INCONGRUENCE OF ENGLISH LETTERS AND SOUNDS AS COMIC MATERIAL FOR SOCIAL MEDIA SKITS

Abstract

This study examined the non-correspondence of English spelling and
pronunciation as material for skits in Nigeria. The objectives are to
assess the specific English phonemes commonly employed for comedy,
and how their pronunciation evokes laughter in the audience. Data for
the study were sourced from the Facebook channel of Mc Chibex
Comedy, popularly known as Chibuike. Five videos containing the
pronunciation of some English words were purposively selected and
analysed using the phonological concept of Spelling Pronunciation.
The results showed that the English consonants /p, h, r, g, s, ʧ, k, w/,
and the vowels /ʊ, aɪ, eɪ, æ, ɪ, əʊ, e/ are used by the skit maker for
comedy. The comic effect derived essentially from the awkwardness of
the pronunciation of the comic character, based essentially on the
spelling of the words. The resultant comic effects are epenthesis, syllable
multiplication, elision and ‘silence’ of the comic character where a word
should be sounded. Based on the Incongruous Theory of humour, the
pronunciations violate English language users' expectations, evoking
laughter. It is concluded that comedy is a veritable tool for drawing
attention to the illogicality of English spelling, which in turn poses
pronunciation challenges for English users, especially in a non-native
context such as Nigeria.