BBC Launches Pidgin-English service

The British Broadcasting Corporation BBC on Monday launched a new language service for digital platforms in Pidgin for West and Central Africa.

The launch is part of the World Service's biggest expansion since the 1940s. 

The BBC Pidgin, the first African digital service, will provide news, current affairs and analysis of Nigeria, West and Central Africa – as well as international news from the BBC’s global network of correspondents. 

The new service will also provide the BBC’s global audience with a better understanding of the region. 

The new digital service will feature BBC Minute, broadcasting six times a day, with a round up of the world in 60 seconds available online and social. 

New programming will also feature a specially commissioned drama which will illustrate the beauty of the language and the fun people have in following the language.

The new service also aim to serve a younger audience and women with social media playing a key role. In addition to news and current affairs, there will be extensive coverage of culture, entertainment, entrepreneurship, science & technology, health and sport – including the English Premier League.

Pidgin is one of the most widely-spoken languages across the region, even though it is not officially recognized.  

It is spoken by more than 75 million people in Nigeria alone, with additional speakers in Cameroon, Ghana, and Equatorial Guinea. 

It is primarily an oral language, without a standard agreed written form. With the introduction of the new service, the BBC said it hopes to contribute to the development of the language.

Pidgin will soon be joined by 10 more new services in Africa and Asia.