Seventeenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This paper studies the syntax of clauses in the English and Anaang languages. It describes the ways of combining and ordering grammatical constituents such as verbs and noun phrases to form a clause, taking cognizance of the syntactic variations that are inevitable in the patterning systems in the grammar of the two languages in communication and linguistic studies. To achieve this purpose, it applies the Universal Grammar Principles which are used as basic elements in the Systemic Functional Grammar model as theoretical framework while Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis is used in order to establish similarities and differences which may be operational within the two languages. The results indicate that more than 85% of clause types identifiable in the two languages under comparison are similar and so could facilitate learning of the target language (English) by an Anaang bilingual while the remaining 15% could be regarded as a mild difference which cannot impede communication and learning of English by an Anaang bilingual in a second language situation. Since the margin of the difference is minimal, an arrangement for a remedial programme would go a long way to bridging the gap between the two languages in consonance with the world 4.0: convergences of knowledge and machines.