A PHONOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF CODE SWITCHING AND CODE MIXING AMONG STUDENTS IN SELECTED SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page

Approval page

Certification

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Table of contents

Abstract

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Statement of the problem

Purpose of the study

Scope of the study

Delimitation of the study

Research questions

Assumption

II REVIEW OF LITERATURE

III METHODOLOGY

Introduction

Research Design

Area of the study

Population of the study

Sample and sampling technique

Instrument for data collection

Validation of the instrument

Reliability of the instrument

Method of data collection

Method of data analysis

IV PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

V SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

Implication of the study

Recommendations

Limitations of the study

Suggestions of further research

References

Appendices

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

This study delves on the phonological evaluation of code switching and code mixing after observing the various ways of communication among students of higher learning.

The students of Ekiti State Government College Ado-Ekiti will be used as case study, bearing in mind that these students are mostly second language speakers of English Language, with codes switching and code mixing forming their major pattern of communication.

The English Language came to be accepted as a second language in Nigeria with the advent of the European traders and missionaries whose major assignment were trading as well as to civilize the native. The English language is a Teutonic language German, Dutsh, Flemish, et cetera It is specifically the language of the people of England.

English language has played important functions especially before independence as it bridged the gap between the Europeans and the native speakers. Due to this early influence, after independence the English Language was retained as the lingua franca the language of communication among people of differing ethnic groups. It has been gradually modified over the years to suit different purposes. It has been accepted by the people of Nigeria and because it does not belong to any particular ethnic group, Nigerians to some extent have accepted it as their official language and also as the medium of instruction.

Apart from Nigeria, several other global communities use it either as a second language, official language, or foreign language. Through colonization, the English Language was introduced to several parts of the world

In examining the Nigerians attitude towards the English language, attempt is made to consider the link between a language and the combine factor of social identity, cultural and individuality.

Evolution of English in Nigeria

The evolution of English in Nigeria has been traced to Alabi (1994) to pre trans- Atlantic slave trade era especially in 1553 when some British were said to have paid what Alabi described as “very brief visit to the Nigeria coast especially the port of Benin and caliber”. The first obstacle confronted by the visitors was communication barrier between the native and the English men, there was then a pressing need to dislodge this obstruction, hence, the need to teach the basic English (men, there was then a pressing need to dislodge this) for communication, business transaction, and missionary activities and for other official functions.

Attitude towards the English Language

At the initial stage, the medium of communication between the English men and the native was English based pidgin. Since the traders, missionaries and the colonial administrators were not willing to learn the indigenous languages, so English had to be imposed and taught on other to train clerks, interpreters, stewards and messengers to help white men in administrative and domestic activities.

It is therefore evident that the cornerstone of the introduction of the teaching of English language by the British was not based on evolution of a “standard” English but on the emergence of fairly communicative English. Therefore, right from the onset, there has been a basis for dialectal varieties in Nigeria Spoken English

Thus, Nigerian English has come to stay as long as the official status of English in Nigeria society is sustained. Many characteristics features of Nigerian dialectal forms of the English Language exist as the syntactic, semantic, pragmatic and linguistic levels.

Language attitude as the evaluation judgment about others speech patterns. In other words, it is the evaluation judgment made about language (or its varieties) and its speakers feared towards promoting, maintaining, or planning of language or even towards learning and teaching of language. Nigerians’ attitude towards the status and use of English language is ambivalent and it has risen to a high esteem as it has become the official language.

Babatunde, S.T. (2001) while justifying and exemplifying the extent of the domestication of English in Nigeria describes it as a “legal alun”, since English is not a native to Nigeria; it is neutral and accepted among all the people. The English language is universal, for example, in the scientific field; all the terms are English language. It will therefore create problem for Nigerians, if Nigeria switches from the English language to an indigenous language because we would then have use of symbols which are foreign to the international world.

However, in a situation where an individual acquires two languages, one of the two, which is mostly the indigenous language, is bound to affect the others. We often find student learning English language as a foreign language faced with the problem of the right choice of a model, usually America or English.

Acquiring a second language or foreign language is a different thing entirely from acquisition of one’s mother tongue. In acquisition of one’s mother tongue, the sound and structure are learnt in early childhood. The ability of the speaker to use it so well, frequently and continuously afterwards causes a special problem for the language learner. This is because the different speech sounds used in making distinction meaning in any language is a set of meaningful speech sound and is never as the same as phonemic inventory of another. Apart from this, different languages have different arrangement of their sounds. English language happens to be particularly rich in consonant clusters.

Statement of the Problem

The problem of code mixing and code switching is not only peculiar to students in senior secondary schools in Nigeria, but also worldwide. The problem at stake is to determine if the students’ family background influences their acquisition of language, which would probably dictate the type of languages they will be speaking throughout their life.

The influence of mother tongue which causes code-mixing could emanate from students’ parents, by speaking only the first language (mother tongue) to them. If a child is not exposed to second language between the age of 12months to 5 years, such a child is likely to have problem in acquiring second language will interfere in the second language while speaking.

Purpose of the Study

This study intends to find out the various reasons for code switching and code mixing among students at Ekiti State Government College Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

Significance of the Study

English language comes into Nigeria as a result of European contact. English language is a foreign language. Most of the students in Nigeria who do not have English language as their mother tongue (first language) find it difficult to speak the language (English) consistently over a period of time. For instance, Yoruba students who are second language speaker most of the time code switch and code mix with Yoruba language being the major language of communication students and only occasionally slotting English language in when the expression substituted for in Yoruba does not readily come in mind.

Delimitation of the Study

Ekiti State Government college Ado-Ekiti will be used as the case study. One hundred and twenty students will be sampled consisting of sixty females and sixty males. This will be carried out through observation and administering of questionnaires test.

Research Questions

To direct the course of this study, the following questions are put forward.

Do all the students make use of English as their first language?
Does the student speak English alone to their superiors or do they code mix and code switch.

Does the student speak English as a single language or codemix during lecture alone?

To what extent does the students speak English in social gathering?
Why does the students code switch and code mix?
Does the environment influence the students to code mix and code switch

Do they enjoy the act of code switching and code mixing or want to stop it?

Assumptions

Assumptions represents remise which are taking for granted supposed but proved. The study carries these assumptions.

Cordial relationship which in turn positively affect students on code mixing and code switching as students learn better from the teachers.
The influence of the school on students favourable or otherwise is exerted almost exclusively within the classrooms of the students

When the basic human needs of the students are given due to consideration by the teachers, there will be increase in productivity on part of the students.