A Contrastive Analysis of English Phonology and Phonological Patterns of Nigerian English Speakers: Implications for English Language Teachers (ELT)

Abstract

This paper examined the phonological problem areas of Nigerian English speakers. These problem areas were identified through the contrastive analysis of English phonology and the phonological patterns of the three major Nigerian indigenous languages (Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba). The study showed that most Nigerian English Speakers carry the patterns of their mother tongue (MT) to their spoken target language (TL) production. It is from the foregoing that it is recommended that these areas of difficulties should form the points of emphasis for English language teachers (ELT) in the teaching of English phonology at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. The study concluded that it was imperative for the phonological patterns of Nigerian English speakers to satisfy the two important criteria of intelligibility and acceptability. It was recommended that English language teachers should endeavour to include extensive phonetics and phonology instruction in their English programs to help Nigerian students learning English as a second language with their pronunciation.