nigeria, it does not enjoy official recognition and is excluded from the education system. It lacks prestige because it is seen by some Nigerians especially the elites as a “bad” form of English and associated with a socially deprived and uneducated set of people. This current status of the Nigerian Pidgin has motivated us in this study to consider these crucial questions: Why is the Nigerian Pidgin still not considered a national language, despite its popularity among the Nigerian population (According to the current statistics, it is estimated that over 75% of the population speak it? Could this be as a result of the negligence shown by the government? If Nigerian Pidgin were considered a national language, what are the economic, social and political importance? Would it eventually become a creole? The objective of this research is to describe the current state of pidgin in Nigerian society, in order to: identify the stages that can lead to the creolization of pidgin in the Nigerian context, determine the reasons why pidgin is yet to gain an official recognition, despite its popularity among the population, present advantages associated with the recognition of pidgin in the country. This study will also examine the processes the pidgin has to go through before becoming a creole and the things that could hinder it from gaining the creole status. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to God Almighty for the strength, wisdom, knowledge and ideas He granted me to actualize this program. I would like to appreciate the University of Regina, especially La Cite universitaire francophone and the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for the scholarships awarded to me in the course of the program namely; French Studies Graduate Entrance Award -2017 fall, UR Graduate Scholarship – 2018 and Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research Master Graduate Teaching Assistantship – 2019. I am extremely grateful to the Department of French and Francophone Intercultural Studies (La Cité) for their tireless efforts and commitments in helping me achieve my goal. I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Emmanuel Aito (Director of La Cité universitaire francophone) for his fatherly advice, encouragement and support throughout my master's program. I equally want to appreciate my supervisor Dr. Michael Akinpelu for his patience, the sleepless nights he sacrificed and ideas he offered in making sure this thesis is well done. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Dr. André Magnan (Associate Director), Dr. Abdoulaye Yoh (Director, Administration & Finance) and the following members of the French department: Céline Magnon, Dr. Jérome Melancon, Dr. Michael poplyansky, Nadine Bouchardon, David Lawlor and Halley Toth. I would like to thank my course mates, Etommy Fredrick, Ruth Chukwuma, Francisca Nwugo, Dorcas Oyebamiji and Rebecca Alao for making the master's program interesting. Many thanks for your support during this research. Last but not the least, I would like to thank my beautiful wife, Confidence Onyedikachi Nnam for helping me with necessary materials during this research. I also want to appreciate my family and friends for being there for me throughout this program, you will forever be in my heart. I love you all. iii TABLE DES MATIÈRES Résumé/Abstract ii Remerciements/Acknowledgment iii Table des matières iv Tableau de figures v INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPITRE I : CADRE CONCEPTUEL ET THEORIQUE 6 1.1 Définition de pidgin 6 1.1.1 Raison de la création de pidgin 10 1.1.2 Types de pidgin 11 1.1.2.1 Pidgins commerciaux et nautique 11 1.1.2.2 Pidgins étendus 11 1.1.2.3 Pidgins maritimes/nautique 12 1.1.2.4 Pidgins militaires 13 1.1.2.5 Pidgins urbains 14 1.1.2.6 Pidgins de plantation 14 1.1.2.7 Pidgins des mines et de l'industrie 16 1.1.3 Le statut de la langue pidgin 16 1.2 Définition de créoles 17 1.2.1 Types de créoles 22 1.2.1.1 Créoles exogènes 22 1.2.1.2 Créoles de plantation 23 1.2.1.3 Créoles marron 24 1.2.1.4 Créoles endogènes 25 1.3 Similitudes entre pidgin et créole 26 1.3.1 Différence entre pidgin et créole 27 1.4 Langues mixtes 29 1.5 Les particularités et dimensions d'un créole 31 1.5.1 Processus de créolisation 33 1.5.1.1 L'approche de Bickerton 34 1.5.1.2 L’approche de basilectalisation progressive 35 1.5.1.3 L'approche constructive 36 1.5.1.4 L'approche dominante 36 1.5.2 Contraintes de créolisation 42 iv 1.6 Choix d'une langue nationale 44 1.6.1 Implications du choix d'une langue nationale 46 CHAPITRE II : LE PIDGIN AU NIGÉRIA 48 2.1 Brève histoire du Nigéria 48 2.2 Diversité linguistique au Nigéria 51 2.3 Statut et hiérarchie des langues 56 2.4 Origine et l’évolution du pidgin au Nigéria 58 2.5 Pidgin nigérian 62 2.6 Politique linguistique au Nigéria 65 2.7 Particularités et variété du pidgin nigérian 68 2.7.1 Le pidgin oral 70 2.7.2 Le pidgin écrit 72 CHAPITRE III : LA PLACE ET L’AVENIR DU PIDGIN AU NIGÉRIA 74 3.1 Le pidgin dans le paysage linguistique actuel du Nigéria. 74 3.2 Aspects de la syntaxe du pidgin nigérian moderne 76 3.3 Avantages socioéconomiques reliés à la créolisation du pidgin nigérian 79 3.4 Obstacles à la créolisation du pidgin au Nigéria. 83 3.5 Les propriétés d'une langue standard 88 3.6 La survie du pidgin dans la société nigériane 88 CONCLUSION 92 BIBLIOGRAPHIE 96 v TABLEAU DE FIGURES Tableau 1 : La différence entre le pidgin et le créole Page 28 Tableau 2 : Résumé des travaux de recherche « formels » sur Page 43 les langues au Nigéria au cours de trois décennies 1980-2010 (University of Ibadan -Nigeria) Figure 1 : La carte du Nigeria Page 49 Tableau 3 : Les mots pidgins empruntés de différentes langues Page 70 Tableau 4 : Le marquage numérique dans les noms Page 76 Tableau 5 : Le nombre, le genre et le cas en pronoms Page 77 Tableau 6 : Formation de question ; certaines des façons dont Page 78 les gens posent des questions en pidgin. vi INTRODUCTION Un pidgin est un moyen de communication grammaticalement simplifié qui se développe entre deux ou plusieurs langues qui n'ont rien en commun : typiquement, son vocabulaire et sa grammaire sont limités et souvent tirés de plusieurs langues. Le pidgin occupe une grande place au Nigeria. Le pidgin parlé au Nigeria est l’ensemble des langues indigènes et certaines langues européennes. Il joue un rôle important dans la société ; notamment au marché, dans les institutions supérieures et dans la rue où il y a les gens qui ne sont pas éduqués ou les gens qui ne parlent pas la même langue indigène. Le pidgin gagne du terrain dans la société nigériane et au- delà, il est actuellement parlé par environ 75 millions de personnes au Nigéria et parmi la diaspora nigériane, (Edosa, 2018). Il est largement utilisé comme lingua franca et est actuellement la langue dont la croissance est la plus rapide au Nigéria ; pour de nombreux utilisateurs, il s'agit de la langue principale dans leur communication quotidienne, (Faraclas, 2013a). La première forme enregistrée du pidgin nigérian a été documentée par le célèbre Antera Duke, un chef éminent et commerçant de Old Calabar, qui a principalement écrit sur les activités qui se sont déroulées entre l'Efik (une langue locale) et les partenaires commerciaux blancs. Le pidgin nigérian a commencé comme une langue de communication d'entreprise, et avec le temps, il s'est étendu à d'autres domaines et fonctionnalités, (Mensah, 2011). Le pidgin nigérian a l'anglais comme source lexicale principale, tandis que d'autres langues comme le français, le portugais et les langues indigènes du Nigeria sont la source de substrat de l'influence lexicale, (Mensah, 2011). Il est à noter que le premier contact du peuple ouest-africain avec les Européens a été avec les Portugais au XVe siècle. Cela explique la présence d'une poche de mots portugais dans le lexique du pidgin nigérian tels que pikin (enfant), palaver (problème), gift (cadeau), sabi (savoir), etc.
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