By; Temitayo Kareem
Nigerian Pidgin, spoken by tens of millions across West Africa, has long lacked the kind of structured, high-quality digital resources that exist for other widely spoken languages. Now, a new product called Pidginary is aiming to change that.
Pidginary, described as the first modern Nigerian Pidgin dictionary, was launched this month by Raymond Emamezi Okoro, a UK-based Nigerian product designer. The platform presents the language in a contemporary digital format, offering word definitions, usage examples, pronunciations and a minimal ultramodern interface that departs from the archaic or ad-hoc resources typically found online.
Nigeria’s population, estimated at more than 232.7 million in 2024, makes it the most populous African country and the largest Black nation globally. Within that population, Pidgin English serves as a unifying mode of communication, cutting across ethnic and social lines. Despite this, the language has historically been under-documented, with few attempts to give it a refined or permanent digital presence.
Industry observers say Pidginary represents a significant step forward, not just for language preservation but also for African design leadership. By placing an African language in a carefully designed, user-friendly environment, the project highlights the role of design in shaping cultural narratives and defining identity. It also reinforces the permanent role of creative design leadership in determining digital product quality, particularly at a time when the rapid adoption of AI is transforming how products are built and the overall relevance of the teams that build them.
Okoro himself declares it as a call to action for his peers. “Design leadership is about ensuring the quality of the final outcome and enforcing the vision regardless of what tools are used,” he told TechCabal. “Tools will continue to evolve, but it is up to designers to protect the standard and direction of the products we create.”
The launch has drawn attention from designers and technology professionals in Nigeria and abroad, many of whom view the product as evidence of how African talent can create globally relevant tools rooted in local culture. Rather than following global trends, Pidginary positions itself as a homegrown innovation that redefines what digital products from the continent can look like.
Okoro, who works full-time as a product designer with UK mobility-tech company YourParkingSpace, developed Pidginary as a side project. His decision to pursue it has been read by peers as an example of how African professionals in the diaspora are contributing both to global industries and to cultural initiatives that resonate at home.
Future updates to Pidginary are expected to expand its word base and evolve its features. For now, its release marks a noteworthy cultural-tech milestone: a product that not only addresses a linguistic gap but also signals how African designers are increasingly setting standards in the digital technology field.
Pidginary is live on www.pidginary.xyz
