IGBO LANGUAGE INTERFERENCE IN SPOKEN ENGLISH AMONG UNIBEN STUDENTS (BETWEEN THE AGES OF 17 – 25)

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate the Igbo language phonological and grammatical interference in spoken English among student of university of Benin Nigeria between the ages of 17 and 25, who are native speakers of Igbo language as their L1 and English language as their L2. The study centers mainly on the effect of mother tongue (Igbo) on the study and usage of English Language. It tries to investigate how the language structure of Igbo Language influences the articulation of English words and how the grammatical structure of Igbo language influences their English usage as a second language, that was learnt under circumstances different from how they acquired their L1. The need of this study was motivated by the increasing use of Igbo-English, code-switching, which has been shown to impact the quality of spoken English. The theoretical framework was based on contrastive Analysis between Igbo and English language words written by lado. The data was collected using interviews, surveys, observation of the students in natural settings and class room participation, social activities inside the school. The major results of the study showed that Igbo language phonological interference and grammatical interference is common among the L1 young Igbo speaker in their spoken English. Based on the findings, the study recommends that interventions should be designed to increase exposure of the young speakers to English language structure and correct phonetic pronunciation of English words in Government primary and secondary schools in Eastern Nigeria, and parents should adopt bilingual method of communication (Igbo and English language) in the rural area.