What Is Pidgin English and Should We Always Teach Standard English? With Coco Mbassi – S02E14

What is Pidgin English, why does it develop, and should teachers always insist on standard English?Gav and Em are joined by linguist, translator, language teacher and award-winning musician Coco Mbassi. Drawing on her multilingual childhood in Cameroon and her experiences in France and the UK, Coco explores how language connects people, cultures and identities.Coco explains how contact between different linguistic communities contributed to the development of Cameroonian Pidgin English. Although it was discouraged at her school, learning it helped her communicate, fit in and connect with other young people. She also discusses growing up with French and English, teaching French to English speakers and the value of approaching language learning more forgivingly.How important is perfect grammar when successful communication is the real goal? What is the difference between a language and a dialect? Should regional varieties, slang and non-standard English be treated as mistakes—or recognised as meaningful forms of communication?Gav and Em examine some of the ways Pidgin languages simplify grammatical structures. They also explore European English expressions that teachers might traditionally correct, including “How is it called?”, “We were two people” and “I’m coming from Spain”. Drawing on their classroom experience, they consider when correction is helpful and when teachers should concentrate on whether learners have communicated their intended meaning.The episode also features Coco’s song Palaba, performed in Cameroonian Pidgin English. Download the lyrics, listen closely and see how much you can understand before comparing them with the standard English translation.If you find the show useful, you can send us a thanks at https://ko-fi.com/howtoenglishpodVisit https://howtoenglishpod.com for more practical English-teaching ideas and resources ready to use.Chapters00:00 Welcome and introduction00:54 Introducing Coco Mbassi02:40 Coco’s multilingual childhood and linguistic background03:26 Languages and linguistic inequality in Cameroon05:02 Music, translation and bilingual identity05:51 Teaching French to English speakers06:37 How Cameroonian Pidgin English developed08:11 Learning Pidgin English to communicate and belong09:46 Why language learners should embrace imperfection11:15 Learning languages in a forgiving way12:16 What is the difference between a language and a dialect?14:01 Understanding Pidgin English14:46 Exploring the lyrics and meaning of Palaba16:32 Palaba performed by Coco Mbassi20:33 Common features of Pidgin languages22:22 Pidgin varieties around the world22:54 European English and changing ideas about mistakes25:24 Why English teachers should embrace language change26:13 Should schools ban slang and non-standard English?29:06 Reflections on language, identity and teaching30:01 Listener shout-outs31:34 Where to follow the podcast and support Coco32:13 Closing the episodeReferencesTranscription with audio:https://share.descript.com/view/2TMqgWXIRIqPalaba lyrics and standard English translation:https://www.dropbox.com/s/u9c7uv34gmie4ue/Palaba%20Lyrics.pdf?dl=0Coco Mbassi’s website:https://cocombassi.co.ukSupport Coco’s work:https://www.patreon.com/CocoMbassiIntroduction to pidgin languages:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PidginThe Guardian article about a London school’s slang ban:https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/sep/30/oh-my-days-linguists-lament-slang-ban-in-london-school