Chapter One

1.0 Introduction

1.1 An Overview

The present study is on the inconsistency of the English spelling and its implication to second language learning. In this chapter, the present researcher will discuss the following sub themes: the status and role of English language in Nigeria, pronunciation and spelling in English, background to the study, statement of problem, purpose of study,

significance of the study, the scope of the study and definition of terms.

        1.2 The Status and Roles of English Language in Nigeria

The English language is neither the mother-tongue nor the first language of any of the over four hundred ethnic groups in Nigeria. Like the name “Nigeria” English language according to Uzoezie, “is a borrowed gown and one of the inheritances of our colonial experience” (162). The language is indigenous to Britain, but it is today the language most spoken worldwide because of the wide distribution of the speakers and the users of the language worldwide. The implication of this fact is that English is used by native and non-native speakers. It is extensively used as a second

language and as an official language in many countries of the world.

The fact that Nigeria is multi-national and multi-lingual is a truism. Hansford et al cited in Obi-Okoye also give an approximate number of four hundred languages spoken in Nigeria. It is assumed that the existence of many languages means the existence of many basically antagonistic nationalities trying to form a nation. Thus, there is mutual antagonism amongst the ethno-linguistic regions of the country, thereby making the issue of national language question a difficult one. Recourse is then made to the use of the English language in order to meet our national communicative needs, more because of its neutrality in the country. This dates back to 1862 when Lagos was formerly established as a colony by the British invaders.

According to Anyadiegwu, English is the “barometer with which the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of our school curricular are measured” (84). It has become a language for intra and international trade, a means of diplomacy and the “language that has enabled the vastly heterogeneous people in Nigeria to  forge a means of interaction” (Eyisi, 355). It serves as the unifying factor for the multiplicity of local languages in Nigeria. It is the language of the mass media and the language of the law court. It is used for all official transactions. Every official correspondence is written in the English language.

In fact, English has become in Nigeria the lingua franca for wider communication. It is also learnt in schools as a second language with the indigenous languages acting as the mother tongue or first language.

        1.3 Nigerian  Language Syllable Structure

As we have noted earlier, Nigeria is a multi-lingual and heterogeneous speech community with diverse linguistic differences. None of these languages is genetically related to nor has a syllable structure similar to that of the English language. Most Nigerian languages belong to the KWA stock. The English language has a very complex syllable structure which makes it difficult to learn especially in pronunciation unlike the Nigerian indigenous language that have a simple syllable structure for example,

TABLE I.I The Syllable Structure of Five Nigerian   Languages

Igbo

Hausa

Yoruba

Fulfude

Itsekiri

N

CV

N

CV

V

V

CVC

V

CVC

CV

CV

CN

CV

In the above table, the symbol “N” represents a syllabic nasal and therefore, shows that a nasal sound can form a syllable of its own in some of the languages, especially Igbo and Yoruba.

The Igbo syllable structure is a very simple one. As a result, there is no consonant clustering of Igbo words either at the initial position or at the final position while clusters are permissible in English. Every syllable in most of the Nigerian languages especially Igbo usually incorporates one consonant (C) and one vowel (V) (CV). Unlike the English language syllable structure which has a very complex cluster of consonant sounds, at the initial and the final positions. For example, table 1.2, the complex structure of the English syllable.

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