CHAPTER NINETEEN: MALAPROPISM/THE INTERFERENCE OF MOTHER-TONGUE AMONG THE IGBO SPEAKERS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE: MUSIC AS A MEDIUM IN ENHANCING POSITIVE TRANSFER OF LEARNING

Mabel Ugochi Okpara (PhD), Olusola Samuel Akintunde, Ikechi Nwagu

Abstract


This paper investigates the interference of mother-tongue in the pronunciations of some similar English words by some Igbo speakers of English, which Linguists refer to as 'Malapropism'. This is very common among the Igbo indigenes from communities in Aguata, Orumba North and South and Alo in Idemili North of Anambra State, Nigeria. The findings revealed that Igbo Language (L1) interferes with the target communities' spoken English (L2). They substitute the letter L with the letter R and vice versa in words where the letters exist leading to despicable and humiliating comments from their audience. This in addition makes it difficult to decipher what they intend to pass across. The paper also looked at music as an effective medium in enhancing the positive transfer of learning to check this offensive and dehumanizing error. The theoretical framework of this study is based on Edward Thorndike's 'Theory of identical elements', while the research methods employed to elicit the information was survey design including a reading task and creativity.

 

Keywords: Linguistics, Malapropism, Interference, Language 1 (L1), Language 2 (L2), Transfer of Learning

 

 


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