Volume 7, Issue 10, October – 2022 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology ISSN No:-2456-2165 IJISRT22OCT849 www.ijisrt.com 2070 Contextualizing English Intonational Patterns of Selected Broadcaster`s Speech within the Borders of Received Pronunciation Mfon Brownson Ekpe Department of Linguistics & Nigerian Languages University of Calabar, Calabar MenyeneAbasi Nsikak. Obong Department of English and Literary Studies University of Calabar, Calabar Abstract:- This study investigates the intonational patterns dominant in the speech of Nigerian Television Broadcasters. Given that there exists a Standard Nigerian English Variety (SNEV), this study seeks to investigate the features of the intonational patterns dominant in this variety within the enclaves of Received Pronunciation (RP) for possible features of localization of the English language in Nigeria. The SNEV is found amongst the elite class but this study shall focus on News Broadcasters in Nigeria. The objectives of this study are toexamine the intonational patterns dominant in the speech of Nigerian Television Broadcaster`s, investigate the features of intonational patterns in SNEV and compare the intonational patterns of SNEV and that of RP using acoustic cues. The entire broadcasting system was surveyed and a total of six (6) television stations were randomly selected. Twelve (12) broadcasters - six (6) males and six (6) females were randomly selected to form the experimental class for this study. The newscast and interview sessions of these broadcasters were recorded with the aid of a Panasonic tape recorder and transferred to Praat Object andSound Recorder at the frequency of 44100Hz being the normal human hearing frequency. The fundamental frequency was set at F0. The intonational patterns were extracted using Praat Picture and the data were analysed acoustically. This work adopts the sonority theory by Saussure. The findings of this study include: the alternate rise and fall of pitch on syllablesof words reflected in high pitch hertz as different from the RP; a medium of inconsistence in the pattern of the utterance of NIP where the speakers exhibited a sharp degree of voice fall and voice rising in alternating syllable of words; some unsteady pitch patterns between the NIP in comparison with the RPIP was also found and this is because Nigerian languages are tonal in structures as against the English language which is syllabic-timed; the speakers were unable to maintain the stress rules of English as this may not have been assimilated despite speech trainings. Keywords:- Intonation, Broadcasters, Received Pronunciation, Standard Nigerian English,Frequency I. INTRODUCTION Many things have been said about language by different scholars all of which points to the major facts that language is a system of communication or a medium of self- expression. This is to say every human being has a spoken or sign language in which they conduct their day to day activities in and this, makes language a significant aspect of human existence. Language can be seen as a phenomenon employed by human being in order to express their feelings, desires and to interact with one another. English language under study here is a language that came into Nigeria as a result of colonisation of the country by the British Empire. Today, English language has become an international language as it is spoken in several countries of the world. This is because it is used as a means of commerce in the international market, used as a language for governance and education in some multilingual nation. Given the multilingual nature of the country Nigeria, the English language breaches the problem of interethnic communication as it serves as a lingua franca. This is in line with the first attribute of language as identified by Daramola (2003) as a tool in creating unity in a community. English language however has various varieties as they are received and internalized by the countries that speak it. In countries where English language is spoken as a native language, there are also various varieties identified perhaps as regional or as a result of social status. This paper shall focus on the Standard Variety, with emphasis on the RP. The term Standard English describes that variety of English used for formal purposes like: education, governance and media publications. This variety of English in places where it is spoken is usually considered prestigious and associated with the educated upper class ofthe society. It is characterised by its established writing and spoken form in both formal and informal situations. Abubakar (2012) says that this variety is recognized and used by the educated Nigerians because it is directly associated with education. This wide spread of English as pointed out by Gut (2012) has led to the formation of alarge number of different national and regional varieties of the language. Once there is a contact between two or more languages, as in the case of English and Nigerian indigenous languages, a sub-variety seems to emerge. Given the Nigerian situation, or the contact between the English Language and the Nigerian indigenous languages, a variety which is described as Nigerian English