A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE NOUN PHRASE IN GYONG AND ENGLISH

ABSTRACT

This research work, ‘A Contrastive Analysis of the Noun Phrase in Gyong and English Languages’ was motivated by the researcher’s realization of how Gyong language lends itself in numerous ways to morphological subtypes and morphology at large which are distinct from the English language. The research concentrates on a contrastive analysis of some factors which seem to affect the performance of Gyong learners of English, especially the noun phrase which has been observed to be very problematic because of interference from the grammar and lexis of mother-tongue, choice of appropriate pre/post modifiers of the nominals, etc. The research work identified diverse differences between the Gyong language and English language and how they bring about difficulties for Gwong people learning English as a second language. A contrastive description of the noun phrase in the two languages revealed diverse differences in the following aspects of the noun phrase; pluralisation, article, demonstratives, genitives, concord, syntax and qualifiers. These areas were found to be sources of difficulty to Gyong learners of English. Data about he existing noun phrase in the two languages were gathered, their applications were described, similarities, dissimilarities and effectiveness or otherwise were also considered. This research contains some recommendations for overcoming the difficulties identified such as: carrying out more researches in Gyong language, especially its morphology, syntax and semantics, among native Gwong to fine-tune methods and materials in favour of the language (Gyong). Remedial drills on contrastive analysis should be made into supplementary materials based on findings for teaching English language in such areas under study.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page      .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           I

Approval page        .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           II

Declaration .            .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           III

Certification .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           IV

Dedication .              .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           V

Acknowledgements           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           VI

Abstract        .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           VII

Table of contents .             .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           VIII

CHAPTER ONE – THE GYONG LANGUAGE…………………………………………………. IX

1.0      An Introduction      .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           01

1.1      Location        .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           02

1.2       Affinity of Gyong .            .           .           .           .           .           .           .           02

1.3      Background to the study .           .           .           .           .           .           .           04

1.4      Standard of performance in English among secondary school students.05

1.5      Statement of the problem           .           .           .           .           .           .           05

1.6      Aim and Objectives           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           08

1.7       Hypotheses of the study .           .           .           .           .           .           .           08

1.8      Research Questions           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           11

1.9      Justification of the Study and Significance      .           .           .           .           21

1.10 Scope and Delimitations .               .           .           .           .           .           .           23

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE…………………………..………… X

2.0      Introduction            .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           24

2.1      The noun phrase in English         .           .           .           .           .           .           26

2.2       The system of noun phrase in English .           .           .           .           .           30

2.3      The verb phrase in English           .           .           .           .           .           .           31

2.4      Structure of the noun phrases in Gyong         .           .           .           .           33

2.5      Modification structure in Gyong and English .           .           .           .           34

2.6      Determiners in Gyong      .           .           .           .           .           .           .           39

2.7      Determiners in English nouns     .           .           .           .           .           .           40

2.8      The concept of number in Gyong          .           .           .           .           .           41

2.9      Number in English nouns .           .           .           .           .           .           .           41

2.10 Gender in Gyong .                .           .           .           .           .           .           .           50

2.11 Gender in English .               .           .           .           .           .           .           .           51

2.12 Genitives         .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           57

2.13 Articles in Gyong .                .           .           .           .           .           .           .           73

2.14   The numeral system in Gyong nominals and ordinals          .           .           85

2.15 Predictable areas of difficulty       .           .           .           .           .           .           87

CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY……………………………………………………….….. XI

3.0      Description of sample       .           .           .           .           .           .           .           90

3.1      Instruments .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           91

3.2      Administration of the test and its evaluation .           .           .           .           92

3.3      Limitation of the study     .           .           .           .           .           .           .           93

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS…………………………..…. XII

4.0      Introduction .          .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           94

4.1      Presentation of results     .           .           .           .           .           .           .           94

4.2      Statistical summary           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           108

4.3      Summary      .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           109

4.4       Conclusion .            .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           111

LIST OF TABLES:

Table 4.0       Tables of prefixes

Table 4.1       Sample T-test on pluralisation of nouns by students involved in this

study .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           101

Table 4.2       Sample T-test on the indefinite article .           .           .           .           102

Table 4.3       Sample T-test on demonstratives          .           .           .           .           103

Table 4.4       Sample T-test on the use of genitives .            .           .           .           104

Table 4.5       Sample T-test on the use of subject-verb agreement          .           105

Table 4.6       Sample T-test on the use of syntax/word agreement          .           106

Table 4.7       Sample T-test on quantifiers       .           .           .           .           .           107

CHAPTER FIVE: FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION……………. XIII

5.0      Introduction .          .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           113

5.1      Summary of findings         .           .           .           .           .           .           .           113

5.2      Sources of error     .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           118

5.3      Recommendations .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           119

5.4       Conclusion .            .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           119

References .            .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           121

           Appendix      .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           .           124 CHAPTER ONE: THE GYONG LANGUAGE ……………………………………………………….. IX 1.0 AN INTRODUCTION

Introducing the Gyong language and its speakers will go a long way in preparing the mind of the reader for a discussion and analysis of the language since the concentration on the linguistic forms and forgetting the people who use the forms in ordinary communication will distort the reality of the language in use. It is therefore important to provide information on the historical background and geographical setting of the people. The people (and their language) are known as Gwong while their Hausa neighbors call them Kagoma/Yeskwa. The origin of these names has been a subject of great debate.

A powerful source has it that when the first Hausa traders visited Gwong/Nyakpa-land, they asked our people what they call themselves. It is said that they were told that we call ourselves Gwong (meaning a multitude) while Khi-Gong means our land and our territory. The Hausa people are said to have found it very difficult to pronounce the words Gwong or Khi-Gong and therefore coined the term KAGOMA. They also coined the name Yeskwa to replace NYAKPA, which they could not pronounce. Evidence abound that both Gwong and Nyakpa have a common origin i.e Gwong Thona and Nyakpa Thona. There are other brothers in addition to Gwong and Nyakpa who are said to have left us and settled across the river of Godogodo district known as Ninem Thona. The brotherly links between these people guided the district officer in charge of Jema’a division to create the Kagoma/Yeskwa district in 1949 A.D, until of recent when the two were divided with each being a district of its own.

1.1      LOCATION

Gwong land, otherwise known as Khi-Gong is found in the Northern part of middle belt in Nigeria. It occupies the area now known as Southern Kaduna in Kaduna State of Nigeria. Khi-Gong is in the Guinea savannah area of Nigeria, the vegetation being largely grassland integrated with medium high trees. There are some clusters of hilly areas scattered all over the area. It is within the climatic zone characterized by wet and dry seasons. The dry season stretches from November-April, while the rainy season starts from April to early October.

The immediate neighbors of Gwong include Bejju and Atyap in the north, Kagoro on the northeastern side; Kaninkong and Fontsuam are to the south eastern side. The Ham (Jaba) spread along a considerable length of the western side.

1.2.    AFFINITY OF GYONG

Language is part of culture and culture affects language. Language is the principal means by which people express their experiences, feelings and desires and people identify themselves through language. Language therefore occupies a very important position in the life of man.

In the colonial era, all African languages were considered inferior to Western languages in general and English in particular. To correct this misconception, there is a need to groom the people in general and Gwong in particular to understand and respect their cultural values, norms and beliefs and ways of life in order to discard foreign ones. This will help in self-realization and selfdevelopment.

A thorough understanding of Nigerian culture will create opportunities for the people to discover their roots, regain their lost identity and self-confidence and improve their self-knowledge. Some of the indigenous languages that had hitherto been relegated to the background due to the influence of other more developed languages are now coming up - Gyong belongs to this category of languages.

No attempt has so far been made to study Gyong language in detail. There is an urgent need for people to develop interest in preparing textbooks on grammar and structures of Gyong language for use in primary and secondary schools. This need is more felt now that the Federal Government is placing great emphasis on the mother tongue. It is recommended in the National policy on Education that the mother tongue be used as a medium of instruction in the first three years of primary education and also taught as a subject from upper primary to the end of the junior secondary school.

Gyong, like most Nigerian languages tagged minor languages, is an obscure language at present, but no one knows what it will be in future since languages have potentials to develop. Harrison (1973) in Atsu (1986) confirms this assertion in the following words:

“It is one of the tenets of linguistics that one can do anything with any language given enough time all languages are capable of equivalent development. Language is value-free in relation to potential performance”.

Gyong language is a contrastive study because one learns more about what is common or not common. One can prove on certain theories of linguistics. It is also good to learn it in its own right.

This is a great challenge to which eminent sons; daughters and scholars of Gwong should rise up to by sponsoring or undertaking serious study of the language.

1.3      BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The English language occupies such an important position in the society in general and in Nigeria in particular. English language was and to some extent, still is considered as a prestige language, a language of social mobility. It occupies an enviable position, as it is the language of instruction from senior primary school to the tertiary level of education.

In Nigeria, the English language is the language for government at both state and national levels; it is the language for the modernized commerce, industry and other economic enterprises, for education particularly at post primary and tertiary levels; for inert-ethnic, cross cultural and institutional communication and diplomacy.

Even though there are strong advocates for an indigenous language to be used across the country for official business in place of English, this possibility is still some way off. Indeed, English is Nigeria’s lingua franca spoken by the mass media, courts, institutions of learning, etc. Even among world languages, English occupies an enviable position in the international circles. It means therefore, that any Nigerian child who wants to participate fully in the affairs of this world has to be proficient in English language.

However, (Atsu 1986), “in spite of all the functions outlined above and many others, English language is in serious crises in Nigeria”. Students hardly meet the standard required thereby failing their examinations and losing chances of admission to higher institutions and losing job opportunities.

1.4     STANDARD OF PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL                                                      STUDENTS

Recent pronouncements and statistics of the WASSCE/GCE/SSCE result show a steady decline in the performance of students in English language. The Performance of those students who even passed the English language paper leaves one in doubt as to whether they were really the ones who wrote the examination. Despite the efforts made by groups and individuals to avert this trend of affairs, things unfortunately appear to be deteriorating.

The situation becomes even more disturbing when one realizes “that English language being a medium of science and technology is the language of development and the ability to use it qualities one for entry into an international community of wealth and influence” Parren (1968) in Atsu (1986).

Brain (1977) supporting this assertion says succinctly that,

It has been found that a school certificate with a credit in English language does not necessarily mean that a student has the linguistic equipment required for the work at this level.

1.5                STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Nigeria’s language policy emphasizes the teaching of the mother tongue or indigenous languages as a means of preserving the people’s culture and promoting national unity. With regard to this, it stresses the need for developing standard orthographies in many Nigerian languages before textbooks based on them can be produced. It is in the light of the foregoing that the mother tongue and English described as L1 and L2 respectively are taught side by side.

The performance of many Nigerian students in English language is below expectation as earlier discussed. The situation in Kagoma zone where most of the Gong students are found is very pathetic and paints a gloomy picture for learners of English in the area.

The standard of performance of a broad segment of the population of Nigerian students in the English language examination (both in the public examination as well as in the classroom) at all levels seems to be getting poorer year after year rather than improving. This, L.A. Boadi et al (1977) seems to confirm by saying:

…. There is a good deal of evidence to show that the present standards of English teaching in our schools are not high. And not only this; it would seem that they are actually becoming lower rather than improving.

Hardly would one read a couple of sentences by a pupil in the secondary school without recording a number of weaknesses which, Boadi et al, quoting from the examiners reports on the performance of students in public examinations include (among many others) “weak handling of sentence structure” and “errors of agreement”.

Among the factors expected to be responsible for this unfortunate situation is the problem of interference, one of which Tiffen (1968) identifies as “interference from the grammar and lexis of the mother tongue” with major areas of difficulty including (among others) “the use of countable and uncountable nouns, articles…” accompanied by problems of choosing the appropriate pre- or post modifiers of the nominals.

Many causes of students’ poor performance in English have been identified by various committees, examiners, teachers and individuals and recommendations were made on how to remedy the situation based on the identified problems, yet the situation still seems to be a far cry. One area where little attention has been paid is that of how the system of the mother tongue interferes with the acquisition and use of a second language. Some language experts have argued that an effective way of overcoming the problem of interference is to undertake a contrastive study of the two languages - the mother tongue and the target - in our case, Gyong and English. Through such study, areas of difficulties will be identified and means by which to surmount those difficulties can be devised, for example, by restructuring textbooks and rearranging instructional materials for teaching and learning of the target language – English. This research therefore concentrates on a contrastive analysis of some factors, which seem to affect the performance of Gyong learners of English, particularly the noun phrase which has been found or observed to be very problematic – the problem of interference, one of which Tiffen (1968), identifies as “ interference from the grammar and lexis of the mother tongue” with major areas of difficulty including, “the use of countable and uncountable nouns, articles…” accompanied by problems of choosing the appropriate pre or post modifiers of the nominals.

Furthermore, the noun phrase is considered problematic to Gyong learners of English because it is different from English with respect to number and gender distinctions and therefore creates problems of choosing the appropriate pre – or post –modifiers of English nominals.

1.6      AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The central aim of this study is to contras the noun phrase in English and Gyong languages since adequate research has not been carried out on Gyong language especially in the context of grammar and orthography. The study intends to:

1. Assist teachers of Gyong learners of English to identify areas that present learning problems to their selection of the most appropriate methods and materials for effective teaching for better results.
2. Identify areas of similarities and dissimilarities between the two languages under study.
3. To provide concrete ways for effective teaching of Gyong language, especially the noun phrase, in view of the emphasis being placed on the learning of indigenous languages in Nigeria.

1.7      HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

Various aspects of the two languages Gyong and English are compared and contrasted in this study with a view to predicting the areas that Gyong learners of English are likely to have difficulties. Attempts will be made to construct test items based on these predictions in order to ascertain their validity or otherwise. These predictions are based on areas where there are marked differences between the two languages. Areas that have been discovered to have glaringly marked difference and which are envisaged to cause learning problems to Gyong learners of English include:

1. Pluralisation of nouns in English. The predictable problems are likely to be found in such areas as:
   • En-plurals examples; oxen, brethren, children
   • Foreign-plurals       “         locus – loci, stimuli, formulae, indices,                                      criteria
   • -Es-plurals        “         -series – a series, species
   • -S-plurals        “           -goods, troops, brains, shorts, alms
   • Invariable plurals   “           classics, economics, mathematics,                                        mumps
2. The absence of the indefinite article in Gyong language is likely to be a predictable source of difficulty because of its existence in English. In this respect the predictable areas of difficulty include:

• The-a- article examples; a paper, a kettle, a car, a house

3. Although demonstratives exist in both Gyong and English, they operate differently. Therefore, the demonstratives could also be a predictable source of difficulty to Gyong learners of English.
   • This                      These
   • That                       Those

e.g. This – Tula mboh kiwyeh?

Cloths who this?

Whose cloth is this?

These – Ki tula mboh kike?

Clothes who these?

Whose clothes are those?

That – Ki hyah ngu na kike nu

House you is that

That is your house

Those – Wyou hyah sho fimi

These/those houses belong me

Those/these houses are mine

4. Another significant area of difficulty in the two languages is the use of the genitives . English language has two, which are not available in Gyong language. These, therefore, are likely to be a source of predictable difficulty to Gyong learners of English.
   • The -of- genitive example the hop of the wheel, the title of the
5. Subject-verb agreement is another likely source of difficulty for Gyong learners of English, particularly
   • Plural subject with plural verb agreement e.g.

Mboh suh Gwong

They is Gwong

They are Gwong

• Singular subject with singular verb agreement e.g

Nga suh dah mi

She is mother my

She is my mother

6. The use of the relative pronouns who or whom is predictable source if difficulty e.g.
   • A suh ghile nga wute

It is the girl she beat me                        It is the girl who beat me

• Ngu rurota moh mboh?

You talking with who?

With whom are you talking?

7. Since Gyong does not have quantifiers, the use of quantifiers could also cause some difficulty for English learner’s e.g
   • Nita gwong in dah

People plenty on farm

There are plenty people on the farm § Kibi ngu suh yetsi?

Money you how much?

How much money do you have?

1.8      RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Therefore, this study will seek to find answers to the following questions:

1. Does Gyong share the same notion of gender as English? If not, does the difference constitute a source of learning difficulty for learners?
2. What rules does Gyong operate for pluralizing nouns as distinct from English?
3. What are the differences between English and Gyong systems of noun modification?
4. Why do Gyong learners of English appear to encounter problems in; Identifying nouns derived by stress?

• Deriving nouns from verbs and adjectives?

To illustrate these questions briefly, let us consider first;

1.8.0 GYONG NOUN CLASSES

This is, without mincing words, the first conscious attempt ever made by anyone, whether Gyong or non-Gyong speakers, to identify and classify nouns in Gyong language. As a result of this situation, therefore, this study may not, as a pioneer study claim any infallibility in the classification to be made below. However, it is hoped that the classification being made here will serve as a model or point of departure for other scholars.

Gwong language, like Bete and Bantu (and unlike English) is a class language. According to Greenberg’s classification of the linguistic families in Africa, contained in Alexander (1967), Gyong belongs to the Niger-kordofanian (NegroAfrican) language family. There appears to be some traces of noun classes in G a class language, which may be arbitrarily numbered 1-8 in this research work, but slightly different from Bantu which relies mostly on prefixation and infixation, Bete on prefixation alone and the Gombe dialect of the Fula language on suffixation, for the classification of their nouns. Gyong language appears to use prefixation and tone switching mainly. The stem of the noun is the constant element while the prefix undertakes inflectional changes to express number to indicate the class to which the noun belongs, for example:

1. Kidah – farm            ridah – farms
2. Landon – enemy bolandon – enemies

From the examples above, it can be seen that /ki/ has changed to /ri/, /l/ to /bo/ respectively for the plural. Every noun belongs to a distinctive class. The nouns are placed in particular class in accordance with the basic prefix. These together with the tone switching class and the non-pluralizing class form the noun classes in Gyong. The nouns are divided into parts, singular and plural under one number.

The form of class prefix determines the form of the pronoun and all concords with the nouns without any reference to the sex indicated by the noun. A majority of noun stems in Gyong are monosyllabic. A few are disyllabic and a very negligible number are polysyllabic. No sex gender is directly recognized in the classes and categories represented by the personal pronouns. The pronouns make no distinction between he/she/it, them (masculine) and them (feminine) of the categories of nominal. A table to illustrate the various classes of the prefix is followed by a class-by-class description of the various noun classes. This is to help clarify the discussion in the Gyong noun classes. Nouns in the classes below are realized through prefixation.

Examples of concordial agreement in this noun class

1. Kinyu mi         soh kiyini (noun phrase) (v) (adv)

Mouth               is   one

I have one mouth

2. Rinyu     ni soh kiyini

Mouths our is one

Our mouths are one 1.8.2 NOUN CLASS 2

ROOT/PREFIX bo + root

Human Beings Kinship

Bitter-leaf – bitter-leaves                       tyus – bo tyus

Examples of concordial agreement in this noun class

1. Whyei       wyu whong bo tah Groundnut it is good   to eat

Groundnut is good for eating

2. Bowhyei       dari     hate risha

Groundnuts did not yield last year

Groundnuts didn’t yield last year

1.8.3 NOUN CLASS 3

Ki + root/root

Parts of the body

Eye – eyes                                                kisuu – shuu

Knee – knees                                            kilung – rungnya

Hand – hands                                           kibok – thyok

Leg – legs                                                  kpela – kikpela

Ear – ears                                                 khitung – tyung

Miscellaneous

Spear – spears                                         kipan – kpan           Debt – debts                                          kifee – feeya

Room – rooms                                         kigbout – gbout

Ridge – ridges                                           kitok – tyok

House – houses                                       kihah – hyah

Bow – bows                                             kitong – tyong

Examples of Concordial agreement for this noun class

1. Kifee bikyu bina

Debt bad thing

Debt is a bad thing

2. Ki bok ku gwong

Hand your is big

Your hand is big

3. Boka dak chita

Hands nothing strong

Hands are not strong

1.8.4 NOUN CLASS 4

Root + prefix bi + root

Miscellaneous

Examples of Concordial agreement in this noun class

1. Biwyuh na kpou

A farmer that died

That farmer died

2. Biwyuhwyuhwa nat biwhawhana Farmers better than butchers

Farmers are better than butchers

1.8.5 NOUN CLASS 5

Nouns that pluralize by switch in tone (from H to L, e.t.c)

Miscellenoeus

Ribs – ribs                                                            fyam – fyaam

Stone – stones                                                    tyay – tyaah

Mountain – mountains                                      gyou – gyoou

Wild animal – wild animals                                nyam-kidah – nyam-kidah

Fish – fish (es)                                                     shas – shas

Star – stars                                                          jit – jit

Snake – snakes                                                   gyuse – gyuse

Granary – granaries                                           gyom – gyom

Examples of Concordial agreement for this noun class

1. Fyam mi thun Rib my break

My rib broke

2. Fyam bo hyeh chit nyat thi whey Ribs fathers stronger than that of sons

Fathers’ ribs are stronger than those of sons

3. Gyusa shoh bin bi teele

Snake it is something fearful

A snake is something to be feared

4. Gyusa ki fyet nyita

Snakes they kill people

Snakes kill people

1.8.6 NOUN CLASS 6

Non-pluralizing nouns

Miscellaneous

Water                                             kimalang

Millet                                             mnala

Salt                                                 tok

Smoke                                            kizong

Milk                                                kibeing

Sick                                                 ki ghale

Food     binyhe   Soil     kibip

Dew                                               myeng

1. The Gyong Sentence
   1. Simple sentence: Bii keeya nye Yimi

Wife a saw Yimi

A woman saw Yimi

S

NP                  VP

Bii keeya     nye Yimi

1. Compound sentence:

ki langbah boh zuk bin zyuka moh rewyeka boh zi kikpela

Elders         they driving cars   but   children they trekking

The old men are driving cars but the children are trekking.

S

ki langbah       boh zuk bin zyuka   moh rewyeka - boh zi kikpela

1. Complex sentence:

Yoo gyusa keni mi, byama na mi boh lan in kung nga The snake bit me   time   at   I   was sleeping outside A snake bit me, at the time I was sleeping outside.

S

A snake              bit me              by the time         I       was sleeping outside

1. Multiple sentences:

Bii keeya pila saik nyama a nyama dya byile yoo boh gap ni

Woman hurriedly cooked meat but meat did not cook therefore it shared us

NP

(was shared among us)

1.9      JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY AND SIGNIFICANCE Stern, (1991:120) stated that:

Historical and comparative linguistics attempted to describe and explain the historical changes which languages undergo and to build up scientifically attested knowledge of the evolution of languages and dialects and the relations among them. The scholars compared language forms of ancient and modern languages, described the changes (“sound shifts”) that occurred and formulated explanations or ‘laws’ to account for these changes.

By this, they intend to;

---- draw attention to regularities in the relation among languages by making comparisons between the students’ language and the target language.

The noun phrase is constantly in use in most languages generally and particularly in Gyong and English. Due to the changes involved in its various forms, it has been found to pose problems to second language learners – Gong learners of English in particular. As illustrated above, these problems are more pronounced in the areas of noun pluralisation, spellings of inflected forms of nouns, the use of possessive and concord (noun/verb agreement).

The continued failure in the standard of performance of Nigerian students in English language at all levels is a matter of great concern to individuals and public organizations interested in education in the country. The aspirations of many promising individuals have been thwarted by their inability to meet the national standard set for English language thereby resulting in a twist in their destiny, with the attendant heartaches and frustrations.

1. This study is intended to suggest ways in which the standard of performance of Nigerian students in English in general and that of Gyong learners of English in particular can be improved.
2. It is hoped that the results of this research will assist teachers of Gyong learners of English to identify areas that present learning problems to their students and to serve as a guide to their selection of the most appropriate methods and materials for effective teaching for better results.
3. It is also hoped to be an added contribution in the field of contrastive linguistics analysis, as it will hopefully provide additional insights into the problem we are concerned with.
4. It will assist textbooks writers and curriculum planners in selection and sequencing of materials and methods of instruction to Gyong learners of English and those of other languages that share similar characteristics with Gyong.

This study may also serve as a catalyst on which those interested in the development of Gyong language could carry out further research on other aspects of its grammar.

1.10 SCOPE AND DELIMITATIONS

Owing to the constraint on time and the diverse nature of the nounphrases in the two languages in contact (English and Gyong), it will not be possible to exhaust all the areas covered by the noun-phrases. Ideally, one should attempt to describe broader areas of Gyong language, given that not much work has been done on its grammar as a whole but since we are mainly concerned with the problems of the Gyong learners of English, the limited area chosen for this study could serve both our descriptive and pedagogical purposes.

A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF THE NOUN PHRASE IN GYONG AND ENGLISH