METATHESIS AS A PHONOLOGICAL PROCESS IN EDUCATED HAUSA SPEAKERS' ENGLISH

This study explores metathesis, a phonological process involving sound rearrangement, in the English language of educated Hausa speakers. Language use shapes the acoustic delivery of phonological patterns. A common example of this aberration under use is ‘metathesis’, which is the reversal of the expected linear ordering of sounds. The phonological irregularities evident in the spoken English of educated Hausa speakers motivated the systematic investigation of this phenomenon. This phenomenon is investigated within the framework of Selinker’s (1972) inter-language theory and Jibril’s (1986) classification of Nigerian English speakers. The aim of this paper is to examine instances of metathesis in the English language of these participants. The data were collected through audio-recordings of 20 English words given to the participants to read to determine instances of metathesis in their production of the stimuli. The results demonstrate that most of the participants metathesized the ‘sk’ cluster in the administered words. Transfer of training, vowel shortening, syllable structure constraints, and articulation ease are key factors in the occurrence of metathesis. Results show frequent metathesis by the participants irrespective of gender and educational level, often impacting intelligibility as the phenomenon is said to be phonemic