INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTIC STUDY

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

This project is designed to investigate/assess the use of Nigerian Pidgin English on Wazobia FM radio station in Port Harcourt.
Quirk et. al. (1985:28) say’s Pidgin English took a solid stand when slaves were freed in Sierra-lone (Freetown), when they found themselves in Freetown and having no other language to speak than the English they know, and also considering the fact that most of them has lost their mother tongue as a result of slavery it was then, they started broking the white man’s language (English) into smaller segments in order to understand the message of one another, otherwise known as pidgin / broken English.
Come to look at it, we shall need this pidgin English language to communicate effectively with a massive number of Nigerians who shall up till this time, do not understand good English because communication without response or feedback in the communication line or fraction simply means that communication has not taken place.
All media of mass communication carry out a common mandate of informing, educating, entertaining, performing surveillance function as well as debate, advocacy and mobilization, which are the general function of the broadcast media.
So since communication stands as the life wire of every society, at all spares of the society educational, cultural, industrial, even at the rural levels, the farmers, headsmen traders and labourers require constant dosage of information to function optimally.  
Nonetheless, communication helps every developing, underdeveloped and developed nation in providing information, connecting people, educating people and interpreting events.
However, approaches of various media organization help reach out to all level of mass audience for effective communication, as communication also make people aware of new ideas, innovation  and as such forms a link between the past, the present, and the future to bring about a better society.
Considering the development of radio broadcasting in Nigeria can be traced back to England. According to Okenwa (1993); it is relay involved “the monitoring and relaying of programmes from BBC to Her Majesty Servants in the post of the world. This began in 1932 with the relaying of programmes of the British Empire service. One of the advantages of radio broadcasting is the ability to transmit information to other listener as soon as the event occurs, whose consumers/ audience are people of both educated and uneducated backgrounds, hence programmes are produced to satisfy all.
Presently, in Nigeria broadcasting especially Wazobia FM Radio station noticed use of Nigeria Pidgin other than regular English language which is the second language in Nigeria as well as it’s (English language official language.  Other than one’s first language i.e the mother tongue or arterial language is the language (English language) used as a means of communication by all broadcast stations and media organizations.
According to Scholars’ of communication which justifies the claim that for man to survive there must be co-operation with one another which can only be achieve through communication which in turn is made possible through the use of language, as communication is the goal of any language.
As this research work is basically concerned with the Assessment (investigating) the use of Nigeria Pidgin English on Wazobia FM radio station.
This research therefore intends to examine the imparts of Nigerian Pidgin English on the audience as well as the radio presenters’ eloquence/usage of Nigerian Pidgin English on Wazobia FM radio station.

Statement of Problem

In the course of this research we would survey the many views concerning the use of Nigeria Pidgin in Wazobia FM radio station, since it is the nature of the audience and the broadcast media that makes broadcast format indeed important: as every media house has it’s own in-house writing and broadcast style in order to effectively communicate.
This research would also be analyzing the different mix/ reactions towards the use of Nigeria Pidgin English in Wazobia FM radio station and its (Nigeria Pidgin) present situation in the lives of the people.

Objectives of the Study

The purpose/ objective of this study can be divided into three broad section:
Investigating the reactions over the use of Nigerian Pidgin: This study attempts to look into the use of Nigerian Pidgin by Wazobia fm radio station as regards the listening audience view, as well as the various purposes it has served.
Investigating the result of Nigerian Pidgin usage in Wazobia FM radio station. As we unavoidable have in our present society the rich, and the poor, the highly and averagely educated and illiterate, city dwellers and rural masses, as well as secularized and tradition oriented people, all of whom must be served (communicated to) at the same time. It is important to note each response concerning the use of Nigerian Pidgin in Wazobia radio broadcasting and how it affects them.
Finding / sorting out solutions to the reactions of the listeners of Nigerian Pidgin in Wazobia radio station:  To every problem, there is a solution. This research will seek out various methods to solving the reactions of Nigerian Pidgin radio station listeners / audience as well as suggest several means.

Research Questions

The questions which this research seeks to answer are the following:
What are the factors that have necessitated the use of Nigerian Pidgin in radio station (Wazobia FM).
Is Nigerian Pidgin actually useful in today’s radio station (Wazobia FM)? If so, to what extent?
What roles does Nigerian Pidgin in radio broadcasting play;
On the individual
On the society
On educational institutions in Port Harcourt?
What are the consequences of Nigerian Pidgin use in radio broadcasting in a, b and c above?
What are the particular circumstances that have kept Nigerian Pidgin in use in Radio broadcasting?

Significance of the Study

The significance of this study lies in its investigation of not only the results of the use of Nigerian Pidgin in Wazobia radio station, but also analyzing the situation reports from the investigations.
This study will also offer solutions to the results gotten from the investigations, thereby adding to the general body of knowledge a fairly new dimension to the use of Nigerian Pidgin in Wazobia radio station.

1.6 Scope of Study

This study is basically delimited to WAZOBIA FM, since it is a Radio Station in Port Harcourt that broadcast, its prgorammes with Nigerian Pidign.
Limitation of Study
Hardly would any research be carried out without one form of problem or the other. This research is not an exception.
A lot of constrains were experienced during the course of this study among the constrains is the inability of the researcher to cover every resident in Port Harcourt. also, in the cases where the audience are not educated, the researcher has to spend time explaining the questions to the respondents.

Operational Definitions of Terms
Relevant terms to be defined for the purpose of this study are:

Communication: This is a process of sending and receiving informations among its people.
Broadcast media: It is a type of mass media that conveys massages, either to educate, inform, or entertain.
Radio broadcasting: radio broadcasting is a one way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience.
Mass audience: Mass audience are individuals or persons separated by location or space and time to which mass media messages and information are given.
Language: It’s the method of human communication either spoken or written, consisting the use of words in a structured in a conventional way.
Inter-language: This is a language used between two different sets of people for communication.
Theory: this is a set of statement or principles devised to explain a group of facts or phenomena, especially one that has been repeatedly tested or is widely accepted and can be used to make predictions about natural phenomena.