Yoruba Loanwords in Nigerian Pidgin English: Evidence from Delta State Communities

Nigerian Pidgin English functions as a major inter-ethnic lingua franca across Nigeria's South South region, absorbing lexical contributions from multiple substrate languages, including Yoruba. This study documents and analyses Yoruba loanwords in Nigerian Pidgin English as used in selected communities in Delta State, South South Nigeria. Using a sociolinguistic field methodology, data were collected from 70 Nigerian Pidgin English speakers in Warri, Sapele, and Ughelli through wordlist elicitation, conversational recordings, and participant observation. The study identifies and classifies Yoruba-origin lexemes in Pidgin speech, examining their phonological adaptation, semantic retention or shift, and frequency of use. The theoretical framework draws on contact linguistics and substrate influence theory. Existing literature on Yoruba influence on Nigerian Pidgin has addressed this question primarily from a theoretical perspective, with limited fieldwork from Delta State, where complex multilingual dynamics involving Urhobo, Ijaw, Isoko, and Igbo may also shape Pidgin lexis. This study contributes field-based evidence from an understudied location. The research investigates whether Yoruba loanwords in Delta Pidgin are stable community-wide features or variable items used primarily by ethnically Yoruba speakers. Findings are expected to reveal a set of stable Yoruba-derived lexemes in semantic domains related to food, kinship, spirituality, and praise, alongside a set of variable items used in ethnically mixed social contexts. Recommendations will address the documentation of Yoruba substrate contributions to Nigerian Pidgin English and their implications for Pidgin lexicography. Keywords: loanwords, Yoruba, Nigerian Pidgin English, Delta State, language contact.