Aspect in Ogba and English Languages

Abstract

This paper examined aspects in O̩gba and English languages with the aim of identifying the areas of similarities and differences between the aspectual systems in both languages. The Contrastive Analysis Theory (CA) was adopted for the study. The study employed the descriptive survey design. The data were gathered through the use of the unstructured elicitation oral interview method and the intuitive knowledge of the researchers as L1 and L2 speakers of O̩gba and English respectively. The methods of data analysis employed were the descriptive technique of morpheme-to-morpheme glossing and the contrastive method of data analysis. The study found out that whereas there are three types of perfective aspects (present, past and future) in the English language, there is only one type which is the past perfect in the O̩gba language. It was observed that both languages have two types of imperfective aspects (durative/progressive and habitual). It was also affirmed that both languages marked duration through the combination of the auxiliary verb and affixation. However, whereas the O̩gba language uses prefixation, the English language uses suffixation. This study recommends that English language teachers within O̩gba speech communities should focus on the present and future perfect tenses when teaching tense and aspect in the English language.