Effect of Indigenous Language Interference on the Yoruba People Proficiency in English: A Syntactic Approach

Abstract

A common phenomenon in a multilingual nation, especially a nation where a second language exists among different native languages, is the ‘linguistic interference’ which impedes effective communication among the people that use such a second language. This issue could be attributed to the fact that the second language users do not have all-encompassing knowledge of the rules which guide the use of the language. This research takes a run at finding out the effect of interference of indigenous language on proficiency in English (in both oral and written communications) among Yoruba People in Nigeria. This study focuses on the linguistic interference which usually occurs at the syntactic level of the indigenous language (Yoruba) and the Nigerian ‘lingua franca’ (English). The research adopts a descriptive survey method and error analysis approach for data analysis. The findings of this study show that the second language users of English bring the knowledge of the rules and features of their native languages into existence in the use of English in communication. This results in ungrammatical expressions in their everyday communication.