CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO SLANG IN BENIN AND DELTA PIDGIN

ABSTRACT

This research work provides an in-depth identification, classification, and semantic analysis of Slangs found in Benin and Delta Pidgin in accordance with thecontext it is being used. The purpose of this research work is to highlight meaningcomponents of Slangy words in Benin and Delta Pidgin by putting into consideration the meaning ofsuch word in the particular context in which if s being used, the intentionof the speaker and the semantic derivation of the listener and also the repercussion of this statement on listener and also the speaker. To achieve theaims of this study, the researcher used the tenet of speech act theory to analyze thedata collected via listening to people's usage of pidgin, slangy words used inmusical videos, used amongst transporters and market women around the OviaNorth East local government in Edo state. The study revealed that Meaning ofSlang is lost when taken out of the context in which it's being used and as a matterof fact, when these slangy words are translated directly to English language in freetranslation, most times, it fails to pass across the intention of the speaker. Thisresearcher therefore concludes that a slangy word should be analyzed based oncontext as well as the intention of the speaker.