scholarly journals The Consonant System of Nigerian English Shaped in the Context of Language Contact

2020 ◽  
pp. 5-19
Author(s):  
А. Д. Петренко ◽  
Д. А. Петренко ◽  
Н. А. Вовк
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
British English ◽  
Yoruba Language ◽  
Audio Media

Статья представлена в русле социолингвистических исследований. Актуальность научной темы связана с выявлением роли английского языка в нигерийском социуме. Основная цель работы — установить корреляцию фонетических характеристик родного языка (йоруба) и британского английского, что позволит определить специфику произношения и формирования системы консонантизма нигерийского варианта английского языка. Статус ряда элементов системы согласных языка йоруба вызывает споры среди исследователей. Источники указывают на варьирование количества согласных фонем. Если сравнивать нигерийский вариант английского языка с системой консонантизма британского английского, можно отметить, что первый содержит 22 согласные фонемы, аналогичные фонемам британского английского, за исключением двух. Сопоставляя системы консонантизма языка йоруба и британского английского, констатируем, что в обоих языках присутствует ряд похожих фонем, при этом имеются такие фонемы, которые характерны лишь для одного из языков. Можно предположить, что носители языка йоруба как родного испытывают сложности в освоении нехарактерных для этого языка фонем британского английского в ходе его усвоения и использования в процессе общения. Следует также подчеркнуть, что при анализе речи информантов из Федеративной Республики Нигерия, записанной на аудионосители, обнаружены явления фонетической интерференции в ходе реализации согласных фонологических переменных английского языка. The article is presented in the wake of sociolinguistic research. The topicality of the issue is connected with defining the role of the English language (further — EL) in the Nigerian society. The main purpose of the work is to reveal the correlation of the phonetic characteristics of the mother tongue (Yoruba) and British English (further — BrE), what will allow to define the specifics of pronunciation and formation of the consonant system of Nigerian English (further — NigE). The observations brought us to the following conclusions. The consonant system of the Yoruba language (further — YL) provokes dispute among the researchers. According to the sources, the number of the consonant vowels in YL varies from seventeen to nineteen. If we compare NigE with the consonant system of BrE, then it is possible to say that the former contains twenty two consonant phonemes which coincide with the phonemes of British English except two cases. Collating the consonant systems of the YL and BrE, it can be noted that both languages have similar phonemes. There are also such phonemes which are typical of only one language from the pair. It is possible to suppose that the YL native speakers have difficulties studying BrE phonemes which are not typical of the YL during learning and using the EL in communication. Also it should be said that the analysis of the speech of informants from the Federative Republic of Nigeria recorded on the audio media showed the presence of the phonetic interference in the production of the EL consonant phonological variables.

The role of dialect in mother tongue retention of Slovene Canadians: a case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nada Šabec ◽  
Mihaela Koletnik
Keyword(s):  
Language Contact ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Attitudes ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
General Linguistic ◽  
Historical Profile ◽  
Rapid Shift

AbstractThis article addresses the issue of mother tongue retention in the Slovene Canadian community of Vancouver. A brief social and historical profile of the community is followed by a description of the general linguistic situation, based on the data collected through questionnaires and participant observation. The results show substantial intergenerational variation in terms of the immigrants’ language use and language attitudes and point in the direction of a relatively rapid shift from Slovene to English, but not to the weakening of their sense of ethnic identity.The focus then shifts to the linguistic aspects of Slovene-English language contact themselves. In addition to interference phenomena in the immigrants’ language such as borrowing from English and Slovene-English code switching, special attention is paid to the presence of dialect or standard features in their mother tongue. Lexis in particular is interesting as it shows traces of other languages. Next, we try to identify the most significant factors which affect the immigrants’ choice between Slovene and English in various contexts as well as their use of either dialect or standard in Slovene.

scholarly journals The question of questions in Malaysian English

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Radina Mohamad Deli
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Oral Communication ◽  
Peninsular Malaysia ◽  
British English ◽  
Tag Questions

This paper examined the forms that interrogatives and tag questions can take when used by young Malaysian speakers of English language in oral communication. It offers a description of the features for both question forms as produced by the respondents compared to those of Singapore English (SE) and Standard British English (SBE). The influence of domains and the issue of mother tongue interference in relation to the subjects’ usage of such features will also be investigated. Data were obtained through interviews with 19 Malaysian English (ME) speakers from three major ethnic groups in Peninsular Malaysia and via the recording of six conversations. The results showed various distinctive forms and features of questions in ME used by the speakers. Their usage is found to have a certain link to the domains of conversation. Further analysis revealed that mother tongue interference at the grammatical level, particularly in the case of Malay and Cantonese, plays a major role in determining the structure of ME interrogatives and tag questions as well as the subjects’ unvarying use of the rising intonation as regards the latter. As a result of this interference, ME tag questions used are found to be confined to four forms whilst both the structure of wh- and polar interrogatives experience reduction in the system of tense, auxiliary and operator when used by the subjects.

scholarly journals Teaching English in India —The Use of Technologically Enhanced Realia in the Classroom

2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Priya K. Nair
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Job Market ◽  
Native Speakers Of English ◽  
Listening And Speaking ◽  
Speaking Skills

In India acquisition of English language is imperative if one wants to sell oneself in the increasingly competitive job market. With a booming population the nation is filled with educated, technologically literate youth. English is not merely a foreign language in India. As India is separated by a plethora of languages knowledge of English is imperative. As the teachers in India are not native speakers of English the language they teach is not free from errors. The articulation is quite problematic as the mother tongue influence is quite pronounced. Technology helps to reduce these errors. Movies as a tool can enhance the listening and speaking skills of our students. It is quite boring to work with disembodied voices and the recorded conversations available in language labs do not sustain the learner’s interest. However learners are often forced to listen to recorded conversations of people they never see, the conversation is often stilted and contemporary idiom is hardly used. However, a completely new dimension to aural practice can be added in the classroom by using movies. <br /><p><strong> </strong></p>

scholarly journals ACOUSTIC MEASUREMENT ON VOWEL PRODUCTION OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE BY INDONESIAN EFL LEARNERS

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Rudha Widagsa ◽  
Ahmad Agung Yuwono Putro
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
English Language ◽  
Acoustic Analysis ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
British English ◽  
Formant Frequencies ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Second Formant

Indonesian is the most widely spoken language in Indonesia. More than 200 million people speak the language as a first language. However, acoustic study on Indonesian learners of English (ILE) production remains untouched. The purpose of this measurement is to examine the influence of first language (L1) on English vowels production as a second language (L2). Based on perceptual magnet hypothesis (PMH), ILE were predicted to produce close sounds to L1 English where the vowels are similar to Indonesian vowels. Acoustic analysis was conducted to measure the formant frequencies. This study involved five males of Indonesian speakers aged between 20-25 years old. The data of British English native speakers were taken from previous study by Hawkins & Midgley (2005). The result illustrates that the first formant frequencies (F1) which correlates to the vowel hight of Indonesian Learners of English were significantly different from the corresponding frequencies of British English vowels. Surprisingly, the significant differences in second formant (F2) of ILE were only in the production of /ɑ, ɒ, ɔ/ in which /ɑ/=p 0.002, /ɒ/ =p 0,001, /ɔ/ =p 0,03. The vowel space area of ILE was slightly less spacious than the native speakers. This study is expected to shed light in English language teaching particularly as a foreign language.Keywords: VSA, EFL, Indonesian learners, formant frequencies, acoustic

scholarly journals Dialect Levelling: A Case Study of Ìkàr??-Àkókó Dialect

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-315
Author(s):  
Esther Olayinka Bamigbola ◽  
Fadekemi Rukayat Umar
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Indigenous Languages ◽  
Work Place ◽  
The People ◽  
Restricted Domains ◽  
The Status ◽  
Lack Of Commitment

This study investigates the factors that are responsible for the levelling of Ìkàr??-Àkókó dialect. Specifically, the paper examines the impacts of Nigerian indigenous languages, especially Yorùbá, on the dialect. The study aims at identifying the patterns of changes in the dialect and their impacts on the ethnic identities of the people. The work is based on the variationist approach pioneered by William Labov in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The tools used for data collection include questionnaire, oral interview and observation. The findings of the study reveal that the dialect manifests different stages of changes, vital domains like home, school and work place, which are supposed to be the strongholds of this dialect are being encroached upon by languages other than the mother tongue in the study area. It was found that the changes in the dialect are not due to the influence of English language only, but to indigenous Nigerian languages, mostly Yorùbá. It was concluded that the gradual levelling of Ìkàr??-Àkókó dialect is caused in part by restricted domains of use, increase in population; lack of commitment to indigenous language use by the native speakers; and suppressive language policy in the nation. The study recommends sensitization campaigns as a way of maintaining and sustaining the status of indigenous languages.

scholarly journals English language students’ productive and receptive knowledge of collocations

ExELL ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirna Begagić
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
Lexical Collocations ◽  
Language Students

Abstract The importance of collocations in second language learning has been recognized in the past few decades. There have been numerous studies in L2 acquisition research that investigated how the knowledge and use of collocations at different levels of proficiency affect learners’ communicative competence and language performance. Moreover, it seems important to mention that most of the studies investigating the collocational knowledge of students learning English as their L2, indicated students’ poor performance (Fayez-Hussein 1990; Aghbar 1990; Bahns and Eldaw 1993; Stubbs 2002; Wray 2002; Nasselhauf 2005; Ozaki 2011). The aim of this paper is to explain the notion of collocation as well as its most common classification, and to point out the importance of its proper use for English language students who are native speakers of the Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS) language. Furthermore, this study examines the productive and receptive knowledge of lexical collocations in order to access students’ collocational competence. The results indicate students’ poor collocational knowledge. This can be due to the fact that collocations of the language students are learning are interfering with the collocations of their mother tongue, but also due to the way students are taught English (vocabulary negligence in comparison with grammar and unawareness of the importance of collocations in language learning).

scholarly journals THE TEACHING OF EFL LISTENING IN THE INDONESIAN CONTEXT: THE STATE OF THE ART

2015 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 194
Author(s):  
Bambang Yudi Cahyono ◽  
Utami Widiati
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
International Language ◽  
Research And Teaching ◽  
The Status ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Teaching Of Listening ◽  
Listening Process

The status of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Indonesia necessitates the use of English native speakers' utterances as models of pronunciation and as standard of understanding messages in various contexts, be they academic or social. As recently English has developed as an international language that can be used as a means of communication between people from non-English speaking countries, the role of listening activities in the teaching of English cannot be neglected. This article highlights the importance of listening and reviews some of the issues in the research and teaching of EFL listening. It firstly presents a paradigm of the listening process, followed by a theoretical framework for teaching listening, especially in the broader context of English language teaching. It then discusses the teaching of and research on EFL listening in Indonesia. Finally, this article outlines some recommendations for more effective teaching of listening in EFL classrooms.

scholarly journals An Overview of the Persian EFL learners’ Spelling Difficulties

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 127
Author(s):  
Maryam Alipour ◽  
Khazriyati Salehuddin ◽  
Siti Hamin Stapa
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
English Language ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
First Language ◽  
Efl Learners ◽  
Comprehensive Literature Review ◽  
Conceptual Paper ◽  
English Spelling

Spelling is considered a difficult skill for foreign and second language learners of English as the ability to spell in English language comes with a lot of effort, particularly when the English spelling system is known to be a complex system, even among native speakers. The difficulties could be linguistic and extra-linguistic. This conceptual paper reviews the differences and similarities between English and Persian spelling system, the sages of spelling difficulties among children, particularly the approach suggested by Tabrizi, Tabrizi, and Tabrizi (2013)in which the stages of learning spelling among Iranian learners are analyzed. The types of morphological, phonological, and orthographical spelling difficulties, factors contributing to the spelling difficulty, as well as a comprehensive literature review of EFL studies conducted on English spelling are provided in this paper. Finally, the mental processing and the role of memory are discussed briefly. It was concluded that examining the differences between the learners’ first language and English language may provide useful insights into the English spelling problems faced by EFL learners.

scholarly journals Translation in EFL Classroom

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-117
Author(s):  
Arta TOÇI
Keyword(s):  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
East European ◽  
History Of Research ◽  
History Of

Throughout much of the history of research into second language acquisition (SLA), the role of learners’ first language (L1) has been a hotly debated issue. Prodromou (2000) refers to the mother tongue as a ‘skeleton in the closet’, while Gabrielatos (2001) calls it a ‘bone of contention’. Such views are but a mere reflection of the different methodological shifts in English Language Teaching, which have brought about new and different outlooks on the role of the mother tongue. The conflict itself is taking place in academic circles rather than in classrooms, where the use of L1 is still considered unacceptable owing to the predominance of the communicative method in language teaching.   Research on the role that mother tongue has for the non-native learners of English has been conducted around the world, however none in North Macedonia. This research aims to explore some of the controversy regarding the use of the student’s first language (L1), as well as to suggest translation activities as a beneficial tool for the students of South East European University in Tetovo, North Macedonia. It also provides insights into native language interference in the process of translating from students’ mother tongue into English, and vs.

scholarly journals Is English a Killer Language or an International Auxiliary? Its Use and Function in a Globalised World

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Ceramella
Keyword(s):  
British Empire ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
The Other ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
And Function

<strong><strong></strong></strong><p align="LEFT">I<span style="font-family: DejaVuSerifCondensed; font-size: small;">n the Introduction to this article, I deal with the importance of speaking one’s </span>own language as a way to assert one’s identity. Then I pass on to the evolution of the English language from its start as Old English, spoken by only a few thousand Angles and Saxons.</p><p align="LEFT"><span style="font-family: DejaVuSerifCondensed; font-size: small;">I remark how, at fi rst, it was contaminated by thousands of </span>Latin, French and Scandinavian words, of which contemporary English still bears many clear traces, but nobody has ever thought that English was ever in danger of disappearing. By contrast, in the long run, it became the mother tongue of the speakers in comparatively newly founded countries, such as the USA, Australia, and New Zealand, and owing to the spread of the British Empire, it has dramatically increased its appeal becoming the most spoken and infl uential language in the world. Thus, according to some linguists, it has led several languages virtually to the verge of disappearance. Therefore, I argue whether English has really vampirised them, or has simply contributed to make people understand each other, sometimes even in the same country where lots of diff erent tongues are spoken (e.g. Nigeria).</p><p align="LEFT">It is self-evident that English has gradually been taking the role of a common unifying factor in our globalised world. In this view, I envisage a scenario where English may even become the offi cial l anguage o f the E U with the c ontributions &amp; coming, though in varying doses, from all the speakers of the other EU languages.</p>

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