Graphophonemic analysis of RP [a] vowel variants in educated Hausa English accent

Abstract

Abstract

This study investigates the graphophonemic correspondence between orthographic representations and phonetic realisations of [a] variants of pure vowels in the spoken English of educated Hausa speakers (EHEA).The objectives were to identify the vowel sounds assigned to graphemes corresponding to RP pure vowels, determine their variants and frequencies, and analyse the phonological processes underlying their realisations. Data were elicited from sixty educated Hausa speakers through a read-aloud task involving 60 English words containing graphemes corresponding to the four RP pure vowels. The participants’ oral productions were recorded in quiet settings and phonetically transcribed as perceived following the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) demonstrated audio-wise in IPA i-Charts, 2025. In analysing data, the study deployed Ladefoged and Johnson’s (2014) model of Taxonomic Phonology as the theoretical framework and combined qualitative description and quantitative analysis. Findings revealed systematic deviations from RP norms characterised by vowel substitution, neutralisation, and orthography-induced variation. Across the four variants, EHEA demonstrated recurrent tendencies toward vowel lowering, centralisation, and backing, influenced by the five-vowel inventory of Hausa. Notably, /æ/ as [a] or [e]; /ʌ/ and /ɜː/ as [ɔ], [a], or [o] and /a;/ as [a]. Orthographic influence emerged as a major factor, with variants reflecting spelling-based pronunciation.The study concludes that educated Hausa English exhibits a stable and rule-governed vowel system distinct from RP, shaped by both L1 phonological constraints and orthographic mediation. The study offers pedagogical insights for pronunciation teaching and serves as a reference framework for future acoustic, comparative, and corpus-based studies of Nigerian English varieties.