WILL YOU KEEP SPEAKING IN PIDGIN THIS YEAR?

It is a fair question to ask at the start of the year, not to judge, but to reflect. Our words quietly shape who we become and what we believe is possible. Long before change shows up in our actions, it often reveals itself in the way we choose to speak. 

Pidgin is often described as a simplified form of communication that emerges when people with different native languages need to understand one another. It draws vocabulary from a dominant language and blends it with local expressions and structures. Nigerian Pidgin, for example, grew out of contact between English and several indigenous languages and has become widely used as a bridge across social and ethnic lines. It is practical, adaptive, and deeply familiar to many. 

Yet ease should never be confused with elevation or what is ideal. What comes easily is not always what builds us. Because pidgin is a reduced form of a fuller language, it carries within it a quiet corruption of structure, precision, and depth. It is not light. Whatever is not light is heavy, and whatever is heavy eventually drags down. When a person consistently settles for reduced expression, reduced thinking often follows. 

We must remember that speech itself is a sacred gift. The ability to form words is not accidental. It comes from our Creator, and with that gift comes responsibility. We are meant to value what comes to us, not dilute it through carelessness. How we form our words and how we build our sentences are not neutral acts. The words you speak, the sentences you put together, shape the life you live. They are like seeds in the garden you are constantly building around yourself. Every word you say is part of the most important thing you are creating in this world, your own life, your own reality. 

Many people, through careless talk, are quietly building unhealthy environments around themselves. These environments may not be visible to the physical eye, but they are felt. They affect atmosphere, mindset, confidence, and even opportunity. Those who are intuitive sense it immediately. The weight of words lingers. It shapes rooms, relationships, and reputations. 

This is not a call to abandon cultural identity or deny context. There is a place for informality and a place for ease. Wisdom lies in discernment. The danger is when what should be occasional becomes habitual, and what should be situational becomes permanent. When reduced speech becomes the default setting of the mind, growth is subtly resisted. 

So the charge this year is simple and demanding. Be better. Be more deliberate. Be more intentional in all areas of life, and especially in speech. Choose words that lift rather than weigh down. Choose expression that reflects where you are going, not just where you are comfortable. Raise your speech, and you will discover that you have quietly raised the standard of your entire life.