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Articles

CJLS: VOL. 9, NO. 2, DECEMBER 2021

A Micro-Parametric Variation of English and Khana Adjectives

Submitted
January 19, 2022
Published
2022-01-19

Abstract

Significant parametric variations are discovered in different languages whenever their structures are dissected and laid bare. The English and Khana languages are two distinct languages; the former spoken as a second language as well as the language of instruction in schools in Nigeria while the latter is the indigenous language of a selected Ogoni group and also included in the languages grouped as minority languages in Nigeria. This paper which examined the structural variations of adjectives in both languages anchored its strength on two theoretical frameworks: Chomsky's Minimalist Program and Lado's Contrastive Analysis. The methodology is completely descriptive. Secondary data were predominantly collected from grammar texts and interpreted by native speakers of Khana. Findings revealed a sharp departure in the adjectival structures of both languages, for instance, the adjectives in English manifest an overt morphological pattern of grading while those of Khana retain their forms at the comparative and superlative levels. The paper therefore recommends that teachers of Khana/English bilinguals should adopt teaching strategies that will assist learners surmount the challenges that emanate from the structural variations of adjectives in both languages.