That’s the struggle, but this is my life!

Language was a struggle between two different types of English in the past, and now in America, language is now a struggle between two different standard versions of English. I never knew English language was different till I came here. I say “perforator”, you say “hole puncher”. I say “trouser”, you say “pants”. I tell you how I love football, you think of American football, when I was talking about soccer and much more. But that’s not the issue.

Growing up, there were two different English, learned: Nigerian Standard English based on British English and Nigerian Pidgin. Nigerian Pidgin was spoken informally, even to members of your family, your parents and uncles and aunts, maybe your grandparents. And most importantly, you speak it with your friends. Now, when you are in a professional context, like that of school, such form of speaking is frowned upon. Again, you are in school, surrounded by friends and teachers. When teachers are not around, you speak Pidgin, asking “how you dey?”, meaning “how are you?”, but changed when a teacher is around. Even in answering questions in class, one has to speak in Standard English. But what happens when you slip, and speak pidgin to your teacher? It’s like texting in slangs or shorthand so much, that when you email your professor, you write ‘d’ instead of ‘the’ or ‘rmr instead of ‘remember’. So when that slip happens, you get reprimanded by your teacher. So it became a struggle. Should I forsake this comfort language that makes me come alive when I speak it and stick wholly to this rigid Standard English, that has structures and rules that limits that ways in which I can express myself? I definitely do not want to get into trouble.  What did I do? Nothing. I crossed my fingers, hoping I keep these two worlds apart, and I did. Just like I don’t use slangs or shorthand writing to email my professors, I didn’t speak informally to my teachers back then. Maybe I did, but I don’t remember.