Volume 18, No. 6, 2021

A Comparative Analysis Of English And Igbo Segmental Phonology: Some Notable Problems


Dr. Benjamin-Franklin Chimaroke Nwokedinwoke1, Dr. Eneremadu, Queen Esther Chioma2 , Duru Lilian Oluchi3 , Uchechi R. Ukaegbu4

Abstract

It is an established linguistic reality that when two languages come in contact, there is a tendency that the mother tongues or Li certainly influences the second language in contact. For that reason, this work examines the comparative analysis of segmental phonology (vowel and consonant) of English and Igbo and identifies areas of similarities that facilitate easy pronunciation and the difference that occasion the transfer of the phonological features of Igbo to the articulation of English sounds by the Igbo speakers of English. An oral interview was conducted in the interference from the mother tongue from which a great deal of articulation problems were identified from the Igbo users of English. Moreover, the problems arise from teachers as well as the students. Efforts are made to proffer possible solutions to these problems.


Pages: 9818-9844

Keywords: Like any other concept, language has many definitions. Atchison (1972) defines language as “a patterned system of arbitrary sound symbols, whose characteristics features of displacement, cultural transmission, productivity and duality are rare or absent

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