Mispronunciation of English back vowels among secondary school and undergraduate students in Lokoja, Kogi state, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates pronunciation of back vowels amongst the final year secondary and undergraduate students in Lokoja, Kogi State. A total number of one hundred respondents (teenagers and early adults) were randomly selected for this study. Some recorded conversations that were gathered from the participants were also analyzed and interpreted using the Optimality Theory as a theory for the determination of the optimal performances of the young Nigerians. The segmental phonological study did not require an acoustic instrument but a qualitative method using the OT. The analyses reveal that the sampled subjects substituted phonemes of English language with the ones that are available in Ebira, Igala and Okun-Yoruba, their First languages (L1). They also pronounced different back vowel sounds with only strong vowel forms. Subjects pronounced words according to the spelling forms. Optimal Performance, however, in back vowels is determined by extent of divergence or convergence whereas the constraints are majorly the factors of ethnicity, educational level and languages of their immediate environments. The findings from this study suggest that the pronunciation of back vowels in English is a challenge to many learners of the English language as a Second Language despite how simple the back vowels seem to be when pronounced.