Mother Tongue Interference In The Pronunciation Of English Among Ibibio Students In Uyo Urban: Problems And Prospects
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https://doi.org/10.60951/afrischolar-348Keywords:
Mother Tongue, Interference, Pronunciation, English, Ibibio Students, Uyo UrbanAbstract
Ibibio Language is a dominant language spoken by most Ibibio native speakers in Akwa Ibom State. This study sought to identify the areas in spoken English where the influence of Ibibio language occurs. In order to achieve the desired goals, production and recognition tests were administered to sixty senior secondary three students from three schools in Uyo Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State. The performances of all the sixty students were used for the analysis. The result reveals that the greatest problem area for the students was in the area of rhythm. For the segments, the vowel: /i: ,ә:,iә/ which are absent in the Ibibio sound system were difficult for the students to produce. The vowel sounds: /i::,/ә/ /which are present in both languages were difficult for the students. The English consonant sounds:/ , g, ʒ,/ which do not exist in Ibibio but which are present in English were also difficult for the students. On the other hand, the English consonant sounds: /v, d ʒ, ð , / which are not present in Ibibio sound system were easy for the student informants. The sound /æ/ which occurs in English but absent in Ibibio was easy for the students too. And, the consonants sounds /f,k,s/ common to both English and Ibibio were easy for the students too. It was concluded that the interference from the mother tongue can result in student’s inability to pronounce the English sounds. This affects their understanding of these sounds when pronounced by other people and therefore may impede their effective comprehension. The paper recommends the teaching and learning of English sounds in secondary schools as a way of controlling problems associated with interference in their use of English.
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