ABSTRA1CT
This project begins with the identification of the Importance of Competence in English Usage to the nation’s Standard of Education. It therefore sets out to examine the analysis of the English spelling error, by looking into the History of English Spelling as well as the sources of these errors. The research work also identified that inconsistencies in the language at times can cause these common mistakes that we make in English. It’s been observed by all writers on the English language that the orthography or spelling of words is very irregular; the same letters often representing different sounds and the same sound often expressed by different letters. This project provides a theoretical assessment of English spelling error analysis, models for spelling error and then look into the sources of errors. The paper concluded by offering suggested ways to avoid spelling mistakes and give examples of the common spelling errors in their different spelling patterns.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Spelling is the writing of one or more words with letters and diacritics. In addition, the term often, but not always, means an accepted standard spelling or the process of naming the letters. Spelling attempt to transcribe the sounds of the language into alphabetic letters. Pronunciation changes over time in all languages and spelling reforms are irregular in most languages and rare in some. In addition, words from other languages may be adapted to the spelling system, non-standard spellings are often adopted after extensive common usage.
Spelling is a challenge. We all make mistakes when attempting to learn spelling. The process of skill development that is learning something new involves making errors. Some errors are random and the result of memory lapses, distractions, carelessness, fatigues or inadvertent mistakes.
These errors occur irregularly and are usually self-detected and self- corrected. These are among the kinds of errors novice practitioner make.
Many spelling errors however are not random or careless but under error analysis.
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Though, many people would agree that there is an observable fall in the standard of Education in Nigeria, but nobody in his widest imagination would have believed that University Education in Nigeria has fallen to an abysmally low level as a World Bank study came up with a report that University Education in Nigeria has degenerated in the past fifteen to sixteen years.
The shocking news which was reported in one of the lead headlines in the Guardian, one of the Nigeria’s major daily Newspapers was published on the 19th of February, 2001. The screaming headline read:
“World Bank report scores Nigerian Graduates Low”.
The Guardian Newspaper quoted the World Bank that “Nigerian University graduates are poor in their usage of English Language which includes spelling errors and they are unproductive on the job”.
“Graduates skills have steadily deteriorated over the past decades” (p.l). According to the report, the poor performance of Nigerian graduates is particularly evident in two areas; poor mastery of the English Language both in the written and oral and then also evident in the lack of requisite technical skill. It was ascertained in the report that the deficiencies in both vital areas Nigerian graduates of the past fifteen years unfit for the labour market and sometimes the larger society.