Department of English
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Browsing Department of English by Author "Akinola, Aderonke"
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- ItemA bibliography of Nigerian corpus-based studies.(KRAFT BOOKS LIMITED, 2023) Akinola, Aderonke
- ItemA Corpus-based Study of Patterns of Triphthong Realisation in Educated Nigerian English(Journal of English Scholars’ Association of Nigeria, 2024) Akinola, AderonkeThe existence of triphthongs in native and non-native English varieties is a controversial topic. Therefore, this paper undertakes a corpus-based study of the patterns of triphthong realisation in educated Nigerian English (NigE) to identify the phonological processes employed in their realisation. Natural phonology has been adopted as a theoretical framework based on its practical application against formal or rule-governed phonological theories. The spoken part of the International Corpus of English (ICE), Nigeria of over 600,000 words provided data for the study. Using AntConc corpus analysis toolkit (version 3.4.4.0), 26 lexical items that contain English triphthong sounds were searched for in the ICE-Nig corpus. Only 20 of the items that occurred ten times and more in the corpus were eventually selected for analysis. These were analysed quantitatively by counting the tokens of occurrence and the number of speakers and converting them to percentages. The findings revealed that triphthongs are variedly realised in NigE, through natural phonological processes of syllabification, diphthongisation and monophthongisation as a ‘natural’ solution to the general difficulty associated with their pronunciation. This marks NigE as different from RP and validates its peculiarity and uniqueness. The study re-echoes the ongoing clamour for the codification and standardisation of NigE so that it can also occupy its rightful place as a variety of World Englishes.
- ItemCorpus‐Based Morphophonemic Study of the ‘S’ Morph in Yoruba‐English Newscasters’ Speech(Association of Phoneticians and Phonologists, 2020) Akinola, AderonkeThis paper attempts a morphophonemic study of the 's' morph in Yoruba English newscasters' (YENs) speech. The study seeks to ascertain YENs' mastery of the realisations of the allomorphs, having been exposed to training in pronunciation. The data were extracted from the spoken part of the International Corpus of English (ICE)-Nigeria using AntConc analysis toolkit version 3.4.4.0. Twenty-two newscasts of six notable YENs were selected from the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA). The newscasts were listened to and different realisations of morpheme s by each newscaster were analysed quantitatively by counting their tokens of occurrence and converting them to percentages. Findings show that out of 1,207 occurrences of 's' morph, 840 (69.60%) were realised as [s], [z] and [ɪz] following the native speakers' patterns. In contrast, 306 (25.35%) distinctive Nigerian English variants were articulated, while 61 (5.05%) were instances of deletion. The study presents YENs as sophisticated English users and identifies with the suggestion of NTA News English as a model for standard NigE variety.
- ItemLinguistic and Extra-linguistic Correlates of English Palato-Alveolar Fricatives in Educated Nigerian English(English Scholars’ Association of Nigeria, 2019-06) Akinola, AderonkeThis study examined the linguistic and extra-linguistic correlates of palato-alveolar fricatives in Educated Nigerian English (ENE) with a view to determining the influence of orthography, gender and phonetic training on the realisations of the English palato-alveolar fricatives /ʃ/ and /ʒ/. The data for the study were generated from the reading performance of one hundred Nigerian university undergraduates (46 males and 54 females) conveniently sampled from two universities in Osun State. They were stratified into professional and non-professional groups based on their exposure to training in phonetics. Findings revealed that graphological representations had huge impacts on how speakers perceived and subsequently pronounced /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, as some graphemes aided the realisations of both variables while some constrained them. Results further showed that speakers' gender had no significant influence on the realisations of both the /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ variables; whereas, a significant relationship was established between phonetic training and the variable /ʒ/, as the professional group performed significantly better than the non-professional group. The study, thus, underscores the importance of exposure to phonetic training in overcoming the graphophonemic challenges of non-native speakers of English.
- ItemNigerian English pronunciation preferences: a corpus-based survey of pronunciation variants(2022) Akinola, AderonkeThis paper examines 48 lemmas that typically exhibit variable pronunciations in English in order to establish the variants preferred by Nigerian English (NigE) speakers. The data for the study were extracted from the spoken part of International Corpus of English (ICE)—Nigeria and analysed using descriptive statistics (frequency counts and percentage distribution presented on tables). The findings establish phonemic variability as a widespread phenomenon in NigE, which is conditioned by a combination of exonormative and endonormative factors. The study concludes that, although NigE is largely influenced by the exoglossic Standard varieties, it is undergoing critical norm development which deserves to be codified in order to achieve endonormative stability. The present findings are, therefore, recommended as valuable resources for a future edition of a NigE dictionary as an important step towards standardisation.
- ItemTeaching and Learning English as a Second Language in Nigeria: Examining Evolving Approaches and Methods(Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2020-09) Akinola, AderonkeThis paper examines language teaching and learning theories in a bid to consider evolving and appropriate approaches and methods for efficient teaching and learning English as a second language in Nigeria. While traditional approaches do provide a solid foundation for effective language teaching, they do not always address students' situational and current needs. Hence, the study reveals that strategies and methods are evolving especially, in this hi-tech age, to meet such additional needs. Since no one theory or method is the best, the study recommends a principled eclectic approach for the effective and functional teaching and learning of English in Nigeria. It also suggests processes that could enhance teaching and motivate learning in the ESL classroom.
- ItemWord-stress free variation in Nigerian English(Theory and Practice in Language Studies,, 2021-02) Akinola, AderonkeThis paper examines language teaching and learning theories in a bid to consider evolving and appropriate approaches and methods for efficient teaching and learning English as a second language in Nigeria. While traditional approaches do provide a solid foundation for effective language teaching, they do not always address students' situational and current needs. Hence, the study reveals that strategies and methods are evolving especially, in this hi-tech age, to meet such additional needs. Since no one theory or method is the best, the study recommends a principled eclectic approach for the effective and functional teaching and learning of English in Nigeria. It also suggests processes that could enhance teaching and motivate learning in the ESL classroom.