Language Contact and Phonetic Adaptation: Examples from Nigerian English
| Autor: | Grace O. PREZI |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | English<br />French |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Styles of Communication, Vol 12, Iss 2, Pp 99-113 (2020) |
| Druh dokumentu: | article |
| ISSN: | 2065-7943 2067-564X |
| Popis: | The main objective of this paper is to investigate language contact and phonetic adaptation with reference to Nigerian English variety. It focuses on the segmental aspect of phonetic adaptation. The data for this study comprises both primary and secondary data which are obtained through observation, interview and secondary sources like textbooks, journals, internet etc. Using the descriptive method of data analysis, the following findings are evident. English and Nigerian indigenous languages came into contact as a result of slave trade and missionary activities. Nigerians engage in phonetic adaptation in order to suit Nigerian situation, environment, purpose and users. In the Nigerian English, such forms of segmental phonetic adaptation like vowel and consonant phonetic adaptations abound. Segmental phonetic adaptation processes in the Nigerian English include substitution, adjunction, insertion, elision and monophthongization. Factors responsible for the phonetic adaptation in Nigerian English comprise linguistic and sociological factors. Linguistic factors include absence of some phonemes in their indigenous language, phonetic environment of speech sounds, linguistic and communicative incompetence and bilingualism while the sociological factors include for convenience sake and for the sake of local intelligibility. Some distinctive features which distinguish one class of sound from the other like consonant and vowel features are maintained during phonetic adaptation in Nigerian English. Phonetic adaptation in Nigerian English is equally allophonic. |
| Databáze: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
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