PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES AMONG GHANAIAN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN: A CASE STUDY OF NEW ELITE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Authors

  • Isaac Kwabena Adubofour Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Communication and Cultural Studies, University of Development Studies, Ghana
  • Daniel Afrifa-Yamoah Assistant Lecturer, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skill Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Ghana
  • Yaa Amponsah Owusu-Afriyie Forces Senior High Technical School, P.O. Box BC 299, Burma Camp, Accra, Ghana

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejals.v4i1.288

Keywords:

phonological process, language acquisition, second language learning, bilingualism

Abstract

The study focused on ascertaining the phonological processes that characterize the speech patterns of some selected preschool children. Data was collected from a sample of ten (10) pupils from ages 1-5 spanning the accepted age range for pupils to be in preschool in Ghana. Productions of the participants on words were recorded and later analyzed to determine the phonological processes present. It was found that the phonological processes that characterized the speech of the sample are syllable structure processes (e.g. cluster reduction); substitutions; and insertions. Further, it was found that age has a role to play in the presence of phonological processes in the speech of an individual. It was found however that some of the pupils were able to correctly articulate sounds when they were repeated to them. The study recommends that this study be extended to other school children in the country as well as teachers and other stakeholders towards ensuring the school-going children learn English pronunciation the right way.

 

Author Biographies

  • Isaac Kwabena Adubofour, Assistant Lecturer, Faculty of Communication and Cultural Studies, University of Development Studies, Ghana
    Isaac Kwabena Adubofour is currently an assistant lecturer with the Faculty of Communication and Cultural Studies in the University for Development Studies in Ghana. He holds a Master of Philosophy in English, and his research interests are in the fields of phonetics, phonology, and applied linguistics.
  • Daniel Afrifa-Yamoah, Assistant Lecturer, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skill Training and Entrepreneurial Development, Ghana
    Daniel Afrifa-Yamoah is an assistant lecturer in the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies at Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development. His research interests are in pronunciation, second language learning, teaching English as a second language, intonation, and discourse analysis. He is currently a PhD in English candidate at the University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.
  • Yaa Amponsah Owusu-Afriyie, Forces Senior High Technical School, P.O. Box BC 299, Burma Camp, Accra, Ghana
    Yaa Amponsah Owusu-Afriyie is an English language teacher at Forces Senior High Technical School, Burma Camp in Accra, Ghana. Her research interests are in applied linguistics, and she specializes in discourse analysis. She is a graduate from the Master of Philosophy in English at the University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana.

References

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Published

2021-10-01

Issue

Vol. 4 No. 1 (2021)

Section

Articles

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