Synchronic Account of Substitution among Educated Ohaozara Speakers of English

Substitution is a natural experience among second language speakers because it occurs in a situation where the target language presents segments that do not exist in the native language of speakers. Native speakers, therefore, unavoidably try to overcome the linguistic problem of having to articulate sounds that are present in the foreign language but unavailable in their mother tongue. It is against this linguistic pedigree that this study explored the synchronic account of substitution among educated Ohaozara speakers of English using the Natural Phonology Hypotheses (NPH) as its analytical tool. The study aimed to identify and account for the particular cases of phonological substitution as it affects Ohaozara educated speakers of the English language and thereafter, recommend workable and sustainable remedies that would mitigate the problem. Data for the study were collected through the use of audio recorder and a reading comprehension passage. One hundred (100) educated Ohaozara speakers of English, who were drawn at random, using the stratified random sampling technique, participated in the study. The data were analyzed quantitatively in accordance with the tenets of NPH. The results showed that the speakers exhibited acts of phoneme substitution in most of their spoken discourses in English as evidenced by both data. The study offered a good number of recommendations and suggestions to mitigate the problem.