A Comparative Study of World Englishes: Phonological Variations in Singapore, Nigeria, and India

Abstract

This study explores the phonological variations among three prominent varieties of World Englishes—Singaporean English, Nigerian English, and Indian English—through a comparative linguistic analysis. As English continues to evolve as a global lingua franca, localized forms have developed distinct phonological characteristics shaped by indigenous languages, sociolinguistic contexts, and historical influences. Drawing from acoustic data, native speaker recordings, and existing literature, this research identifies key segmental and suprasegmental features unique to each variety, such as syllable-timing tendencies in Indian and Nigerian English, vowel mergers in Singaporean English, and tone-influenced intonation patterns in Nigerian English. The analysis highlights the role of substrate languages in shaping phoneme inventories, stress patterns, and prosodic contours. By comparing these phonological features across three postcolonial contexts, the study underscores both the diversity and systematicity within World Englishes. The findings contribute to a broader understanding of how English adapts phonetically across regions and inform models of English language teaching, sociophonetic research, and linguistic identity formation in multilingual societies.