Contrastive Analysis of English and Nupe Sound Systems: Implications for English Language Teachers

Abstract

English and Nupe languages are different and from unrelated environments. The pronunciation of English language poses different kinds of problems to the learners of English due to the difference between it and the learners’ mother tongue. The teaching and learning of pronunciation of English as a second language also poses problems to learners due to poor approach to its teaching and lack of professional teachers. It is in the light of this that the paper carries out a contrastive analysis of consonants and vowels of English and Nupe languages with the aim of identifying possible areas of differences which will likely pose difficulties for Nupe learners of English as a second language. Some of the differences and possible difficult areas for Nupe learners of English consonants include the palato-alveolar / ʃ/ ʒ/ and dental /θ/ð/ fricatives as well as the palato-alveolar affricates / ʧ/ and /ʤ/ while the vowels are/ æ /a: /, / ʊ /, /u: /, /ʌ/, /ə/ and /ɜ: /. The difference between the number of vowels in the two languages as well as the distinction between long and short vowels which occurs only in English are also areas likely to constitute problems in the process of learning English sounds. Some suggestions were however offered to serve as guidance for the language teacher so as to ensure the effective learning of not only the sounds of English but also other aspects of the language in view of its importance.