ENGLISH SPOKEN IN BENUE STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS For the reason that the English language in Nigeria is a second

language which is acquired after the mother tongue, there are bound to be peculiarities in the syntactic, lexical and semantic levels of language use. This is a consequence of (two) languages in contact. The peculiarity of student life has led to development of various forms of spoken English which are sometimes at variance with Standard English. In the Benue State University, students speak several forms of English ranging from Pidgin English to Slang. This paper attempts to reveal some of these spoken forms of English on BSU campus. Auxiliaries Often the distinctiveness of Nigerian verbs in use consists of unusual auxiliaries applied to conventional verbs. Some of these as used on the BSU campus are as follows; 1. done he done go he went [Pidgin!] 2. got the thing got spoiled Its damaged the water got finished Weve run out of water 3. has he has go he went [just imperfect learning, not standard] 4. use to he use to come here he comes here regularly [back formation from used to] Words Some words are peculiar to the campus and have meanings related to activities on campus. Some as used in the BSU campus include: these people only give chicken-change Meaning: they only pay peanuts I dubbed from the guy sitting next to me for inside exam Meaning: copying in an exam Hence we are going to market, well buy oranges Meaning: Since were going to the market, well buy oranges I go pay you month end Meaning: Ill pay you at the end of the month Use your number six! Use your brain I shunt so I get the form quick I jumped the queue and got the form early

Influence of Mother-tongue Words from Nigerian languages are often injected into speech. Questions are sometimes constructed as a statement followed by "sha" and a rising tone. Another way of constructing a question is to use "shebi" or "abi" as a marker at the beginning of the sentence or nko at the end serving as an indefinite generalizing tag. The meanings of "no" and "yes" are reversed for negative questions ("Yes, I have no bananas"), relative to standard English. People often say "I'm coming" as they go away, meaning they'll be back soon. Sha, you are going to the market, buy me some tomatoes will you please? Meaning: If you are going to the market, please buy me some tomatoes Shebi you are going to town? Meaning: Are you going to town? Suppose they sell the land and then something comes up nko, what happens then? Meaning What if something unexpected comes up after selling the land. I dey come. This is said while actually leaving but meaning Ill be back soon. You no get banana? Yes I no get. This depicts the reversal of meanings for no and yes in negative questions.