Abstract:
This research study investigates the interference of Yoruba on the spoken English of preachers from four Pentecostal churches in Ogun State. The aim is to know the areas in which the Yoruba mother tongue of preachers interferes with spoken English in their sermon. The sermons of eight preachers were selected through the researcher’s judgemental sampling technique. Recordings were made by means of a voice recorder to collect data and the method of collecting data was through participant observation. The data was analysed via the theoretical framework of Contrastive Analysis (CA). Analysis of data revealed that Yoruba language interference on the spoken English of sermoners is evident in phonology and grammar; coined words and also lexical borrowing of words from Yoruba.
The suggestion of the research findings is that interference errors occur in the use of English as a second language by the selected sermoners. From the results of the research, it was found that the Yoruba mother tongue of these preachers influence their proficiency in English phonology. Findings were discussed and from there, conclusion, summary and recommendations were derived.
