The commonest names among the Okun people are those typically borne by all Yoruba groups (e.g. Ol... more The commonest names among the Okun people are those typically borne by all Yoruba groups (e.g. Olusọla, Ọlọrunfẹmi, Awoniyi, Ogungbemi, Faniyi, Adebayọ, Kayọde, etc.). However, names (such as Ayinmiro, Alemika, Berida, Iyekolo, Melaye, Makele, etc.) which are peculiar to the Okun groups and exclusively based on the linguistic structure of their dialects are not as common as the general Yoruba names either as first names or as surnames. Interestingly, many speakers of other Yoruba dialects in South West Nigeria are hardly aware of the Yorubaness of such names as they often erroneously associate them with other tribes in Nigeria. Furthermore, the use of Okun indigenous names is in recession as many people, natives inclusive, no longer use them nor know what they mean. This paper investigates the linguistic structures of Okun exclusive names with a view to descriptively analyse how they are morpho-syntactically and semantically constructed, and how these constructions demonstrate clear ancient affinity with other Yoruba groups. Findings show that Okun indigenous names have well-known Yoruba culture and language structures which range from frozen/lexicalized clauses (both simple and complex), noun phrases, and nominalised VPs involving morphosyntactic and morphophonemic processes such as prefixation, desententialisation, clipping, contraction, assimilation, and deletion. All these combined tend to make the names culturally unique and interesting. Given the overwhelming evidence from the morpho-syntax and semantics of the Okun indigenous names investigated, which evidently align well with what obtains in Standard Yoruba and other well studied dialects of the language, the study concludes that Okun lects are linguistically integral to the Yoruba dialect continuum.
This article explores language policy implications of the emergence in Nigeria, of children whose... more This article explores language policy implications of the emergence in Nigeria, of children whose language acquisition sequences do not follow the mother-tongues-first order, which current language policy guidelines are based on. Current guidelines (which favour mother tongue education at primary education level), leverage on psycholinguistic and learning advantages of mother tongues education, giving the assumption that children would have developed appreciable mastery of their mother tongues at school age. Using an analytical approach, this article assesses cogent secondary data and posits that children who do not follow the mother-tongue-first order, and instead are simultaneous bilinguals and asymmetric bilinguals, have become significant components of Nigeria’s population. The article highlights the psycholinguistic peculiarities of these emergent groups, pointing out their peculiar learning characteristics, and arguing that they usuallydo not possess the mastery of mother tong...
This paper is an overview of some of the complications associated with conceptualizing second lan... more This paper is an overview of some of the complications associated with conceptualizing second language in African societies, particularly with reference to European languages. Most popular opinions and many scholarly insights appear to define second language mainly in terms of sequence of acquisition. From this perspective, the term second language refers to a language learnt in addition to a previously acquired one. While this view of second language actually applies to many African situations, there are complex bilingual and multilingual situations in Africa that pose serious conceptual problems when viewed from the standpoint of this dominant view. This paper raises the need for scholars to be conscious of these situations, and the variations in the conception of second language that consequently exist, so that divergent perspectives of second language can be better accommodated in the emerging global academic community.
It is clear that in Nigeria, there is a crisis of graduate unemployment and underemployment. The ... more It is clear that in Nigeria, there is a crisis of graduate unemployment and underemployment. The crisis is not just a question of the number of jobs available but also the doubtful capacity of an average graduate to fit into the modern skill-driven labour market which is increasingly emphasizing the possession of very specific and precise cutting edge-skills and abilities. The typical English Language programme in a Nigerian University is highly academic, focusing more on theories and concepts while the job market increasingly demands precise practical, task-oriented skills. This paper presents an overview of the increasing gap between the requirements of the labour market and the training typically provided in English Language programmes in Nigerian universities. The paper concludes that although English departments are not vocational training departments, they should be encouraged to make appropriate curricular adjustments that are in line with trends in modern labour market reali...
A presentation at the 2020 Colloquium of African Languages and Linguistics, hosted at Leiden Univ... more A presentation at the 2020 Colloquium of African Languages and Linguistics, hosted at Leiden University.
Reading instruction practices in many African societies, and the attendant views regarding text r... more Reading instruction practices in many African societies, and the attendant views regarding text readability, are based on the tacit acquiescence among reading instruction practitioners that it is 'normal' for readers in typical ESL contexts to experience difficulties with English texts from L1 contexts. Such reading difficulties tend to be very obvious and are therefore usually not addressed as problems in the instructional sense. They are often seen as inevitable in L2 reading. This paper opines that this perspective must change in favor of an approach that not only views this situation as problematic, but also involves training readers to read texts from L1sources. This will help African ESL readers become better integrated into the information age where the bulk of knowledge comes in L1 varieties of the English language.
Reading instruction practices in many African societies, and the attendant views regarding text r... more Reading instruction practices in many African societies, and the attendant views regarding text readability, are based on the tacit acquiescence among reading instruction practitioners that it is ‘normal’ for readers in typical ESL contexts to experience difficulties with English texts from L1 contexts. Such reading difficulties tend to be very obvious and are therefore usually not addressed as problems in the instructional sense. They are often seen as inevitable in L2 reading. This paper opines that this perspective must change in favor of an approach that not only views this situation as problematic, but also involves training readers to read texts from L1sources. This will help African ESL readers become better integrated into the information age where the bulk of knowledge comes in L1 varieties of the English language.
The tendency among many Nigerian popular music artists to engage in self-adulation has been ident... more The tendency among many Nigerian popular music artists to engage in self-adulation has been identified in some studies, but has not received enough pointed and focused attention. This article therefore takes a close look at this phenomenon. Twelve songs by eight different artists deemed to be sufficiently representative of contemporary popular music in Nigeria were purposively selected for the study. They were analysed thematically on the basis of some constructs in social psychology. Based on the analyses, this article concludes that self-adulation in contemporary Nigerian popular music serves the artists as a defence mechanism in the face of palpable threats to their self-esteem, which are generated by specific social realities. The attendant lyrics which often involve the flaunting of wealth and women have the capacity to encourage crass materialism and the denigration of women among the young impressionable fans of the musical genre. The article recommends some reorientation tha...
IMBIZO (International Journal of African Literary and Comparative Studies), 2018
The tendency among many Nigerian popular music artists to engage in self-adulation has been ident... more The tendency among many Nigerian popular music artists to engage in self-adulation has been identified in some studies, but has not received enough pointed and focused attention. This article therefore takes a close look at this phenomenon. Twelve songs by eight different artists deemed to be sufficiently representative of contemporary popular music in Nigeria were purposively selected for the study. They were analysed thematically on the basis of some constructs in social psychology. Based on the analyses, this article concludes that self-adulation in contemporary Nigerian popular music serves the artists as a defence mechanism in the face of palpable threats to their self-esteem, which are generated by specific social realities. The attendant lyrics which often involve the flaunting of wealth and women have the capacity to encourage crass materialism and the denigration of women among the young impressionable fans of the musical genre. The article recommends some reorientation that would encourage artists and their producers to take the overall social implications of their lyrics into cognisance and make necessary adjustments to avoid misguiding youth into vain materialism and gender bias.
This article is a report of a micro research focusing on a specific case of
deviant pronunciatio... more This article is a report of a micro research focusing on a specific case of
deviant pronunciation among Igala speakers of English. Although deviations
from native speaker norms are expected in any second language
(L2) context, this particular deviation appears to defy the basic principles
governing mother tongue (MT = L1) interference in L2 speech productions.
Indeed, people generally mispronounce elements that do not occur
in their native language. Yet, Igala speakers tend to replace the voiceless
post-alveolar affricate /tʃ/ with the voiceless palato-alveolar fricative /ʃ/
when they speak English, although /tʃ/ occurs in Igala. This paper deals
with this hitherto unstudied phenomenon, for which it provides explanations
both from a diachronic and a synchronic perspective. It also shows,
in the process, how changes occurring in the speakers’ L1 can be detected
from the way they speak an L2. Finally, it discusses the implications of
the phenomenon at stake for Igala Linguistics.
It is clear that in Nigeria, there is a crisis of graduate unemployment and underemployment. The ... more It is clear that in Nigeria, there is a crisis of graduate unemployment and underemployment. The crisis is not just a question of the number of jobs available but also the doubtful capacity of an average graduate to fit into the modern skill-driven labour market which is increasingly emphasizing the possession of very specific and precise cutting edge-skills and abilities. The typical English Language programme in a Nigerian University is highly academic, focusing more on theories and concepts while the job market increasingly demands precise practical, task-oriented skills. This paper presents an overview of the increasing gap between the requirements of the labour market and the training typically provided in English Language programmes in Nigerian universities. The paper concludes that although English departments are not vocational training departments, they should be encouraged to make appropriate curricular adjustments that are in line with trends in modern labour market realities.
The teaching of reading has traditionally involved the process of getting people to read material... more The teaching of reading has traditionally involved the process of getting people to read materials on paper, whether hand written or printed. In our world today, reading has gone beyond this traditional domain. Electronic sources are beginning to challenge the dominance of traditional method of reading. The situation calls for urgent pedagogical response on the part of the reading teacher because reading from electronic sources has a number of peculiarities that traditional reading improvement strategies do not take into account. This paper examines these practical pedagogical challenges and suggests systematic measures to prepare learners to manage the brave new world of electronic materials. Introduction For ages, reading has been all about deciphering the meaning of words written on paper or other materials. Today, things have changed drastically. Electronic documents or e-documents have appeared, providing the world with an imposing array of sources of knowledge that sometimes appears to be a deluge. The use of electronic materials continues to increase all the time such that there are contexts today where information can be obtained mainly via such materials. Zaphiris & Kuniawan (2001) observe that the screen is gradually replacing paper as the main medium of display for the written word. Generally, paper reading continues to be the most preferred, Current Linguistics and Literary Issues in Digital Communication O. Adekoya, R. Taiwo, K. Ayoola & A. Adegoju (Eds.) 420
Use of English and Communications courses are part of the curriculum of virtually all tertiary ed... more Use of English and Communications courses are part of the curriculum of virtually all tertiary education programs in Nigeria. The need for such courses is especially relevant in a country like Nigeria where the language of instruction at the tertiary level is a second language in which students' proficiency levels are often disappointing. In this paper an attempt is made to make relevant generalizations about the effectiveness or otherwise of existing approaches to the teaching of these courses, concluding that the existing situation falls short of expectation. The paper proceeds to take a look at relevant scholarly insights into the leaching of English as a second language, and drawing from these, prescribe emphasis on reading as the only viable alternative, in view of the problems identified. Introduction The teaching of English language courses has become a permanent feature of all or at least, most courses or programmes in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The compulsory teaching of such courses, of course, is necessitated by the need to enhance the competence of the students in English-the sole language of instruction at the tertiary level in Nigeria. It is clear that this imperative is made more pressing because English is a second language for the overwhelming majority of those studying in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. It is very obvious that in recent times, there has been a decline in the ability of our students to communicate effectively either in written or oral media, regardless of what kind of pass in English they came in with. Also, some considerable degree of drop in communicative ability is also obvious among many graduates of our institutions regardless of whether they passed our English and communication courses. Obviously, the low quality of intakes from secondary school must be the dominant factor operating in this situation. However, when we consider the fact that our Use-of-English and communication courses are supposed to serve as opportunities for communicative skills improvement, especially for academic and post-graduation occupational purposes, we need to assess and take stock of our methods. In this regard the frank question, which we need to sincerely address, is whether our efforts are yielding the desired result. It is the belief of this writer that the answer to this question must be negative in view of what we can easily discover from the general observation of our students and the products of our academic programmes. Where there is a problem with the products, we must, among other things, scrutinise our methods. In the words of Cook (1991) "the proof of the teaching is in the learning" (P.3) In view of the above, this paper summarizes problems with the objectives and the content of most use of English courses, with additional insights into problems associated with the teaching methods. Thereafter, an attempt is made to give insights into past and present approaches to language teaching (especially seconds language teaching) and, drawing from these, the paper brings in the relevance of reading. General insights are also given into the salient question of selection of materials for a reading programme. This paper does not contain the technical nitty-gritty of syllabus design. It is simply an attempt to provide food for thought aimed at forming a general theoretical background for the subsequent design of relevant syllabuses for Use of English course in our institutions of higher learning
... APA. Are, OB (2010). Attitudes to Online Reading and Web-Based Instructions in Developing Soc... more ... APA. Are, OB (2010). Attitudes to Online Reading and Web-Based Instructions in Developing Societies. In Taiwo, R. (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Discourse Behavior and Digital Communication: Language Structures and Social Interaction. (pp. 700-715). ...
The commonest names among the Okun people are those typically borne by all Yoruba groups (e.g. Ol... more The commonest names among the Okun people are those typically borne by all Yoruba groups (e.g. Olusọla, Ọlọrunfẹmi, Awoniyi, Ogungbemi, Faniyi, Adebayọ, Kayọde, etc.). However, names (such as Ayinmiro, Alemika, Berida, Iyekolo, Melaye, Makele, etc.) which are peculiar to the Okun groups and exclusively based on the linguistic structure of their dialects are not as common as the general Yoruba names either as first names or as surnames. Interestingly, many speakers of other Yoruba dialects in South West Nigeria are hardly aware of the Yorubaness of such names as they often erroneously associate them with other tribes in Nigeria. Furthermore, the use of Okun indigenous names is in recession as many people, natives inclusive, no longer use them nor know what they mean. This paper investigates the linguistic structures of Okun exclusive names with a view to descriptively analyse how they are morpho-syntactically and semantically constructed, and how these constructions demonstrate clear ancient affinity with other Yoruba groups. Findings show that Okun indigenous names have well-known Yoruba culture and language structures which range from frozen/lexicalized clauses (both simple and complex), noun phrases, and nominalised VPs involving morphosyntactic and morphophonemic processes such as prefixation, desententialisation, clipping, contraction, assimilation, and deletion. All these combined tend to make the names culturally unique and interesting. Given the overwhelming evidence from the morpho-syntax and semantics of the Okun indigenous names investigated, which evidently align well with what obtains in Standard Yoruba and other well studied dialects of the language, the study concludes that Okun lects are linguistically integral to the Yoruba dialect continuum.
This article explores language policy implications of the emergence in Nigeria, of children whose... more This article explores language policy implications of the emergence in Nigeria, of children whose language acquisition sequences do not follow the mother-tongues-first order, which current language policy guidelines are based on. Current guidelines (which favour mother tongue education at primary education level), leverage on psycholinguistic and learning advantages of mother tongues education, giving the assumption that children would have developed appreciable mastery of their mother tongues at school age. Using an analytical approach, this article assesses cogent secondary data and posits that children who do not follow the mother-tongue-first order, and instead are simultaneous bilinguals and asymmetric bilinguals, have become significant components of Nigeria’s population. The article highlights the psycholinguistic peculiarities of these emergent groups, pointing out their peculiar learning characteristics, and arguing that they usuallydo not possess the mastery of mother tong...
This paper is an overview of some of the complications associated with conceptualizing second lan... more This paper is an overview of some of the complications associated with conceptualizing second language in African societies, particularly with reference to European languages. Most popular opinions and many scholarly insights appear to define second language mainly in terms of sequence of acquisition. From this perspective, the term second language refers to a language learnt in addition to a previously acquired one. While this view of second language actually applies to many African situations, there are complex bilingual and multilingual situations in Africa that pose serious conceptual problems when viewed from the standpoint of this dominant view. This paper raises the need for scholars to be conscious of these situations, and the variations in the conception of second language that consequently exist, so that divergent perspectives of second language can be better accommodated in the emerging global academic community.
It is clear that in Nigeria, there is a crisis of graduate unemployment and underemployment. The ... more It is clear that in Nigeria, there is a crisis of graduate unemployment and underemployment. The crisis is not just a question of the number of jobs available but also the doubtful capacity of an average graduate to fit into the modern skill-driven labour market which is increasingly emphasizing the possession of very specific and precise cutting edge-skills and abilities. The typical English Language programme in a Nigerian University is highly academic, focusing more on theories and concepts while the job market increasingly demands precise practical, task-oriented skills. This paper presents an overview of the increasing gap between the requirements of the labour market and the training typically provided in English Language programmes in Nigerian universities. The paper concludes that although English departments are not vocational training departments, they should be encouraged to make appropriate curricular adjustments that are in line with trends in modern labour market reali...
A presentation at the 2020 Colloquium of African Languages and Linguistics, hosted at Leiden Univ... more A presentation at the 2020 Colloquium of African Languages and Linguistics, hosted at Leiden University.
Reading instruction practices in many African societies, and the attendant views regarding text r... more Reading instruction practices in many African societies, and the attendant views regarding text readability, are based on the tacit acquiescence among reading instruction practitioners that it is 'normal' for readers in typical ESL contexts to experience difficulties with English texts from L1 contexts. Such reading difficulties tend to be very obvious and are therefore usually not addressed as problems in the instructional sense. They are often seen as inevitable in L2 reading. This paper opines that this perspective must change in favor of an approach that not only views this situation as problematic, but also involves training readers to read texts from L1sources. This will help African ESL readers become better integrated into the information age where the bulk of knowledge comes in L1 varieties of the English language.
Reading instruction practices in many African societies, and the attendant views regarding text r... more Reading instruction practices in many African societies, and the attendant views regarding text readability, are based on the tacit acquiescence among reading instruction practitioners that it is ‘normal’ for readers in typical ESL contexts to experience difficulties with English texts from L1 contexts. Such reading difficulties tend to be very obvious and are therefore usually not addressed as problems in the instructional sense. They are often seen as inevitable in L2 reading. This paper opines that this perspective must change in favor of an approach that not only views this situation as problematic, but also involves training readers to read texts from L1sources. This will help African ESL readers become better integrated into the information age where the bulk of knowledge comes in L1 varieties of the English language.
The tendency among many Nigerian popular music artists to engage in self-adulation has been ident... more The tendency among many Nigerian popular music artists to engage in self-adulation has been identified in some studies, but has not received enough pointed and focused attention. This article therefore takes a close look at this phenomenon. Twelve songs by eight different artists deemed to be sufficiently representative of contemporary popular music in Nigeria were purposively selected for the study. They were analysed thematically on the basis of some constructs in social psychology. Based on the analyses, this article concludes that self-adulation in contemporary Nigerian popular music serves the artists as a defence mechanism in the face of palpable threats to their self-esteem, which are generated by specific social realities. The attendant lyrics which often involve the flaunting of wealth and women have the capacity to encourage crass materialism and the denigration of women among the young impressionable fans of the musical genre. The article recommends some reorientation tha...
IMBIZO (International Journal of African Literary and Comparative Studies), 2018
The tendency among many Nigerian popular music artists to engage in self-adulation has been ident... more The tendency among many Nigerian popular music artists to engage in self-adulation has been identified in some studies, but has not received enough pointed and focused attention. This article therefore takes a close look at this phenomenon. Twelve songs by eight different artists deemed to be sufficiently representative of contemporary popular music in Nigeria were purposively selected for the study. They were analysed thematically on the basis of some constructs in social psychology. Based on the analyses, this article concludes that self-adulation in contemporary Nigerian popular music serves the artists as a defence mechanism in the face of palpable threats to their self-esteem, which are generated by specific social realities. The attendant lyrics which often involve the flaunting of wealth and women have the capacity to encourage crass materialism and the denigration of women among the young impressionable fans of the musical genre. The article recommends some reorientation that would encourage artists and their producers to take the overall social implications of their lyrics into cognisance and make necessary adjustments to avoid misguiding youth into vain materialism and gender bias.
This article is a report of a micro research focusing on a specific case of
deviant pronunciatio... more This article is a report of a micro research focusing on a specific case of
deviant pronunciation among Igala speakers of English. Although deviations
from native speaker norms are expected in any second language
(L2) context, this particular deviation appears to defy the basic principles
governing mother tongue (MT = L1) interference in L2 speech productions.
Indeed, people generally mispronounce elements that do not occur
in their native language. Yet, Igala speakers tend to replace the voiceless
post-alveolar affricate /tʃ/ with the voiceless palato-alveolar fricative /ʃ/
when they speak English, although /tʃ/ occurs in Igala. This paper deals
with this hitherto unstudied phenomenon, for which it provides explanations
both from a diachronic and a synchronic perspective. It also shows,
in the process, how changes occurring in the speakers’ L1 can be detected
from the way they speak an L2. Finally, it discusses the implications of
the phenomenon at stake for Igala Linguistics.
It is clear that in Nigeria, there is a crisis of graduate unemployment and underemployment. The ... more It is clear that in Nigeria, there is a crisis of graduate unemployment and underemployment. The crisis is not just a question of the number of jobs available but also the doubtful capacity of an average graduate to fit into the modern skill-driven labour market which is increasingly emphasizing the possession of very specific and precise cutting edge-skills and abilities. The typical English Language programme in a Nigerian University is highly academic, focusing more on theories and concepts while the job market increasingly demands precise practical, task-oriented skills. This paper presents an overview of the increasing gap between the requirements of the labour market and the training typically provided in English Language programmes in Nigerian universities. The paper concludes that although English departments are not vocational training departments, they should be encouraged to make appropriate curricular adjustments that are in line with trends in modern labour market realities.
The teaching of reading has traditionally involved the process of getting people to read material... more The teaching of reading has traditionally involved the process of getting people to read materials on paper, whether hand written or printed. In our world today, reading has gone beyond this traditional domain. Electronic sources are beginning to challenge the dominance of traditional method of reading. The situation calls for urgent pedagogical response on the part of the reading teacher because reading from electronic sources has a number of peculiarities that traditional reading improvement strategies do not take into account. This paper examines these practical pedagogical challenges and suggests systematic measures to prepare learners to manage the brave new world of electronic materials. Introduction For ages, reading has been all about deciphering the meaning of words written on paper or other materials. Today, things have changed drastically. Electronic documents or e-documents have appeared, providing the world with an imposing array of sources of knowledge that sometimes appears to be a deluge. The use of electronic materials continues to increase all the time such that there are contexts today where information can be obtained mainly via such materials. Zaphiris & Kuniawan (2001) observe that the screen is gradually replacing paper as the main medium of display for the written word. Generally, paper reading continues to be the most preferred, Current Linguistics and Literary Issues in Digital Communication O. Adekoya, R. Taiwo, K. Ayoola & A. Adegoju (Eds.) 420
Use of English and Communications courses are part of the curriculum of virtually all tertiary ed... more Use of English and Communications courses are part of the curriculum of virtually all tertiary education programs in Nigeria. The need for such courses is especially relevant in a country like Nigeria where the language of instruction at the tertiary level is a second language in which students' proficiency levels are often disappointing. In this paper an attempt is made to make relevant generalizations about the effectiveness or otherwise of existing approaches to the teaching of these courses, concluding that the existing situation falls short of expectation. The paper proceeds to take a look at relevant scholarly insights into the leaching of English as a second language, and drawing from these, prescribe emphasis on reading as the only viable alternative, in view of the problems identified. Introduction The teaching of English language courses has become a permanent feature of all or at least, most courses or programmes in tertiary institutions in Nigeria. The compulsory teaching of such courses, of course, is necessitated by the need to enhance the competence of the students in English-the sole language of instruction at the tertiary level in Nigeria. It is clear that this imperative is made more pressing because English is a second language for the overwhelming majority of those studying in institutions of higher learning in Nigeria. It is very obvious that in recent times, there has been a decline in the ability of our students to communicate effectively either in written or oral media, regardless of what kind of pass in English they came in with. Also, some considerable degree of drop in communicative ability is also obvious among many graduates of our institutions regardless of whether they passed our English and communication courses. Obviously, the low quality of intakes from secondary school must be the dominant factor operating in this situation. However, when we consider the fact that our Use-of-English and communication courses are supposed to serve as opportunities for communicative skills improvement, especially for academic and post-graduation occupational purposes, we need to assess and take stock of our methods. In this regard the frank question, which we need to sincerely address, is whether our efforts are yielding the desired result. It is the belief of this writer that the answer to this question must be negative in view of what we can easily discover from the general observation of our students and the products of our academic programmes. Where there is a problem with the products, we must, among other things, scrutinise our methods. In the words of Cook (1991) "the proof of the teaching is in the learning" (P.3) In view of the above, this paper summarizes problems with the objectives and the content of most use of English courses, with additional insights into problems associated with the teaching methods. Thereafter, an attempt is made to give insights into past and present approaches to language teaching (especially seconds language teaching) and, drawing from these, the paper brings in the relevance of reading. General insights are also given into the salient question of selection of materials for a reading programme. This paper does not contain the technical nitty-gritty of syllabus design. It is simply an attempt to provide food for thought aimed at forming a general theoretical background for the subsequent design of relevant syllabuses for Use of English course in our institutions of higher learning
... APA. Are, OB (2010). Attitudes to Online Reading and Web-Based Instructions in Developing Soc... more ... APA. Are, OB (2010). Attitudes to Online Reading and Web-Based Instructions in Developing Societies. In Taiwo, R. (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Discourse Behavior and Digital Communication: Language Structures and Social Interaction. (pp. 700-715). ...
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Papers by Olushola B A M I D E L E Are
deviant pronunciation among Igala speakers of English. Although deviations
from native speaker norms are expected in any second language
(L2) context, this particular deviation appears to defy the basic principles
governing mother tongue (MT = L1) interference in L2 speech productions.
Indeed, people generally mispronounce elements that do not occur
in their native language. Yet, Igala speakers tend to replace the voiceless
post-alveolar affricate /tʃ/ with the voiceless palato-alveolar fricative /ʃ/
when they speak English, although /tʃ/ occurs in Igala. This paper deals
with this hitherto unstudied phenomenon, for which it provides explanations
both from a diachronic and a synchronic perspective. It also shows,
in the process, how changes occurring in the speakers’ L1 can be detected
from the way they speak an L2. Finally, it discusses the implications of
the phenomenon at stake for Igala Linguistics.
deviant pronunciation among Igala speakers of English. Although deviations
from native speaker norms are expected in any second language
(L2) context, this particular deviation appears to defy the basic principles
governing mother tongue (MT = L1) interference in L2 speech productions.
Indeed, people generally mispronounce elements that do not occur
in their native language. Yet, Igala speakers tend to replace the voiceless
post-alveolar affricate /tʃ/ with the voiceless palato-alveolar fricative /ʃ/
when they speak English, although /tʃ/ occurs in Igala. This paper deals
with this hitherto unstudied phenomenon, for which it provides explanations
both from a diachronic and a synchronic perspective. It also shows,
in the process, how changes occurring in the speakers’ L1 can be detected
from the way they speak an L2. Finally, it discusses the implications of
the phenomenon at stake for Igala Linguistics.