THE USE OF ENGLISH IN THE MARKETPLACE: THEORITICAL ISSUES IN COMMUNICATION STYLES AND COMMERCIAL TRANSACTION

Abstract

This paper is an exposition on the use of English in informal settings like the market square. A market is identified as an institution, system, infrastructure, social relation or procedure in which the act of exchange of goods or services are carried out. The market serves as a platform for business transactions between people of diverse social cultural and political economic backgrounds. Sellers and buyers in the marketplace use language to communicate. The focus of this paper is on the three varieties of English being used in the market place in Nigeria which is patterned along the variety of the people that are involved in selling and buying. The paper is in four parts which include, introduction, literature review, theoretical discourse, analysis and conclusion. Primary and secondary data were collected and analysed in themes. This paper argued that the multilingual nature of language users in Nigeria’s markets is responsible for the use of three types of English and that communication styles are influenced by the level of education of language users in the market.