MACAULAY EBUBECHUKWU MICHAEL

This research presents a morphological analysis of noun pluralization in Nigerian Pidgin (NP), a vital and dynamic lingua franca whose core grammar remains significantly under-documented and often misunderstood. Drawing on descriptive linguistic principles, this study rigorously analyzed corpus and elicited data from University of Benin students, affirming NP’s status as a stable, highly efficient linguistic system. The analysis reveals that NP employs an economical analytical system for plurality, a distinct approach when contrasted with English inflectional morphology. Plurality is typically marked externally by prenominal quantifiers or numerals (e.g., ten egg or plenty shoe), demonstrating a rule-governed avoidance of redundant
marking. Crucially, the post-nominal marker "dem" (e.g., pikin dem) has undergone complete grammaticalization and lexicalization, acting as a dedicated plural indicator, especially in definite contexts. This key structural feature reflects a deep and successful influence from local Nigerian substrate languages. Ultimately, this study concludes that the NP pluralization system
is internally consistent, rule-governed, and structurally elegant. By establishing the sophisticated stability of this core nominal feature, this research significantly contributes to creole studies and offers compelling evidence that NP is a language optimally designed for clarity and effective communication.