By
Obododimma Oha
The Nigerian English as a Second-language context could be full of interesting challenges and surprises. There are creative reuses and there are errors.
Why would there not be errors? First, English is not the native language. This meant interference from the knowledge of the native language.
The children' s teachers shared in this interference, although they had attained higher education. Native use is native use. The nonnative expert needs some humility here.
There are many other factors, including physiologies, teaching methods, etc.
It was our days in the primary school in English as a Second Language context. There were some words that we uttered but didn't know were wrong. Either the adults from whom we heard them uttered them wrongly, or we heard one thing and uttered another. Or what we thought we heard was not what was uttered!
The main contexts of this experience was songs. Usually, the learners were many. So it was difficult to make sure each child heard and repeated what was heard rightly. In a song, it was given:
(1) I want to live eternal life
God save my soul
But we sang:
I want to live internal life
God save my soul
I hope that God understood. Whether the singers wanted to live eternal life internally or to live internal life eternally, it mattered less. God should understand. The words, "eternal" and "internal" are related, only that they have allowed some syllables to separate them. Thanks to the poet looking for a rhyme. They are together again!
Song learners who are also second-language learners do face a lot of challenges. Interference is just one of them. A sound in the song that they are learning in English may resemble the one that they have in the first or indigenous language. This could cause the problem of generalisation. Thus they would begin to utter the wrong sound.
Learners, faced by interference problem, may alter original words. A case that could be cited is that of "covenant, " wrongly realised as "convenant." This alteration is common among the semi-literate and may even be considered appropriate and fashionable.
Another interesting case is seen in (2) below:
(2) Two little doves sitting on a branch
One named Peter
One named Paul
Wrongly realised as
Two little doves sitting on a branch
Nwanne m Peter
Nwanne m Paul
Curiously, poetry class is the context in Nigeria, an English as a second-language environment. In that context, we can imagine strange uses of language.
"One named Peter"and "One named Paul" are uttered as "Nwanne m Peter/Nwanne m Paul." This is simply a case of taking the English sounds as Igbo sounds or mistaking of English words as Igbo words, thinking that what was heard was the English word. The English expression, "one named, " sounds like the Igbo "nwanne"!
Some errors become style when they become popular and are used regularly. This seems to be the case with "brother" ("broda") in Nigerian English. Same for "sister" ("sista") and "uncle." As in
(3) Broda/ Sista welcome.
Broda or Sista may not be from the same womb with the speaker. Just a big boy or girl who is socially more important or can offer gifts to the speaker. It is therefore an encoding or suggestion of respect. Same for "uncle" who may not in any way be related to the speaker.
Paradoxically, a brother is not a brother and sister is not a sister in this error speech. It is hoped in the teaching of the language that one day a brother would become a brother and a sister sister. Just hope that informs teaching methods.
Error is just a stage. The children would surely pass this stage and something would take over. Either they unlearn and relearn or they inflict their error on the society.
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