Abstract
This study explores how speakers of Nigerian English (NigE) re-create their own speech and that of others in narrative discourse using the quotative say. The research is based on naturallyoccurring data collected from 180 participants during sociolinguistic interviews conducted in various locations across Nigeria. It investigates how the speakers’ choice of say is constrained by both linguistic factors (such as the content of the quote, the grammatical person of the quotative, and the tense/time reference of the quotative) and social factors (including age, gender, regional origin, and social class). The study adoptsa Variationist Sociolinguistics framework, drawing on Labov (1963, 1966) and Tagliamonte (2012), and employs a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative and qualitative analyses. For the multivariate analysis of different quotative forms, a statistical program called Rbrul (Johnson, 2009) was utilised. The discourse analytic qualitative method was employed mainly to address the question of how quotative say functions in performed narratives. The findingsestablish that the use of the quotative say is prevalent in NigE. The speakers of this variety of English use this quotative form to frame directly quoted speech without marking dramatic effects, allowing for its application in a wide variety of contexts. The study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of linguistic change and the function ofsayas a quotative marker in NigE.
Keywords: Narrative Discourse, Nigerian English, Quotative Say, Social Positioning, Variation
