Research Article
Phonological Analysis of the English Consonants Articulations of Hausa Speakers of English: An Optimality Perspective
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Usman. Phonological analysis of the English consonants articulations of hausa speakers of english: An optimality perspective. Eur J Eng Lang Ed. 2022;2(2):97-106. doi: 10.12973/ejels.2.2.97
Usman, A. (2022). Phonological analysis of the English consonants articulations of hausa speakers of english: An optimality perspective. European Journal of English Language Studies, 2(2), 97-106. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejels.2.2.97
Usman Abdulmalik. "Phonological Analysis of the English Consonants Articulations of Hausa Speakers of English: An Optimality Perspective ," European Journal of English Language Studies 2, no. 2 (2022): 97-106. https://doi.org/10.12973/ejels.2.2.97
Usman, 2022, 'Phonological analysis of the English consonants articulations of hausa speakers of english: An optimality perspective', European Journal of English Language Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 97-106. Usman, Abdulmalik. "Phonological Analysis of the English Consonants Articulations of Hausa Speakers of English: An Optimality Perspective." European Journal of English Language Studies, vol. 2, no. 2, 2022, pp. 97-106, https://doi.org/10.12973/ejels.2.2.97.
Abstract
The pronunciation patterns of most speakers of English as a second language are characterized by regional and ethnic phonological features of their native language. This study sought to examine the consonant articulation of Hausa speakers of English in broadcasting industry in Nigeria. The research was guided by Optimality Theory framework (OT). Participants were drawn from four electronic media in Bauchi State, Nigeria and data were elicited through production test and recording of news broadcasts live from the stations. The findings revealed that the participants ranked IDENTCONT as a high ranked constraints which allowed the importation of voiceless bilabial fricative /ɸ/ from the phonemic inventory of Hausa language into English spoken by the subjects. The results further discovered that /p/ is substituted with/ɸ/ and /θ/ is substituted with /t/, /d/ or /s/. Similarly, /ð/ is realized as /d/ or /z/. /ʒ/ is produced as /dʒ/ or /ʃ. These deviations from RP were caused by phonological processes of spirantinzation/Frication, stopping and affrication.
Keywords: Consonants, constraints, English, Hausa speakers, optimality theory.
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