| Summary: | Abstract. A questionnaire − and interview − based survey of attitudes toward Anglo-
Nigerian Pidgin (ANP) (or ‘Nigerian Pidgin English’) was undertaken on a stratified
random sample of 1,200 respondents in six urban centres in southern Nigeria, in
relation to perceptions of its language status, its possible use as a subject and medium
of instruction, and its possible adoption as an official language in the future, given its
ever-increasing sociolinguistic vitality and preponderance.
An analysis of the generational variable of the survey findings indicate that, contrary to
expectations, the middle age generation (40-49 years) were consistently the most
favourable in their attitudes toward ANP, with regard to: 1) teaching ANP as a subject;
2) using ANP as a medium of instruction in schools; and, 3) adopting ANP as Nigeria’s
official language, whereas the young generation (15-19 years) - currently considered
ANP’s main users and vectors - were the least favourable. The paper discusses and
attempts to explain this apparent paradox.
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