Nativization of English among L2 learners

In the discussion of Postcolonial Englishes, Cameroon English is a well-known variety, yet many of its features have not been fully described. One of these features is adverbs and their syntactic positioning. Hence, the present paper aims to show that the input-oriented feature specifications of adv...

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Main Author: Napoleon Epoge
Format: Article
Language:Danish
Published: Aalborg University Open Publishing 2021-12-01
Series:Globe
Online Access:https://discurso.aau.dk/index.php/globe/article/view/7046
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author Napoleon Epoge
author_facet Napoleon Epoge
author_sort Napoleon Epoge
collection DOAJ
description In the discussion of Postcolonial Englishes, Cameroon English is a well-known variety, yet many of its features have not been fully described. One of these features is adverbs and their syntactic positioning. Hence, the present paper aims to show that the input-oriented feature specifications of adverbs and their syntactic positioning have undergone certain innovation processes in Cameroon English. These innovations include placement of adverbials to permit the SVAO information structure, employment of adjectives ending in -ly as adverbs, formation of adverbs from nouns by adding the suffix –ly, substitution of adjectives for adverbs, placement of adverbials after the verb in verb + long object clause, placement of an adverb modifying a participle after the word it modifies, and placement of adverbials of time between the subject and verb. The paper argues that the motivation behind novel adverbs as well as novel syntactic positioning of adverbs stems from the co-existence of English and many other languages in the linguistic ecology of Cameroon. The innovations can be codified into a variety-specific grammar of Cameroon English in its construction and semiotization of Cameroonians’ sense of socio-cultural and linguistic identity.
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spelling doaj.art-0cd686271efa428fa9c12e4130c12bde2024-04-02T12:25:51ZdanAalborg University Open PublishingGlobe2246-88382021-12-0113Nativization of English among L2 learnersNapoleon Epoge0University of Yaounde IIn the discussion of Postcolonial Englishes, Cameroon English is a well-known variety, yet many of its features have not been fully described. One of these features is adverbs and their syntactic positioning. Hence, the present paper aims to show that the input-oriented feature specifications of adverbs and their syntactic positioning have undergone certain innovation processes in Cameroon English. These innovations include placement of adverbials to permit the SVAO information structure, employment of adjectives ending in -ly as adverbs, formation of adverbs from nouns by adding the suffix –ly, substitution of adjectives for adverbs, placement of adverbials after the verb in verb + long object clause, placement of an adverb modifying a participle after the word it modifies, and placement of adverbials of time between the subject and verb. The paper argues that the motivation behind novel adverbs as well as novel syntactic positioning of adverbs stems from the co-existence of English and many other languages in the linguistic ecology of Cameroon. The innovations can be codified into a variety-specific grammar of Cameroon English in its construction and semiotization of Cameroonians’ sense of socio-cultural and linguistic identity.https://discurso.aau.dk/index.php/globe/article/view/7046
spellingShingle Napoleon Epoge
Nativization of English among L2 learners
Globe
title Nativization of English among L2 learners
title_full Nativization of English among L2 learners
title_fullStr Nativization of English among L2 learners
title_full_unstemmed Nativization of English among L2 learners
title_short Nativization of English among L2 learners
title_sort nativization of english among l2 learners
url https://discurso.aau.dk/index.php/globe/article/view/7046
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