English Words Nigerians Use Everyday That Do NOT Exist In The Dictionary | Please Read This & Stop Disgracing Yourself

for their ingenuity in different endeavours might be overcompensation for this article. A country of about 190 population, a former colony of the United Kingdom and her lingua franca being English, Nigerians have definitely found ways to modify the queen’s English to what suits them best.

Here are 7 words Nigerians use every day which don’t exist. These are the kind of words you type into your phone or computer and it draws a red line underneath it. Please read on and educate yourself.

(1.) GO- SLOW

Although the word ‘go-slow’ appears in the dictionary, it is wrongly used by many Nigerians. The word go-slow means a form of industrial action in which work or progress is deliberately delayed or slowed down. It does not mean congested traffic, so it is wrong to use it in that way.

(2.) INSTALMENTALLY

There is no such word in the English dictionary, this word exists only in the Nigerian edition dictionary (if such a book exists). The correct thing to say is ‘in installments’

(3.) OPPORTUNED

How many times do you say ‘I was not opportuned to come’? The correct variants that exist are ‘opporteune’ or ‘opportunity’. The word ‘opportune’ has no past tense.

(4.) CUNNY

“That guy is very cunny”. This is wrong, the word is ‘cunning’, not cunny. If you want to refer to someone who is sly or deceitful, use the word ‘cunning’, ‘cunny’ simply does not exist.

(5.) WAKE-KEEPING

I’m sure most people will argue with this, but argue as you may, what you will find in the dictionary is ‘wake- keep’.

6.) SCREENTOUCH PHONE

Oyinbo people made these devices and called it ‘touchscreen’, by the time the phones go enter Naija, we rename them ‘screen touch’

(7.) DISVIRGIN

No, you did not dis virgin that babe, you deflowered her, you took away her virginity, but you certainly did not disvirgin her, because the word ‘disvirgin’ simply does not exist!

Alright: “Alright” is a misspelling of the term all right. All right is used when you want to say that something is adequate, acceptable, agreeable or suitable. To hardcore English language linguists, “alright” is not a word. However, its usage is gaining traction and it’s increasingly becoming acceptable. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary – which is considered the gold standard among American English speakers – has recently drawn a lot of criticisms for its permissiveness when it began indexing some otherwise colloquial and street language terms, including “alright.” Most linguists disagree with the gradual acceptance of “alright” as a word by the public and even the media, while those in the minority are “alright” with it.

Wake-keeping: “Wake-keeping” exists only in the imagination of a few English speakers. As a matter of fact, there is no such thing as “wake-keeping.” The correct word is wake and not even “wake-keep.” Both “wake-keeping” and “wake-keep” are ungrammatical.