On Our Reading List: Glocal English by Dr. Farooq Kperogi

KENNESAW, Ga. (Oct 6, 2015) — With a reading list that rivals Oprah’s, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences proudly adds another book to your holiday reading – Glocal English: The Changing Face and Forms of Nigerian English in a Global World by Dr. Farooq Kperogi of the School of Communication. As former Nigerian newspaper journalist, Dr. Kperogi received his PhD in communication from Georgia State University, and during his doctoral studies, he won the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award.

Glocal English compares the usage patterns and stylistic conventions of the world’s two dominant native varieties of English (British and American English) with Nigerian English, which ranks as the English world’s fastest-growing non-native variety courtesy of the unrelenting ubiquity of the Nigerian (English-language) movie industry in Africa and the Black Atlantic Diaspora. Using contemporary examples from the mass media and Dr. Kperogi’s rich experiential data, the book isolates the peculiar structural, grammatical, and stylistic characteristics of Nigerian English and shows its similarities as well as its often humorous differences with British and American English. The book uses true-life experiential encounters to instantiate the differences and similarities between Nigerian English and native varieties of English that investigate the movement and diffusion of linguistic codes across the bounds of nations and states in the age of globalization.

However, if you are still unsure about grabbing a copy of this book and snuggling into your favorite reading chair with a cup of coffee nearby, then don’t just take our word for it. Dr. Kperogi’s book has received international acclaim.

Ulrike Gut, Chair for English Linguistics at the University of Münster in Germany says, “This delightful book by Farooq A. Kperogi gives a comprehensive overview of the peculiarities of the meaning and usage of words and phrases in Nigerian English. Written in a highly accessible style that is at the same time entertaining and instructive, this book is a very enjoyable read for both scholars and non-linguists interested in Nigerian English and varieties of English as a whole.”

Obododimma Oha, a Professor of Cultural Semiotics and Stylistics at the University of Ibadan in Nigeria claims, “Glocal English is a brilliant and provocative exploration of several intriguing dimensions in the grammar of Nigerian English, one of the ‘Englishes’ fathered by British English. This new English is struggling against many unavoidable odds and influences to secure its legitimacy and respect, uncertain whether to disown the norms of an uncomfortable parent and of ‘caregivers,’ but willing to be (mis)understood in the global centres of English language use. Farooq A. Kperogi provides deep and admirable insights into the slippery borders separating usage from abusage and errors of construction from terrors of construction.”

So, if you are looking for that next book to draw you in and challenge your view of the world, Glocal English is the perfect choice.