A STUDY ON SEMANTIC IMPLICATIONS OF MORPHOLOGICAL INTRAFERENCE AMONGST EDUCATED SPEAKERS OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN PORT HARCOURT
Abstract
This work examined semantic implications of morphological intraference among educated speakers of the English language in Port Harcourt. The aim was to identify the morphological intraference, determine the causes of the common types of morphological intraference and examine the semantic implication of the morphological intraference in Port Harcourt. The Interlanguage theory was adopted as the framework of the study while descriptive method was adopted as the design of the study. The study uses a sample size of 227 teachers in 20 selected private nursery and primary schools in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Rivers State. Stratified and simple sampling techniques were used for selection of the participants. Data were collected through observation and secondary sources. The study found that the educated Nigerians exhibits morphological intraference in English nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, especially when dealing with difficult words. It also found that many types of morphological intraference are caused by overgeneralization, inadequate knowledge of grammar, hypercorrection, over-inclusion, mis-selection of morphemes, misanalysis, and in other cases coinage of new words. The study concluded that though morphological intraference distorts meaning to an extent, the errors can be decoded by listeners while the newly coined words are mostly acceptable among a community of users who share common linguistic environment. It was therefore recommended that there should be a collection of words that have elements of intraference as a data for teaching grammar in schools. Teachers should always adopt appropriate grammar teaching methods which will enhance knowledge of the English grammar among learners.
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Published in JOURNAL OF SOCIAL & POLICY RESEARCH
ISSN: 2446-7343
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