In a landmark recognition of linguistic influence, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) has officially added 24 Nigerian and West African words and expressions to its lexicon.
This update highlights the profound global impact of Nigerian culture, English, and Pidgin across digital spaces, music, film, and daily conversation.
The newly included terms, such as “nyash” (slang for buttocks), “abeg” and “biko” (both meaning “please”), and “Ghana-Must-Go” (a patterned travel bag), originate predominantly from Nigeria and Ghana.
They also represent shared language from The Gambia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone.
These additions go beyond vocabulary—they validate Nigerian English as a dynamic and legitimate dialect, shaped by local history, creativity, and everyday life. From cuisine (“moi moi”) to places (“mammy market”) and humour, the words capture authentic Nigerian experiences.
By incorporating these terms, the OED not only documents living language but also ensures that future generations and researchers worldwide can understand and appreciate West Africa’s cultural contributions.5
As Afrobeats, Nollywood, and African digital trends continue to captivate global audiences, this inclusion firmly positions the region’s language on the world stage—a proud milestone for Nigeria and West Africa alike.
Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.
Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.
He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.
Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).
He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.
He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.
Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.
