A CORPUS-BASED INVESTIGATION OF SEMANTIC MEANINGS OF NIGERIAN ENGLISH EXPRESSIONS ACCEPTED BY THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY IN 2020 AND 2025

Abstract

This corpus-based seeks to explore the semantic creativity of the accepted unique Nigerian English words and expressions by the Oxford English dictionary in 2020 and 2025. Using the Nigerian component of international corpus of English as a source of data for the research. The method of data analysis for this study is a qualitative method. The qualitative research is a type of research that focuses on non-numeric data in form of text. The findings of the research has discovered the semantic creativity of each word and expression that occurred in the ICE-Nigeria according to the text and reflect the country's cultures, social, and political context of the Nigerian society. The finding shows that most of the words and expressions have a literal meanings and are more frequently used than the idiomatic one in the ICE-Nigeria. Research shows that there is an avoidance the use of the idiomatic category of words and expressions by the Nigerian speakers of the English because it is difficult to understand.The research recommends Scholars who are interested in studying Nigerian English should use the Nigerian Component of the International Corpus of English (ICE-Nigeria) to investigate the various semantic creativity of Nigerian English words and expressions. More instructional materials should provides that can helps the teachers and students in teaching and learning of the recent words and expressions that have been accepted by the Oxford English Dictionary in 2020 and 2025.