Emerging Loanwords in Nigerian English

Loanwords are an integral part of language development, particularly in multilingual societies where speakers are in constant contact with other languages. As languages evolve, lexical items are borrowed to meet new communicative, cultural, and social needs. This study identifies emerging loanwords in Nigerian English and examines how they enter Nigerian English, with particular attention to indigenous Nigerian languages within the Port Harcourt speech community. The study is anchored in Terence Odlin’s theory of language transfer, especially the concept of substratum transfer, which explains the influence of a source or native language on a recipient language [16]. A qualitative survey design was adopted, with data collected through random sampling from language use on WhatsApp and Facebook. The findings show that many emerging loanwords in Nigerian English originate from Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, and Nigerian Pidgin. Some retain their meanings in both donor and recipient languages, whereas others undergo semantic change after entering Nigerian English. Of the 108 items examined, 30 exhibit semantic change and 78 retain their donor-language meanings. The study recommends greater scholarly attention to emerging loanwords because they contribute to the continuing lexical expansion and localization of Nigerian English.