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The Phonological Analysis o English F on Vowels in he Spoken English o Selec ed
Unde g adua es o Fede al Uni e si y Wuka i
Olusola Elizabe h OGUNRINDE
Depa men o English and Li e a y S udies,
Facul y o Humani ies, Fede al Uni e si y Wuka i, Ta aba S a e
[email p o ec ed] (08062260644)
Kehinde Emmanuel OGUNRINDE
Depa men o English and Li e a y S udies,
Facul y o Humani ies, Fede al Uni e si y Wuka i, Ta aba S a e
[email p o ec ed]du.ng (08035918920)
And
Te see Ab aham AKOR
ako ab [email protected] (09014553033)
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17739309
Abs ac
This esea ch analyses he English on owels in he spoken English o selec ed unde g adua es o
Fede al Uni e si y Wuka i. The e o e, 120 esponden s we e andomly selec ed. Giles and Coupland’s
(Giles and Smi h, 1979) Communica ion Accommoda ion Theo y (CAT) and Lado’s (Lado, 1957)
Con as i e Phonology Theo y (CPT) we e used as he heo e ical amewo ks. CAT was used o
de e mine he mu ual phonological in elligibili y and accessibili y o he esponden s while CPT was
used o desc ibe he sys ems o languages by compa ing hem wi h o he s and p edic ing he a eas o
di icul ies so ha he second language lea ne s can ease he di icul ies. Ques ionnai es and ead-aloud
ask we e he esea ch ins umen s used o da a collec ion. The indings e ealed ha majo i y o he
esponden s ound i e y di icul o co ec ly a icula e he on owels in he es i ems he eby
p onounced ‘ e o’, ‘libe a ion’, ‘jeopa dise’, and ‘ imb e’ as [ ε o], [laibi eiʃɔn], [dʒεpadaiz], and
[ imba] ins ead o /ˈ iː əʊ/, /lɪbə ˈeɪʃən/, /ˈdʒepədaɪz/, and / æmbǝ/ espec i ely. Also, esponden s’
o e all pe o mance o 21.7% shows ha hey had p oblems in a icula ing he English on owels
p onouncing /i:/ as [ε], /ɪ/ as [u], /e/ as [i:]; and /æ/ as [i]. Hence, ecommenda ions we e made in a bid
o be e ESL speake s’ p onuncia ion p o iciency.
Keywo ds: on owels, phonology, phoneme, g apheme, p onuncia ion
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Backg ound o he S udy
In a speech communi y, language is he ehicle wi h which people exp ess hei hough s and
ideas in o m o speech o w i ing. Acco ding o Sapi (1921: 18), “language is a pu ely human and
non-ins inc i e me hod o communica ing ideas, emo ions and desi es by means o a sys em o
olun a ily p oduced symbols.” Also, C u enden (1980: 4-5) desc ibes language hus:
…a sys em o con en ional symbols used o communica ion by a whole communi y, he
pa e n o con en ions co e s a sys em o signi ican sound uni s, he in lec ion and he
a angemen o wo ds and he associa ion o meaning wi h wo ds…
In my opinion, language is a ool by which human beings ela e o one ano he wi h he use o
con en ional bu a bi a y signs. I can be in e ed om he schola s abo e ha he e a e some ea u es
which a e common o languages. Some o hese a e a bi a iness, con en ionali y, and na u al
acquisi ion. Fo ins ance, any child ha is bo n in o a socie y na u ally acqui es he language o i s
en i onmen wi hou any s ess. As a ma e o ac , i will be e y di icul o you o easily emembe
how you acqui ed you mo he ongue o i s language. The eason is because he p ocess o acquisi ion
is usually wi hou any s ess. The e o e, i s desc ip ion will be equally easy. Bu i he same child
a emp s o lea n he second language, de ini ely i will lea n wi h some amoun o dedica ion and
de e mina ion. The deg ee o success will depend upon some ac o s which may include he quali y o
he pe son he akes as his model, he app op ia eness o he en i onmen o lea ning, and he child’s
inbo n abili y a language lea ning. You can see ha while you acqui ed you i s language (indigenous
language) wi hou s ess, you a e s ill s i ing o lea n he English language which is he second language
in Nige ia.
P esen ly, o e one billion people a ound he wo ld speak English as a second language.
Una guably, in a second language si ua ion like his, he e a e ypes o a ie y o English language
ac oss he wo ld ha is conside ed as ‘new Englishes’. Tha is why Holmes (2013: 194) de ined new
Englishes as ‘ a ie ies which ha e de eloped in pos -colonial socie ies whe e he colonial powe s ha e
been displaced bu he legacy o English emains’. These a ie ies o English a e called ins i u ionalised
and non-ins i u ionalised. Adeyanju (2007: 3) explains ha he ypes o English like Sou h A ican
English, Aus alian English, New Zealand English, Ame ican English, and B i ish English can be
conside ed as ‘ins i u ionalised’ o ‘es ablished’ a ie ies o English, while A ican Englishes, such as
Ghanaian and Nige ian English a e he non-ins i u ionalised o non-es ablished a ie ies. Bu as a esul
o he ocus o his s udy, ou ocus is ‘Nige ian English’ o he English spoken in Nige ia. This ype
and s a us o English spoken in Nige ia is ca ego ised as ‘English as a second language’ because he
speake s had ea lie acqui ed hei i s language, mo he ongue o indigenous language.
As a ma e o ac , Nige ia is a mul ilingual na ion ha b eeds many indigenous languages. By
implica ion, i becomes o ally di icul o hem o ac ualise co ec ness a he p onuncia ion o English
sounds. As a his junc u e, due o unique linguis ic backg ounds ha a e e iden in Nige ia, many
Nige ians s ill expe ience di icul y in he cou se o a icula ing some English phonemes especially
owel sounds. Based on he o egoing, his wo k se s ou o examine he a icula ion o English on
owels and i s implica ions on speech communica ion among he selec ed unde g adua es o Fede al
Uni e si y o Wuka i, Ta aba S a e.
P e ious s udies on he phonological p oblems o Nige ian speake s o ESL speake s/lea ne s
concen a e mo e on he e ec s o MT in e e ence, wi hou paying much a en ion on he w ong
a icula ion o some o he phonemes especially he on owels in he no h-eas e n pa o Nige ia.
Al hough he e a e some schola s who wo k on his a ea, especially on he a ea o phoneme a icula ion
by speake s o lea ne s o ESL in Nige ia. Some o hese schola s include Akinjobi (2004), Tsojon and
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Aji (2014) and Ogun inde (2017). Akinjobi mainly looks a he weakness o he owels wi hou
conside ing he o he possible phonological challenges aced du ing he a icula ion o owels, bu his
s udy in ends o ill he gap. Also, Tsojon and Aji (2014) wo k only on Jukun-Wapan speake s’
p onuncia ion in he spoken English bu his esea ch in ends o co e some o he ibes ha a e in no h-
eas e n pa o Nige ia whe e he pa icipan s a e selec ed. Likewise, Ogun inde (2017) wo ks on he
a icula ion o al eola ill / / by Ti speake s o English. He e, he emphasis is only on a pa icula
consonan bu his s udy in ends o look a he owels speci ically he on owels which migh pose
mo e p oblems o lea ne s o English. Howe e , hey do no lay mo e emphasis on English on owels
and speake s o English in no h-eas e n pa o Nige ia. Hence, his wo ks in ends o ill his lacuna by
phonologically analysing he on owels in he spoken English o unde g adua es o Fede al Uni e si y
Wuka i in he no h-eas e n pa o Nige ia.
The speci ic objec i es o he s udy a e o desc ibe he esponden s’ ealisa ions o he on
owels; de e mine he esponden s’ pe o mance based on hei demog aphic in o ma ion; and iden i y
he es i em(s) ha pose(s) mo e p onuncia ion di icul ies o he esponden s. This s udy is signi ican
no jus o he unde g adua es o Fede al Uni e si y Wuka i bu also o he second language lea ne s o
English. I shows how i is impo an o s uden s o see he need in mas e y o sounds o enhance
e ec i e communica ion, and i will also be o g ea bene i o lec u e s especially hose ha specialise
in phone ics and phonology o iden i y he a eas o di icul y in he spoken English o he unde g adua es
o Fede al Uni e si y o Wuka i.
Li e a u e Re iew
The English owel sounds
Vowel sounds a e speech sounds ha a e p oduced wi hou any audible obs uc ion o he
ai s eam om he lungs and o he speech a icula o s, unlike consonan sounds which a e p oduced
wi h o al o pa ial obs uc ion o he ai . In o he wo ds, English owel sounds a e speech sounds
p oduced by an a icula ion wi h li le o no cons ic ion o he mou h passage. In he p oduc ion o a
owel sound, he e is ee low o ai om he lungs h ough he o al ca i y. Al hough, he ocal co d
could be aised, i is no aised o o m con ac wi h any o he o gan as o obs uc ee low o he
ai s eam. Since all owels a e oiced phonemes, hey a e p oduced wi h a oiced pulmonic eg essi e
speech mechanism. The e is ib a ion a he ocal olds in hei p oduc ions.
Howe e , owels a e desc ibed conside ing he shape o he o al ca i y, which depends on he
posi ion o he highes poin o he ongue du ing he p oduc ion. The wen y owels o English a e
di ided in o wel e pu e owels called monoph hongs (7 sho and 5 long owels) and eigh diph hongs
(3 cen ing and 5 closing diph hongs). As ea lie men ioned, he owels include /ɪ/, /e/, /ɒ/, /ʊ/, /æ/, /ʌ/,
/ǝ/, /i:/, /ɜ:/, /ɔ:/, /u:/, /ɑ:/, /ɪǝ/, /eǝ/, /ʊǝ/, /eɪ/, /ɔɪ/, /aɪ/, /aʊ/ and /ǝʊ/.
Classi ica ion o English pu e owels using lip and ongue
Gene ally, he e a e basically h ee ac o s used in he classi ica ion o he owel sounds o
di e en languages. These include he ongue heigh , ongue pa , and lip pos u e. Classi ica ion o
owels using ongue heigh is when he ongue is aised high o he oo o he mou h, bu no o he
poin ha b ings ic ion. The heigh o he ongue in he p oduc ion o owel sounds can be close/high
(close/high owels a e p oduced when he ongue is a he highes possible poin ), open/low (open/low
owels a e p oduced when he ongue is a he lowes possible posi ion) o be a in e media e le els
(in e media e owels a e p oduced when he ongue is in-be ween he highes and he lowes posi ions,
ha is, hal -close (close mid o mid-high) o hal -open (open-mid o mid-low).
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The second classi ica ion is he ongue pa . This means he pa o he ongue ha is used in he
p oduc ion o owel sounds. The pa o he ongue used can be on ( he on pa o he ongue is
used in he p oduc ion o he on owels), back ( he back pa o he ongue is used in he p oduc ion
o he back owels) and cen al ( he cen al pa o he ongue is used in he p oduc ion o he cen al
owels).
The hi d classi ica ion is shapes o he lip o lip pos u es. This desc ibes he shapes o he lips
in he cou se o p oducing owel sounds. The lips can assume h ee main pos u es in he cou se o
p oducing a owel sound, ha is, i can assume sp ead, ounded o un ounded (neu al) posi ion
(Ogun inde, 2017: 13). See diag ams in igu es1 and 2 o clea e explana ion.
Fig. 1: English owel cha I showing he pa and heigh o ongue
FRONT CENTRAL BACK
CLOSE i: u:
ɪ ʊ
HALF-CLOSE
ɜ:
e ɔ:
HALF-OPEN ǝ
ɒ
OPEN ʌ
æ ɑ:
Culled om (Ogun inde, 2021: 14)
Fig. 2: A cha showing shapes o he lips (lip pos u e)
SPREAD NEUTRAL ROUNDED
i: u:
ɪ ʊ
ɜ:
e ɔ:
ǝ
ɒ
ʌ
æ ɑ:
Culled om (Ogun inde, 2021: 15)
Likewise, he able below p esen s he desc ip ion o English pu e owels acco ding o hei
desc ip ions in he abo e diag ams.
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Table1: Desc ip ion o English pu e owels
Pu e owels
Desc ip ion
/i:/
on close sp ead
/ɪ/
on hal -close sp ead
/e/
on hal -open sp ead
/æ/
on open sp ead
/ɑ:/
back open neu al
/ɒ/
back open ounded
/ͻ:/
back hal -open ounded
/ʊ/
back hal -close ounded
/u:/
back close ounded
/ʌ/
cen al open neu al
/ɜ:/
cen al hal -close neu al
/ə/
cen al hal -open neu al
On he basis o owel nucleus, owel sounds a e classi ied in o h ee di isions which include
monoph hongs, diph hongs, and iph hongs. The able below explains be e .
Table 2: Tabula ep esen a ion o di ision o owel sounds
S/N
Monoph hongs
Diph hongs
T iph hongs
Sound
Wo d
&
T ansc ip ion
Sound
Wo d
&
T ansc ip ion
Sound
Wo d
&
T ansc ip ion
1
/i:/
sea /si: /
/eɪ/
day /deɪ/
/eɪə/
sp aye /sp eɪə/
2
/ɪ/
si /sɪ /
/aɪ/
buy /baɪ/
/aɪə/
i e / aɪə/
3
/e/
bed /bed/
/ɔɪ/
noise /nɔɪz/
/ɔɪə/
oyal / ɔɪə/
4
/æ/
man /mæn/
/ǝʊ/
go /ɡǝʊ/
/əʊə/
sowe /səʊə/
5
/ɑ:/
ca /kɑ: /
/aʊ/
cow /kaʊ/
/aʊə/
sou /saʊə/
6
/ɒ/
co /kɒ /
/ɪǝ/
dea /dɪǝ/
Fi e T iph hongs
7
/ɔ:/
cou /kɔ: /
/eǝ/
sha e /ʃeǝ/
8
/ʊ/
pull /pʊl/
/ʊǝ/
pu e /pjʊǝ/
9
/u:/
pool /pu:l/
Eigh Diph hongs /
Glide s
10
/ʌ/
come /kʌm/
11
/ɜ:/
bi d /bɜ:d/
12
/ǝ/
abo e /ǝbʌ /
Twel e Monoph hongs /
Pu e Vowels
Ex ac ed om (Aboki, 2017: 11)
The English g aphemes and phonemes
In English, le e is he basic elemen o w i en language. The name g apheme is gi en o he
le e o combina ion o le e s ha ep esen s a phoneme. Fo example, he wo d 'ghos ' con ains i e
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le e s and ou g aphemes (<gh>, <o>, <s>, and < >), ep esen ing ou phonemes: /ɡ/, /ǝʊ/, /s/, and / /
(/ɡǝʊs /). The e is much mo e a iabili y in he s uc u e o w i en language han he e is in spoken
languages. Whe eas, all spoken languages u ilise a basic dis inc ion be ween consonan s and owels,
he e is no such common h ead o he wo ld’s w i en languages. I is belie ed, beginne s a e augh
g apheme-phoneme co espondences when hey begin elemen a y schools. These associa ions a e easie
o lea n i s uden s al eady know he names o le e s, because mos le e names include ele an sounds,
o example / / is ‘ ee’, and /k/ is ‘kay’. The e a e abou o y dis inc i e phonemes in English bu se en y
le e s o le e combina ions o symbolise phonemes. This makes p onouncing spellings easie han
w i ing co ec spellings.
G aphemes a e said o be he smalles componen s in o hog aphy and i causes a change in
meaning. In English alphabe , he swi ch om ‘ca ’ o ‘ba ’ in oduces a meaning change. The e o e, c
and b ep esen di e en g aphemes. I is usual o ansc ibe g aphemes wi hin angle b acke s, o show
hei special s a us: <c>, <b>. The main g aphemes o English a e he wen y-six uni s ha make up he
alphabe . As a ma e o ac , phonemes a e no ealisable wi hou g aphemes. As ea lie discussed,
angle b acke s < > a e used o g aphemes o in e ed commas ‘ ’, o ins ance, < > o ‘ ’ while slan ing
lines / / a e o phonemes, o ins ance, / /.
A G apheme is a symbol used o iden i y a phoneme; i is a le e o g oup o le e s ep esen ing
he sound. A g apheme can be one le e , o ins ance, <c> in ‘ca ’ whe e i makes a consonan /k/ sound.
Also, a wo-le e g apheme is in “ eam” whe e he <ea> makes a long /i:/ sound. I can be a h ee-le e .
Likewise, a ou -le e g apheme can be ound in he wo d “eigh ” whe e “eigh” makes a diph hong /eɪ/
sound. Mo eo e , a g apheme can ha e a ze o phonemic ep esen a ion, o ins ance, g apheme < > is
silen in ‘be e ’. To con use e e yone, some phonemes (sounds) can be spelled wi h di e en g aphemes
(le e s). The <k> sound can be spelled wi h a <c>, <k>, o <ck> g apheme. Also, qui e a ew g aphemes
can be used o he long /i:/ phoneme, o ins ance, <e> in ‘ egal’, <oe> in ‘amoeba’, <ey> in ‘key’ and
o he s.
G aphemes o English on owels
The ollowing a e he a ious g aphemes o English on owels. In he i s place, he ones o
on hal -close sp ead /ɪ/ a e <i> in ‘libe a ion’, <e> in ‘examina ion’, <a> in ‘ illage’, <u> in
‘busy’, <ui> in ‘ci cui ’, <y> in ‘symbol’ and <o> in ‘women’. Also, he g aphemes o on close
sp ead /i:/ include <ee> in ‘wheel’, <e-e> in ‘a hle e’, <e> in ‘ agedian’, <ea> in ‘wean’, <ei> in
‘ eceip ’, <ie> in ‘g ie ’, <eo> in ‘people’, <oe> in ‘subpoena’, <ae> in ‘alumnae’, <ey> in ‘key’, <uay>
in ‘quay’, <i> in ‘oblique’ and <i-e> in ‘police’. Fu he mo e, g aphemes o on open sp ead /æ/ a e
<a> in ‘sand’, <ai> in ‘plai ’ and <i> in ‘ imb e’. Mo eo e , he ones o on hal -open sp ead /e/ a e
<e> in ‘help’, <ea> in ‘meadow’, <ai> in ‘said’, <ay> in ‘says’, <ie> in ‘ iend’, <ei> in ‘leisu e’, <u>
in ‘bu y’, <eo> in ‘jeopa dise’, <a> in ‘many’ and <ae> in ‘haemo hage’ (Ogun inde, 2016).
F on owels
F on owels a e p oduced wi h he on pa o he ongue aised owa ds he ha d pala e. I s
de ining cha ac e isi ics being ha he ongue is posi ioned as a in on as possible in he mou h
wi hou c ea ing a cons ic ion ha would make i a consonan . F on owels a e also called ‘b igh
owels’ because hey a e pe cei ed as sounding b igh e han he back owels (Williamson, 2015).
The e o e, he on owels include /i:/, /ɪ/, /e/ and /æ/. These ou owels a e classi ied as he ‘ on
owels’ because he on pa o he ongue is in ol ed in hei p oduc ion. Howe e , he igu e 1 abo e
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illus a es he pa o he ongue used in he p oduc ion o he on owels and igu e 3 below shows
he on owel cha .
Fig. 3: English on owel cha
FRONT
CLOSE i:
ɪ
HALF-CLOSE
e
HALF-OPEN
OPEN
æ
Culled om (Ogun inde, 2021: 15)
F om he abo e diag am, i is ob ious ha he on owels a e dis ibu ed in he owel space along he
e ical ongue heigh axis ( om high/close o low/open). They a e all made wi h sp ead (un ounded)
lips.
Desc ip ion o English on owels
In he p oduc ion o on close sp ead /i:/, he on o he ongue is aised o a heigh sligh ly
below and behind he on close posi ion; i should be no ed ha he lips a e sp ead; also he ongue is
ense, wi h he side ims making a i m con ac wi h he uppe mola s. The quali y is nea e o ca dinal
owel [i] han o ca dinal owel [e] (See igu e 4 below). The /i:/ sound does no no mally occu in a
syllable closed by /ŋ/ (C u enden, 2001: 105). Fo ins ance, conside he ollowing wo ds and hei
ansc ip ions wi h syllable di isions: ‘being’ /bi:.ɪŋ/, ‘been’ /bi:n/, ‘bing’ /bɪŋ/, ‘bin’ /bɪn/.
Fig. 4: Ca dinal and pu e owels cha
Ex ac ed om (Mosaic, 2024)
ɜ:
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No e: he big do (●) shows he exac spo whe e he ca dinal owel is placed and he small do (•) is o
English pu e owel.
The on hal -close sp ead /ɪ/ is p oduced wi h a pa o he ongue nea e o cen e han o on
aised jus abo e he hal -close posi ion; he lips a e loosely sp ead; he ongue is lax (compa ed wi h
he ension o /i:/), wi h he side ims making a ligh con ac wi h he uppe mola s. The quali y is ha
o a cen alised ca dinal owel [e]. The sound may occu in ini ial and medial posi ions in wo ds, o
ins ance, ‘image’ (C u enden, 2001: 107).
Fo he p oduc ion o on hal -open sp ead /e/, he on o he ongue is aised be ween he
hal -close and hal -open posi ions; he lips a e loosely sp ead and sligh ly wide apa han o /ɪ/; he
wide ims making a sligh con ac wi h he uppe mola s. The quali y lies be ween ha o ca dinal owel
[e] and ha o ca dinal [ε] (see igu e 4 abo e). Mind you, /e/ does no occu in he inal and open
syllables.
In he a icula ion o /æ/ sound, he mou h is mo e open han o /e/; he on o he ongue is
aised o a posi ion hal way jus abo e open, wi h he side ims making a e y sligh ly con ac wi h he
back uppe mola s; he lips a e neu ally open. This owel has become mo e open ecen ly, p e iously
being nea e o ca dinal owel [ε] whe e now i is now close o ca dinal owel [a] (see igu e 4 abo e).
This adi ionally sho owel is now gene ally longe in RP han he o he sho owels /ɪ, e, ʌ, ɒ, ʊ/.
Such leng hening is pa icula ly appa en be o e oiced consonan s, eg in bad, man, cab, bag, badge;
/æ/ in his hese con ex s is almos equi alen o he long owels, so badge /bæʤ/ and ba ge /bɑ:ʤ/
ha e owels o simila leng h (C u enden, 2001: 111).
Theo e ical F amewo ks
The heo ies employed a e Communica ion Accommoda ion Theo y (CAT) and Con as i e
Phonology Theo y (CPT), CAT p o ides a wide- ange amewo k aimed a p edic ing and explaining
many o he adjus men s indi iduals make o c ea e, main ain, o dec ease social dis ance in in e ac ion,
especially in an ESL en i onmen like Nige ia. Giles and Smi h (Giles and Smi h, 1979) de eloped i .
I explo es he di e en ways in which we accommoda e ou communica ion, ou mo i a ions o doing
so, and he consequences. This heo y is conce ned wi h he links be ween language, con ex , and
iden i y. I ocuses on he pa e ns o con e gence, which is explained below. Con e gence is conside ed
he his o ical co e o CAT. I e e s o a s a egy whe eby indi iduals adap hei communica i e
beha iou s in e ms o a wide ange o linguis ics ( o example, speech a e, accen s), pa alinguis ic ( o
example, pauses, u e ance leng h), and non e bal ea u es ( o example, smile, gazing) in a way as o
become mo e simila o hei in e locu o s’ beha iou . Fo ins ance, in a L2 en i onmen like Nige ia,
speake s can con e ge in he a icula ion o wo ds ha ha e silen le e s. I speake ‘A’ who is a
Nige ian ha has been well and specially ained in his a ea, and speake ‘B’ is on he con a y, hough
a Nige ian. In hei dialogue, speake ‘B’ says, ‘Gi e me he imb e [ imba]’ ins ead o p onouncing
/ æmbǝ/. In Giles and Smi h’s heo y, speake ‘A’ has o con e ge o shi his/he speech pa e n o
esemble his/he in e locu o ’s o a success ul communica ion in hei con e sa ion.
The second heo y employed is CPT. I is ounded by S uc u al Linguis ics and Beha iou is .
This heo y was p opounded by Lado and F ies. These schola s we e conce ned wi h why some elemen s
o he second language (L2) pose mo e di icul ies o lea ne s. This app oach desc ibes he sys ems o
languages by compa ing hem wi h o he s and p edic ing he a eas o di icul ies so ha he L2 lea ne s
can ease he di icul ies. Acco ding o Lado (1957), he bes app oach o handle he p oblem o nega i e
ans e is o compa e he sys ems o i s language and second language. He explains u he ha his
is he bes way o ease he L2 lea ning di icul ies. Fo ins ance, acco ding o CPT’s poin o iew, all
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hese w ong p onuncia ions o sounds a e mainly because mos o hese sounds a e no a es ed in he
sound sys ems o esponden s’ language. Fo ins ance, English on owels like /i:/, /ɪ/ and /æ/ a e no
p esen in Yo uba sound sys em. Bu wha we ha e in Yo uba sound sys em a e /a/, /e/, /ε/, /i/, /o/, and
/ɔ/. Likewise, in Yo uba o o he Nige ian language sound sys em, he e is g apheme o phoneme o al
co espondence making i simple o lea n o p onounce (<a> → /a/ in ‘ayò’ = joy) bu e e se is he case
in English. A g apheme in English may ha e many phonemic ep esen a ions (<a> → /ɪ/ in ‘image’, /ɔ:/
in ‘ alcon’, /ɒ/ in ‘swallow’, /ɑ:/ in ‘ a he ’, /æ/ in ‘pa ’, /ǝ/ in ‘ba sman’). English o hog aphy o sound
sys ems is complex ha is why some esponden s w ongly p onounced wo d like ‘ e o’ as [ ε o] ins ead
o /ˈ iː əʊ/ because <e> is p onounced as /ε/ in some Nige ian languages.
Me hodology
The esea ch is se o ca y-ou a phonological analysis o he English on owels in he spoken
English o selec ed unde g adua es o Fede al Uni e si y Wuka i. The me hod used in collec ing da a
was adminis e ing o ques ionnai e wi h ead-ou ask. This was used o ob ain in o ma ion om he
esponden s. The popula ion o his esea ch wo k is made up o wel e depa men s (i.e. Accoun ing,
English, Medical Labo a o y Science, Physics) om six acul ies wi h wen y esponden s om each
acul y (10 in each depa men ). Thus, andom sampling echniques we e adop ed in collec ing he da a
om one hund ed and wen y (120) esponden s which comp ises six y male and six y emale
esponden s espec i ely. The da a we e ob ained h ough ex -based ins umen o es he a icula ion
o he on owels in he spoken English o he esponden s. The ques ionnai e was designed o es he
a icula ion o he esponden s eading o he es i ems and a oice eco de applica ion was used in
eco ding he esponden s’ eading o he es i ems in sen ence-con ex s and in wo ds-in-isola ion in
o de o assess hei phonological p ocessing skills; and o de e mine whe he hey a e mind ul o he
owels which is conside ed as he p ominen challenge o he esponden s. The ques ion was classi ied
in o h ee sec ions: Sec ion ‘A’ con ains he esponden s’ backg ound in o ma ion which includes sex,
depa men / acul y and hei in e es in lea ning spoken English. Sec ion ‘B’ con ains p ecisely wel e
sho sen ences (sen ence-con ex s) in ol ing he es i ems while Sec ion ‘C’ con ains wen y- ou es
i ems o wo ds-in-isola ion.
In ob aining da a, he esponden s we e adminis e ed ques ionnai e which comp ises ead-aloud
ask which con ains sho sen ences o enable he esea che o disco e he p oblems o he esponden s
in a icula ing he owels. The esea che closely obse ed his esponden s while eading he es i ems
and obse ed ha he esponden s we e esponding g ea ly no mind ul o conscious o he spelling o
wo ds. The esea che ’s pe sonal in ol emen in he exe cise made i easie o ga he da a needed o
he s udy. Howe e , he dis ibu ion and collec ion o da a we e done he same day in each o he
depa men s. A o al numbe o 120 unde g adua es we e selec ed om he wel e depa men s. The
eigh es i ems a e made up o wo wo ds ha ing one example o on owels, ha is, wo wo ds
mul iplied by ou on owels equals o eigh es i ems. The 120 esponden s we e made o ead eigh
sho sen ences con aining he es i ems. Desc ip i e analysis using simple pe cen age me hod was used
o analyse he da a. The da a collec ed we e pe cep ually analysed o iden i y he esponden s’ elici a ion
o he es i ems. Desc ip i e analysis accoun s o he numbe o equency eco ded in esponden s’
pe o mances o hei co ec and inco ec a icula ions o he es i ems. The desc ip i e analysis is
p esen ed in simple pe cen age below. The o al numbe o esponses on each i em in he ques ionnai e
is a ed 120. The esponden s, who ha e simila o he same esponses o a pa icula ques ion, a e
summed up and placed o e 100 mul iplied by 120. Fo example, 𝑥
120 × 100
1 whe e x is equal o he o al
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This sec ion is conce ned wi h he es i ems ha posed mo e di icul ies o he esponden s.
Howe e , based on he analysis ea lie p esen ed, i is ob ious ha all he ou on owels posed
di icul ies o he esponden s wi h poo pe o mance o on close sp ead /i:/ ha ing 14.6%, on hal -
close sp ead /ɪ/ ha ing 18.7%, on hal -open sp ead /e/ wi h 32.1% and on open sp ead ha ing 21.2%
espec i ely.
Conclusi ely, esponden s ound he ou on owels eally di icul o a icula e co ec ly
he eby hey p onounced ‘ e o’, ‘penalise’, ‘libe a e’, ‘women’, ‘jeopa dise’, ‘meadow’ ‘plai ’, and
‘ imb e’ as [ ε o], [pεnalais], [laibi ei ], [wumεn], [dʒiopadaiz], [mi:do:], [plei ], and [ imba] ins ead o
/ˈ iː əʊ/, /ˈpiːnəlaɪz/, /ˈlɪbə eɪ /, /ˈwɪmɪn/, /ˈdʒepədaɪz/, /ˈmedǝʊ/, /ˈplæ /, and /ˈ æmbǝ/. They ound i
di icul o a icula e hese sounds bo h in sen ence-con ex s and also in wo ds-in-isola ion. This could
be as a esul o lack o special aining om a well- ained phone ician/phonologis o lack o in e es
in lea ning English sounds sys em.
Seman ic implica ions o he es i ems
The seman ic implica ions o his esea ch can be iewed in wo pe spec i es. Fi s ly, i does no
eally a ec communica ion. On he o he hand, i can also cause communica ion b eakdown.
Conside ing he o me , misp onuncia ion o some o hese es i ems may no eally a ec he
o e all meaning o he sen ence in a con ex . In o he wo ds, once he e is a mu ual in elligibili y among
in e locu o s (speake and hea e ), e en i some o he wo ds we e no co ec ly p onounced bu wi h
he aid o con ex ual domain whe e he s a emen is said, he hea e can easily decode wha he/she
wan ed o say o p onounce. Fo ins ance, i M Y epo ed o M s Z ha , “The colonel wa ned his a my
agains any o m o scou ge”. Unconsciously, M Y misp onounced ‘colonel’ and ‘scou ge’ as [kɔnεl],
and [skɔ:dʒ] in ead o /ˈkɜːnəl/ and /skɜːdʒ/. As a esul o he con ex ual make-up o he s a emen , M s
Z can quickly decode and p edic wha he/she was supposed o p onounce. M s Z will quickly
comp ehend ha M Y wan ed o say /ˈkɜːnəl/ and /skɜːdʒ/, no [kɔnεl], and [skɔ:dʒ]. In his scena io,
he message will s ill be success ully passed ac oss al hough he e was misp onuncia ion.
Likewise, misp onuncia ion o wo d(s) in a sen ence can cause a communica ion o seman ic-
b eakdown as well when meaning is a ec ed. Fo ins ance, i a eache asked his s uden hus: “Please
explain wha imb e means”. I he wo d ‘ imb e’ is no co ec ly p onounced, he in ended meaning o
he speake migh no be un olded. Ins ead o he speake o eache saying: [ æmbǝ] bu ended up
saying/p onouncing: [ ɪmbə]. This shows ha he igh ques ion has no been asked which means
communica ion has no aken place. He e, imb e [ æmbǝ] and imbe [ ɪmbə] mean di e en hings:
‘ imb e’ / æmbǝ/ means ‘ he quali y o he sound made by a pa icula oice o musical ins umen ’
while ‘ imbe ’ [ ɪmbə] deno es ‘wood, plank o log’. Conclusi ely, he seman ic implica ions o hese
misp onuncia ions include comple e and pa ial communica ion b eak-downs as illus a ed abo e.
The e o e, he e is a need o sol e his p oblem.
Summa y
The pu pose o his esea ch is o ca y ou he phonological analysis o English on owels in
he spoken English o selec ed unde g adua es o Fede al Uni e si y Wuka i. The esea che used a
andom sampling o one hund ed and wen y (120) esponden s (60 male and 60 emale). They we e
andomly selec ed and we e mean o ead aloud he es i ems comp ising English ou on owels in
sen ence-con ex s and in wo ds-in-isola ion and he eading was eco ded using a sound eco de de ice.
Simple pe cen age was used o analyse he da a.
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F om he esul s, i was disco e ed ha many unde g adua es o Fede al Uni e si y Wuka i had
di icul ies in he a icula ion o he English on owels which include /i:/, /ɪ/, /e/, and /æ/ in es i ems.
As a esul o hei di icul ies in he a icula ion o he on owels, hey p onounced ‘ e o’,
‘libe a ion’, ‘ imb e’, and ‘jeopa dise’ as [ ε o], [laibi eɪʃən], [ imba], and [dʒεpadaiz] ins ead o
/ˈ iː əʊ/, /lɪbə ˈeɪʃən/, / æmbǝ/, and /ˈdʒepədaɪz/ espec i ely, he eby p onouncing /i:/ as [ε]; /ɪ/ as [ai],
[u], [ε]; /e/ as [io], [ε], [i:]; and /æ/ as [ei], [i] espec i ely.
I was disco e ed ha emale s uden s pe o med be e han hei male coun e pa s wi h o al
sco e o 220 (33.3%) ou o 960 agains hei male coun e pa s ha eco ded 196 (20.4%).
I was e ealed ha ou o he o al ob ainable sco es o 160, he esponden s om English
Depa men sco ed 92 (57.5%) which is abo e a e age agains hei coun e pa s in o he depa men s
especially esponden s om he Depa men o Medical Labo a o y Science wi h a poo sco e o 10
(6.3%).
The esul also e ealed ha hose wi h high le el o in e es (in e es ed) eco ded 43.8% which
is abo e o y pe cen age pass ma k, ha ing an uppe hand o e hei coun e pa s wi h li le le el o
in e es ( ai ly in e es ed) which eco ded 23.9% poo pe o mance and hose wi hou in e es (no
in e es ed) wi h e y poo pe o mance 18.8%.
I was disco e ed in he o e all pe o mance o he esponden s’ a icula ion o all he es i ems
ha , ou o o e all o al 1,920 ob ainable sco es, he esponden s sco ed only 416 ep esen ing 21.7%
as he co ec a icula ion in he es i ems. This e ealed ha esponden s had p oblems in he
a icula ion o English wo ds ha ing on owels.
I was e ealed ha all he ou on owels (/i:/, /ɪ/, /e/, /æ/) es ed posed di icul ies o he
esponden s while p onouncing hem. This is e iden in he close poo pe o mance o on close sp ead
/i:/ as 14.6%, on hal -close sp ead /ɪ/ ha ing 18.7%, on hal -open sp ead /e/ wi h 32.1% and on
open sp ead ha ing 21.2% espec i ely.
The s udy equally showed he pe o mance o he esponden s in he a icula ion o he es i ems
based on wo ds-in-isola ion and sen ence con ex s. I was disco e ed ha ou o he o al ob ainable
sco es o he co ec a icula ion o 1,920, esponden s pe o med be e in wo ds-in-isola ion han in
sen ence-con ex s; he esponden s’ pe o mance in isola ion s ood a 281 (14.6%) while sen ence-
con ex s was 135 (7.1%) as he co ec a icula ion. Conclusi ely, i was ound ou ha he seman ic
implica ions o hese misp onuncia ions included comple e and pa ial communica ion b eak-downs.
CONCLUSION
The s udy co e ed he impending phonological p oblem o he a icula ion o he on owels
by andomly selec ed esponden s, aking cognisance o hei pe o mance based on hei sex,
depa men s, and le els o in e es in lea ning o al English acco dingly. Based on he indings, i was
disco e ed ha he esponden s’ pe o mance in he a icula ion o he on owels bo h in con ex and
wo d-in-isola ion was no up he expec ed a e age o abo e-a e age pe cen age, bu hei sco e was
e y poo as he o e all sco e s ood a 416 (21.7%). This is o show ha esponden s had p oblems in
he a icula ion o English on owels. Howe e , u he esea ch could be ocused on he analysis o
he cen al and back owels in he spoken English o selec ed Nige ian speake s o English.
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RECOMMENDATIONS
In line wi h he esea ch indings made in his exe cise, he esea che wishes o ecommend he
ollowing. In he i s place, s uden s should no con ine hemsel es o only checking he meaning o
wo ds and he use o wo ds in he dic iona ies bu also check he accu a e ansc ip ion and
p onuncia ion o such wo ds. Fu he mo e, hey can as well ins all Phone ize applica ions in hei handy
gadge s o mobile phones. In addi ion, he e should be a pe iodic con e ence, wo kshops and semina s
o imp o e he unde g adua es’ p onuncia ion pa e ns so as o alle ia e hem om he in e e ence o
hei MTs. Mo e so, a special aining in phone ics and phonology should be gi en o he unde g adua es
especially hose om ELS Depa men , since hey will be he ones o each o he s uden s. Mo eo e ,
he go e nmen should p o ide good, mode n and s anda d language labo a o ies, lib a ies and o he
acili ies so as o encou age he s uden s and also inc ease hei le els o in e es in lea ning English
sound sys ems.
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