The Implications of Orthographic Intraference for the Teaching and Description of ESL: The Educated Nigerian English Examples

Abstract

This paper examines orthographic intraference and its implications for teaching and describing English as a second language (ESL). Orthographic intraference is used here to denote instances of single word spelling, acronyms, mix up of homophones, homonyms and compound word spelling arising not from interference but from orthographic rules and features of the English language. The paper is based on the concept of intraference and examples were gathered from Nigerian English, the educated variety, from 2005 to 2013 with questionnaires and recording of spontaneous speeches and from secondary sources. The study established that orthographic intraference cases are widespread and common in Educated Nigerian English. Consequently, the paper proposes that teachers of ESL identify, teach and drill learners on them to make learners internalize the generally accepted standard forms.