causes of the problems of english inflectional morphemes

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CAUSES OF THE PROBLEMS OF ENGLISH INFLECTIONAL MORPHEMES

ON THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE OF IGBO SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNERS

BY

OZOEKWE, IFEOMA VERONICA

PG/MA/12/63195

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND LITERARY

STUDY,

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF

MASTER OF ARTS (M.A.) DEGREE

SUPERVISOR: DR. L. C. OGENYI

DECEMBER, 2015

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Certification

Thisis to certify that this thesis: ‘Causes of the Problems of English Inflectional Morphemes

on the Written Language of Igbo Second Language Learners’ submitted to the Department of

English and Literary Study, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, for the award of M. A. degree is a

record of original research carried out by Ozoekwe, Ifeoma Veronica.

……………………………… …………………………..

Dr. L. C. Ogenyi Date

Supervisor

……………………………… ………………………….

Prof D. U. Opata Date

Head of Department

……………………………… ………………………….

Dean of Faculty Date

……………………………... …………….....................

External Examiner Date

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Dedication

This work is dedicated to God almighty for His unending love and support to me.

And

To my family and friends for their love, support and prayer.

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Acknowledgements

I thank the almighty God for seeing me through and for His guidance towards the completion of this work.

My sincere appreciation and gratitude go to my supervisor, Dr. L. C. Ogenyi, who, in spite of his busy schedule, found out time to read and correct my work.

My immense thanks go to all my family members. I am very grateful for all the supports and encouragement you gave to me. I love you all.

My thanks and gratitude also go to my friends, Abiola Mary Oladikpo, Francisca Uzoh and Bathlomew Amadi. I am sincerely grateful for all the help you rendered to me. I am also indebted to my colleague, Mr. James Aguofia for helping to print my typeset work.

I will also like to thank and show appreciation to all my lecturers for the knowledge they imparted on me.

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Table of Contents

Title Page i

Certification ii

Dedication iii

Acknowledgements iv

Table of Contents v

Abstract viii

Chapter One: Introduction 1

1.1 Background to the Study 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem 9

1.3 Objectives of the Study 9

1.4 Significance of the Study 10

1.5 Scope of the Study 10

1.6 Research Questions 11

1.7 Limitations to the Study 11

Chapter Two: Literature Review 12

2.0 Conceptual Framework 12

2.1.0 Concept of Morpheme 12

2.1.1 Free Morphemes 13

2.1.2 Bound Morphemes 14

2.1.3 Inflectional Morphemes 14

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2.1.4 Verb Inflection 15

2.1.5 Noun Inflection 17

2.1.6 Derivational Morphemes 19

2.2 Concept of Error 19

2.3 Interference 21

2.4 Inter-language 23

2.5 Problems of Using the Inflectional Morphemes of English 24

2.5.1Problems of Using the Verb Inflections 26

2.5.2 Problems of Using the Noun Inflections 30

Summary 32

Chapter Three: Theoretical Framework and Methodology 33

3.1 Theoretical Framework 33

3.2.0 Methodology 37

3.2.1 Design of the Study 37

3.2.2 Area of Study 37

3.2.3 Population of the Study 38

3.2.4 Sample of the Study 38

3.2.5Sampling Technique 38

3.2.6Instrument for Data Collection 38

3.2.7 Method of Data Collection 38

3.2.8 Method of Data Analysis 39

Chapter Four: Data Analysis, and Summary 40

4.1.0 Research Question 1 40

4.1.1 Errors of Omission 41

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4.1.2 Errors of Misuse 42

4.1.3 Errors of Pronunciation 45

4.2 Research Question 2 45

4.3 Research Question 3 46

4.4 Summary 46

Chapter Five: Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendations 48

Discussion of the Findings 48

Conclusion 49

Recommendations 49

Works Cited 52

Test Question 57

List of Tables

Table 1: Table of Errors 40

Table 2: Errors of Omission 41

Table 3: Errors of Misuse 42

Table 4: Errors of Pronunciation 45

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Abstract

Second language learners of English find it difficult to use the inflectional morphemes

properly when writing. The difficulties in using the morphemes arise because of the structural

differences between the English language and the mother tongue of the learners. This study

explores and highlights the causes of the problems faced by Igbo learners of English as a

second language in using the morphemes. The study reveals that the Igbo language lacks

inflectional morphemes to show pluralization, genitive case, and third person singular present

tense. The only inflectional morpheme the Igbo language possesses is past tense marking in

verbs which is only marked following regular patterning. Therefore, the disparity between the

English language and the Igbo language is found to be the cause of the problems in using the

morphemes. Through the findings in this work, recommendations were given to curriculum

planners, teachers and learners to help minimise the problems.

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Chapter One

1.1 Background to the Study

A second language (L2) is a language next in rank to a bilingual person. In Nigeria, the

English language is a second language to most people. In addition to the mother tongue (MT)

which most Nigerians acquire as children, English ranks second in the Nigerian context. It is

the functional language used for wider communication by most Nigerians – literate and

illiterate alike. This is as a result of the British invasion on Nigeria. However, after the

ousting of the British government, the language remained partly because of the prestige it

gained during the colonial rule, and partly because Nigeria is made up of so many ethnic

groups with different languages. These ethnic groups were always in contact with one another

- either through trade or migration, and, of course, they needed a general language in which

to communicate with one another and the English language became the best choice since it

was a common and general language to serve as Communication Bridge between the

indigenous languages.

However, since the language is not indigenous to Nigeria, and it is not acquired or

learned in a natural setting, it has been greatly influenced by the MTs of the different ethnic

groups using it as L2 in Nigeria. Most of these influences are negative, because, many times

they have hindered communication and intelligibility. It is worthy to note here that English

has become a global language. Therefore, if Nigerians must use English, it has to be the

English that is intelligible and acceptable to all for communication to be effective. Mother

tongue (MT) influence has been noted to be a major cause of the problems associated with

using the language in Nigeria (Sam Onuigbo and Eyisi “English Language…” 103; Femi

Akindele and Adegbite “The Sociology…” 69). This is because most Nigerian users of the

English language tend to structure the language to fit into the frame of their MTs. The act has

given rise to errors because of the structural differences between the two languages. Also, the

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two languages in question (English and L1) are not closely related. They belong to different

language families. Therefore, transferring the features of one into another are bound to create

errors. Also, the learners in trying to reconcile the features of the two languages in contact,

develop an inter-language – a kind of intermediate language developed by L2 learners -

which they use to express themselves in a language foreign to them.

Another problem faced by the learners is the irregularity and inconsistency which mark

the English grammatical rules. Sam Onuigbo and J. Eyisi summarise the above thus:

The … English in Nigeria and in any second language situation is

affected by two important factors. The first factor which is a very

strong one derives from the interference from the native languages

and other languages in contact. The second one, which is equally

crucial results from the inherent irregularities within the structure of

the second language itself. (103)

No English rule is followed blindly to the end because each rule is marked with exceptions.

The learners, who are learning English in a formal setting – classroom - are made aware of

the rules of the language which they are expected to master. However, the mastering of the

rules is not properly internalized by the learners who always get confused on where and when

to apply the rules. The inflectional morphemes on which this study is based upon pose usage

problems to learners.

Inflectional morphemes which are one of the two types of bound morphemes in the

English language serve as grammatical markers that indicate tense, number, possession and

comparison. According to George Yule (The Study… 77), the inflectional morphemes are not

used to create new words in the English language. They only perform grammatical functions

in words. In other words, they do not change the grammatical category of the word they are

attached to. They are used to show plurality and the genitive case (ownership) in nouns, tense

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formation and the –s form of the 3rd person singular present tense in verbs, etc., and

comparative and superlative comparison in adjectives. The English inflectional morphemes

are eight in number. This is exemplified below:

“Let me tell you about Jim’s two little sisters. One likes to have fun and is always

laughing. The other liked to study and has always taken things seriously. One is the loudest

person in the house and the other is quieter than a mouse” (Yule 77). The morphemes in the

above extract are in bold letters. The English inflectional morphemes may look simple and

easy to learn, but they have been identified as problematic to learners of English as a second

language. This assertion is being supported by Benson O. A. Oluikpe (81), George Yule (79),

David Jowitt (116), Sam Onuigbo (78), Femi Akindele and Wale Adegbite (143-144), and L.

C. Ogenyi (666). For example, the regular rules for forming plural in the English language is

by adding -s, or -es to the stem. Examples include:

boy …… boys

girl …… girls

bush …… bushes

tax …… taxes

study…… studies

lady…… ladies

thief…… thieves

half…… halves

The above rule does not apply to the irregular nouns – man, child, sheep, mouse, teeth, etc.

This gets the learners confused. Again, an -s added to verbs shows singularity instead of

plurality which the learners may be made aware of when they are taught the plural formation

in nouns. Again, the singularity which the –s indicates in verbs is equally confusing to the

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learners as it is only applicable to the grammatical person in the third person singular and not

to the first person singular I. Examples:

Obi wants some oranges.

She goes home always.

*I wants some oranges.

*I goes home always. (The asterisk shows ungrammatical expression). The –s which is

applied to nouns to show plurality and to verbs to show singularity in the third person

singular poses pronunciation problem as it is realized with different allomorphs of the sound

depending on the phonetic environment in which it appears. Under different contexts, the –s

can be pronounced as follows:

-s [s]

[z]

[iz]

Noun Verb

cats /kæts/ wants /wɔnts/

boys /bɔiz/ buys /baiz/

watches /wɔt∫iz/ washes /wɔ∫iz/

These different pronunciations or sound realizations often get learners confused. (Laz

Chinedu Ogenyi & Emeka Joseph Otagburuagu “Teaching/Learning…” 8)

Also, the use of the past tense marker -ed is equally inhibiting to the learners who are often

confused about when and where to apply the marker as its application is not spared of the

inconsistency problem of which the English language is fraught with (L. C. Ogenyi “The

Nature…”666). The phenomenon is exemplified thus:

dance …… danced

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wave …… waved

start …… started

*cut …… cutted

*hurt …… hurted (The asterisk shows ungrammatical expression).

What is the rationale behind using cut and hurt as the past tense of cut and hurt respectively?

To this, the ESL learners are left with no answer except that they are exceptions to the rule.

The –ed is also realized with different allomorphs depending on its phonetic environment.

-ed [t]

[d]

[id]

Present tense Past tense

Dance danced /dænst/

Wave waved /weivd/

Start started /sta:tid/

These and others are problematic to the ESL learners. The learners, in this confused state,

overgeneralize the rules, misuse, or omit the markers where they should be applied.

From the above, it is observed that the difficulties learners experience in using

inflectional morphemes may arise as a result of the irregularities and inconsistencies in the

word formation rules which are common with English words (Ogenyi “The Nature…”667).

According to Femi Akindele and Wale Adegbite (143), problems arise if the learners

overgeneralize rules without being aware of the exceptions. Thus, the structure of the English

words is difficult to master, and ignorance of the rules governing the syntax of the English

language poses difficulty to learners. This is so because inflection is relevant to syntax for it

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is defined by the requirements of the syntactic rules of the English language “because English

has grammatical rules that require the verbs in a sentence to appear in an inflectional form

that matches the person and number of the subject. In other words, the syntactic rules of

English care about the difference between dog and dogs because the choice between these

two forms determines which form of the verb is to be used” (Morphology Wikipedia).

Difficulty in the use of the inflectional morphemes may also arise as a result of

mother tongue (MT) interference. That is the introduction of items from the learners’ mother

tongue into the target language. The difference between the learners’ mother tongue and the

target language could be a source of problem to the second language learners in the use of the

inflectional morphemes because most languages do not have inflectional morphemes to show

plurality, past tense and/or comparison and possession. For example, the Igbo language has

no inflectional maker to show plurality. And the presence or absence of the inflectional suffix

of the past tense marker does not really affect the intended meaning in the language (E. Nolue

Emenanjo “Elements of…” 97). This fact is illustrated below:

O je ----- He went.

O jere ----- He went.

Again, inflectional rules may differ from one language to another. Thus, learning a language

in a second language situation poses a lot of difficulty to the learners. This is so because the

learners have already mastered the features of their first language before they embarked on

the learning of the second language. As a result of this, they draw inference from their first

language (mother tongue) while trying to learn their target language. Problems arise if the

features of the learners’ MTs differ from that of their target language. The differences in the

codes of the two languages will hamper the learners use of the target language (TL),

especially if they are learning the target language (TL) in an artificial setting where they do

not have adequate exposure to the linguistic data of the target language (Akindele and

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Adegbite 139). So, because the second language learners of the English language are learning

the language against the background of their mother tongues (MTs) and also in an artificial

setting, they are bound to commit errors in using the inflectional morphemes. Difficulty may

also arise as a result of the learners’ inter-language which builds from the learners’ MTs. An

inter-language, according to David Jowitt (52), can be regarded as the production of

psycholinguistic interaction between two linguistic systems, those of the learners’ MTs and

their TL. An inter-language arises because the learners who are not passive learners, but

active ones, in trying to address their daily needs, may make false hypothesis in using the

target language (Onuigbo qtd in E. J. Otagburuagu, L. C. Ogenyi, & P. A. Ezema “Language

Teaching/Learning…” 130) thereby committing errors.

In the past, researchers have looked into the problems associated with the acquisition

of the inflectional morphemes of English (A. T. Akande 2003; Martina Penke 2012; & Nan

Jiang 2004). There studies were predicted on the variations common with languages as no

two languages are entirely similar and partly because of the inconsistencies and irregularities

which are common with the target language (English in this case). However, to the best of my

knowledge, they only investigated the problem(s) associated with the acquisition of the

inflectional morphemes. It has been noted by Jiang (603) and Stephanie Solt, et al (No Pag)

that second language learners even after attaining some level of proficiency in the English

language still find it difficult to use the inflectional morphemes consistently in speech and

writing. They tend to omit, misuse or abuse the inflectional morphemes even though they

have the knowledge of them. In other words, they could not produce them in speech and

writing with the near native proficiency. The cause of this problem(s) has been attributed to

the irregularities and inconsistencies with which the English language is fraught with (L. C.

Ogenyi “The Nature…” 667).

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In this present study, the researcher not only intends to examine the cause(s) of the

problem in terms of the irregularities and inconsistencies in the English language, but she

also intends to assess the learners’ mother tongue (MT) and inter-language to determine the

extent of their being the major causes of the errors committed in using the inflectional

morphemes of English by second language learners. The researcher intends to carry out this

investigation on the mother tongue because the second language learners have already

internalized the rules of their MTs before learning their target language (TL), and some of

these rules are totally different from those of the TL. Thus, when the learners try to apply the

rules of their first language (L1) in producing their second language (L2), errors are bound to

occur. Lado’s words, according to Otagburuagu, lend credence to this view, thus:

“Individuals tend to transfer the forms and meanings and the distributions… of their native

language and culture to the foreign language and culture both productively when attempting

to speak the language… and receptively when attempting to grasp and understand the

language…as practised by the native” (“Diagnostic Tools…”6).

Similarly, the learners in trying to hypothesize on the rules of the new language may

make wrong guesses, because of the opposing differences in the rules of their L1 and L2,

which become fossilized in the learners’ inter-language. Thus, Sam Onuigbo and J. Eyisi

(103) opine: “The development and growth of English in West Africa with particular

reference to Nigeria is fraught with many linguistic problems resulting from the structural

differences between the native language and the target language.”

Hence, the errors committed by the second language learners can be intra-lingual or

inter-lingual (Oller, et al qtd. in Onuigbo & Eyisi “English Language…” 88; Otagburuagu &

Ogenyi “Teaching/Learning…” 7). Since errors could emanate from both intra-lingual and

inter-lingual sources, the focus of this research is to find out whether the learners’ MTs and

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inter-language are the possible causes of the problem(s) encountered in using the inflectional

morphemes in speech (spoken language) and writing (written language).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Over the years, second language learners have been observed to experience some difficulties

in using the inflectional morphemes both in writing and speech. These difficulties

experienced by the learners have caused problems to them. The problems faced by the

learners could be in the form of omission, wrong addition, pronunciation, misuse, and

deletion of the inflectional morphemes, especially where consonant clusters are present.

These lapses have given rise to ungrammatical expressions in the speech and writing of

second language learners of the English language. It has been noted in the background of this

study that the differences between the learners’ first languages (L1s) and their second

language (L2) could be a major cause of the problem(s) as the learners’ L1s may hinder them

from using the inflectional morphemes. Again, the wrong hypotheses made by the learners

about the rules of their L2 may also hinder them from using the inflectional morphemes

appropriately. Thus, the researcher seeks to investigate the causes of the problems the L2

learners experience in using the inflectional morphemes. The problems may be surmounted if

the causes are identified.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

This research is undertaken to explore and highlight the various ways in which inflectional

morphemes are neglected and abused. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to:

i. identify the errors committed by the learners of English in the use of the inflectional

morphemes;

ii. find out the reasons behind the errors being committed;

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iii. determine the impact of these errors on the performance of the learners; and

iv. profer solutions and make suggestions on ways of improving the learners use of

inflectional morphemes.

1.4 Significance of the Study

Identifying the causes of the problems inflectional morphemes pose to second language

learners will help to improve proficiency in the teaching and learning of the English

language in L2 environment such as Nigeria. This will bring to light the causes of the

difficulties faced by the second language learners in using the inflectional morphemes.

The significance of this study is that it will be of use to teachers and learners of English,

curriculum planners and researchers in the field of language teaching and learning. It will

help teachers to note and focus attention on the problems faced by the learners in using

the inflectional morphemes and the causes of the problems. It will also help curriculum

planners to include and give adequate attention to morphemes when planning language

curriculum. It will again open the door for researchers to research more on the problem

areas to improve the performance of the learners.

1.5 Scope of the Study

This research is limited to investigating the causes of the errors committed by senior

secondary school students in the use of inflectional morphemes. The research focuses

only on the causes of the errors committed in the use of the regular plural and genitive

markers in nouns, the past tense marker in regular verbs, and the –s form of the third

person singular present.

The analysis in this research will be carried out only in the written language of the

learners. However, the researcher may, where necessary, make reference to the spoken

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language of the second language learners of the English language. The population of the

study will be drawn only from learners of English whose L1 is Igbo.

1.6 Research Questions

This study will address the following research questions:

1 To what extent do inflectional morphemes cause problem to the second language

learners of English?

2 To what extent does mother tongue interference hinder the use of the inflectional

morphemes?

3 To what extent does difficulty in the use of the inflectional morphemes affect learners’

performance?

1.7 Limitations to the Study

The researcher in the course of carrying out this research work does not include the

past tense morpheme of the irregular verbs, the present and past participle morphemes,

and the comparative and the superlative morphemes of adjectives. The study is only

conducted on four of the morphemes – plural and genitive morphemes in nouns, the past

tense morpheme in regular verbs and the third person singular present tense morpheme in

verbs. The study is not conducted on all the native languages of Nigeria. It is only

conducted on the written language of second language learners of English, who are of

Igbo origin. The study is only carried out on senior secondary schools within Enugu

metropolis and not outside it. The study does not include primary schools and tertiary

institutions within the area.

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Chapter Two

Literature Review

2.0 Conceptual Framework

This chapter presents, explains and explores the various concepts that are inevitable in

the discussion and understanding of this study under the following headings: concept of

morpheme, concept of error, interference, inter-language, and the problems of using

inflectional morphemes.

2.1.0 Concept of Morpheme

The words of a language can be divided into:

Simple words (mono-morphemes), and

Complex words (poly-morphemes)

i. The simple words consist of just one piece which cannot be further divided to express

a meaningful unit or function in a language. Examples: man, woman, child, in, for, see,

quick, etc.

ii. The complex words consist of two or more pieces of morphemes. Examples: dancer,

player, singer, etc., where ‘dance’, ‘play’ and ‘sing’ are considered the roots and the affix,‘er

ending’, is added to the roots to change the meaning to become the doer of something. These

pieces (morphemes) — root and affix — that combine to form complex words are referred to

as morphemes.

Morphemes

The morpheme, according to S. H. Olu Tomori (The Morphology…16), is the minimal

linguistic element that carries grammatical and/or semantic meaning. The morpheme cannot

be further divided into smaller grammatical components of language. In other words, it is the

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smallest indivisible unit of meaning in a language. George Yule (The Study…75) describes

the morpheme as a minimal unit of meaning or grammatical function. He further clarifies the

above definition using the word reopened. According to Yule, the word reopened consists of

three morphemes: open, consists of a unit of meaning, re- consists of another unit of meaning

(meaning again) and -ed consists of a minimal unit of grammatical function indicating past

tense. The word boys and boy’s each also contains two morphemes: boy is one minimal unit

of meaning while -s is a minimal unit of grammatical function indicating plural and

possession respectively in each of the words. Also, the word wants, in the sentence: The

child wants its mother consists of two morphemes: want is one minimal unit of meaning

while -s is a minimal unit of grammatical function indicating the third person singular present

tense. The morpheme is an important element in studying the morphology of words. The

addition or elimination of a morpheme affects the morphology, and thus the meaning of a

word. The importance of the morpheme is emphasized by R. O. Farinde and J. O. Ojo qtd. in

Akinmade T. Akande (“Acquisition of the Inflectional…”317) thus:

Although it (the morpheme) is the smallest in our rank scale, it exerts a

lot of influence on the word, which is the next higher unit of the rank

scale. This is because the classification and the syntactic function of a

word can change with the addition of a morpheme …

The morphemes can be subdivided into free and bound morphemes.

2.1.1 Free Morphemes

The free morphemes consist of all the words grouped as simple words. They have no

prefixes or suffixes attached to them. They are regarded as the roots and can stand alone and

express meanings; therefore, they are independent forms. The free morphemes are

categorized into lexical and functional morphemes.

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i. The lexical morphemes belong to the major parts of speech which are equally

regarded as the open system. They consist of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs.

They carry the content of messages conveyed by the speaker or writer. Examples of

lexical morphemes are: father, daughter, quick, child, pen, jump, clap, beauty, yield,

honest, etc.

ii. The functional morphemes, on the other hand, consist of the functional words in a

language. They are words that belong to the close system which are often regarded as

the minor parts of speech. They are prepositions, pronouns, articles, and

conjunctions. The functional morphemes are constant in a language. Examples of

functional morphemes are: and, behind, of, but, he, on, etc.

2.1.2 Bound Morphemes

The bound morphemes are dependent morphemes because they cannot stand on their own to

give meanings. They are not regarded as words; rather, they are affixes attached to free

morphemes. In other words, they are dependent on the free morphemes to be meaningful.

Examples: happily, boys, helped, unhappy, etc. In the above words -ly, -s, -ed, un- are bound

morphemes. A bound morpheme can be a prefix or a suffix. A prefix is attached at the

beginning of a word while a suffix is attached at the end of a word. The English suffixes can

be derivational or inflectional. All the prefixes in the English language are derivational.

2.1.3 Inflectional Morphemes

Bound suffixes are inflectional when they perform grammatical functions in a word.

This means that with the inflectional morphemes, the part of speech and the meaning of the

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word it is attached to remain the same. Such morphemes are present to ensure that the word is

in the appropriate form so that the sentence will be grammatically correct. This entails that

inflectional morphemes account for the grammaticality of a sentence and equally show the

syntactic or semantic relation between the words that combine to form a sentence. For

instance, the present tense morpheme (–s), in a verb, shows agreement with the subject (third

person singular subject) and the verb. The inflectional morphemes of English are used to

indicate number and genitive (possession) in nouns, number and tense in verbs, etc. They

come after the derivational morpheme, if any, in a word (Randolf Quirk & Greenbaum 436;

S. H. Olu Tomori 33).

2.1.4 Verb Inflection

The English verbs are inflected to derive different forms. Examples of the different

forms of the verb inflection as noted by Quirk and Greenbaum (A University…26) are: the

BASE (call, drink), the –s FORM (calls, drinks), the past – ED (called, drank), the –ING

PARTICIPLE (calling, drinking), and the –ED PARTICIPLE (called, drunk). The past tense

marking of the English verbs can be regular or irregular depending on the pattern followed by

the verbs.

i. Irregular Verbs

The irregular lexical verbs do not maintain uniformity in forming their past and past

participle (Joy Eyisi, A Grammar of… 50). Their past and past participle are not predictable

from their base forms. However, their –s form and –ing participle, just like that of the regular

verbs, can be predicted from the base form (Quirk & Greenbaum 28) since they maintain

uniform pattern in this aspect. The irregular verbs form their past and past participle through

a replacive morpheme (stand – stood), suppletion (go – went – gone) (Tomori 32 – 33) or a

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zero structural difference (put – put – put) (Tomori 28). This means that most of their past

tense and past participle are usually formed without inflectional suffix endings /d/ or /t/

(Quirk & Greenbaum 30).

ii. Regular Verbs

The regular lexical verbs, as the name implies, maintain uniform pattern in the

formation of their past tense and past participle; that is, by the addition of –ed inflection.

This means that once the base is known, the past and past participle can be easily predicted,

so also is the –s form and the –ing form.

iii. Verb Inflectional Endings

The –ed inflection of the regular verbs which is spelt –ed or –d has three spoken

realizations — /t/, /d/, and id/ — which are phonologically conditioned depending on the

phonetic environment of its appearance. It is pronounced /t/ after voiceless consonants other

than /t/ as in packed /pækt/ danced/dænst/, clapped /klæpt/ pushed /pʊ∫t/; /d/ after vowels or

voiced consonants other than /d/ as in played /pleid/, pulled /pʊld/, judged /ʤ˄ʤd/, roared

/rɔ:d/; and /id/ after /t/ and /d/ as in painted /peintid/, wanted /wɔntid/, padded /pædid/,

pleaded /pli:did/, etc.

The –s form of the lexical verbs (regular and irregular) which is used with the third

person singular subject in the present tense has two spellings (-s and -es) with three spoken

realizations: /s/, /z/, and /iz/ which are phonologically conditioned as in the –s form of the

plural and possessive markers of nouns. Examples: wants /wɔnts/, pulls /pʊlz/, washes

/wɔ∫iz/.

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2.1.5 Noun Inflection

The English nouns can function in different positions in sentence structures. They can

function as subjects, objects or complements in sentences. The English nouns undergo

morphological changes.

They are inflected to realize two inflectional forms — number and possession. These

forms are shown below in the noun paradigm taken from Eyisi (A Grammar of … 22)

Base form Plural Possessive singular Possessive plural

Girl Girls Girl’s Girls’

Cat Cats Cat’s Cats’

Child Children Child’s Children’s

Man Men Man’s Men’s

Noun Paradigm

i. Number

“Number is an important constituent of the English nominal …” (Benson O. A. Oluikpe,

English in …81). The number system consists of SINGULAR — which denotes one — and

PLURAL — which denotes more than one (Quirk & Greenbaum 80). According to Quirk and

Greenbaum, the singular category of nouns is the common non-count (uncountable) nouns

and the proper nouns. These are used with singular verbs. E.g., furniture, music, Enugu,

Nsukka, etc. The plural category is the count (countable) nouns, which can either be singular

or plural in number. Examples: girl – girls, man – men, etc. The plural nouns can be sub-

categorized into regular and irregular plural nouns depending on how they form their plurals.

18

a. Irregular Nouns

The irregular nouns form their plural haphazardly. They are not consistent in the

formation of their plural. Their plural cannot be predicted from their base. They may form

their plural through replacement (Tomori 32), or mutation (Quirk & Greenbaum 86): man –

men, foot – feet, child – children, mouse – mice, etc., or they may undergo no change at all:

sheep – sheep, deer – deer, etc. However, the application of their possessive marker (-s)

follows the same pattern as that of the singular regular nouns. Examples: man’s – men’s,

child’s – children’s, etc.

b. Regular Nouns

The regular nouns are consistent in forming their plural. They form plural usually by

the addition of the plural morpheme (–s, or –es) to their base forms; e.g., boy – boys, car –

cars, etc. This means that the plural forms of the regular nouns can be predicted from their

bases.

ii. Genitive / Ownership

Nouns show ownership of something by the addition of an apostrophe-and-s to the

base of the singular regular nouns, and the base of the singular and plural irregular nouns

(girl’s, man’s, men’s), while the s-and-apostrophe is added to the base of the regular plural

nouns to show plural ownership (girls’). The possessive form and the plural form of the

regular nouns may sound alike in speech — girl’s, girls’, girls→/gɜ:lz/ (Tomori 36).

iii. Noun Inflectional Endings

The morphemes of the regular plural marker and the possessive marker are the same

with the same variants as /s/, /z/, and /iz/ depending on the phonetic environments in which

the morphemes appear. The plural and the possessive markers are phonologically

19

conditioned by the preceding sound. This is to say that they are influenced by the preceding

sound (Tomori 10; Uzoezie, Phonetics and… 82). They are pronounced /s/ after voiceless

sounds — cat’s /kæts/, taps / tæps/; /z/ after voiced sounds — boy’s / bɔiz/, pens /penz/; and

/iz/ after words that end with sibilants — watches /wɔt∫iz/, badges, /bæʤiz/.

The inflectional morphemes are problematic to L2 learners of English. They cause

errors in their speech and writing, and, so, should be given adequate attention.

2.1.6 Derivational Morphemes

Derivational morphemes are used to derive or create new words in a language, and are

also used to create words of different categories and meanings (Yule 76). In other words, they

change the word class of the word they are added to (Tomori 33). A derivational morpheme

can be a prefix or a suffix attached to a stem. E.g.:

unfaithful

prefix stem suffix

Derivational suffixes can precede or follow one another in a word. This means that a stem

word may contain one or more derivational suffixes. Example: The word nationality has two

derivational suffixes — al, which is an adjective suffix, and ity, which is a noun suffix.

Derivational morphemes are the most common word formation device used in the English

language to create new words as most English words are derived forms.

2.2 Concept of Error

An error is an unacceptable utterance which affects the quality of speech or writing.

It is a systematic deviation from the rules and norms of a language. An error is systematic

because it occurs repeatedly and is not recognizable by the L2 user/learner. E. J.

20

Otagburuagu, L. C. Ogenyi, and P. A. Ezema (Language Teaching/Learning…131) define an

error as “a systematic deviation from the native speaker’s standard or accepted usage”.

Going by this definition, errors are not committed by the native speakers of a language,

because every speaker of a language is a competent user of that language; errors are rather

associated with second or foreign language speakers/learners of a language. An error is

different from a mistake. A mistake represents a lapse in speech or writing which may be due

to a slip of the tongue or pen (Eyisi “The Place of Contrastive…” 3). An error is committed

as a result of gaps in learning or lack of competence in the use of the TL. It is committed

unconsciously without being noticed by the speaker and therefore cannot be self-corrected.

R. Ellis (1997) qtd. In Baljit Bhela (“Native Language…”23) summarizes the difference

between errors and mistakes thus:

…errors reflect gaps in the learner’s knowledge; they occur

because the learner does not know what is correct. Mistakes

reflect occasional lapses in performance; they occur because

the learner is unable to perform what he or she knows.

As a matter of fact, errors are related to competence while mistakes are deviations related to

performance (E. J. Otagburuagu, L. C. Ogenyi, & P. A. Ezema, Language Teaching … 131

— 132). In this study, every deviation from the correct usage will be treated as an error since

it will not be possible for the researcher to determine whether the writer is making an error or

a mistake.

Errors affect the leaners competence and proficiency in the TL. They occur as a result

of linguistic interference or mother tongue transfer (Jowitt, Nigerian English… 59; E. J.

Otagburuagu, L. C. Ogenyi, & P. A. Ezema, Language Teaching/Learning… 133; Eyisi, “The

Place of Contrastive…” 4), which is caused by the learners’ mother tongue, and also as a

21

result of the false analogy or hypothesis made by the learners about the TL (Jowitt 53, 59),

which is a product of the learners’ inter-language.

Two schools of thought are at loggerheads concerning how learners’ errors should be

regarded. The first school, which is influenced by the behaviourists, sees errors as “deviant

structures” which must not be tolerated. It sees errors as inhibition to learning and proper

usage of the TL. To the first school, errors are signs of bad learning, or “wrong learning”

(Jowitt 59) and should be avoided. The second school, which is influenced by the mentalists,

sees errors as something which is inevitable in language learning and therefore should be

tolerated, because they are signs that learning is actually taking place. It regards errors as

part of the learners’ inter-language — a device used by the learners to test hypothesis made

about the TL. Therefore, to the second school, errors facilitate learning.

2.3 Interference

Interference is the transfer of linguistic features of one language to the other. It

emanates from the speech repertoire of a bilingual or multilingual individual, whether from

first to second, or vice versa (Wikipedia, Language Transfer). According to Akindele and

Adegbite (38), it is the “instances of deviation from the norms of either language which occur

in the speech of bilinguals as a result of their familiarity with more than one languages”.

Interference cuts across all the levels of linguistic analysis as it affects the phonology,

morphology, syntax, etc., of the languages involved. Interference, therefore, is an important

factor in language learning. It can be facilitative or inhibitory (E. J. Otagburuagu, L. C.

Ogenyi, P. A. Ezema, 133) to language learners. From the above statement, we can say that

interference is of two types — those that facilitate language learning and those that inhibit

language learning. Akindele and Adegbite (38) distinguish the two types of interference

under two headings: proactive interference and retroactive interference. Proactive

22

interference helps in the acquisition of a new language (TL) and, therefore, facilitates its

learning. Retroactive interference hinders the acquisition process of the TL. It is, therefore,

inhibitory to the second language learners.

Proactive interference results in positive transfer while retroactive interference results

in negative transfer. However, according to Yule (195), interference is usually associated

with negative transfer of items from one language (L1) to another (L2). Following Yule’s

statement above, interference in this research work will be treated as negative transfer.

Mother Tongue Interference

Mother tongue interference is the major source of the difficulty which L2 learners

experience in second language learning, because the learners learn the TL against the

background of their MTs in which they have achieved proficiency. H. B. Beardsmore (1982)

qtd. in Bhela (23) is also of the opinion that:

Many of the difficulties a second language learner has with the

phonology, vocabulary and grammar of L2 are due to the interference

of habits from L1. The formal elements of L1 are used within the

context of L2, resulting in errors in the L2, as the structures of the

languages, L1 and L2, are different.

The differences between the learners’ MTs and the TL give rise to errors which affect their

proficiency in the TL. S. M. Onuigbo qtd. in Onuigbo and Eyisi (82 — 83) is equally of the

opinion that the presence of the learners’ MTs influence negatively their acquisition of

“subsequent languages”. This is because there are some features of the TL language which

do not exist in the learners’ native language. Thus, the learners ignorant of the structural

differences between their L1s and L2 may build their assumption about the TL based on the

knowledge of their MTs. MT interference accounts for inter-lingual errors which occur in the

23

speech and writing of L2 users/learners. Second language learners find it difficult to do away

with the old habit (first language) they have learnt. Language learning is habit formation

(William Littlewood qtd. in E. J. Otagburuagu, L. C. Ogenyi, & P.A. Ezema 5), and an old

habit is difficult to shed. An old habit may influence negatively the formation of a new habit

(E. J. Otagburuagu, “Diagnostic Tools…”7 [Lecture note]).

2.4 Inter-language

Inter-language, introduced by Larry Selinker in 1969, is a kind of linguistic system

which a second language learner develops to express himself in the TL. It is a separate

linguistic system that is different from the learner’s MT and TL. However, according to E.

Tarone (“Interlanguage”747), an inter-language is linked to the learner’s L1 and TL, and can

be seen as “the production of psycholinguistic interaction between two systems, those of the

MT and the TL” (Jowith 52). Tarone (748) reported that selinker (1972) hypothesized that

inter-language builds from the learner’s native language transfer, overgeneralization of TL

rules, strategies of communication, etc. The L2 learner having internalized the rules of his

MT faces the arduous task of expressing himself in a new language with rules different from

the rules of his MT. The learner is often confused and makes wild guesses about the TL

which may result in overgeneralization, and/or incomplete application of the rules of the TL.

An inter-language is not a rigid linguistic system. It is a developmental language which

changes continually until the learner achieves at least a native-like competence in the TL.

Jowitt (52) refers to it as a “developmental continuum” which shows that learning is taking

place in the learner’s cognition. However, the learner’s inter-language may fossilize.

Fossilization is the point when the learner’s inter-language stops developing before he

achieves native-like competence in the TL. According to Yule (195), “an inter-language is

24

not designed to fossilize”. It is supposed to continue to develop until the learner achieves

communicative competence in the TL. But, often times, this is not the case.

Inter-language accounts for the intra-lingual errors which L2 learners make in the TL.

One form of the intra-lingual errors is overgeneralization of the rules of the TL.

Overgeneralization is when an L2 learner constrains himself to one form, even when another

form should have been adopted, because he has not properly internalized the rules of the TL.

Overgeneralization of rules breeds erroneous expressions, as such words as bringed, drinked,

sheeps, etc. are bound to materialize. Overgeneralization of rules arises because the learners

are confused about the rules of the TL. This confusion stems from the fact that the new rules

of the TL are different from the rules of the MTs, and, also, the rules of the TL are fraught

with irregularities and inconsistencies; hence, the difficulty in the application of the rules.

Inter-language errors are seen as transitional errors. It shows that the learner has mastered a

TL rule, but is unable to apply the rule correctly (Tarone 749).

2.5 Problems of Using the Inflectional Morphemes of English

Attempts have been made to explain the reasons for the difficulties posed by the

inflectional morphemes of English to second language users of the language. The difficulties

faced by the learners/users have been blamed on the English language itself. Experts in the

field such as Akindele and Adegbite (143), Onuigbo and Eyisi (108), Ogenyi (666), E. T.

Babalola and A. T.Akande qtd. in Akande (316) believe that the difficulties are caused by the

inherent structural irregularities within the English language itself. They argue that the

illogicality in the formation of the English language rules and the exception(s) prevalent in

the language get the learners confused. According to them, by implication, no English rule is

followed blindly.

25

Tense formation and plural formation in the English language are the most

problematic. They are not consistent because they maintain regular and irregular patterns in

their formations (Onuigbo & Eyisi, 109; Ogenyi, 667, 674). These type of formations cause

confusion to the second language learners. Again, the spoken form of the past tense marker

(-ed) has three different realizations. According to Ogenyi (671), the users of English as a

second language find it difficult to differentiate among the various variants (allomorphs),

thereby applying them in wrong contexts. This is a problem because the allomorphs are

phonologically conditioned to appear in certain phonetic environments, because they are in

complementary distribution (Peter Roach, English Phonetics and… 41; R. U. Uzoezie,

Phonetics and Phonology…89).

Another area in which the inconsistency is found is in the use of the –s form (Ogenyi,

“The Nature…” 677; Jowitt, Nigerian English…117). In the English language, the –s

inflection added to nouns signifies plurality while in verbs, it signifies singularity which is

only used with the third person singular in the present tense. This inconsistency presents

problem to the L2 learners of English, because in the English language, singular subject goes

with singular verb, and plural subject goes with plural verb. The relationship between the

subject and the verb is known as agreement. According to Ozo-Mekuri Ndimele (“The

Dimensions of Agreement…684”), “English verbs inflect for agreement to respond to the

number and person properties of the element in the subject position of the sentence”. Thus,

the second language learners are often times faced with the confusion of matching the subject

to the correct verb.

The mother tongue is also a factor in second language learning, and it could also be a

factor in the difficulties experienced by L2 users of the English inflectional morphemes. This

is because when two languages come in contact there is always interference. The learners’

MTs can be an inhibition in their use of the TL. E.O. Osirueme (698) states that different

26

languages in contact influence one another. This influence can either be positive or negative.

The English language in Nigeria has been negatively influenced by the indigenous languages,

and this has affected the proficiency of the learners of the English language.

2.5.1 Problems of Using the Verb Inflections

The verb inflection of the English language poses difficulty to L2 leaners of the

language because of the differences between the morphology of the English verbs and that of

the indigenous languages. The English verbs are the only part of speech that is marked for

tense (Ogenyi 667). Tense is defined by Eyisi (83) as any of the forms a verb takes to

indicate the time of the action. The tense of the verb can either be present or past (Oji 1988

qtd. in Eyisi 84). The present tense refers to an action that is going on at the time of speaking

or a state that is still existing at the time of speaking while the past tense refers to an action or

state that has already taken place before the time of speaking (present time). The present

tense of the verb is the same as the base form of the verb except for the –s inflection added in

the case of the third person singular subject in the present tense. The past tense of the regular

verb is marked by the past tense marker (-ed). As mentioned earlier, tense in English is

problematic to L2 learners of English. This problem is as a result of the structure of the

English verbs which are totally different from that of the indigenous languages. Most

Nigerian languages form their past tense by following regular patterning, while the English

verbs exhibit both regular and irregular tense formations. Using the Igbo language as an

example, Oluikpe (144) states thus:

The inflection of the (English) main verb poses a serious learning and

usage problem because there is a major contrast between English and

Igbo verb inflections. Igbo verbs have a feature which their English

counterparts do not have. They are regular. That is, their various

27

aspectual forms are predictable from the base. In English, on the

contrary, the verbs are of two kinds — regular and irregular.

Thus, to form the past tense of verbs in Igbo, a regular pattern ‘rV’ is followed. Where ‘v’ is

the last vowel of the verb root:

-si → cook – siri → cooked

-kwu → talk – kwuru → talked

-za → sweep – zara → swept

-si → say – siri → said

(Emenanjo 19; Ikegwuonu 118).

The second language learners of the English language aware of the rule of forming

past tense in their MTs apply the same rule to the English verbs. However, they may not

experience much problem with the regular past of English verbs but when they extend this

rule, ignorantly, to the regular forms errors emanate. Onuigbo and Eyisi (83) explain this

point very clear when they assert that ordinarily, the past tense form of a regular verb is easily

realized by adding ‘-ed’ morpheme and every learner that is familiar with this is likely to

extend the same rule to tense formation in irregular verb.

In some cases, when the learners are made aware of the regular and irregular forms of

the verb, they often get confused as to which verb should be regular and which should not. In

this confusion, they may overgeneralize the rule of applying the ‘–ed’ marker to forms where

they should not.

Also, in the Igbo language, the tense marker is of no significance to the intended

meaning of the speaker; therefore, the presence or absence of the tense marker does not really

affect meaning since the “Igbo verbs do not distinguish between present and past tense” (Igbo

Grammar Igboguide np). The tense marker may be deleted in the surface structure

(performance). This is because with the presence or absence of the marker the notion of

28

+past will still be present. Oluikpe (14) concurs to the above statement when he says that a

root verb in Igbo can be followed by an obligatory inflectional suffix which may be zero at

the surface structure level. E.g.:

Past → -rV1 = O je(re) ahia → He went to the market.

Thus, by implication, the notion of past in Igbo is embedded in the deep structure. This claim

is further validated by Emenanjo (97) in the passage below:

…the inflectional suffix is an essential and integral part of its

construction even where it is absent (deleted)…. The presence or

absence of an inflectional suffix does not affect the meaning of the

construction in which it is used…. This is because with or without the

inflectional suffix the tone patterns on the verbs and on the subjects

and complements of the sentence will remain to show which

construction is being used.

He further substantiates his claim in the following sentences:

Nnenna ri(ri) ji. → Nnenna ate yam.

Nnenna si(ri) asi. → Nnenna told lies.

(Nnenna lied.)

Nnenna je(re) ahia. → Nnenna went to the market.

Nnenna bu(ru) abu. → Nnenna sang a song.

(Nnenna sang.)

The tense markers enclosed in brackets may be deleted without affecting the meaning. He

further asserts that reference to time in Igbo is achieved by the use of lexical items — a

nominal, a phrase, or a clause — and not syntactically as is the case with the English

language. M. M. Green (1964) and F. D. D. Winston (1973) qtd.in C.N. Ikegwuonu (117)

also agree to the above statements.

29

It is therefore not surprising to hear Igbo speakers of English produce sentences where

the tense markers are deleted or omitted. Example of such sentences are:

*I pack the books there.

*We play in the field yesterday, etc.

This is because they rely on the notion of +past tense in their MTs to produce the English

sentences.

The pronunciation of the regular tense marker (-ed) in English is not spared of the

interference of the indigenous languages. The three spoken variants of the morpheme are

problematic to the L2 learners of English. They commit pronunciation errors in the

production of the three variants. Often times, it is only the [d] that is realized in speech. The

[t] is never realized, notwithstanding the fact that they are in complementary distribution with

each other. Ogenyi (671) also notes that the [id] in most cases is realized as [ed]. This error

of pronunciation is a result of MT influence, because the learners base the pronunciation of

the -ed inflection on its orthographic representation. Words in the indigenous languages are

pronounced as spelt following the orthographic representation; but, this is not the case with

the English language, because the spelling of English words is not a good guide to

pronouncing them (Eyisi A Grammar of…277). Bamgbose, qtd in Osirueme (699), concurs

to the above as follows:

The sound system of the vernacular language is the greatest influence

on the pronunciation in English by Nigerians, as most of the phonetic

characteristics in the latter, as rendered by Nigerians, are traceable to

the transfer of features from the first language.

The third person singular of the present tense inflection –s, realized as [s], [z], and

[iz], is also problematic to Nigerian learners of the language. This is because verbs are not

inflected to show agreement in the indigenous languages. The verb form in the indigenous

30

languages remains the same for both singular and plural subjects. For instance, none is found

in the Igbo language (Ikegwuonu 112; Oluikpe 110). The morpheme is rarely found in the

speech and writing of the students as, often times, it is omitted or deleted. This is because the

students rely on the features of their MTs which do not inflect the verb to show agreement.

This notion gives rise to erroneous expressions like:

*He want money.

*She play the piano.

According to Jowith (117), the learners are more at home with a pluralizing –s than a

singularizing –s. They associate –s with plurality than with singularity, and they may extend

the rule of forming plural to the verb and use the verb with the –s as plural.

In cases where the verb –s form is correctly applied by L2 speakers, there is usually

pronunciation error as they rely on the orthography of the morpheme to pronounce its

variants.

2.5.2 Problems of Using the Noun Inflections

The English noun is marked for number and case. Number indicates whether the

noun is singular or plural. According to Quirk and Greenbaum (93), the English noun cases

are two; “the unmarked COMMON CASE (boy) and the marked GENITIVE CASE (boy’s).

The common case which is unmarked can perform as the subject (subjective case), object

(objective case), etc. of a sentence. The marked case is the possessive case which indicates

ownership. The possessive case is marked (inflected) in English by apostrophe-and-s (-’s), or

by –s-and-apostrophe (-s’) depending on whether the noun is singular (boy’s) or plural

(boys’). The possessive case is the only case of the noun that changes its form (Eyisi 45).

The possessive inflection has two, or in some cases three allomorphs [s], [z] and [iz],

following the rules of the pronunciation of –s inflection in English words. The possessive

31

inflection is often omitted where they are supposed to occur. This is because they are

unmarked in some Nigerian languages. In the Igbo language for example, words are not

overtly marked to indicate ownership (Emenanjo, 241; Irene Thompson np). The possessive

case is marked in the deep structure. The absence of possessive markers in the native

languages presents a problem to the students, because they tend to structure the English

sentences in the frame of their MTs. For instance, there is instances of interference of the L1

when the idea of possession is expressed by Igbo speakers of English.

*This is Obi shoes.

*I saw the teacher book on his table.

The difficulty experienced by the L2 learners results in the omission of the morpheme.

Number, which is either singular or plural, is an important constituent of English

nominal. However, “the singular/plural dichotomy in English is not simple. It is complicated

with irregularities” (Oluikpe 81). Number (singular/plural) in Igbo is expressed at the deep

structure level (Oluikpe 22, 87). It is not overtly marked on the noun by any affix. According

to Oluikpe (110), number is expressed in Igbo in three ways — using numerals, suppletional

plurals, and context of use. E.g.:

Onye ocha – white man

Ndi ocha – white men

Otu onye ocha – one white man

Ndi ocha abuo – two white men.

This, thus, influences the Igbo speaker of English to produce expressions like:

*I bought two book.

*I have three pen in my bag.

The omission of the inflectional morphemes in the speech of L2 learners of the

English language is also attributed to the lack of consonant clusters in the indigenous

32

languages (Jowitt 82; Onuigbo & Eyisi 106). According to Rene Kager (1999) qtd. in

Stephenie Solt, et al “L2 Perception and…” (np.), “the formation of English regular past

creates complex codas, or consonant clusters, which are rare in the world languages. Thus,

the L2 learners adopt a simplifying strategy by deleting the inflectional morphemes (Onuigbo

& Eyisi 106; Jowitt 82).

Summary

The English language as used in the Nigerian context has greatly been influenced by

the indigenous languages (Akindele & Adegbite 69). This is not surprising, because,

according to Bamgbose (1971) qtd. in Osirueme (699), the English language is bound to be

influenced by the local languages in contact with it. These influences, no doubt, have

produced erroneous expressions in the use of the language. The English language has been

modelled by students following the knowledge they already have about their native

languages. The differences in the structures of the English language and those of the Local

languages are problematic to the Nigerian learners of the English language. We agree by

echoing Bhela (23) who said that to successfully learn or use the L2, the second language

learners of English should preclude their L1 structures from their L2.

This is why it is important to note the point of difference between the L1 and L2 concerning

the inflectional morphemes, and call attention to it (the point of difference) when the

inflectional morphemes are taught to students. This awareness will go a long way in helping

the students overcome the difficulty, and also help them to produce correct grammar.

33

Chapter Three

3.1 Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework of this study is contrastive analysis (CA). It is a concept

formulated by the behaviorists; it accounts for the errors which occur in the speech and

writing of a second language (L2) learner as a result of the interference of the linguistic items

from his first language (L1). Contrastive analysis is one of the oldest approaches used in the

analysis of the problems encountered in second language teaching and learning. Its origin,

according to E. J. Otagburuagu, L. C. Ogenyi, & P. A. Ezema (132), dates back to 1957 with

the publication of Robert Lado’s book – Linguistics across Cultures – in which he states:

“…the student who comes in contact with a foreign language will find some features of it

quite easy and others extremely difficult. Those elements that are similar to his native

language will be simple for him and those elements that are different will be difficult” (Also

qtd. in Joy Eyisi “The Place of…” 2).

Contrastive analysis aims at describing the similarities and differences between two

languages and the problems they may create for the learner or user. It builds on the

assumption that when the features of the learner’s L1 and L2 are similar, the learner will

encounter little or no problem in the process of learning the target language (TL), but when

the features of the L1 and L2 are different, the learner is bound to encounter difficulties in

learning the TL. The difficulties encountered by the learner are said to occur as a result of the

linguistic items inherent in his MT which interfere in his use of the second language.

According to the proponents of the CA, language learning is a process of habit formation and

old habits are difficult to eliminate. Thus, the second language learner having achieved

communicative competence in his native language may rely on the features of his L1 to

produce his L2 (Bhela “Native Language…” 22). The reliance on the L1 to produce the L2

34

may breed errors in the speech and writing of the learner. It is believed that the difficulties the

learners of the English language face are not solely caused by interference of items from the

MT, but also by the inherent irregularities in the English language which cause the learner to

form an inter-language as an escape route. However, according to L. Selinker (qtd

inTarone748), one of the factors that shaped the learners’ inter-language is native language

transfer (i.e., the projection of rules from the mother tongue to the target language).

Therefore, the MT is still a factor in the development of the learner’s inter-language – a kind

of intermediate language developed by a learner to help him express himself in his second

language.

This study is not a comparative study of two languages; it studies the possible influence

of one language (MT) on another (TL). It looks at the structural differences between the L1

and L2 as causes of inhibition in using the inflectional morphemes of the TL. Contrastive

analysis is relevant to this study, because contrastive analysis is a theoretical approach which

seeks to study two languages with a view to identifying their structural differences and the

areas likely to create problems to learners. The relevance of this theory to this study is in line

with the hypothesis made by Robert Lado, in his book - Linguistics across Cultures. In which

he said that the structural differences between the learner’s L1 and L2 will create learning

difficulties to him while the structural similarities in his L1 and L2 will facilitate his learning

the TL. The researcher feels that there is a marked difference between the English language

inflectional patterns and those of the indigenous languages in Nigeria. Even though

contrastive analysis does not account for errors due to the learners’ inter-language, which

results in the overgeneralization of the rules of the TL, it is still relevant to this study, because

according to Selinker (qtd in Tarone 748), inter-language builds from MT transfer. The

learners may overgeneralize the rules of the TL (i.e., the indiscriminate application of the

35

rules of the TL) based on the knowledge of the rules of their MTs which they have already

internalized before learning the TL rules.

Criticism of the CA

CA has been criticized based on the following grounds:

1. It prescribes difficulties which may never manifest in the learner.

2. It cannot account for most of the errors committed by the second language learner.

3. MT interference is not the only cause of difficulty in language learning.

Based on the above criticism, two versions of the CA were proposed: the strong and the

weak versions. The strong version predicts errors that may manifest in the learner (a priori),

while the weak version deals with learner’s errors and uses CA where it is applicable to

explain the errors (a posteriori) (Wardhaugh qtd. in Siti Mahripah “Contrastive Analysis”

np.). Even though CA cannot account for errors that result from other sources, it can very

much account for errors that occur due to the learner’s mother tongue (MT). Therefore, CA is

still very much relevant to this study.

The Stages in Doing CA

CA is used to identify points of difficulties which lead to (negative) interference by;

i. describing and comparing the MT and TL,

ii. predicting points of difficulties, and

iii. using the results to improve teaching materials (Stig Johansson “Contrastive Analysis

and…” 10).

36

R. O. Atoye and R. L. Whitman (qtd. in Onuigbo & Eyisi “English Language…” 86)

distinguish four steps in doing CA, while Nasrin Abdi (“Contrastive Analysis…” np.)

proposes five steps: 1.Selection 2.Description 3.Comparison 4.Prediction, and

5.Verification.

Selection

The two languages to be compared are described within the same theory and sub-sets or

elements of equal level from the two languages are selected. The sub-sets to be compared

should be similar in some extent.

Description

The sub-sets to be compared are described and contrasted to find out their areas of

similarities and differences.

Comparison

The similarities and differences found in the sub-sets are compared.

Prediction

The analyst can predict difficulty based on contrast found in the two languages.

Verification

The final step taken by the analyst is to find out whether the predictions made are true

or not.

37

3.2.0 Methodology

The procedure to be used to carry out this investigation is presented under the

following headings: design of the study, area of study, population of the study, instrument for

data collection, method of data collection, and method of data analysis.

3.2.1 Design of the Study

The research design to be used in this study is causal-comparative research design.

Causal-comparative research design, according to Anene Maduakonam (27), is a type of

descriptive research design used to discover the possible causes of a problem. According to

him, causal-comparative studies are ‘ex post factor’ in nature. This means that data are

collected after the phenomenon under investigation has already taken place. Hence, the

researcher has no control over the variables used and, therefore, cannot manipulate them. The

design helps to establish cause-effect relationship between the variable and the problem of

study. The design is relevant in this study because it will help the researcher to investigate the

possible influence of the mother tongue in the production of the inflectional morphemes of

English by second language learners of the language.

3.2.2 Area of Study

The area of study for this research work is secondary schools in Enugu metropolis. This

area is chosen because it has a large number of secondary schools which study English as a

second language.

38

3.2.3 Population of the Study

The population used in this study was senior secondary school students who were

drawn from three schools in Enugu metropolis.

3.2.4 Sample of the Study

The sample used in this study was a total of one hundred students of senior secondary

one sampled from each of the schools.

3.2.5 Sampling Technique

The students were sampled from the schools using the simple random sampling by

balloting. The sampling method used gave each member of the population equal chance of

being selected.

3.2.6 Instrument for Data Collection

The instrument that was used to collect data was written test exercise which was

administered to the students.

3.2.7 Method of Data Collection

Data for this study were collected using sentence test frame with gaps. Beside each

gap, a word (a noun or a verb) was in brackets and the students asked to inflect the word

correctly where necessary. A total of fifty (50) questions was given to the students. Each

number contained two sentences numbered a and b. Sentences numbered a were written in

the students’ mother tongue (MT) (the Igbo language in this case), while sentences numbered

b contained the same sentences as the sentences numbered a, but this time translated to the

L2 (the English language in this case). The students were not required to inflect any word in

the sentences numbered a (i.e., the sentences written in their MT). They were only required to

39

inflect the word in the sentences written in their L2. This was done to test how much the

students’ knowledge of their L1 inflectional pattern influenced their use of their L2 pattern.

To test for the possible influence of the MT in the pronunciation of the inflectional

morphemes of English, two transcriptions of each word, with the morphemes, was given in

brackets and the students asked to choose the correct transcription that fitted the

pronunciation of the word. The test was administered in a classroom setting and the scripts

collected on the spot.

3.2.8 Method of Data Analysis

The errors identified from the students answer scripts were described, classified,

corrected and evaluated under the following headings:

1. Regular plural morpheme,

2. Genitive morpheme,

3. Regular past tense morpheme,

4. Third person singular present tense morpheme, and

5. Pronunciation of the morphemes.

The data analysis was presented in tables to show the frequencies of the errors

committed on the above headings, and the findings were expressed using simple

percentages.

40

Chapter Four

Data Analysis and Summary

The result for this study are here under presented in tables in accordance to the research

questions guiding the study.

Research question 1

To what extent do inflectional morphemes cause problem to the L2 learners?

Table 1: Table of Errors

Types of Error Frequency Percentage

Errors of omission 573 38.87%

Errors of misuse 477 32.36%

Errors of pronunciation 424 28.77%

Total 1,474 100%

From the data in the table above, 1,474 errors were committed on the use of the

inflectional morphemes. 573 (38.87%) errors are committed on the omission of morphemes,

477 (32.36%) errors are on the misuse of morphemes, and 424 (28.77%) are based on

pronunciation errors committed on morphemes. This shows that the inflectional morphemes

are problematic to the learners.

The table below shows the frequencies of the errors of omission committed on each of

the morphemes.

41

Table 2: Errors of Omission

Morpheme Frequency Percentage

Past tense 37 6.46%

Genitive 174 30.37%

3rd person singular present tense 107 18.67%

Plural 255 44.50%

Total 573 100%

The morphemes are omitted 573 times. The errors of omission on the past tense

morphemes are 37 (6.46%). The genitive morpheme is omitted 174 (30.37%) times. The third

person singular present tense morpheme is omitted 107 (18.67%) times, while the plural

morpheme is omitted 255 (44.50%) times.

The following sentences show how the morphemes are omitted.

1a. My mother always drive slowly when it is raining.

Here, the 3rd person singular present tense morpheme is omitted. The correct sentence

should read:

b. My mother always drives slowly when it is raining.

2a.The captain kick the ball high.

Here, the past tense morpheme is omitted. The correct sentence should read:

b. The captain kicked the ball high.

3a. Underline all the noun in the sentence.

Here, the plural marker is omitted. The correct sentence should read:

42

b. Underline all the nouns in the sentence.

4a. She was wearing an old dress of her mother.

The genitive marker is omitted here. The correct sentence should read:

b. She was wearing an old dress of her mother’s.

The table below shows the frequencies of the errors of misuse committed on the

morphemes.

Table 3: Errors of Misuse

Morpheme Frequency Percentage

Past tense 225 47.2%

Genitive 77 16.14

3rd person singular present tense 75 15.7%

Plural 100 20.96%

Total 447 100%

The morphemes are wrongly applied or misused 477 times. 225 (47.2%) errors are

committed on the misuse of the past tense morpheme. 77 (16.14%) errors are committed on

the misuse of the genitive morpheme. 75 (15.7%) errors are committed on the misuse of the

third person singular present tense morpheme, while 100 (20.96%) errors are committed on

the misuse of the plural morpheme.

The following sentences show how the morphemes are misused.

1a (i). Mr. Ajayi bringed some materials for his wife whenever he goes to Lagos.

43

(ii) My mother always drived slowly whenever it is raining.

Here, the past tense marker is wrongly applied in irregular verbs. It is also being wrongly

used where the present tense should be. The correct sentences should read:

b (i) Mr. Ajayi brings some materials for his wife whenever he goes to Lagos.

(ii) My mother always drives slowly whenever it is raining.

(2a) The numbered spaced for the answers here were many.

The past tense marker is equally used wrongly where a plural marker should be used in the

above sentence. The correct sentence should read:

b. The numbered spaces for the answers were many.

The plural marker is equally misused. In the following sentence, the plural marker is

used where a possessive (genitive) marker should be.

3a. I seem to have lost my sisters address in Enugu.

The correct sentence should read:

b. I seem to have lost my sister’s address in Enugu.

4a. The company produces mens shoes.

Here, instead of using the possessive marker, the plural marker is used. Thus, creating double

pluralization. The correct sentence should read:

b. The company produces men’s shoes.

The possessive (genitive) marker is used wrongly in the following sentences.

5a. My father listen’s to the news whenever there is power.

Here, the genitive marker is used instead of the third person singular present tense marker.

The correct sentence should be:

b. My father listens to the news whenever there is power.

44

6a (i). The two cat’s were not seen lately.

a (ii). The children were given two different tasks’.

In the above sentences, the possessive marker is used where a plural marker should be. The

correct sentences should read:

b (i). The two cats were not seen lately.

b (ii). The children were given two different tasks.

The third person singular present tense marker is also wrongly used in the following

sentences.

7a. Parents punishes their children because of the love they have for them.

Here, it is used with a plural subject ‘parents’. The correct sentence is:

b. Parents punish their children because of the love they have for them.

8a. I always washes my hands with soap.

Here, it is used with the first person singular ‘I’. The correct sentence should read:

b. I always wash my hands with soap.

45

Table 4: Errors of Pronunciation

Morpheme Frequency Percentage

Past tense 74 17.45%

Genitive 121 28.54

3rd person singular present tense 113 26.65%

Plural 116 27.36%

Total 424 100%

The analysis in the table above, which is based on the written oral test administered to

the students, shows that the students also commit pronunciation error on the morphemes. A

total of 424 errors are committed on the pronunciation of the morphemes. 74 (17.45%) errors

are committed on the past tense morpheme. 121 errors (28.54%) are committed on the

genitive morpheme. 113(26.65%) errors are committed on the third person singular present

tense morpheme, while 116 (27.36%) errors are committed on the plural morpheme.

Research Question 2

To what extent does mother tongue interference hinder the use of the inflectional

morphemes?

Table 2 above shows that the morphemes which are highly omitted are those that are

not present in the students’ MT. The plural morpheme is omitted 255 (44.50%) times. The

genitive morpheme is omitted 174 (30.37%) times. The third person singular present tense

morpheme is omitted 107 (18.67%) times. The past tense morpheme is omitted only 37

(6.46%) times. The frequency of the omission of the past tense morpheme is less because

46

this is the only morpheme present in the students’ MT. However, from the analysis in table 3

above, the past tense morpheme is the most abused of all the morphemes. Table 4 above

shows that the students commit pronunciation errors on the morphemes. This is because the

students follow the spelling of the morphemes to pronounce them.

Research Question 3

To what extent do difficulties in the use of the inflectional morphemes affect performance?

Based on the analysis presented in the tables 2 and 3 above, the morphemes are

omitted and misused 1,050 times in the sentences administered to the students. This shows

the extent of the difficulties the morphemes pose to L2 learners. The morphemes are

grammatical markers which are responsible for correctness in sentences; therefore, their

omission and misuse affect negatively the students’ performance in both writing and speech.

Summary

Based on the analysis in the tables above, a total of 1,474 errors were committed on the

use of the inflectional morphemes. The students committed this high frequency of errors

because apart from the past tense morphemes, all the other morphemes are absent in their

MT. This is evidenced on the extent of errors committed on these areas. On the use of the

plural morpheme, 355 (33.81%) errors were committed. 251 (23.91%) errors were

committed on the genitive morpheme, and 182 (17.33%) errors were committed on the third

person singular present tense morpheme, while 262 (24.95%) errors were committed on the

use of the past tense morpheme. These errors were based on omission and misuse of the

morphemes. 424 (28.77%) errors were committed on the pronunciation of the morphemes.

The study shows that the morpheme which was mostly abused was the past tense

morpheme. It was wrongly applied 225 (47.2%) times, while the other morphemes were less

47

abused. The plural morpheme was wrongly used 100 (20.96%) times, and the genitive

morpheme 77 (16.14%) times, while the third person singular present tense morpheme was

abused 75 (15.7%) times. The past tense morpheme is mostly abused because this is the

morpheme the students are familiar with because it occurs in their L1. However, their L1

maintain a uniform pattern to form past tense while its English counterpart do not. The

students overgeneralise the knowledge they already have of their L1 and apply the morpheme

indiscriminately; thus, the high frequency of the abuse. On the oral written test administered,

424 errors were committed because most of the students depended on the spelling of the

morphemes to pronounce them. This is obtainable in their L1 because their L1 words are

pronounced as they are spelt. However, this is not so with the English language. Thus, the

structural differences between the students’ L1 and their L2 hinder their use of the English

morphemes.

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Chapter Five

Discussion, Conclusion, Recommendation

Discussion of the Study

The data analyzed in this research work helped to prove that inflectional morphemes are

problematic to second language learners of the English language. The problems they pose to

the learners are evidenced by the number of errors committed by the learners on the use of

the morphemes either by omission or deletion, misuse and pronunciation. From the analysis,

it is obvious that the learners committed the error of omission more on the morphemes which

are absent in their L1 (i.e., the plural, genitive and 3rd person singular present tense

morphemes) than with the one which is present in their L1 (i.e., the past tense morpheme).

This omission is due to the fact that in the learners MT there are no morphemes to mark

plurality, possession and singular verb in words, hence the difficulty experienced by the

learners. This finding supported the fact that the mother tongue of the learners interfered in

their use of the inflectional morphemes. Even in the cases where the morphemes were used,

the discrepancy between the learners’ first language and the English language causes

confusion as the learners are unable to separate the features of both. For example, the Igbo

language maintains a regular pattern to form past tense while the English language maintains

both regular and irregular patterns. The learners extend the knowledge of their L1 to the

English language to produce verbs like ‘drived’. The morphemes are also wrongly

pronounced by the second language learners. The morphemes are produced exactly the way

they are spelt. This is a feature common with the learners’ mother tongue. These errors have

no doubt affected negatively the performance of the learners as they produce texts that are

grammatically incorrect.

49

Conclusion

Although the inflectional morphemes of the English language may look simple or trivial,

they have been identified as the commonest area where learners commit errors. They pose

problems to the learners. Their omission and misuse contribute to ungrammatical and

unacceptable texts and utterances in the English language. This problem has been blamed on

the inconsistencies and irregularities in the English language rules by many scholars such as

Akindele and Adegbite (143), Onuigbo and Eyisi (108), Ogenyi (666), E. T. Babalola and A.

T.Akande qtd. in Akande (316). These have no doubt made the language difficult for the

second language learner to master. However, there is always the problem of linguistic

differences between languages which should also be taken into consideration. The findings in

this study have helped to establish the fact that the linguistic differences between the English

language and the native language of the learners are also sources of problems to the learners

in using the inflectional morphemes.

The differences in the linguistic codes of the two languages cause the learners to

transfer the features of their L1 to the L2. The interference of the features of the learners’ L1

produced erroneous expressions in the use of the morphemes. Thus, the influence of the

mother tongue is a major cause of the problems faced by the learners in the use of the

morphemes.

Recommendations

1. From the findings in this research work, it has been established that the learners’ MT

is the cause of the problem of using the inflectional morphemes by second language

learners. To forestall this problem, learners should always have in mind that no two

languages are the same. They should be aware of the structural differences between

50

their MT and the English language and learn to separate the features of one from the

other.

2. Learners should read good literature on inflectional morphemes.

3. In addition, learners should always strive to master the rules guiding the English

language usage. Courses on inflectional morphemes should be designed using

contrastive approach.

4. Course planners and teachers should always bring to the forefront the areas of

differences between the L1 and the L2 when planning the course and teaching the

morphemes.

5. Teachers, on the other hand, should use contrastive approach when teaching

inflectional morphemes to improve the learning process.

6. Courses on inflectional morphemes should not be included under other topics like the

nouns, and verbs. They should be taught as separate topics with the heading

‘inflectional morphemes’ in secondary schools. This will help bring to the notice of

the learners and the teachers the importance of the morphemes and the role they play

on the grammaticality of sentences. It will equally give the teachers ample time to

teach the morphemes.

51

7. Government should encourage the production of good literature on inflectional

morphemes by giving incentive to writers, and also equip the libraries with good

books on morphemes.

8. Above all, all errors should be immediately corrected and the correct form should be

adopted by the learners.

52

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Appendix INSTRUCTION: There are two sentences in each of the questions. The sentences are numbered A and B. The sentences numbered A are written in the Igbo language, while the sentences numbered B are written in the English language. For each of the sentences written in the English language there is a gap. Fill in the gap using the correct form of the verb in brackets beside each gap. Examples are given below:

i. The man died (die) yesterday. ii. They cook (cook) delicious dishes.

1a. Obi na-erubere ndi nkuzi ya isi, mana O ji mpako agwa ndi otoro okwu. b. Obi’s behavior to his teacher is humble, but he ______________ (speak) to the juniors in an arrogant way. 2a. Umuaka ahu jiri nkeji iri abuo ruo oru ahu. b. The children _____________ (complete) the exercise in 20 minutes. 3a. Maazi Ajayi na-ewetara nwunye ya ufodu akurungwa mgbe obula o gara Legos. b. Mr. Ajayi ___________ (bring) some materials for his wife whenever he goes to Lagos. 4a. E ji m ncha akwo aka m mgbe obula. b. I always _______________ (wash) my hands with soap. 5a. Umuaka ahu gburu nwaologbo ahu. b. The children ____________ (kill) the cat. 6a Ngozi gara njem nleta na be Umuanumanu n’ezumike afo gara aga. b. Ngozi _____________ (visit) the zoo during the holiday last year. 7a. Jane huru ogbugba egwu n’anya. b. Jane ____________ (love) dancing. 8a. Umuakwukwo ahu cheturu nkeji ise tupu ha a puo. b. The students _____________ (wait) for 5minutes before they left. 9a. Nna m na-ege akuko uwa mgbe obuna e nwere oku. b. My father ____________ (listen) to the news whenever the electricity is on. 10a. Umuaka ahu na-eji ukwu aga akwukwo maka na ugboala adighi mma. b. The children _____________ (walk) to school because the car is faulty. 11a. Nwata nwoke ahu kwaturu nwa ntakiri ahu. b. The boy _____________(push) the baby down. 12a. O si nri ahu tinyere nnu n’osikapa. b. The cook _____________ (add) salt to the rice. 13a. Onye obula n’ime umuaka umunwoke ahu kunyere osisi. b. Each of the boys_____________ (plant) a tree. 14a. Nwata nwoke ahu na-agba boolu mgbe obula anwu na-acha. b. The boy _____________ (play) football whenever it is sunny. 15a. Oge obula nna m na-alota ulo, o na-ejikari ugboelu eme njem. b. Any time my father _____________ (visit) home, he always travels by air. 16a. Onyenkuzi na-enye nwataakwukwo obula abiaghi n’ oge ntaramaahuhu. b. The teacher _____________ (Punish) any student that comes late. 17a. Onyeisi ndi boolu ahu gbaliri boolu elu. b. The captain_____________ (kick) the ball high. 18a. Nne m na-agba ugboala ntakiri ntakiri mgbe obula mmiri na-ezo. b. My mother always ____________ (drive) slowly when it is raining. 19a. Ndi nne na nna na-enye umu ha opipia maka ihunanya ha nwere ebe ha no.

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b. Parents _____________ (punish) their children because of the love they have for them. INSTRUCTION: There are two sentences in each of the questions. The sentences are numbered A and B. The sentences numbered A are written in the Igbo language, while the sentences numbered B are written in the English language. For each of the sentences written in the English language there is a gap. Fill in the gap using the correct form of the noun in brackets beside each gap. Examples are given below:

i. The couples (couple) were wedded on the same day. ii. The woman gave the child a doll (doll).

20a. Ezinaulo John bu ogbenye. b. _____________ (John) family is poor. 21a. Otu onye n’ime umuntakiri ndi nwoke ahu nwetachara ihe onyinye. b. Each of the _____________ (boy) won a medal. 22a. Efere ahu nile ahaghi nhatanha. b. The _____________ (plate) were of different shapes and sizes. 23a. O na-adim ka m etufuola adresi be nwanne m nwaanyi n’Enugwu. b. I seem to have lost my _____________ (sister) address in Enugu. 24a. Ngba-aka oreihe ahu foduziri ntakiri. b. The trader has few _____________ (bangle) left. 25a. Kaa aha nile di na-ahiriokwu a ihe n’okpuru. b. Underline all the _____________ (noun) in the sentence. 26a. O yiri uwe nne ya kara nka. b. She was wearing an old dress of her _____________ (mother). 27a. E nyere umuaka ahu oru di iche iche. b. The children were given two different _____________ (task). 28a. Ohere ebe aga-etinye aziza di otutu. b. The numbered _____________ (space) for the answers were many. 29a. Ha na-eyi akara eji mara ha na-akuku aka ekpe ha. b. They wear their _____________ (badge) on the left breast. 30a. Ulo oru ahu na-aruputa akpukpu-ukwu umu nwoke. b. The company produces _____________ (men) shoes. 31a. Nne m zutara otutu oroma n’ahia. b. My mother bought some _____________ (orange) from the market. 32a. E nwere otutu ohere ebe ndi a-ga etinye aziza. b. There are gaps for _____________ (answer). 33a. Ndi uloakwukwo n’ile biara mme-mme ahu feghariri akara ejiri mara ha. b. The school that attended the ceremony waved their _____________ (flag). 34a. Onye bi na-ulo ahu ji ugwo otu onwa. b. The tenant owed a _____________ (month) rent. 35a. A hubeghi umu ologbo abuo ahu nso nso a. b. The two _____________ (cat) were not seen lately. 36a. E nwere m otutu ihe mu choro igwa gi. b. I have so many _____________ (thing) to tell you. 37a. Ulo nna m noketere ulo uka anyi. b. My _____________ (father) house is located near our church. 38a. A hapuru m mkpisi odee m abuo n’ulo. b. I left my two _____________ (pen) at home.

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INSTRUCTION: Circle the transcription that fits the pronunciation of each of the words below. A B 39. Judy’s /ʤu:diz/ /ʤu:dis/ 40. Kate’s /keitz/ /keits/ 41. watches /wɔʧis/ /wɔʧiz/ 42. beds /beds/ /bedz/ 43. Sticks /stiks/ /stikz/ 44. pulled /pʊld/ /pʊlt/ 45. waited /weitid/ /weited/ 46. packet /pækd/ /pækt/ 47. puts /pʊts/ /pʊtz/ 48. sings /siŋs/ /siŋz/ 49. washes /wɔ∫is/ /wɔ∫iz/ 50. John’s /ʤɔnz/ /ʤɔns/

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