This study investigates the intonational
patterns dominant in the speech of Nigerian Television
Broadcasters. Given that there exists a Standard Nigerian
English Variety (SNEV), this study seeks to investigate
the features of the intonational patterns dominant in this
variety within the enclaves of Received Pronunciation
(RP) for possible features of localization of the English
language in Nigeria. The SNEV is found amongst the elite
class but this study shall focus on News Broadcasters in
Nigeria. The objectives of this study are toexamine the
intonational patterns dominant in the speech of Nigerian
Television Broadcaster`s, investigate the features of
intonational patterns in SNEV and compare the
intonational patterns of SNEV and that of RP using
acoustic cues. The entire broadcasting system was
surveyed and a total of six (6) television stations were
randomly selected. Twelve (12) broadcasters - six (6)
males and six (6) females were randomly selected to form
the experimental class for this study. The newscast and
interview sessions of these broadcasters were recorded
with the aid of a Panasonic tape recorder and transferred
to Praat Object andSound Recorder at the frequency of
44100Hz being the normal human hearing frequency.
The fundamental frequency was set at F0. The
intonational patterns were extracted using Praat Picture
and the data were analysed acoustically. This work adopts
the sonority theory by Saussure. The findings of this study
include: the alternate rise and fall of pitch on syllablesof
words reflected in high pitch hertz as different from the
RP; a medium of inconsistence in the pattern of the
utterance of NIP where the speakers exhibited a sharp
degree of voice fall and voice rising in alternating syllable
of words; some unsteady pitch patterns between the NIP
in comparison with the RPIP was also found and this is
because Nigerian languages are tonal in structures as
against the English language which is syllabic-timed; the
speakers were unable to maintain the stress rules of
English as this may not have been assimilated despite
speech trainings.
Keywords :
Intonation, Broadcasters, Received Pronunciation, Standard Nigerian English,Frequency
