STRUCTURE AND COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS OF NIGERIAN ENGLISH AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON TEACHING WRITING SKILLS AT THE SSS LEVEL
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STRUCTURE
AND COMMUNICATIVE FUNCTIONS OF NIGERIAN ENGLISH AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON
TEACHING WRITING SKILLS AT THE SSS LEVEL
ABSTRACT
English as
it is spoken in Nigerian (Nigerian English) has been localized or internalized,
so to say. This has led a unique brand of English influenced by our various
regional dialects and languages. Subsequently, there is a deviation from the
standard British English, which our schools are said to use. This deviation
could be seen in terms of lexis, phonology and grammar. This means that
Standard English may not be attainable even at the acrolectal level due to
interferences and related factors. These interference affect speech and
ultimately, writing. Writing is a part of a person's life that is indispensable
and a mastery of writing cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, this brings to
the fore: the implication Nigerian English has onNigerian teachers who teach
writing skills at the SSS level. According to Chomsky, young children are
equipped with what the termed Language Acquisition Device (LAD), which helps
them pick up languages faster. This means that children have "sponge
like" minds. This is a plus as with the right information they can be easy
moluded. This project focuses on SSS students because they are still young and
can be trained more effectively in the area of writing.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Language is
a very important factor in the educational process. It is an indispensable
aspect of communication. Ithas very strong basics for creative thought and
without it there would be no meaningful progress in civilization and culture,
Makinde (1997:7). The above citation explores the powers of language as a tool
for communication and creative thought. Language is used to communicate ideas
through the process of thinking, translated to either speech or writing.
Therefore
the language of wider communication of a country is crucial to the progress and
growth of that nation, even academically. Nigeria is a diverse and multi-ethnic
country with about four hundred and ten (410) languages Mackey (1992:12).
However, with the introduction of the English language in 1842, these numerous
languages have influenced, or if we might say, interfered in the way Nigerians
use language on the lexical, grammatical and phonological levels of
communication. Though English is Nigeria's lingua franca, a unique brand of
English has emerged to suit Nigeria’s socio-linguistic and communication needs
(which is to an extent a deviation from standard British English). This has led
to a localization or domestication. Since English has been influenced by our
indigenous languages, the way we write will also reflect this metamorphosis.
These variations we referred to as “peculiar Nigerianisms”.
On the phonological level, Adegbite (2001:27)
points out a reduced vowel system reduced intonation systems, voicing of
non-voiced consonants endings. For example: thumb, song, lamb, the insertation
of vowel in syllabic consonants and so on. In day-day communication, we hear
people erroneously stretch or contact words. For example, the post-vocalic/L/
is deleted in coda position: “bulk” is pronounced as [bÉ], “help [hep] in
addition, the word “sit” is pronounced as [si:t], “ship” as [Ï‚i:p], and the
word “beat” is contracted to [bit]. It is possible, therefore, that these wrong
pronunciations can translate to bad writing and poor spellings.
Basically, the grammatical level focuses on
how several aspects of the English language are given a Nigeria flavour. For
example, a statement as the following is common in Nigerian English users:
"He is
guilty, isn't it?" (Wrong)
"He is
guilty, isn't he?" (Correct)
The lexical
level is characterized by coinages (chewing stick, cash madam, go-slow, senior
brother, co-wife), hybridization's (kiakia bus, bukateria) and direct
translations (eran igbe "bush/mea!", ese gigun" long leg).
All these
border on communication and communication processes. The major essence of it is
to get a message across. All the factors and features of Nigerian English play
a role in our linguistic and communicative competences. Linguistic competence
is often referred to as the native speaker's knowledge of his language.
Communication competence on the other hand is an individual's capacity and
ability to produce and understand utterances, which might' not be grammatical
but appropriate in the socio-linguistic context of its use. This means that the
way Nigerians use language will affect communication. For the purpose of this
study, writing as a means of communication will be focused on.
According to
Maduekwe (2007:157), writing is a " personal act, it is an expression of
the self. It draws on intuition as well as on reasoning on sensation and
emotion, facts and meaning". As earlier stated, language is a basis for
creative thought and communication. The way Nigerians think in their lingua
franca will determine the quality of written communication as it is what is in
the mind that is transferred to writing. According to a research done by
Olatunji Felicia Funsho (1996), some university lecturers code switch from time
to time for the effect, and the fun of it. They use words such as
"Oyinbo" and "Ogbanje" while teaching.
The point
here is this; if a teacher code switches or code mixes because they do not know
the English translation of certain terms or for the fun of it, their students
will inevitably imitate them and transfer these deviations to their writings.
As a matter of fact, she states that some
English Department lecturers in her research, tried not to code switch in class
so their students would not copy them. However, others admitted to doing this
occasionally for the sake of illustrations to differentiate between English and
Yoruba. For example"
/The boy is
coming/ (article before noun)
/omo na mbo/
(noun before article)
They also
did (code switching and code mixing) when there were no exact
English
equivalents for certain words, or terms like:
/mammywater/
(water spirits)
/Abiku,
Ogbanje/ (Familiar spirits)
/Olokun/
(the female god of the sea)
If this is
brought down to the Junior Secondary classroom level, we know that teachers at
this level or not exempted from making such deviations in their teaching. As a
matter of fact, terms such as "mammy water" and ogbanje" are
terms picked up at the tender years of basic education, which includes the SSS
classes. Literature and English textbooks with folktales and African stories
use such terms for children's books.Subsequently, when students want to write
about mermaids, they would use the term “mammy water" instead. The crux of
the matter, therefore, is that when teachers speak this "Nigerianized
version of the English language, their students pick these things from them and
it reflects negatively in the quality of their writing.
In
conclusion, writing is an art, which reflects a certain level of mastery. 'It
is evident that factors such as "Nigerianisms", code switching and
code mixing are prevalent in our Junior Secondary classes; such mastery may
never be attained. Students at the Junior Secondary Level are still quite
impressionable and can still be helped to improve on their writing skills. In
the light of this, this study is aimed at determining the implications of the
communicative functions of Nigerian English and how it affects the teaching of
writing skills with specific emphasis on the Junior Secondary School level
students who are second language (L2) user of English and also, its implication
for teachers of English who use Nigerian English in classroom setting.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
"It has
been argued that learning to write fluently and expressively is the most
difficult of the macro-skills for all language users regardless of whether the
language questions is a first, second or foreign language: Maduekwe (2007:
162). Judging from the relative difficulty of writing, it is evident that
factors such as interference from mother tongue and our "peculiar
Nigerianisms" could mar or pose a threat to the quality of writing that
comes from our youth, especially the SSS students how are still at a tender
stage and can be helped to improved on their writing skills.
Also, we
must realize that interference factors and "Niqerianisms" do not only
affect students but teachers as well and more so, teachers because they are the
ones who teach writing to their students, which is a crucial matter.
Therefore,
the study seeks to establish the structure and functions of the Nigerian
deviation of the Standard English and how this can affect the acquisition of
writing skills at the SSS level.
1.3 PURPOSE OF STUDY
The purpose
of this study is to
1. Appraise the writing skills of students
at the SSS level.
2. Determine areas of difficulty faced by
English teachers who teach writing to English as second language user.
3. Find out the effect of "Nigerian
English" on the writing skills of S.S.S students.
4. Suggest ways of promoting writing skills
at the SSS level.
1.4
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This
research seeks to provide answers to the following questions.
1. What is the quality/nature of writing
at the SSS level?
2. To what extent does language/native
language affect teaching and
comprehension of Writing in both
teachers and students in second language situation (s)?
3. What is the effect of Nigerian English
on the writing skill of SSS students?
4. How can we promote the art of writing
in Nigerian student's especially at the SSS level?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study
will help teachers of the English language to determine areas they should
improve on a regards teaching and modifications that can be made to already
existent teaching skills. It will improve the quality of writing in students at
the SSS level and help parents and the society at large to acknowledge the
importance of writing as one of the components of the four language skills
necessary for academic excellence and societal growth.
In addition,
curriculum developers will benefit from this research, as they will get
information on variables such as the teacher, students and society.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of
this study will be limited to the SSS students, covering some secondary schools
in Lagos. The context of the work deals with Nigerians in English and its
impact on the writing skill of these students.
1.7 DEFINITION OF TERMS
The
definition of some difficult terms or words in relation to this research are
given below:
Nigerian
English: English as it is spoken and used by Nigerians in a way that is unique
to them. It is also influenced by Nigerian.
"Peculiar Nigerianisms": the use and
modification of English words due to the localization of the language in
Nigeria. These usages are specific and peculiar to Nigerian.
a. Lexical: The words of a language
b. Negative Transfer: Thinking or
meaning in one's mother tongue and translating directly into the target
language, for example, English.
c. Phonetically: representing
Vocal/Oral Sounds
d. Dialect: Regional form of speech or
variety of a given language.
e. Phonetically: Representing Vocal/Oral sounds
f. Dialect: Regional form of speech
or a variety of a given language
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