Some Pronunciation-Induced Spelling Errors in Cameroon English

This paper focuses on the spelling mistakes that are idiosyncratically imposed by phonological variation in Cameroon English (henceforth CamE). The paper seeks to establish that, apart from graphology, there is a pronunciation spelling phenomenon where variation in CamE pronunciation conditions writers of English in Cameroon to spell a good number of words differently from what is obtained in Standard British English (Henceforth SBE) and Standard American English (Henceforth SAE). Data for the paper were collected through observation and two spelling tests, a diction spelling test and a multiple-choice spelling test, from sixty junior secondary school students (thirty male and thirty female from age 9 to 17) in GBHS Atiela – Bamenda. The students were from four different forms; Forms 1, 2, 3, 4 and they were chosen because they had not memorised several spellings like students of the upper classes. The school was chosen because it is in the metropolis and has students from diverse backgrounds. The data were analysed qualitatively using Generative Phonology as the theory. The findings reveal that CamE speakers of the secondary level, teachers and students, deviate from native English spelling (SBE and SAE) norms, unconsciously, through phonological processes as substitution, devoicing, analogy, epenthesis, metathesis and CamE-styled homophony. I recommend that a standard variety of pronunciation be adopted and that emphasis be laid on teaching pronunciation in order to curb spelling mistakes since the former is a major generator of the latter and / or a dictionary of CamE should adopt general acceptable spellings that related to Cameroon-derived names and other lexical items denoting cultural uniqueness.