Nigerian English and Identity Construction Among University Students in Jos, Plateau State

This study investigates the relationship between Nigerian English use and identity construction among undergraduate students at the University of Jos in Plateau State, North Central Nigeria. Language is a primary medium through which social and cultural identities are constructed, performed, and negotiated, and Nigerian English, as a localised variety of the global language, serves as a particularly complex identity resource in a culturally diverse university community. The University of Jos draws students from a broad range of ethnic and regional backgrounds across North Central Nigeria and beyond, making it an especially productive site for studying how English functions as both a shared communicative resource and a terrain of identity differentiation. The study employs a qualitative sociolinguistic approach combining semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and peer conversation data from 45 undergraduate students drawn from three faculties. Data analysis draws on theories of identity and language in educational contexts. Findings reveal that students deploy Nigerian English as a marker of educated national identity while simultaneously drawing on local languages and Pidgin to perform ethnic and peer group affiliations. Students from minority ethnic groups in Plateau State show greater investment in standard Nigerian English as a neutral ground less marked by the dominant Hausa or Southern identities. The study also identifies a distinctive University of Jos student sociolect shaped by the campus's specific ethnic and religious demographics. Recommendations include sociolinguistic awareness modules in University of Jos communication skills curricula. Keywords: Nigerian English, identity construction, University of Jos, sociolinguistics, North Central Nigeria.