interlanguage as linguistic system: prosodic evidence from...

Interlanguage as Linguistic System: Prosodic Evidence from Ìgbò Learners and Users of Yorùbá Tones

Boluwaji Oshodi

Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko, Nigeria [email protected]

The issue of what constitutes the linguistic system that is, the grammatical status of the kind of grammar produced by second language learners has remained a subject of controversy in SLA studies. This type of grammar usually a deviant form of the target language known as interlanguage has been considered by some SLA scholars to be a form of grammar based on its regularity and consistency in terms of the rules involved in its derivation. This study examined the interlanguage grammar of twenty adult Ìgbò native speakers who were L2 learners of Yorùbá with focus on tone marking. Findings revealed that the Ìgbò learners of Yorùbá made use of deviant tones when compared with adult Yorùbá native speakers’ pattern of tone marking. However, there was a kind of regularity and consistency in what is regarded as deviations in the form produced by the Ìgbò subjects. This regularity and consistency confirms that, the occurrence of tones in the interlanguage grammar of Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá are also rule governed like any native language which makes it a form of grammar in its own right. This obviously supports the claim that interlanguage could be a form of grammar in some instances which emanated from the combination of linguistic and innate factors.

Keywords: linguistic system, SLA, Interlanguage, Yorùbá, Ìgbò, Tones

Journal of Cognitive Science 17-2: 309-335, 2016Date submitted: 01/08/16 Date reviewed: 06/15/16 Date confirmed for publication: 06/21/16©2016 Institute for Cognitive Science, Seoul National University

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1. Introduction

It has been established that second language learners (L2 learners henceforth) do come up with different kinds of grammar which differ from the target language in the course of L2 acquisition. These types of grammar collectively known as interlanguage are usually a deviant form of the target language. Scholars like White (2000) and Cook (2003b) however observed that these deviant forms do not occur randomly in the speech pattern of L2 learners. Rather, they appear to follow certain rules just like the case for native language (L1 grammar henceforth) in the course of their production which suggests that such grammars deserved to be studied on their own merit (White 2008). The assumption is that, if such grammars are rule-governed and L2 learners apply the rules regularly and consistently, such grammars, though still deviant forms of the target L2 should be considered a form of grammar in its own right. The major challenge facing this claim would be the need to distinguish between what native speakers consider to be interlanguage as errors and what second language acquisition (SLA henceforth) scholars consider to be interlanguage as linguistic system (language). There is also the issue of those factor(s) that trigger and regulate such grammar. These issues would be addressed in this study.

Since grammatical rules occur at different levels which could be phonetic, phonological, syntactic or semantic, interlanguage would also occur at any of these levels among L2 learners. As observed by Major (1988), interlanguage at the level of sound system usually involves the combination of phonetics/phonology (sounds and their patterns) in speech. This study evaluates how adult Ìgbò L2 learners of Yorùbá make use of tones in their interlanguage. The major aim is to investigate the structural pattern adopted by the Ìgbò subjects in order to see if there is regularity and consistency in the pattern. It is believed that the results would help to establish whether what the adult Ìgbò subjects produce would be truly rule-governed in terms of regularity and consistency in the application of such rules bearing in mind that tones perform lexical function in both Ìgbò and Yorùbá.

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2. The Concept of Interlanguage Grammar in Second Language Acquisition

One prominent concept which has continued to attract attention in language acquisition is interlanguage. The concept which is peculiar to second language learners can be examined from different levels of grammatical analysis. In this study, the focus is on interlanguage at the level of phonetics/phonology (sound and sound pattern) with focus on tone marking and sequence in Yorùbá among adult Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá. One interesting fact is that, while Yorùbá attests three major tones only two major tones are attested in Ìgbò.

2.1 Interlanguage Grammar

According to Selinker (1972), interlanguage refers to intermediate states or intermediate grammars of a second language learner’s language as it moves towards the target language. It is a product of a creative process driven by inner forces and interaction, influenced by the native language and input from the target language. The ‘interlanguage hypothesis’ sees the language of the learner of a second language as an independent and variable system, which contains elements of the first and second languages as well as its own distinctive ones. This is called ‘interlanguage’ (Selinker 1992). Consequently, mistakes can be both independent of the first language and can also deviate from normal native language acquisition. However, structural similarities between the two languages and the resultant transfers and interferences can nonetheless play their part. The interlanguage grammar has some peculiar characteristics with the prominent one being frequent changes. It is also governed by some innate rules as well as the structure of the native language. It also reduces complex grammaticality in form. Above all, it is used for a smaller range of communicative needs (Saville-Troike 2012). White (2000) identified three main levels, Initial state, Intermediate state and End state. Interlanguage grammar also varies among second language learners depending on several factors even among second language learners with the same native language. Thus, different interlanguage grammars do exist among different groups of second language learners. This type of

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grammar has generated a lot of controversies among scholars with focus on its structure and pattern in terms of its similarities to native grammars. Based on the assumption of scholars like McCarthy (2008) and White (2011) that interlanguage grammars in certain instances are similar to any native grammar coupled with the claim of current generative studies which place emphasis on how functional features and feature strength are represented at the surface level where linguistic competence and performance are assessed, the interlanguage grammar has received widespread attention and it is being studied on its own merit. From the structure of interlanguage which is a product of features of learner’s L1 and target L2, it can be seen as a product of both grammatical and innate factors triggered by linguistics inputs from the L2 which are regulated by cognition. Evidence from this study is expected to substantiate this claim based on what triggers the use of tones in the interlanguage grammar of adult Ìgbò L2 learners of Yorùbá.

2.2 The UG Issue in First and Second Language Acquisition It is an established fact that every language employs rule in the production of utterances since words are not just strung together arbitrarily in the process of communication. Thus, every user of a language must acquire the rules guiding the correct way of stringing words together in order to produce acceptable constructions in that particular language. Based on the results of previous studies e.g. Schwartz and Sprouse (1994), Meisel (1997), Stewart (2003) and O’Grady (2005), the procedure of acquiring these rules differs between L1 and L2 learners. For the acquisition of L1, Chomsky (1986) proposed the concept of UG (Universal Grammar) through the innate theory. According to Chomsky, UG is defined as a complex abstract system of grammatical knowledge bridged by an innate mental faculty that is part of the human unique biological endowment that is designed purposely for the task of language acquisition LAD (Language Acquisition Device). This innate feature places restriction on the kind of grammar produced by children which helps them to produce, identify and also comprehend any kind of sentence in their L1 no matter the complexity. This language faculty is what is referred to as Universal Grammar. The assumption is that all the properties of UG are available to a child acquiring his/her native


language. It is this innate quality that helps L1 acquiring children to be able to generate correct sentences and also help them to identify ungrammatical sentences. This feature is believed to be unavailable to L2 learners.

However, for the acquisition of a second language, there are lots of arguments regarding the kind of grammar that L2 learners produce particularly whether the properties of UG are still active in form of constraints on such grammars. This issue is usually considered with focus on two concepts: transfer (the act of bringing L1 features to L2 context) and access to UG (the kind of knowledge which the learner brings to the L2 context). While there is a consensus among scholars that transfer through interference plays a major role in L2 acquisition (particularly in the area of sound system) there are diverse opinions regarding the kind of knowledge which L2 learners bring to the L2 context. Scholars such as White (2003) claims that UG properties are fully available to L2 learners at the initial stage, Beck (1998) claims that only a part of UG properties are available to them while (Clahsen and Muysken 1996) assumes no part of UG is available to L2 learners at the initial stage. The diverse opinions expressed by these writers confirm that the actual role of UG in L2 acquisition is controversial. This controversial role of UG would imply that L2 learners come up with interlanguage because UG is either absent in L2 or its role in the process is unclear.

In spite of the diverse opinions about the role of UG in L2 acquisition, some scholars believe that the kind of grammar produced by L2 learners in most cases follows a specific rule-governed pattern and should be considered on its own merits in terms of it structural regularity and consistency. This type of grammar generally referred to as interlanguage grammar is indeed a product of the L2 learners’ cognitive creation which emanated in an attempt to achieve native-like competence in the target language through a form of simplification and convenient use influenced by both L1 and L2 structures. The interlanguage often differs from both the native L1 and the target L2 form. According to Tarone (2001) and Othman (2003), the interlanguage grammar cannot be out-rightly considered as error since in most cases, it has a predictable and recognizable form of rule application which follows a regular, systematic and consistent pattern. This would support the claim that such grammars are rule-governed just like any

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native grammar i.e. natural language.

2.3 Prosody in Second Language Acquisition

Michael et al (2014) observes that in broad linguistic sense, prosody refers to rhythm, stress, and intonation in language. According to (Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia), in linguistics, prosody is concerned with those elements of speech that are not individual phonetic segments (vowels and consonants) but are properties of syllables and larger units of speech. These contribute to linguistic functions such as intonation, tone, stress, and rhythm. Prosody is the study of poetic metre and of the art of versification, including rhyme, stanzaic forms, and the quantity and stress of syllables; it also a system of versification as well as the patterns of stress and intonation in a language (Dictionary.Com Unabridged). Prosody may reflect various features of the speaker or the utterance: the emotional state of the speaker; the form of the utterance (statement, question, or command); the presence of irony or sarcasm emphasis, contrasts, and focus or other elements of language that may not be encoded by grammar or by choice of vocabulary. Since our focus in this study is on tone marking, we shall explain the concept of prosody with examples from English and Yorùbá in order to show how differences in prosodic features affect pronunciation in languages. Consider the words below and how they are pronounced in English and Yorùbá:

(1) English Yorùbáa. paradise /paradais/ “heaven” /parádise/ “heaven”

b. ewe /ju:/ “a female sheep” /ewe/ “leaf”

c. shade /ʃeid/ “a dark cool protected area” /ʃade/ “a name”

d. akin /əkin/ “similar to” /Akin/ “a name”

e. wipe /waip/ “clean a surface” /wipe/ “say that”

The interesting thing about examples (1a-e) is that, the words have the same orthographic representation in English and Yorùbá but have different pronunciation. As observed from the examples, Yorùbá is a tone language while intonation is a feature of English. If these two features (that is


tone and intonation) which affect pronunciation in English and Yorùbá are considered, it is evident that the issue of pronunciation in a second language with different prosodic features from the native language will be problematic for L2 learners of such a language. For example, if the interlanguage grammar of a L1 English speaker learning Yorùbá as L2 is examined, there is every tendency that such a speaker will have problems with the correct pronunciation of Yorùbá words and may end up with a pattern which differs considerably from that of an adult Yorùbá native speaker. The big question would be: is the pattern developed by such L2 Yorùbá speaker (i.e. the tonal representation of such words) guided by a set of regular and consistent rules which makes it comparable to that of any native language? This is the issue to be addressed in this study. The focus is on how adult Ìgbò native speakers mark tones in their speech pattern as Yorùbá L2 speakers.

2.4 Second Language Acquisition and Sound System

Learning a L2 entails knowing all the grammatical rules that apply at all levels of the target language. However, learning a language usually commences with knowing the sounds, the sound pattern as well as the application of such rules in a language. Studies such as Dulay & Burt (1974) and Flege (1999) have shown that children acquiring their L1 always have problems with pronunciation. This is however considered a cognitive and developmental issue and not a fossilized state as the case among L2 learners. The reason is because L1 acquiring children normally correct their initial wrong pronunciation as they grow older and eventually come to master the correct pronunciation forms. This is not always the case especially for adult L2 learners who already have a full knowledge of the sound system and pattern of their L1, and in most cases where there are significant differences between the sound patterns of the L1 and L2, the L2 learner usually have problems with the pronunciation of certain L2 sounds due to interference from the L1 (Fledge, 1995; Oshodi 2013). However, if the assumption that L2 learners’ interlanguage grammars are truly UG constrained that is, some innate features which act like language filter help to regularize the kind of grammar produced by L2 learners like the case in L1 (Chomsky 1986), the

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implication is that the type of pronunciation which a linguistically similar group of L2 learners comes up with should be considered in its own right in terms of its regular pattern and consistency of occurrence even if it differs from those produced by native speakers. The validity of this claim would be critically examined in subsequent sections of this paper with data on tone marking from adult Ìgbò native speakers who were L2 learners of Yorùbá.

3. Yorùbá and Ìgbò: A Brief Introduction

Yorùbá and Ìgbò belong to the Niger Congo language family. According to Lorena (Ethnologue 2009), over 500 languages are spoken in Nigeria. Three of these languages, Yorùbá, Ìgbò and Hausa are the recognized national languages in the country. Yorùbá is the regional language of the South-west; Ìgbò is the regional language of the South-east while Hausa is the dominant language in the Northern region. Based on available data, Yorùbá and Ìgbò are not mutually intelligible in fact they belong to different language sub-families.

Yorùbá and Ìgbò are tone languages. Yorùbá attests three tones high [ ], mid [ ] which is usually unmarked and low [ ] while Igbo attests two main tones; high [ ] and low [ ]. There is a third tone in Igbo; a downstep tone which is attested only as a property of normal speech. It is usually represented with the macron, an over-bar on the vowel [ ¯ ]. The mid tone which is usually left unmarked in Yorùbá is not attested in Ìgbò while the downstep is not attested in Yorùbá. In both languages, tones perform lexical functions as they bring about meaning in words with the same sounds. According to Awóbùlúyì (1978) and Iloene (2007), a syllable in both Yorùbá and Igbo could be a vowel [V], a combination of a consonant and a vowel [CV] and in some instances syllabic consonant e.g. [m and n]. The high tone does not begin a word in Yorùbá whenever a vowel constitutes the initial syllable. However, according to Iloene (2007), the high tone does begin words in Igbo whether the syllable structure is a vowel [V] or the combination of a consonant and a vowel [CV]. Consider the examples below:


(2) Ìgbò (V-I and CV-I) Yorùbá (CV-I) Yorùbá (V-I) a. Ijeómá "a name" Titi "a name" ìtan "story"

b. Amùzúkwú "a town" jinde "resuurect" ajinde "resurrection"

c. áturu "sheep" kere "small" Akere "a name"

d. isi "head" pári "be bald" apári "bald man"

e. áchara "a type of soup" gbodo "must" agbon "wasp"

f. táata "today" ránti "recall" ìranti "remebrance"

g. toro "three pence" gbále "sweep" igbále "broom"

h. mma "knife" mimo "holy" orombo "orange"

The examples in (2a-h) confirm the occurrence of the high-tone on initial syllable in Ìgbò including those with vowel initial syllable, a structure which is not permitted in Yorùbá as shown in the examples under (V-I). Those with high tone in similar position occur under a syllable structure with the combination of a consonant and a vowel as shown under (CV-I) examples. These differences are very vital because they will set the direction for this study in terms of what is acceptable and unacceptable particularly in Yorùbá with respect to tone marking which normally dictates pronunciation in the language.

It is important to state that scholars like Igboanusi (2006) and Eme and Uba (2016) have compared the phonological systems of Ìgbò and Yorùbá. These studies focused exclusively on areas of similarities and differences for pedagogical reasons and not on interlanguage. Based on this, it will be correct to affirm that there is no known study which focused on the structure of interlanguage among L2 learners of the two languages by speakers of either of the two languages with particular focus on tone marking. This means that, there is no known study which examined the status and structure of interlanguage among Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá speakers as well as any which examined the structure of interlanguage among Yorùbá L2 Ìgbò speakers. Thus, this study which examined the structure and status of interlanguage among adult Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá with focus on tone marking is a pioneer study which attempts to set the pace and fill this very important linguistic gap.

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4. Data Collection and Methodology

This study attempts to evaluate the interlanguage grammar of a group of adult native Ìgbò speakers who were Yorùbá L2 learners with focus on their use of Yorùbá tones. The aim is to determine whether or not what this group of L2 learners produce follows a regular and consistent linguistic pattern which would provide evidence regarding the status of their pronunciation pattern. In other words, the focus will be on Yorùbá words as produced by the Ìgbò native speakers. The result is expected to provide credible evidence which would help in the overall justification of the actual status of interlanguage grammars among L2 speakers.

4.1 Participants

Thirteen participants took part in this study, ten adult native speakers of Ìgbò, seven males and three females and three adult native speakers of Yorùbá, two males and one female. All the participants were between the ages of 39 and 52. From the information gathered from the Ìgbò subjects, they all began learning Yorùbá (informally) when they were above twenty years old (the participant with the least number of years had 22 while the one with the most number of years had 32) when they relocated to Ìbadan a town in South-west Nigeria where Yorùbá is the lingua franca. They had never had direct contact with Yorùbá native speakers prior to the time of their relocation. At the time of data collection, they had all been exposed to Yorùbá for not less than 15 years and their length of exposure was between 15-30 years.

4.2 Methods The data for this study were collected under naturalistic contexts mainly through oral production tasks. This was done via interviews and discussions as well as a question and answer session. The subjects were instructed to take the sessions as informal sessions and were allowed to ask questions and even raise issues which gave them the opportunity to dictate the tune of the discussions. There was another session where a set of English words which has different permissible tones when translated and pronounced in Yorùbá


e.g. mid-low-low; mid-low; mid-high-low; mid-high-mid etc. were called out to the subjects and they were instructed to supply the Yorùbá equivalent through pronunciation. The forms pronounced were recorded and compared with the pattern supplied by the Yorùbá subjects who were adult native speakers. The similarities and differences in the pattern of pronunciation between the forms supplied by the Ìgbò subjects and those supplied by the adult Yorùbá native speakers (i.e. the three Yorùbá subjects) were identified and noted. The two forms i.e. those produced by the Ìgbò subject and those produced by the Yorùbá subjects) were placed side by side based on the sequence of tones involved in the word pronounced.

5. Results

The data collected were analyzed phonetically based on the phonetic realization and assigning of tone and tone sequence in Yorùbá as produced and validated by three adult native speakers of Yorùbá language in comparison with those produced by adult Ìgbò subjects. The data revealed a lot of interesting things about how adult native Ìgbò speakers of Yorùbá as L2 represent tones in their interlanguage. An important clarification needs to be made at this point. The focus of this paper is to examine those “expected deviant forms”1 with focus on tone marking as produced by adult Ìgbò L2 learners of Yorùbá. The aim is to account for what triggers the forms produced by the Ìgbo subjects and to see if the forms are regular and consistent in all contexts of occurrence. Hence, the target is not the correct form produced by Yorùbá native speakers but the form produced by adult Ìgbò L2 speakers of Yorùbá in their quest to produce the Yorùbá form. The implication of this is that, the calculation of what is considered in this study is based on the consistency and regularity of the particular form supplied by the Ìgbò subjects in a particular context of occurrence and not the form considered as the correct form by adult Yorùbá native speakers. Factors which trigger the forms produced by adult Ìgbò subjects would also

1 This is expected in line with the interlanguage hypothesis which predicts L2 learners to come up with forms which differ from both the L2 learners’ native language and the target L2. It is this particular form that is of interest to interlanguage hypothesis.

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be examined. (The table of results for individual subject is presented under appendix).

Despite the discrepancies between the pattern of tone marking by adult Yorùbá native speakers and those of adult Ìgbò subjects, it was discovered that they (adult Ìgbò subjects) produced a regular and consistent pattern of tone marking in their interlanguage grammar. All the Ìgbò subjects showed 100% consistency and regularity in the suppliance (that is tone marking) of the particular form they produced as the equivalent for the Yorùbá form. The findings of data analysis are presented below. The native Yorùbá form is presented first while the Igbo form which constitutes the interlanguage which is the main focus of this study (indicated with an arrow and italicized) is presented in front of the native Yorùbá form.

5.1 The Mid-Tone Syllable Sequential Patterns

As already observed and established in section (3), the high-tone occurs on word initial vowel syllable in Ìgbò but not in Yorùbá. However, it was discovered that all the Ìgbò subjects substituted the mid-tone on Yorùbá initial syllable for the high, the low, or the downstep tone in specific contexts through context sensitive rules. Consider the examples below:

(3): (M-L-L → H-L-L) (4): (M-L → H-L) (5): (M-H → L-DTP2) Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss Yorùbá Ìgbò Glossa. Oshòdì → Oshòdi "a name" Ayo → Ayo "joy" ile → ile “house”b. apere → apere "basket" oka → oka "corn" ogún → ogun “legacy”c. abebe → abebe "hand fan" ile → ile "ground" aye → aye “world”d. alagba → alagba "elder" owo → owo "broom" Ade → Ade “crown”e. arìndìn → árindin "dunce" osan → osan "orange" paro → paro “to lie”f. Alana → Alana "a name" Ife → Ife "a town" subu → subu “to fall”g. olote → olote "conspirator" oyan → oyan "breast" wole → wole “enter”h. apayan → apayan "killer" ejò → ejò "snake" sere → sere “play”i. ebòlò → ebòlò "a vegetable" okùn → okùn "rope" pari → pari “finish”j. erofo → erofo "mud" akan → akan "crab" kojá → koja “pass by"

2 DTP; this represents the downstep tone attested only in Ìgbò


In examples (3, 4 and 5) above, the Ìgbò output in italics is indicated with an arrow in front of the target Yorùbá form. The Ìgbò output revealed a consistent and regular pattern of tone marking sequence. Anytime a word has a sequence of mid-low-low in Yorùbá (see examples in 3), it always comes out as high-low-low in the Ìgbò interlanguage. If it is mid-low in Yorùbá (see examples in 4), it changes to high-low in the Ìgbò speech pattern and if it is mid-high in Yorùbá (see examples in 5), it changes to low-downstep in the Ìgbò interlanguage

Furthermore, if the Yorùbá word has a sequence of mid-high-high, the sequence changes to low-mid-downstep in the Ìgbò speech output. If it is mid-low-high, it becomes high-low-downstep while a mid-low-mid sequence changes to high-low-downstep as shown below in (k-o: in 6, 7 and 8 respectively):

(6): (M-H-H → M-M-DTP) (7): (M-L-H → H-L-DTP) (8): (M-L-M → H-L-DTP) Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss Yorùbá Ìgbò Glossk. agbári → agbari "skull" Ayobo → Ayobo "a place" akòko → akoko “a leaf”

l. akúri → akuri "dunce" Asogbon → Asogbon "a name" adiye → adiye “hen”

m. onijó → onijo "dnacer" Awolu → Awolu "a name" obìnrin → obinrin “female”

n. olori → olori "leader" akowe → akowe "secretary" arere → arere “a tree”

o. Akere → Akere "a name" agbebi → agbebi "midwife" okùnrin → okunrin “male”

However, if the tone sequence on the Yorùbá word is mid-mid, it changes to a high-downstep sequence in the interlanguage of the Ìgbò subjects but if it is a mid-mid-mid sequence, it changes to a high-high-high sequence, while the mid-high mid sequence changes to a mid-high-downstep sequence in the Ìgbò speech pattern. Consider the examples below:

(9): (M-M → H-DTP) (10): (M+M+M → H-H-H) (8): (M+H+M → M-H-DTP) Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss Yorùbá Ìgbò Glossp. eja → eja "fish" eranko → eránko "animal" agbára → agbara “power”

q. eye → eye "bird" ayaba → áyábá "queen" Awáni → Awani “a name”

r. eku → eku "mouse" omomo → omomo "baby" akigbe → akigbe “crier”

s. omi → omi "water" agolo → ágolo "tin" Aloba → Aloba “a name”

t. etu → etu "antelope" opolo → opolo "brain" eweko → eweko “leaves”

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From the various examples cited regarding the use of the high-tone in Yorùbá words in initial position by adult Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá in place of the mid-tone used by adult Yorùbá native speakers as shown in examples (3, 4 and 5) as well as its substitution for other tones in other positions as shown in (6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11), one question comes to mind which is: what dictates the substitution of the mid-tone for a specific tone in a particular context of occurrence in the interlanguage of the Ìgbò subjects as shown in this section? This question is important because a close examination of the pattern of occurrence of mid-tone in the Ìgbò interlanguage in this study revealed that the substitution of this particular tone is not arbitrary as shown in the various examples produced by the adult Ìgbò subjects. The substitution process clearly follows a regular and consistent pattern depending on its context of occurrence. Justifiable answers will be explicitly provided to this pertinent question in section (6) under discussion and conclusion.

5.2 The Low-Tone Sequential Patterns

The low-tone is one of the two main tones attested in Ìgbò and just like in Yorùbá, it can occur in word initial, medial as well as final positions. Below are examples of its pattern of occurrence in the interlanguage of the adult Ìgbò subjects. For example, when the tone on a Yorùbá word has a sequence of low-high, the sequence changes to low-mid but when the sequence is low-low-mid, it changes to low-low-downstep in the Ìgbò interlanguage. Consider the examples in (12 and 13) below:

(12): (L-H → L-M) (13): (L-L-M → L-L-DTP) Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss Yorùbá Ìgbò Glossa. ìyá → 0mm "mother" agbado → agbado "corn"b. Ekó → Eko "Lagos" atiro → atiro "funnel"c. ìlú → ilu "town" Ajùlo → Ajulo "a name"d. òkú → òku "corpse" apeje → apeje "feast"e. babá → baba "father" òrùka → oruka "ring"

However, if the tone sequence on the Yorùbá word has a low-low or a


low-low-low combination, the same sequence is retained in adult Ìgbo interlanguage. Consider the examples in (14 and 15) below:

(14): (L-L→ L-L) (15): (L-L-L → L-L-L)

Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss

f. ewa → ewa "beans" adaba → adaba "dove"

g. Oba → Oba "a town" enìyan → eniyan "person"

h. bata → bata "shoe" awada → awada "joke"

i. Tala → Tala "a name" jìbìtì → jibiti "fraud"

j. oro → oro "word" igbonse → igbonse "faeces"

Also, if the tone on the Yorùbá word has a low-low-high sequential combination, the pattern changes to a low-low-downstep sequence in the Ìgbò speech pattern as shown in (16) below:

(16): (L-L-H → L-L-DTP)

Yorùbá Ìgbò Gloss

k. Alabi → Alabi "a name"

l. elùbo → elubo "vam powder"

m. ekùro → ekuro "kernel"

n. ereke → ereke "cheek"

o. awòrán → aworan "picture"

p. Ikare → Ikare "a town"

The low-mid tone sequence in Yorùbá presents an interesting scenario in the interlanguage grammar of adult Ìgbò subjects. It exhibits two different forms depending on the context of occurrence. Consider the examples below in (17) where the low-mid combination occurred in words pronounced in isolation:

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(17): (L-M → L-M)


q. obo → obo "monkey"

r. òye → òye "knowledge"

s. aga → aga "chair"

t. eko → eko "pap"

u. agbo → agbo "concoction"

In the above examples, under (17), the low-mid tone sequence on the Yorùbá words were retained in the interlanguage of adult Ìgbò subjects. However, this is not the case whenever the words are used in sentences. Consider the examples in (18) below:

(18): SENTENCE LEVEL (L-M → L-DTP)


v. Obo ni Titi → Obo ni Titi “Titi is a monkey”

w. Oye dára → Oye o dara “Knowledge is good”

x. Aga yen ko dára → Aga yen ko dara “That chair is not good”

y. Mo je eko → Mo je eko “I ate pap”

z. Ojó mu agbo → Ojo mu agbo “Ojó drank concoction”

In examples (v-z; 18), the original mid-tone on the second syllable of the words which were retained by the adult Ìgbò subjects in (q-u; 17) when pronounced in isolation consistently changed to a downstep tone when used in sentences as shown in (v-z; 18). The reason for the realization of the mid-tone as downstep in sentences by adult Ìgbò subjects is likely due to the fact that, unlike in Yorùbá where the mid-tone is an intrinsic property of the language, the downstep tone in Ìgbò is usually realized as a property of normal speech. This fact is important because, the downstep tone in Ìgbò is similar to the mid-tone in Yorùbá.


5.3 Tone at the Sentence Level

At the sentence level of interlanguage among the adult Ìgbò subjects, there were some regular and consistent patterns of tone occurrence which differ from the normal patterns produced by adult Yorùbá native speakers. Consider the examples in (19):

(19): (M-H → L-DTP) Yorùbá Ìgbò Glossa. Mo pa á → Emi o pa a "I killed it"b. Òjo je e → Ojo o je e “Ojo ate it”c. Gani se e → Gani o se e “Gani did it”d. A mu ú → Awa mu u “We drank it”

In examples (a-d; 19), the tone change occurred in word final position involving the verb and the form of the 3psg pronoun in the object position3. In the Yorùbá construction, the original tone on the verb is low while the pronoun has a high-tone. However, in the adult Ìgbò interlanguage examples, the mid-tone on the verb persistently changes to a low-tone while the high tone on the 3psg pronoun changes to a downstep tone.

Another pattern is observed in the process of question formation which involves the question marker se in a non-future tense. Consider the examples below:

(20): (H-H-M→DTP-M-DTP), (H-H→DTP-DTP), (H-M-L→DTP-DTP-L),(H-L→DTP-L)

Yorùbá Ìgbò Glosse. Se ki n máa bo? → Se ki n maa bo? “Should I be coming?”f. Se ki n máa lo → Se ki n maa lo? “Should I be going?”g. Se ki n wá jeun? → Se ki n wa jeun? “Should I come and eat?”h. Se ki n lo to? → Se ki n lo to? “Should I go to ease myself?”i. Se ki n lo sùn? → Se ki n lo sun? “Should I go to sleep?”j. Se ki n we? → Se ki n we? “Should I and bathe?”

3 The 3psg object pronoun in Yorùbá does not have an overt form. It usually takes the form of the last vowel of the preceding verb. In (19 a-d), a, e, e and u all represent the 3psg object pronoun.

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In the examples in (e-j; 20), the tone change occurred on the continuous marker n and the lexical item immediately after it in the Yorùbá constructions. The continuous marker has a stable high-tone whereas the next lexical item could take any tone. However, while the high-tone on the continuous marker persistently changes to a downstep-tone in the interlanguage of adult Ìgbò subjects, the tones on the next lexical items change to different tones but with regularity and consistency. For example, in (e and f), the high-mid sequence on the imperative marker máa changes to mid-downstep, in (g), the high-tone on wa “come” as well as the mid-tone on lo “go” in (h and i) changes to downstep while the low-tone on we “bathe” in (j) remained unchanged. It was also observed that the original tones on the final words which are all verbs were also retained. These observations revealed a regular and consistent pattern in the speech pattern of the adult Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá subjects.

6. Discussion

From the forms produced by adult Ìgbò subjects as shown in this study, the consistent and systematic pattern of tone marking was perfectly executed in their interlanguage grammar such that new phonological patterns and tone rules were created in line with the concept of interlanguage. This was done without breaking or creating any problematic complexity for the existing phonological pattern and tone marking rules in Yorùbá. Below are examples:

(21): MISCELLANEOUS EXAMPLES

a. okùn “rope” becomes okun and not òkun “sea” or Okun “a tribe”b. igbá “calabash” becomes igba but not igba “climbing rope”, igba “200” igba “garden egg”c. Ori “head” becomes ori and òri “shea butter”d. Ole “sluggard” becomes o le and not ore friende. Ìya “mother” becomes iya and not iya “suffering”f. agolo “tin” becomes agolo and not Agolo “a name”


The interesting thing about the examples in (21: a-f) is that, all the forms which appeared in the interlanguage of adult Ìgbò subjects (i.e. the bold italicized forms) are distinct forms though alien to Yorùbá. They are forms which do not occur in the existing Yorùbá tone pattern. They were created by interlanguage rules from the combination of Yorùbá and Ìgbò tone marking systems. This makes them unique and thus validates the claim propagated in this study that the patterns produced by the Ìgbò subjects were not arbitrarily produced. They were naturally distinct patterns which followed consistent and regular rules which differ from those attested in their L1 (Ìgbò) and the L2 (Yorùbá). The patterns were a product of both Ìgbò and Yorùbá tone systems. This is an important quality of any natural language exhibited in the adult Ìgbò subjects’ interlanguage as Yorùbá L2 speakers.

To provide answers to the question raised in sub-section (5.1), i.e. the issue of what dictates the substitution of the high tone for other tones in different contexts in adult Ìgbò subjects’ interlanguage, the answer is simple. It is due to innate rules which the Ìgbò subjects apply unconsciously just like L1 speakers of any language. This also provides good evidence that the interlanguage forms of the adult Ìgbò subjects can be likened to a natural language where rules are applied unconsciously by native speakers. On the other hand, the issue may be linked to transfer as a result of interference. The claim would be that since the mid-tone is not attested in Ìgbò, the subjects tend to transfer their L1 knowledge of tone marking by substituting the mid-tone for the downstep based on the fact that the mid-tone is closer to the downstep tone. However, this claim cannot be substantiated based on the overall data supplied by the Ìgbò subjects for obvious reasons. There is evidence to show that the subjects have acquired the mid-tone. For example, there were instances where the mid-tone was retained by the adult Ìgbò subjects (see examples in 7 and 9). There were also instances e.g. (set 3 words with mid-high to sequence) where the mid-tone was not only replaced by a low-tone (which was not expected since the two tones are not close) but the original high-tone on the second syllable also changed to a downstep. Though, interference can be claimed to be a crucial factor as observed in this study, the prosodic patterns exhibited by the Ìgbò subjects definitely go beyond interference. If interference was to be the deciding

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factor, all the-mid-tone in the Yorùbá words should have changed to the downstep which is the closest to it in Ìgbò. Besides, there would not have been any case of the high-tone changing to a low-tone. The justifiable answer to the question would be that, the pattern of tone assignment in the adult Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá interlanguage was dictated and regulated by innate features just like in any native grammar.

Also, the regularity and consistency in the use of tones by the Ìgbò subjects though perceived and regarded as error when compared to the form produced by adult Yorùbá native speakers confirms that they (adult Ìgbò subjects) actually obeyed some rules which regulate the occurrence and use of tones in their interlanguage grammars as second language speakers of Yorùbá. It was observed that tones were used consistently and regularly in the same pattern and in the same context of occurrence all through. One important thing about the rules applied by adult Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá learners in their use of Yorùbá tones is that, the rules were applied unconsciously just like the case in any native grammar. As observed by Oshodi (2014) in the case for inconsistent use of inflectional features by Nigerian learners and users of English as L2 where the errors were neither regular nor consistent, what we had was a case of interlanguage grammars that cannot be regarded as linguistic system and was tagged as error of usage. This is however different from what was observed in this study. The implication is that different interlanguage grammars do exist, while some show inconsistency and irregularity others show obvious consistency and regularity. Those which show the latter are good examples of linguistic system which can be likened to a native grammar in terms of the rules which guide their usage. The tone marking and tone sequence rules formulated by the Ìgbò subjects can be captured as shown below in (a-n; 22) where the form indicated with the arrow is the regular and consistent one used by adult Ìgbò subjects in place of the original form used by adult Yorùbá native speakers indicated under the Yorùbá native form:


(22) Table 1. Tone Sequence Rules in the Speech Pattern of Adult Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá

Yorùbá native form Ìgbò output

a. M-L-L → H-L-Lb. M-L → H-Lc. M-H → L-DTPd. M-M-H → M-M-DTPe. M-L-H → M-L-DTPf. M-L-M → H-L-DTPg. M-M → H-DTPh. M-M-M → H-H-Hi. M-H-M → M-H-DTPj. L-H → L-Mk. L-L-M → L-L-DTPl. L-L → L-Lm. L-L-L → L-L-Ln. L-L-H → L-L-DTP

The above table explains the procedure that is, the rules guiding tone marking on Yorùbá words as applied by adult Ìgbò subjects. For example, in (22a), the rule states that, an original Yorùbá word with a tone sequence of mid, low, low will produce a sequence of high, low, low in adults Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá output. Also, it was observed that the low-low and low-low-low tone sequences in Yorùbá were retained by the subjects in their interlanguage. The reason for this is clearly shown in the data. It was observed that, the low tone in Yorùbá was the only tone consistently retained in its original position of occurrence in the Ìgbò subjects’ interlanguage. For example, in (3), the mid-low-low sequence changed to high-low-low. In (7), the mid-low-high sequence changed to high-low-downstep while in (13), the low-low-mid sequence changed to low-low-downstep. In all these examples, the low tone in the Yorùbá words were retained in their original position in the forms (interlanguage) produced by adult Ìgbò subjects. The rules above show that the forms produced by the Ìgbò subjects as captured in each of the context of occurrence is consistent and regular. This confirms that the adult Ìgbò subjects’ interlanguage was triggered by a combination of linguistically innate features and input from both Ìgbò and Yorùbá.

330 Boluwaji Oshodi

Another important discovery in this study has to do with the use of the downstep tone by adult Ìgbò subjects. As shown in (22) where a set of rules was devised for tone marking and sequence in Yorùbá by adult Ìgbò L2, the downstep tone occurred only in syllable final position anytime it co-occurred with other tones in a word pronounced in isolation. The reason for this is because the downstep tone occurs only as a property of normal speech in Ìgbò, a feature which the Ìgbò subjects transferred to the Yorùbá L2 context whenever they pronounce certain words in isolation. This claim was corroborated by the examples in (19) where the downstep tone co-occurred with other tones in sentences produced by adult Ìgbò subjects in this study. Also, the downstep tone was clearly shown as a property of normal speech based on its various positions of occurrence in the speech pattern of the Ìgbò subjects in the examples given in (20).

The interlanguage in comparison with native speakers’ grammar is regarded as deviant forms of the target language. These forms are generally considered as errors by native speakers. However, based on the perception of interlanguage by Ball (2011) where she opines that “the interlanguage hypothesis combines assumptions of the contrastive and identity hypotheses and includes both neuro-psychological and socio-psychological aspects, while emphasizing the independence of the interlanguage of the L2 learner from both his and her first and target languages”, the interlanguage can be viewed as a distinct language which creates its own rules. This submission by Ball (2011) makes it clear that interlanguage is expected to deviate from both L1 and L2 and also develop new rules which differ from those attested in the L2 learner’s native language as well as the target L2.

Findings from this study have some implications on the true status of interlanguage as well as factors that trigger and regulate interlanguage. Evidence from the tone patterns produced by adult Ìgbò subjects revealed that interlanguage follows some regular and consistent innate rules which L2 learners unconsciously apply just like L1 learners. This supports the claim of White (2000) and Cook (2003b) that interlanguage is a form of grammar which can be likened to any native language. Also, this study revealed that interlanguage is a phenomenon triggered by innate linguistic features (in this case, a combination of L1 and L2 features) and linguistic input moderated by cognition which helps L2 learners to produce deviant


but structurally regular and consistent linguistic patterns. It is such innate structural regularity and consistency that make interlanguage comparable to native grammar.

7. Conclusion

A critical evaluation of interlanguage reveals that, it is usually rule-governed just like any native language. This implies that, it cannot be out rightly considered as error. Based on the latter claim, this study evaluates the interlanguage grammar of adult Ìgbò native speakers who were L2 Yorùbá with focus on tones and how these tones were consistently and regularly supplied in each context of occurrence. This pattern (the use of Yorùbá tones by the Ìgbò subjects) was examined and found to be regular and consistent in the forms produced by the subjects. This regular and consistent pattern provides credible evidence which substantiated the claim propagated in this study that interlanguage grammars do exhibit features of linguistic system (native language). It also supports the claim that interlanguage grammar which makes use of rules distinct from those attested in both L1 and L2 governed by consistent application of such rules without following the existing rules either in the L1 or the L2 as exhibited by the adult Ìgbò subjects in this study is a good example of linguistic system that is, language. Such interlanguage could be considered a form of language.

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Appendix

Table 1. Profile of the Igbo subjects

Subject Sex Age Age of first Exposure to Yorùbá

Length of Exposure toYorùbá

1 M 54 24 30

2 F 50 25 25

3 M 48 28 20

4 F 39 24 15

5 M 45 23 22

6 M 45 22 23

7 M 54 24 26

8 M 55 25 24

9 M 50 32 22

10 F 52 26 26

Mean 49.2 25.3 23.3

The mean age of the Ìgbò subjects was 49.2; their mean age of first exposure to Yorùbá was 25.3 while their mean length of exposure to Yorùbá was 23.3.


Table 2: Results and percentage of tone representation among the ten Ìgbò subjects; the bold form is the form produced by adult Yorùbá native speakers while the italicized form is the output produced by adult Ìgbò L2 Yorùbá.

SUB: subject/participant, IOUT; Ìgbo L2 Yorùbá tone output, TNO; total number of suppliance,

NCS; number of consistent suppliance, %; percentage of correct number of consistent suppliance

N.B. The results revealed 100% consistency and regularity for each of the form produced by all the subjects

interlanguage as linguistic system: prosodic evidence from...

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