Abstract:
This research work is a contrastive study of nominal derivation in English and Ibibio languages. Both languages are two distinct languages genetically and typologically, as such they derive nouns from verbs at alternate positions. This remarkable difference explains why the Ibibio learners of the target language encounter difficulties. The study highlights the various derivational patterns in both languages, illustrates their points of convergence and divergence and equally states the linguistic implications of such differences on Ibibio learners. The descriptive research method was used to collect data which were presented in tabular form. It was discovered that the English word formation is irregular and inconsistent than the Ibibio. Thus, this poses problem for learners. Again, in spite of the similarities that abound in English and Ibibio languages, nominal derivation is achieved in a peculiar way and sometimes erratic in nature.
