NIGERIAN SCRIPT TEXTS AS CREOLIZED REALITY REFLECTION

Abstract

The article deals with the peculiarities of script texts within the realm of cinematography, a contemporary art form. The research endeavors to elucidate the primary characteristic features of Nigerian script texts, which undergo creolization towards the norms of British English and local languages and cultures. Screenwriters initiate the filmmaking process by crafting a script text, serving as the essential foundation for directors, actors, stuntmen, costume and makeup designers, as well as editors. Nigerian script texts manifest as creolized texts, distinguished by a notable feature: the detailed inclusion of authorial remarks providing extensive information for future utilization. Each film script embodies a creolized text, contributing to the transformation of structural substance into a new cinematic reality. Nigerian script texts undergo multiple instances of creolization, adapting to the requirements of local languages and cultural peculiarities. The research validates Nigerian script texts as creolized compositions characterized by detailed authorial remarks, shedding light on language-specific features such as grammar transformations resulting in simplification processes. The most prevalent grammar simplification processes entail the consecutive use of nouns and pronouns, a preference for simple verb tenses, and the omission of auxiliary verbs in interrogative and negative sentences. The grammatical alterations observed in Nigerian scripts are attributed to the influence of local languages and Nigerians' aspiration to adhere to local language features, thereby preserving cultural heritage.