Contrastive Analysis of the French-Gbari Segmental Phonologies

The structure of a learner’s first language affects his acquisition of a second one, especially a foreign one like French. This paper presents a segmental contact between French and Gbari languages, with a view to empirically ascertain their points of convergence and divergence, using the Lado’s Contrastive Analysis model. It bridges the gap created by lack/inadequacy of academic validation in the French-Gbari segmental contact, hinging on secondary sources of data as well as on quantitative and qualitative analyses of data. Given the 68%-24% segmental difference ratio (SDR) French has over Gbari, such as /y/, /œ/, /ø/, /ʁ/, /ɲ/, /ɔ͂/, /œ͂/, /ɑ͂/, /ǝ/, /ɥ/, /ɛ/, /ɛ͂/, etc., coupled with the predictable phonological processes such as (de)nasalisation, palatalization, assimilation, delabialisation etc., the Gbari French-Learner (GFL) may have to relentlessly study and enthusiastically double his efforts so as to overcome the seemingly insurmountable challenges. The paper ends by recommending that second language teachers should engage in instant one-on-one approach in correcting phonetic flaws with students/learners.