IMPACT OF NIGERIAN PIDGIN ON THE WRITTEN ENGLISH LANGUAGE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ABAKALIKI METROPOLIS, EBONYI STATE

The article discussed the impact of Nigerian Pidgin on the written English language of senior secondary school students in Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi State. The study was guided by four (4) research questions. The study adopted survey research design as its methodology. The sample size of the study was 100 senior secondary school students randomly selected from five (5) secondary schools in the study area. Questionnaires were used to obtain data for the study. The collected data were analyzed using Mean statistics. Results of the study show that students use Nigerian pidgin English in almost every aspect of their lives and that senior secondary school students in Abakaliki metropolis have been seriously influenced by Nigerian pidgin English to the extent that they infuse pidgin in their writings and even in their conversations. Based on the findings, the study recommends that: Students should stop using Pidgin English in its entirety to avoid occurrences of writing essay, and examination in Pidgin English and Students should be constantly exposed to debate competitions and other activities that will help improve their use of Standard English. Conclusion was drawn based on the ideas discussed.