A Contrastive Study of the Sound Systems of Nyifon and Esan Languages

Abstract

The study compared and contrasted the sound systems of the Nyifon and Esan languages. Its goals were to determine the similarities and differences between the languages' segmental phonemes and to use this information to predict teaching and learning difficulties among teachers and learners of the languages. The paper used a descriptive approach, gathering pertinent data on phonology in both languages from primary and secondary sources and analyzing it using the Contrastive Analysis (CA) theoretical framework before drawing predictions from the findings. Findings revealed that the languages' sound systems have similarities and variances, with Esan having some sounds that Nyifon does not. For instance, the vowels / ɪ, ʊ/ are absent in Esan, but the nasal vowels / ĩ, ɛ̃, ã, ɔ̃, ũ / are lacking in Nyifon. According to the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis, differences in the sound systems of the two languages may provide learning challenges for learners of either language, although similarities may make learning easier.