Ebira English in Nigerian Supersystems: Inventory and Variation D i s s e r t a t i o n zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor philosophiae (Dr. phil.) vorgelegt der Philosophischen Fakultät der Technischen Universität Chemnitz von Herrn Adeiza Lasisi Isiaka, geboren am 14. 12. 1983 in Ado - Ekiti Chemnitz, 30.01.2017 Dean: Prof. Dr. Stefan Garsztecki Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Josef Schmied External Examiner: Prof. Dr. Albertus J van Rooy To my father and mother i Content List of Figures iv List of Tables vi 1 Nigerian English Varieties: Conflicts and Emergence ................................ 1 1.1 The Ebira English Subsystem ...................................................................................... 3 2 Through Evolution, Diversity and Powers of English in Nigeria ............... 8 2.1 Functional Powers of English since Contact ............................................................. 11 2.2 The Ebira People and English in Ebiraland ............................................................... 18 2.3 The Benue Congo Phylum ......................................................................................... 20 2.4 Ebira and Yoruba Vowel Systems ............................................................................. 22 2.5 NigE Varieties: Ethno-linguistic Nexus .................................................................... 24 2.5.1 Level of Education.............................................................................................. 26 2.5.2 The Lects and Quest for Standardisation ............................................................ 29 2.6 Overview of NigE Vocalic Inventory: Monophthongs .............................................. 33 2.6.1 High, Low Back and Central Vowels ................................................................. 37 2.6.2 COMMA/LETTER Lowering ................................................................................. 45 2.6.3 NURSE Lowering, Backing or Fronting ............................................................ 47 2.7 Diphthongs ................................................................................................................. 48 2.8 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 50 3 Research Design ............................................................................................ 52 3.1 Speakers ..................................................................................................................... 52 3.2 Sampling .................................................................................................................... 53 3.2.1 Age ..................................................................................................................... 56 3.2.2 Gender ................................................................................................................ 58 3.2.3 Education ............................................................................................................ 59 3.3 Sociolinguistics Questionnaires and Interviews ........................................................ 60 ii 3.3.1 The Word List Citation ....................................................................................... 62 3.3.2 The Reading Passage .......................................................................................... 64 3.3.3 The Sociolinguistic Interview ............................................................................. 67 3.4 Recording ................................................................................................................... 70 3.4.1 Segmentation and Measurements ....................................................................... 70 3.4.2 Formants Measurement ...................................................................................... 72 3.4.3 Data Cleaning ..................................................................................................... 76 4 Theoretical Frameworks .............................................................................. 81 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 81 4.1.1 Mufwene’s Feature Pool ..................................................................................... 82 4.1.2 Linguistic Species and Accommodation Theory ................................................ 85 4.1.3 Sociolinguistic Identity and Accommodation .................................................... 87 4.1.4 Dynamic Model .................................................................................................. 89 4.1.5 NigE in Schneider’s PCE ................................................................................... 92 4.1.6 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 96 4.2 Data Normalisation .................................................................................................... 97 4.2.1 Statistical Assumptions and Modelling ............................................................ 103 4.2.2 Linear Regression Models ................................................................................ 104 4.2.2.1 Choosing Predictors for Statistical Modelling .......................................... 110 4.3 Methods for ‘Mergers’ ............................................................................................. 116 4.3.1 Mixed Effects Modelling .................................................................................. 118 4.3.2 Random Intercept in Mixed Models and By-speaker Analyses ....................... 120 4.3.3 Rbrul for Mixed Effects Regression ................................................................. 121 4.3.4 Interpreting Rbrul Outputs ............................................................................... 123 5 Analysis of EEng Monophthongs .............................................................. 126 5.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 126 5.2 Model Fitting and Linear Regression Analysis ....................................................... 103 5.2.1 High Vowels: KIT & FLEECE ........................................................................ 135 iii 5.2.2 GOOSE and FOOT ................................................................................................ 140 5.2.3 Low Back Vowels: LOT, THOUGHT AND STRUT ...................................... 146 5.2.4 STRUT and Low Back Vowels ........................................................................ 151 5.2.5 Low Central Vowels ......................................................................................... 154 5.2.5.1 Analysis of TRAP, BATH and lettER ...................................................... 157 5.2.5.2 The Status of lettER and BATH ................................................................ 161 5.2.6 NURSE ............................................................................................................. 164 5.2.7 FACE, GOAT and CURE ....................................................................................... 167 5.3 Monophthongal Inventory in Ebira English System ................................................ 169 5.3.1 Extralinguistic Variables .................................................................................. 173 5.3.2 Regression Analysis ......................................................................................... 175 5.3.2.1 KIT and FLEECE ...................................................................................... 176 5.3.2.2 GOOSE and FOOT ................................................................................... 179 5.3.2.3 USE ........................................................................................................... 180 5.3.2.4 THOUGHT and STRUT ........................................................................... 181 5.3.2.5 BATH and lettER ...................................................................................... 183 5.3.2.6 NURSE ........................................................................................................ 185 5.3.2.7 DRESS ...................................................................................................... 187 5.4 Social Differentiation in EEng Vowels ................................................................... 188 6 Conclusion………………………………………………………………. 191 6.1 Summary .................................................................................................................. 192 6.2 Limitations ............................................................................................................... 196 6.3 Outlook .................................................................................................................... 197 Bibliography ...................................................................................................... 199 Deutsche Zusammenfassung ............................................................................ 219 Appendix (on CD) iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: An index map for some Nigerian languages ............................................................ 21 Figure 2.2: Olaniyi’s pyramid for NigE varieties (Olaniyi 2014:237) ....................................... 26 Figure 2.3: An illustrative lects ladder for I am eating in Jamaican speech continuum