THE STRUCTURE AND COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS OF NIGERIAN ENGLISH AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON TEACHING WRITING SKILLS AT THE SSS LEVEL

ABSTRACT

English as it is spoken in Nigerian (Nigerian English) has been localized or internalized, so to say. This has led a unique brand of English influenced by our various regional dialects and languages. Subsequently, there is a deviation from the standard British English, which our schools are said to use. This deviation could be seen in terms of lexis, phonology and grammar. This means that Standard English may not be attainable even at the acrolectal level due to interferences and related factors. These interference affect speech and ultimately, writing. Writing is a part of a person's life that is indispensable and a mastery of writing cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, this brings to the fore: the implication Nigerian English has onNigerian teachers who teach writing skills at the SSS level. According to Chomsky, young children are equipped with what the termed Language Acquisition Device (LAD), which helps them pick up languages faster. This means that children have "sponge like" minds. This is a plus as with the right information they can be easy moluded. This project focuses on SSS students because they are still young and can be trained more effectively in the area of writing