Nigeria: Nigerian pidgin 101 · Global Voices
Ndesanjo Macha

Mama Junkyard's blogs about how people greet each other in Nigeria: How you body de? Pidgin English; often used when addressing someone who has been unwell. The first time I heard it was during my first week in Abuja. I was staying in a hotel and had just developed a cold. The guest relations manager knowing that my Pidgin English was not my strong point, opted to greet me in what can only be termed as the literal translation of the phrase. I can not even begin to describe my shock when I heard her utter the words “How is your body?”