SPOKEN ENGLISH AND THE NIGERIAN IDENTITY: AN ANALYSIS OF FEATURES OF THE ANNANG ACCENT OF ENGLISH

Abstract

This paper examines the features of the Annang Accent of English. In a multilingual nation like Nigeria, language serves as an identity marker. It is generally believed that the varieties of English spoken by Nigerians set them apart from other speakers globally, as it reveals their identity. It uses the Descriptive Approach to language study as a theoretical framework. Data for this study was collected from chosen students of the Senior Secondary Three (SSIII) Class from eight (8) Secondary Schools in Annang ethnic group, one Government school from each Local Government Area. The analysis of the features is done taking into cognizance the segmental and the nonsegmental features of English. This study reveals that some of the features analysed are common to those of the Nigerian accent of English, while some are peculiarly Annang, indicating an Annang identity in spoken English. The paper concludes from the features analysis that the Annang accent of English gives an Annang identity which is a sub-variety of the Nigerian accent.