Abstract:

The Russian unit of the Department of European Languages, Univof Lagos admits students from all parts of Nigeria with different language background, notably Yoruba, Igbo and Housa. There is high level of interference of first languages on the study of Russian. A particular case of the Igbophone students is the pronounciatiob of conjugated verbs of second person singular. The difficulty in pronouncing these verbs in the conjugated form is traced to the existence of Igbo sound {S} - sh and {tS} - ch, which though sound similar, are different and sound differently.
Some fifteen students of Igbophone at different levels of their studies of Russian Language were brought together and their ability to pronounce some conjugated verbs of second person singular was carried out. Each produced a different sound which we subjected to differnt vocalic and consonatic environment. We intend to share our experiences in this presentation.

Keywords:

Russian Language, Igbophone, University of Lagos, Students, study.