Hybridity in Literary Works in Nigeria: An Aftermath of the English Language in Nigeria

Abstract

Hybridity as the creation of transcultural forms within a contact point is a result of colonization, which creates room for exchange. This exchange exists in different forms which includes; racial, cultural, political, linguistic, religious, etc. This study examined hybridity in literary works in Nigeria from the linguistic point of view. It highlighted the meaning and different forms of hybridity, narrowing it down to linguistic hybridity which is the thrust of the study. It identified samples of Nigerian English generally used in communication and in literary works. Nigerian literary works and the concept of contact literature were also examined which laid the foundation for analyzing the debate on English use in Nigerian literary works. The study adopted a descriptive qualitative research design. The population of the study comprised literary works of Nigerian authors. However, the study paid close attention to prose works. The sample was selected using convenient sampling technique and five prose works were selected. The data collected from the sample was analyzed within the framework of sociolinguistics and the examples analyzed in the novels illustrate specific types of linguistic behavior among Nigerian users of the English language.