Browsing by Author "Atoye, R. O."

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    A Study of English Phonology of Yoruba Speakers of English as a Second Language: A Re-examination of some Linguistic Problem Areas.
    (Obafemi Awolowo University, 1985) Dairo, Anthony Lekan; Atoye, R. O.
    Over the years linguists have discovered some sounds that constitute problems for Yoruba speakers of English as a second language and such sounds have been found to be responsible for the deviations in their English speech performances. The contrastive linguists who have worked so far on Yoruba-English comparison have limited their efforts to the standard forms of the two languages. The present study is a further contribution to the work of earlier contrastive linguists but it has gone a bit beyond in its polylectal approach to the phonological problems of Yoruba speakers and users of English as a second language. This study considers three different dialects of Yoruba in its comparison of Yoruba and English and it tries to explain the various substitutions made by Yoruba speakers for the sounds which are either absent in their own language or which generally constitute problems for them. The three dialects considered in this study are the Oyo, Ondo and Ekiti dialects. In the course of the study it was discovered that the substitutions made by Yoruba speakers vary according to their dialect backgrounds and that some of the sounds absent in the ‘standard’ form of Yoruba are not necessarily absent in all its dialects. It is therefore necessary for linguists to always consider second language learners’ dialect backgrounds for an exhaustive study of their phonological problems. This type of polylectal study would cater for an in-depth description of what actually happens when second language learners learn and use the target language.
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    Toward a New English Language Education Programme in Nigeria
    (Centre for Language in Education and Development., 1994) Atoye, R. O.
    Atoye in this paper draws attention to the primacy of speech in language learning and use. He however regrets that in Nigerian education, the written form of language is given more emphasis. He draws attention to the inherent danger in giving primacy to the written instead of the spoken medium of language. Atoye also examines the status of English in Nigeria, especially as postulated by the National Policy on Education (NPE). Based on the observed defect of the NPE, he advocates an English language programme which he feels should reflect the status of English as an alternative language used by a large number of Nigerians for conducting their everyday activities. If his position is accepted, more attention will be given to the learning of spoken English in the curriculum.