TEACHING THE PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH

TEACHING THE PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH

HIGH PRIORITIES

The certain basic characteristics of pronunciation which seem sufficiently specific to English to constitute a priority for the great majority of learners.

RHYTHM AND ACCENT

The accentuation must provide the foundation on which any pronunciation course is built. The great variety of accentual patterns in English words must, of course, be given an important and early place in any teaching programme. However, it is worth keeping in mind that, in ordinary connected speech, monosyllables account for more than 80% of words occurring, with words of two syllables coming next with 15%, three-syllable words with nearly 3%, and longer words occurring comparatively rarely.

SEGMENTAL SOUNDS

Segmental aspects of accent and pronunciation are individual sounds, also known as phonemes, meaning consonants and vowels. Syllables and one-syllable words are considered as segmental aspects of accent and pronunciation, as well. Segmental aspects of accent and pronunciation are not heard as being affected over more than one sound segment. For example, the first “s” in business always sounds like “z”. 

The oppositions of the close vowels /i:/- /I/, /u:/-/u/, the existence of a central long vowel /3:/ and the delicately differentiated front vowel set of /i:/-/i/-/e/-/æ/ -/L/, together with the significant or conditioned variations of vowel length, will pose problems to man foreign learners. Similarly, in the consonant system, English has a comparatively rare complexity in its set of fricative places of articulation-labiodentals, dental, alveolar, palate-alveolar, and glottal. Again, although English share with many languages a system of plosives of the sort / p,t,k,b,d,g/ the conventions of realization will not always be the same, English preferring presence or absence of aspiration as a crucial feature whereas many other, languages.

The choice of phonemes must, of courses, coincide with that of native speakers using the same type of pronunciation.

SOUND IN CONNECTED SPEECH

English has its own specific habits as regards both assimilation and elision, but how far these are adopted by the foreign learner will depend on the performance target which he has set himself. Particularly affected are the alveolar articulations, which exhibit notable instability.

INTONATION

It should also be remembered that intonation makes a most important contribution to the accentual patterning of English (pitch variation speakers wishes to draw attention). Because of this interaction with accent, intonation may be taken to fall within the high-priority category above.

RP HIGH ACCEPTABILITY

VOWEL

There are 20 vowel phonemes, together with the appropriate durational variations. Special attention must be paid to the quality/quantity complexes.

- Complex vowel system

- The existence of a central long vowel /з:/

- Distinction of voiced /з/ x voiceless /ə/

- RP: no r-colouring of the vowels /з/ and /ə/ in words spelled with vowel letter +

- The extremely open quality of /ɒ/, help: relating /ɒ/ to /ɑ:/

- The quality of /æ/, help: a conscious constriction of the pharynx

- The opposition of the close vowels /i:/ x /ɪ/ and /u:/ x /ʊ/

- The delicately differentiated front vowel set /i/ - /ɪ/ - /e/ - /æ/ - /ʌ/

- Durational variations: esp. in oppositions ‘seed x seat; heard x hurt; road x wrote’

Quality & quantity complexes:

- Long tense /i:/ in ‘bead’ x reduced tense [i] in ‘beat’ x short lax /ɪ/ in ‘bit’

- the reduced tense [i] before voiceless consonants (‘seat’) NOT to be confused with short lax /ɪ/ (‘sit’)

- Qualitative and quantitative relationship btw /ɪ/ x /i:/ (‘bid x bead’)

- Long tense /u:/ in ‘food’ x reduced tense [u] in ‘boot’ x short lax /ʊ/ in ‘good’

- Qualitative and quantitative relationship btw /æ/ x /ʌ/ x /ɑ:/ (‘match x much x march’)

CONSONANT

The full inventory of 24 consonant phonemes must be available to the speakers.

- Shares with many languages the system of plosives /p, t, k, b, d, g/ x but: not the conventions of its realisation
- Aspiration of voiceless /p, t, k/ in accented positions x no aspiration of voiced /b, d, g

- /t, d/ before the homorganic syllabics /n/ or /l/ with nasal or lateral release

BIBLIOGRAFÍA

Gimson´s pronunciation of English. Fifth edition.