1.0
THE SUBJECT
The subject was
chosen among the primary school student who aged 10 years old. The subject’s
name is Nur Khairy B. Khirudin. Khairy is a Malay boy who lived in Ipoh and
went to Sk Pasukan Polis Hutan, Hulu Kinta, Ipoh Perak. He is the youngest
child in the family. His father works as a policeman and his mother is a full
time housewife. His first language is Bahasa Melayu where he uses it in his
daily conversation with his family, friends and the surrounding communities.
He is obviously does not
come from the English speaking environment where many of his friends are. Many
of his friends are sons and daughters of teachers and government servants where
they use English as a second language at home. He hardly speaks English at home
neither at school. At school, Khairy got the chance to read English books and
do some activities in the class with help of his teacher. Unfortunately for
him, it might not be very helpful either. The English lesson is only carried
out in the class but not outside of the classroom. The lack of conversation in
the second language, more or less affects his pronunciation and his acquisition
of the language.
For this project, Khairy
was given a short passage to read. He was encouraged to read aloud so that
recording can be done perfectly. His reading was recorded as it then will be
analysed and discussed for his pronunciation features and problems he might
have in his pronunciation.
2.0
THE DATA
The reading passage used for this project is
stated below followed by its phonemic transcription and the transcription of
the subject’s pronunciation difficulties.
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‘The
Great Flood’
Sumandak and her seven brothers lived
in a little village atop Gunung Kinabalu. One night she had a dream an old
man came to her and said, “Prepare some rice because a great flood is about
to come.”
When Sumandak woke up, she decided to
tell her brothers about the dream. Her brothers laughed when they heard about
her dream. “You must be silly to believe in such nonsense,” they said.
Sumandak was upset. She vowed never to
speak about her dream again to them but continued to prepare some rice.
Several miles away, a young man named
Rokian, too, had a similar dream. In his dream an old man came up to him and
said, “There will be a great flood soon. Build a boat and then you will not
drown.”
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Adopted from Quest magazine 2012, issue 93.
The phonemic
transcription of the passage.
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/sʊmandak ænd hɜː(r) ˈsev(ə)n ˈbrʌðə(r)s
lɪvd ɪn ə ˈlɪt(ə)l ˈvɪlɪdʒ əˈtɒp gunuɳ kɪnǎbalu/. /wʌn naɪt ʃiː hæd ə driːm
æn əʊld mæn keɪm tu hɜː(r) ænd sed “prɪˈpeə(r) sʌm raɪs bɪˈkɒz ə ɡreɪt flʌd
ɪz əˈbaʊt tʊ kʌm/.”
/wen sʊmandak wɒk ʌp, ʃiː dɪˈsaɪdɪd tʊ
tel hɜː(r) ˈbrʌðə(r)s əˈbaʊt ðə driːm/. /hɜː(r) ˈbrʌðə(r)s lɑːfd wen ðeɪ
hɜː(r)d əˈbaʊt hɜː(r) driːm/. “/jʊ məst bi ˈsɪli tʊ bɪˈliːv ɪn sʌtʃ ˈnɒns(ə)ns,”
ðeɪ sed/.
/sʊmandak wəz ʌpˈset/. /ʃiː vaʊd ˈnevə(r)
tʊ spiːk əˈbaʊt hɜː(r) driːm əˈɡen tʊ ðəm bət kənˈtɪnjuːd tʊ prɪˈpeə(r) sʌm
raɪs/.
/ˈsev(ə)rəl maɪls əˈweɪ, ə jʌŋ mæn neɪmd
rɒkɪan, tuː, hæd ə ˈsɪmɪlə(r) driːm/. /ɪn hɪs driːm æn əʊld mæn keɪm tu hɪm
ænd sed, “ðeə(r) wɪl bɪ ə ɡreɪt flʌd sʊn/. /bɪld ə bəʊt ænd ðen jʊ wɪl nɒt
draʊn/.”
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The
transcription of the subject’s pronunciation difficulties.
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/sʊmandak ənd hɪə ˈsev(ə)n ˈbrʌdə(r)s lɪvd ɪn ə ˈlɪt(ə)l ˈvɪlɪdʒ əˈtɒp gunuɳ kɪnǎbalu/.
/wʌn naɪt ʃiː hæd ə driːm æn ɒld mæn kɑm tu hɪə ənd saɪd, “preˈpa: sʌm raɪs bɪˈkɒz ə ɡreɪt flʌd ɪz ə tʊ kʌm/.”
/wen sʊmandak wɒk ʌp, ʃiː dɪˈsɪdəd tʊ tel hɪə ˈbrʌdə
əˈbaʊt ðə driːm/. / hɪə ˈbrʌdə(r)s lɑːfəd wen ðeɪ hɜː(r)d əˈbaʊt hɜː(r) driːm/. “/jʊ məst
baɪ ˈsɪli tʊ bɪˈliːv ɪn sʌtʃ ˈnɒns(e)n, ðeɪ saɪd/.”
/sʊmandak wəz ʌpˈset/. /ʃiː vɒwəd ˈnevə(r) tʊ spiːk əˈbaʊt hɪə driːm əˈɡen tʊ dem bat kənˈtɪnjuːd tʊ praˈpe sʌm raɪs/.
/ˈsev(ə)rəl maɪls əˈweɪ, ə jʌŋ mæn neɪmd rɒkɪan,
tuː, hæd ə ˈsɪmɪla(r) driːm/. /ɪn hɪs driːm æn əʊld mæn keɪm tu hɪm ənd saɪd, “ðeə(r) wɪl bɪ ə ɡreɪt flu:d san/ /bɪld ə bəʊt ənd ðen jʊ wɪl nɒt
draʊn/.”
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Note:
The red phonemic symbols indicate the subject’s pronunciation difficulties.
3.0
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF PRONUNCIATION FEATURES AND
PROBLEM
The word ‘phonology’ refers
to the linguistic knowledge about the sound patterns of a particular language.
Phonological knowledge permits a speaker to produce sounds that form meaningful
utterances. In the process of learning a new language especially for the
second-language speakers, the absence of a good model and without guidance, the
speakers tend to produce and adopt sounds of the language based on the first
language’s sounds. Consequently pronunciation will never be acquired well. This
is where the knowledge of phonology becomes important as it helps in improving
the pronunciation of words in a particular language. From the transcription of
the subject’s pronunciation, there are several problems the subject may have
including the segmental and supra-segmental features. Relevant examples from
the transcribed data are provided in this discussion.
First of all, we are going
to look at one of the difficulties that the subject may have that is, weak
forms. In English, words can be pronounced in two different ways which are
called as strong forms and weak forms. There are about forty words in English
which are pronounced in mainly two different ways. Some of these words have
more than one weak form. In general, weak forms are much more common than
strong forms; in fact, weak forms are the normal pronunciations and for this
reason speakers should identify them and use them from the very early stages.
Weak form words usually contains
a weak vowel, mainly /ə/ and are structural or function words, such as
adjectival words, some pronouns, conjunctions, prepositions, and a group of
auxiliary verbs as well as articles. In this case the subject has a trouble in
pronouncing the correct weak form of the word ‘and’ in speaking. Based on the
passage, the subject was giving an emphasis on the word ‘and’ in the sentence,
‘Sumandak and her seven brothers’. In
spoken words, conjunction should not be stressed but the subject stressed on it
where he said, /ænd/ instead of /ən/. The conjunction ‘and’ is not necessary to
be emphasised or contrasted unless weak form word is being ‘cited’ or ‘quoted’.
In addition, the subject also pronounced the word ‘but’ wrongly while he is
reading the text. The weak form of this word is ‘/bət/’, ‘She vowed never to
speak about her dream again to them but continued
to prepare some rice’, ‘/ʃiː vaʊd ˈnevə(r) tʊ spiːk əˈbaʊt hɜː(r) driːm əˈɡen
tʊ ðəm bat kənˈtɪnjuːd tʊ prɪˈpeə(r)
sʌm raɪs/. Speakers who are not familiar with the use of weak forms are likely
to havre difficulty understanding speakers who do use weak forms (Roach, 2009).
In addition, the word ‘some’
is used in two different ways. In one case, when it occurs before a countable
noun, it is considered as strong form. But, based on the passage used, the word
‘some’ is used before uncountable noun, so it is a weak form. During the
reading, the subject tend to give emphasis on the word ‘some’, /sɅm/. In the
passage, ‘Prepare some rice’, ‘/prɪˈpeə(r) sʌm
raɪs/’, ‘some’ is used before the uncountable noun ‘rice’, therefore, less
emphasis should be given to that word. The correct sound used is /səm/ instead
of /sɅm/.
Apart from that, the subject
has the difficulties in segmental aspect of pronouncing the correct vowel in
English. For instance, the word ‘her’ is supposed to pronounce as / hɜː(r)/ but the subject mispronounce it as /hɪə/. The /ɜː/
sound is a central vowel which is well known in most English accents as a
hesitation sound spelt as ‘er’. This feature is hardly taken by the second
language speaker like the subject himself, where he finds it difficult to
pronounce. Instead of the sound /ɜː/, the subject used diphthong /ɪə/ as he
pronounced the ‘her’ as ‘/hɪə/’. It is very important to note that the long
vowel /ɜː/ has the length mark ‘:’ because it is used to help speakers to
remember the length difference. Besides, the subject also have the difficulties
in pronouncing the word ‘said’ as he said ‘/said/’ instead of ‘/sed/’. Same
goes with the word ‘flood’ which the speaker said as ‘/flʊd/’. In English,
there are several interpretations in every word that contained the grapheme
‘oo’. For instance, the sound of the grapheme ‘oo’ in the word ‘flood’ is a
schwa /Ʌ/ or else /ə/. Thus the correct sound is /flɅd/.
Moreover, the subject has
the problem in pronouncing the word ‘decided’ as he follows the letter ‘i’ and
‘e’ in that word and pronounced wrongly as ‘/dɪˈsɪdəd/’. Instead of ‘/dɪˈsɪdəd/’,
the subject should say ‘/dɪˈsaɪdɪd/’. According to Louisa Moats and Carol Tolman
(2011), phonological knowledge is critical for learning to read any alphabetic
writing system. Poor reading and spelling development is the results of
difficulty with phonological skills. In English language, the uses of
alphabetic writing system which includes the letters and symbols represent
speech sounds may help speakers to read the written language effectively.
Without phonological skills one might not understand the printed or writing
system and do not know how it represents the spoken words.
Every language has different
phonemes and using different phonological phase. Phoneme is the smallest unit
of sound in a language that serves to distinguish two words. The place of articulation
is important to produce sound according to the set of phoneme. Most non-native
speakers of English language find that it is difficult to distinguish the sound
of words that have the same manner and place of articulation but differ in the
phonation. For instance, the letter /ð/ and /d/ are phonemes that the subject
cannot distinguish. Based on the transcription of the subject’s pronunciation,
the word ‘brothers’ is pronounce as as in /ˈbrʌdə(r)s/ instead of /ˈbrʌðə(r)s/
that vary in the phoneme /d/ and /ð/. The
only distinction relies on the manner of articulation of the labiodental, which
is the lower lip is contact with the upper teeth. By knowing all the types of
phonemes which comprises vowels and consonants in the language, more or less
will help in pronunciation and as well as enhance communication.
4.0
POSSIBLE CAUSES FOR THE PRONUNCIATION PROBLEM
Firstly, the breakdown in
communication is the result of incorrect pronunciation of speakers. Phonology
emphasis on special features of English pronunciation such as long and short
vowels, consonants and etc.. The different sounds within a language are called
as phonemes. By knowing all the types of phonemes which comprises vowels and
consonants in the language, more or less will help in pronunciation and as well
as enhance communication.
In addition it is important
to note that different languages have different level of phonetics. The
phonemic representation of a word has a close relationship with the phonetic
representation or how it is pronounced. Phonology serves as a guide to speakers
to learn the phonological rules to improve the pronunciation of the language.
The function of the phonological rules in a grammar is to provide the phonetic
information necessary for the pronunciation of utterances (Fromkin et.al 2011).
Articulation problems can
occur if the child is fully depend on the mother tongue and most of the time,
the child will read or speak according to the first language. If parents or
guardians of a child are not native speakers of a language, the tendency of not
acquiring good pronunciation skills is higher. In this case, the subject does
not come from the English-speaking environment, so the acquisition of the
language is less. Besides, although the parent has the knowledge of the
language, if they did not practice it at home, the child cannot learn and thus
will lead to the pronunciation problems. If a child learns her parent's native language
and a different language common to the region where they live, the child will
likely adapt the accent and articulation of her peers for the region's language
over time. Same goes to if the child wanted to learn the English language, the
child will adapt the pronunciation through what being spoken by the surrounding
people especially the teachers at school.
In addition, the possible
cause that might affect the pronunciation of the subject is hearing problems. A
child started to develop the pronunciation skills and articulation at early
stage. Hearing problem might one of the causes that a child may have and affect
the acquisition of the sound of English words. While some children may have a
speech sound disorder, those that do not can often self-correct their speech over
time and benefit from encouragement and practice. This is where the teachers
play important role as facilitator to guide the children to correct their
pronunciation of particular words in English.
Besides that, most of the
second language speakers started to learn the language at middle age which most
of them learn it at school. Like the subject himself, he begins to acquire the
English language at school and this more or less affect his articulation and
pronunciation of words as he never encounters nor practice the words by
himself. In order to acquire a language, one must start at the early stage of
life. For example, children are being taught phonics in the early stage of
language learning as it serves as a guidance for the children to recognise letters
with the correct speech sounds. It then may improve their reading and spelling
words in the later level. Elain Lutaz (2011) stated that children progress
through certain stages of spelling development. One begins to understand how a
language works through the sound of letters.
Apart from that, living in
rural areas also could be the possible cause for the pronunciation problem.
This is due to lack of contact of good English books and less English materials
being exposed to the child. Sometimes the people do not care of the benefits of
having good English materials to the language development of the children. The
ignorance will result in the children are left behind in terms of acquiring the
second language.
5.0
CONCLUSION
Phonology covers a wide scope
includes the sound system of a language. This phonological knowledge is very
important as it helps speaker in improving the pronunciation of words in a
language and allows speakers to become articulate in figuring out meaning of
words in a language. Besides the knowledge of phonology enables one in knowing
the categories and manner of articulation that may help people with speech
disorders. In the process of learning a new language especially for the
second-language, the absence of a good model and without guidance, the speakers
tend to produce and adopt sounds of the language based on the first language’s
sounds. Consequently pronunciation will never be acquired well. This is where
the knowledge of phonology becomes important as it helps in improving the
pronunciation of words in a particular language.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dr Mariam M. Nor et.al. (2010). HBEL3303
LINGUISTIC AND LANGUAGE
TEACHING. Selangor Darul
Ehsan: Meteor Doc. Sdn Bhd.
Fromkin
V. et.al. (2011). An Introduction to Language. Canada: Michael Rosenberg.
H.D David % P.R. Gloria. (1998). Sounds of
English. Singapore: Pearson Education
Asia Pte Ltd.
Prof. Dr.Imran Ho Abdullah. (2010). HBET1203
English Phonetics And Phonology.
Selangor Darul Ehsan: Meteor
Doc. Sdn Bhd.
Peter Roach .(1991). English phonetics and
Phonology. United Kingdom: University
of Cambridge Press.
Peter Roach .(2009). English phonetics and
Phonology. United Kingdom: University
of Cambridge Press.
Louisa Moats and Carol Tolman.(2011).http://www.readingrockets.org/article/28655/.
Retrieved on SEPT 10, 2012.
Elaine Lutz. (2011). http://www.readingrockets.org/article/267/.
Retrieved on SEPT
10, 2012
Maggie McCormick. (2010). http://www.ehow.com/how_5821343_learn-articulate
english.html. Retrieved on SEPT 10, 2012.
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