Allophonic Variations in Educated Yoruba-English Bilinguals’ Pronunciation

Abstract

The study of Nigerian English phonology had been taken to the regional levels such as Hausa-English, Igbo-English and Yoruba-English by different scholars. This study is a response to the clarion call of Jowitt (2020:28) that the concentration of the scholars should be on the task of identifying, describing, and analyzing the forms of English usage in Nigeria for the purpose of working towards the codification of the variety called Nigerian English and, most importantly, the reception of the international recognition it deserves. While Standard English remains a model and a reference point against which other varieties can be evaluated, the local standard also needs to be specified, described, and recognized as belonging to the assemblage of world Englishes. A total number of 64 respondents comprising newscasters, lecturers, pastors, and part three University students were purposively selected for the study. The study employed Chomsky and Halle’s Generative Phonology to generate rules which account for the variations attested in the realisations of conditioned past tense morphs by educated Yoruba-English bilinguals in Southwestern Nigeria. Findings reveal that the pronunciation of Nigerian broadcasters can be described as a supportive model of Standard British English for Nigerian users of English. Also, noticeable variations in the realisations of the conditioned past tense morphemes by other participants; lecturers, pastors and students can be described as the reflections of Nigerian spoken English which can be arranged in form of re-written rules explicable within the scope of Generative Phonology.