Socio-Phonetic Analysis of /r/-Liaison among Television Presenters in South-west Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigates the socio-phonetic behavior of /r/-liaison in the speech of Nigerian television presenters, focusing on how professional identity, exposure to global English norms, and local phonological systems influence linking and intrusive
/r/ production. While /r/-liaison is traditionally associated with non-rhotic British English, its occurrence in Nigerian English (NigE), a largely second-language, performance-oriented variety, raises questions about phonological acquisition, prestige orientation, and stylistic speech design. Using acoustic and auditory analysis of broadcast speech from 36 presenters across three Nigerian television networks, the study examined the frequency, phonetic realization, and sociolinguistic conditioning of linking /r/ and intrusive /r/. Results showed that /r/-liaison is not a stable phonological rule in Nigerian English but a stylistic, prestige-driven feature that
appears variably in hyper-articulated broadcast registers. Occurrence correlates strongly with British-oriented pronunciation training, years of media experience, and programme formality. The findings supported models of second-language sociophonetic acquisition and style-shifting, demonstrating that /r/-liaison in Nigerian broadcast English functions as an index of professional prestige rather than a core phonological process. /r/-liaison in Nigerian television news anchors, talk-show hosts and programme continuity announcers speeches are socially conditioned, and stylistic rather than phonological. The study revealed that while Nigerian English shares many phonological processes with other varieties of English, these processes often manifest differently due to sociolinguistic and linguistic influences. This will help educators to develop pronunciation models that reflect real usage rather than strictly native-speaker norms. The result will guide media training toward more consistent and audience appropriate speech patterns, improving intelligibility and professionalism on air.

Keywords: Nigerian English, sociophonetics, /r/-liaison, linking /r/, intrusive /r/,
broadcast speech, style shifting