The Study of Mada Phonemes and Areas of Interference in the Learning of English as a Second Language for Competence and Performance

Abstract

Language interference is a universal phenomenon, and learning and speaking English as a second language in Nigeria (particularly among Mada students) is no exception. There are many different dialects of English spoken around the world. Such two languages (Mada and English) belong to two distinct linguistic groups, with distinct phonemic potentials in their use of monophthongs, diphthongs (vowels), consonants and consonant clusters, and segmental. While English belongs to the Indo-European language family, Mada originally belonged to the Benue Congo linguistic sub-group, which is a branch of the larger Niger-Congo African language family. This assumes Mada Students learning and speaking English as a second language are likely to face some challenges that impede fluency and articulation in English as a second language. This provides the impetus for this research on Mada phonemes and areas of interference in the learning of English as a second language. According to the findings of the study, some monophthongs are difficult for many Mada students learning English as a second language. Additionally, consonant clusters have been identified as a source of difficulty for Mada students learning English as a second language. The difficulties in the respective phonemes resulted from phoneme alteration, subtraction, separation, substitution, and transposition errors. As a result, language committees in various indigenous languages should collaborate with state governments to improve indigenous language orthography. The objective of this study was to contrast the phonemes vis-à-vis vowels, consonants in Mada and consonants clusters in English Languages respectively. The study also took a look at areas of interference in the two languages. The study also tried to identify; the phonemes or sounds in English which are impediments to Mada students in the learning of English as a second language and vice-versa It  also tried to identify phonemes or sounds in English which are not  available in the Mada orthography and vce-versa.