The Implications of Yoruba Language and Accent on English Syntax and Phonetics Among Native Speakers of Yoruba Language
Chapter One
Preamble of the Study
To correct the wrong pronunciation of English words in many Nigerians, particularly among the Yorubas demands extra effort and great attention. This is because, it is observed that this problem is the result of the features found in their indigenous languages which are transferred to the sound system of the English language. Their English phonetics reflects the structure of the sound system of their mother tongue (Osisanwo, 2009).
Phonology is the study of the sound system of a Language. It is the study of the properties of the sound system of a given language. It is the systematic study of how the speech sounds function and are organized in human languages. Hyman (1975, P1) cited by Osisanwo (2009,P3) says that, the goal of phonology is to study the properties of the sound system which speakers must learn and internalize in order to use their language for the purpose of communication. To Oyebade (1998, p2) ‘phonology is the scientific study of the arbitrary vocal symbol used in human speech and the pattern into which these symbols produce intelligent, meaningful utterances’. To summit up, Akmajian et al (2008, p109) said: ‘phonology is the subfield of linguistics that studies the structure and patterning of sound in human language.
Chapter Two
Review of the Related Literature
Introduction
The Yoruba language is presumed to have /h/ in its sound inventory. However, there are different accounts of the realization of this sound. One account stated that the Yoruba /h/ is a fricative while the other account stated that the Yoruba /h/ is a glottal approximant. These controversies will be discussed as it is relevant to this research. The /h/ sound segment will be investigated to shed light on the reason for the controversy, and to ascertain why the Yoruba English speakers drop or insert /h/ in speech when speaking English. This /h/ dropping phenomenon is common with Nigerian Yorubas in comparison with other speakers of the English language in Nigeria (Ugorji 2010). The Investigation into the /h/ dropping and insertion phenomenon is the basis for this research which will be done through analysis of recorded words on Praat (Boersma & Weenink 2018).
The Yoruba language has sounds that are similar to English sounds. But while there is a one-to-one correspondence between sounds and letters in the Yoruba language, the same cannot be said of English. Aremo (2001) has rightly noted that no two languages have exactly the same sounds and have the sounds combined in exactly the same ways in all their spoken forms. In the Yoruba language, for instance, as in many other Nigerian languages, the sounds of the language are represented by the letters of its alphabets such that the way a word is spelt is the same way it is pronounced (Akeredolu-Ale, Azeez, Ayebola, Sotiloye, Bodunde & Adurodola, 2004). The following examples demonstrate this phenomenon in the Yoruba language:
a + d + e = ade – crown
b + a + t + a = bata – shoe
In English, on the other hand, this is not the case (Ekundare, 1993). This is, therefore, a major problem, especially for Yoruba speakers of English who use the language as a second language. As Traugott and Pratt (1980: 41) have noted, “one of the greatest difficulties many people have in thinking about the sounds of a language is in separating sound from spelling”. Because of the inconsistency between English alphabets and sounds, there is a need for an alphabet system that allows for a one-toone correspondence between sound and written symbol (Traugott & Pratt, 1980). The lack of one-to-one correspondence between sounds and letters in the English language, as found in the Yoruba language, creates a serious problem for speakers of Yoruba using English as a second language. Akande (2009:66), for example, claims that “most Nigerian learners of English, especially Yoruba speakers of English, tend to phonetically realize all the letters that a word is made up of, forgetting that English letters and sounds do not necessarily have direct link”. As noted by Aremo (2001), in English, a letter can be used to represent different sounds. Examples: mat, mate, hall, many. Similarly, different letters or a combination of letters may be used to represent the same sound.
Examples: any, said, dead, pen, etc.
Apart from the above, Yoruba is a tonal language with three tones: high (/), middle (-) and low (\) and, generally, variations arise from tone. For example: i. Ojo ti de (The rains are here)-Two low tones ( \ \ ) on the first word, falling on the first and third letters, in the sentence.
Dare Owolabi
Ojo ti de (Ojo [name of a person] has arrived)-Low (\) and high (/) tones on the first word, spelt the same way, falling on the first and third letters in the sentence.
Ojo e ti po ju (His cowardice is excessive)-Two middle tones (- -), falling on the first and last letters, on the first word with the same spelling as in the first two examples. The word ‘o-j-o’ is realized as different words as modified by tone to indicate whether it is ‘Ojo’ (with low [\] and high [/] tones) on the two syllables, which is a proper name, of a person, or cowardice ‘ojo’(with two middle [- -] tones) on the two syllables. One would expect that Yoruba speakers of English as a second language would bring their knowledge of this type of variation to bear in recognizing that sounds also vary depending on the occurrence in words . Learning a second language has never been an easy task, especially if it is being learnt after the system of one language has been mastered in early childhood. This is because once the habits of the native language are fully ingrained; breaking the habits has always been a very remote possibility. This difficulty may not be pronounced in younger children under ten years of age who are capable of learning a second language perfectly, especially if brought up within the environment where the language is used often, irrespective of the children’s background (O’Connor, 2003). This fact is a reinforcement of the theory of the critical age in language learning. Age has been known to play a very critical role in second language learning (Leather, 1985); that even the most gifted of human beings falter when it comes to second language learning, and the most stupid of younger children demonstrate a complete and exact command of the language as the native speaks it (Jesperson, 1922). Of all the language skills, the inexactitude with which a second language is learnt is most acute in the spoken aspect
The Nigerian Yoruba speakers are found in south-west Nigeria. They occupy six states, namely; Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Lagos, and Ekiti. There are also some communities and towns occupied by the Yoruba people in Kogi and Kwara (Biobaku 1958).
Chapter Three
Summary and Conclusion
Conclusion
There is no one-to-one correspondence between letters and sounds in English as is the case in Yoruba and many other Nigerian languages. Apart from tone marks and accents that make words differ when pronounced, but substantially retaining the one-to-one correspondence of letters with sounds, the Yoruba language has no serious problem of vowel sound variation. This is transferred to the English language in some words, thus leading to mispronunciation. Such mispronunciation is unexpected from this category of users of English as a second language, because they have been exposed to the language for a long period of time, English being a second language in Nigeria. Other non-native speakers of English may experience similar problems in the pronunciation of some English words, not necessarily in the sounds discussed here which are peculiar to our subjects. Learners of any second language, especially those who have passed the critical age of language acquisition are most likely to exhibit the same lapses as seen in our subjects but not necessarily in the sounds and problems identified with them. For example, Mostafa and Jamila (2012) have observed that some English loan words veer near Bangla pronunciation, by way of nativization. Teachers of English to speakers of other languages should identify specific problem areas in pronunciation that are capable of hampering intelligibility and redress them.
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