9789144079554 by Smakprov Media AB

An introduction to phonetics Teaching and learning English as a second language presents certain challenges, not least as regards pronunciation. As a teacher in a classroom filled with students from different language backgrounds it is not an easy task to teach good pronunciation to all individuals. Different language backgrounds contribute to a unique set of difficulties, as all languages have their own set of sounds, which are not always compatible with those found in English. Needless to say, a prerequisite for teaching pronunciation is that the teachers themselves are comfortable with their pronunciation of English. This book deals with phonetics and the pronunciation of English, giving, among other things, an overview of the sound system of English, information on stress and intonation, and a discussion of sociolinguistics in relation to pronunciation. A special section is devoted to learners with different first languages and their specific challenges. The book is primarily intended for teachers of young learners of English. An interactive version of the book is available on the book’s website, which gives the opportunity of listening to the entire book read aloud by native speakers.

| The Ins and Outs of English Pronunciation

The Ins and Outs of English Pronunciation

Liss Kerstin Sylvén

Liss Kerstin Sylvén is an associate professor at the University of Gothenburg and works as a researcher and lecturer. Her main research interest is second language acquisition with a special focus on vocabulary learning and pronunciation.

The Ins and Outs of English Pronunciation An introduction to phonetics

Liss Kerstin Sylvén

Art.nr 36044

www.studentlitteratur.se

978-91-44-07955-4_01_cover.indd 1

2013-10-15 09:46

COPYING PROHIBITED

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The papers and inks used in this product are eco-friendly.

Art. No 36044 ISBN 978-91-44-07955-4 First edition 1:1 ÂŠâ&#x20AC;&#x2030;The author and Studentlitteratur 2013 www.studentlitteratur.se Studentlitteratur AB, Lund Cover design: Jens Martin/Signalera Cover illustration: lavitrei/shutterstock.com Author photo: Kristin Wiktorsson Printed by Specialtrykkeriet A/S, Denmark 2013

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 2

2013-10-15 09:14

CONTENTS

Preface 7 Introduction 9 Chapter 1

Why do we Need to Know about Phonetics? 13

Introduction 13 Promoting successful communication 13 Knowing how to pronounce individual words 17 Learning about specific sounds in English 18 Summary 19 Further reading 19 Chapter 2

Which Pronunciation—British, American or some other English? 21

Introduction 21 English as a world language 22 British and American English 24 Australian English 27 South African English 27 South Asian English 28 Summary 29 Further reading 29

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 3

2013-10-15 09:14

Contents Chapter 3

Production and Transcription of Language Sounds 31

Introduction 31 The speech mechanism 31 The communication process 33 The IPA 36 Transcription conventions 43 Summary 44 Further reading 44 Chapter 4

The Sounds of English 45

Introduction 45 Phonemes and allophones 45 Minimal pairs 47 Voiced and voiceless sounds 49 Vowel sounds in English 49 Consonant sounds in English 52 Consonant clusters in English 56 Strong, weak and contracted forms 57 Summary 58 Further reading 59 Chapter 5

English Spelling versus Pronunciation—A Brief Overview of the History of English 61

Introduction 61 A brief history of the English language 61 Influences from other languages 66 Summary 67 Further reading 67 Chapter 6

Sounds in Context 69

Introduction 69 Sounds influence other sounds 69 Phoneme neutralization 70

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 4

2013-10-15 09:14

Contents

Assimilation 71 Elision 72 Liaison 73 Summary 73 Further reading 74 Chapter 7

English Stress and Intonation 75

Introduction 75 Stress 76 Intonation 81 Summary 83 Further reading 84 Chapter 8

Sociolinguistic Aspects of Speech 85

Introduction 85 Background 85 Social class 86 Sex and gender 88 Age 89 Summary 91 Further reading 91 Chapter 9

Typical Pitfalls for Learners of English 93

Introduction 93 Typical pitfalls for L1 Swedish learners 93 Typical pitfalls for L1 Arabic learners 96 Typical pitfalls for L1 Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian learners 98 Typical pitfalls for L1 Spanish speakers 99 Typical pitfalls for L1 Somali speakers 101 Summary 102 Further reading 103

Index 105

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 5

2013-10-15 09:14

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 6

2013-10-15 09:14

PREFACE

The urge to write a book on English phonetics first came to me a couple of years ago when, together with two colleagues, I started a course in English for teachers of young children. The bulk of the course was on the pedagogy and didactics of how to teach English to students in the early stages of school, and a minor part focused on the basic theoretical aspects of grammar and phonetics. To find a suitable course book for the phonetics part proved to be a challenge. Not that there are no good books around—there are plenty. But they all covered too much, in too much depth, and the ones we decided on using ended up being used more or less as a mere source for further reading. This book is based on the series of lectures I worked out for this course. It is meant as a first introduction to phonetics, with ample suggestions for further reading of more comprehensive literature for those who are interested in knowing more. It is written in English for two reasons. The first reason is that the topic of the book is English pronunciation. The second reason is that, although I am Swedish and the book came about because of an apparent gap in the literature available on the Swedish market, I do not take it for granted that every reader of the book has Swedish as their first language. Even though I am the author of this book, there are several people who have been of great help in the writing process. First of all, I would like to thank all my students in the PDG450-course, who have contributed with comments on the lecture material on which the book is based. I also want to express my gratitude to Maria Mörnsjö at Studentlitteratur who initially encouraged me to write the book and who has been a tremendous support all along the way. I am indebted to my colleagues John Löwenadler and Mats Mobärg, who have read and commented on parts of the manuscript. Last, but definitely not least, I am truly grateful for the meticulous work done by © T he au tho r and S t u dentlitte r at u r

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 7

2013-10-15 09:14

Preface

professor Sölve Ohlander in revising an earlier version of the manuscript. The text has also been checked for linguistic accuracy by Pamela Marston, and any remaining flaws are my own responsibility. I dedicate this book to my husband Peter, for his unrelenting support in the making of it.

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 8

2013-10-15 09:14

INTRODUC TION

As a reader of this book, you are probably a teacher of English as a second (L2) or foreign language (FL), studying to become one, or simply interested in knowing a little more about phonetics, i.e., the study of speech sounds, and/or English pronunciation. Whichever may be the case, you are warmly welcome to the world of phonetics. In this world, it is necessary to forget some of the things you already know about how language is built. You need to look at single letters, single words, and sentences in a slightly new way. In the world of phonetics, language functions in many aspects like music. To be able to interpret musical pieces composed by others, you need to be able to read music and you need to know how to use your instrument or voice to produce the right tones and sounds. In a similar fashion, to be able to correctly pronounce a new language that you are learning, you need to know more about pronunciation. You need to know how to use the instrument of your body—i.e., your voice—to produce the correct sounds for the intended message to get across properly. Each language has its own, more or less unique repertoire of sounds, some of which may be difficult to pronounce for learners. Knowledge about different sounds and how they are pronounced, in other words knowledge about phonetics, will help you to speak English more accurately and improve your understanding of the English language. More specifically, it will help you as a teacher of English to teach pronunciation to your students.

How to work with this book When studying, learning and practicing pronunciation, it is important to be articulate. In other words, you need to be loud when you work with this book. Try out all the English sounds, sense what they feel like in your mouth, pay attention to where the sound is produced, etc. It is only by practicing yourself © T he au tho r and S t u dentlitte r at u r

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 9

2013-10-15 09:14

Introduction

that you will be able to understand the differences between various sounds and where and how they are produced. This will also facilitate your role as a teacher. If you yourself are aware of the details in English pronunciation, you will also be able to transfer that knowledge to your own students and help them when they run into difficulties of different kinds. In the final chapter, examples are given of a few problematic areas for speakers of some common first languages among students in Swedish schools. Each chapter is structured in more or less the same manner. It starts with an overview of the chapter and a brief summary of why it is important. Then follows the bulk of the chapter, providing background, presentation, explanation and examples of the topic in focus. Each chapter also includes special parts called /tə duː/. These “to do”-lists are of various kinds, and can contain questions and other tasks, suggestions for an activity, or simply points for further discussion. The lists can be used by yourself as you work your way through the book, by a group of students during pronunciation practice or as a classroom activity for young learners of English. At the end of each chapter there is a list of suggested “further reading” for those who want to dig deeper into the topic brought up. An interactive version of the book is available on the website. Here, you have the opportunity to listen to the entire book as read by native speakers. The code to access the website is provided inside the book cover.

Some useful terms Throughout the book, various terms and abbreviations will be used. Each term and abbreviation will be explained the first time they appear in the text, but to facilitate the reading, a list of the most common terms and acronyms is given here. • L1 – the individual’s first language, also referred to as mother tongue.

For example, for someone born in Sweden by Swedish-speaking parents, Swedish is the L1. • L2 – a second language, for example English in many African countries.

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 10

2013-10-15 09:14

Introduction

• FL – a foreign language, often a language taught in school.

Spanish and Chinese are examples of foreign languages taught in Swedish schools. • TL – target language; the language taught. • ESL / EFL – English as a second / foreign language • Lingua franca – a language which is not the L1 of either the speaker or the listener, also referred to as an auxiliary language. English is today used as a lingua franca around the globe, and as such often referred to as English as Lingua Franca, ELF. • OE – Old English (the English spoken between roughly 450 and 1100 AD) • ME – Middle English (the English spoken between roughly 1100 and 1450 AD)

Notation Whenever the pronunciation of a word or a phrase appears, it does so within slashes, using phonetic symbols. The word phonetics will thus be transcribed into phonetic symbols as /fənetɪks/. Whenever there is a difference in pronunciation between standard British English (BrE) and standard American English (AmE), both varieties will appear. Thus, the word after will be transcribed as /ɑːftə/ (BrE), /æftər/ (AmE). Examples of English words are set in italics, as phonetics above1. To distinguish individual letters, or graphemes, from the rest of the text they appear within the symbols <>, as in <a>, <b>, and <c>.

About this book The layout of the book is such that the first three chapters answer the three traditional didactic questions: why (phonetics), what (variety of English) and how (speech production and transcription). Chapter 4 is focused on the sound system of English and chapter 5 sketches the historical background of present-day English. Chapters 6 and 7 concern sounds in context and stress and intonation. Chapter 8 deals with language and society; in other 1 If a Swedish example is given, it is set in capital letters, as in FONETIK.

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 11

2013-10-15 09:14

Introduction

words, sociolinguistics in relation to pronunciation. The final chapter focuses on some of the specific difficulties faced by L1 speakers of Swedish and L1 speakers of some common immigrant languages when learning English, and how to deal with these.

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 12

ÂŠ â&#x20AC;&#x2030;T he au tho r and S t u dentlitte r at u r

2013-10-15 09:14

C HAP T E R 1

Why do we Need to Know about Phonetics?

Introduction When we learn a new language, much effort is devoted to the written form. Great emphasis tends to be put on grammatical correctness and spelling. While these aspects of language are indeed highly important, we must not forget that the spoken form of language is the original form, and that speaking and listening are the primary forms of communication. Written language was introduced late in the history of language, and in thousands of languages there is still no written form. When writing was invented it was a means of capturing what was said. Thus, writing was from the start a replication of speech and not the other way around, and good pronunciation is at least as important for a language learner as grammar. This chapter points to some of the main reasons why it is important for language learners to learn, as early as possible, good pronunciation of that language.

Promoting successful communication Good pronunciation is the key to successful spoken communication. And successful communication is crucial for all human interaction. Indeed, communication is the main reason why we have language at all. That does not mean, though, that language is our only means of communication, far from it. But it is generally regarded as the “supreme code” and when there is a general agreement on how language is to be used and how words should be pronounced, chances are that we will indeed understand each other better. In the Swedish curriculum for compulsory school, the communicative aspect of learning English is central, and it is emphasized that students are to develop their skills in, among other areas, spoken language. In years

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 13

2013-10-15 09:14

1 Why do we Need to Know about Phonetics?

1–6, one of the core points among the receptive skills (i.e., reading and listening) is the ability to understand “clearly spoken English”. This means that as a teacher, it is very important to be able to pronounce English in a clear and comprehensible way. In years 4–9, language phenomena such as pronunciation and intonation are highlighted in the curriculum as core parts of the content of the English subject. Finally, in years 7–9, students are expected to understand spoken English with some regional and social variation, for instance the main varieties British, American and Australian English. As a teacher, then, it is essential to be aware of such varieties. It is important that teachers in school are aware of this communicative view of language learning. In our globalized world, the learning, not least of English, takes place at a very early age, via music and advertisements, on TV and in films, on the Internet, and so on, and already when they start school, many children know a great deal of English. In school, we need to be aware of this massive out-of-school, or extramural, contact to English that children have, and to acknowledge its impact on language learning. However, we also need to be aware of the multifaceted background of the children in today’s classrooms. There may be children who are already fairly proficient in English through extramural exposure, as described above, sitting next to somebody who comes from another part of the world where English is spoken as a first or second language, and next to that pupil there may be a couple of classmates who are complete beginners as learners of English. In such diverse classrooms, it is vital that the teacher is a confident user of English with an array of strategies to capture and support the students’ interest in learning the language. Acquiring good pronunciation and learning about this important aspect of language make for a good start toward gaining such confidence and building a collection of teaching strategies. Furthermore, the earlier students learn how to pronounce the sounds of a new language, the easier it becomes for them to be able to interact with others orally “simply and clearly”, which is one of the performance standards set for grade A at the end of year 6. English is used by about 375 million people as their first language (L1) around the world today. In addition, it is estimated that another 375 million use it as their second language (L2) and it is studied as a foreign language (FL) by approximately 750 million people. As if that was not enough, English is the most commonly used lingua franca around the globe. A lingua franca is a language used by speakers of different first languages where none of the 14

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 14

2013-10-15 09:14

1 Why do we Need to Know about Phonetics?

speakers understand one another’s first language and thus need to find a way to communicate. With such widespread use of English, it is becoming increasingly important that we learn, teach and speak English in a way that is comprehensible not only to people for whom English is the first language, but also for speakers of other languages. Different L1s may give rise to various pronunciation problems in English. In most cases, the meaning of the utterance will probably come across, despite a certain incorrectness in pronunciation.1 But if we want to focus on the meaning of what we are trying to communicate, rather than giving rise to speculations and comments about our own origin, etc., it is worth paying attention to some of the peculiarities of English pronunciation. As we will see in more detail later on, not all pronunciation errors are of the character illustrated in footnote 1, but are of a more serious nature resulting in total communication breakdown.2

1 The sentence “I think it is very important to know things about the world” could be pronounced in the following way by a Swedish learner who is beginning to learn English: /aɪ tɪŋk ɪt ɪs werɪ ɪmpɔrtənt tə knɔ tɪŋs əbəʊt de vəld/ (roughly: Aj tingk it is oeri importent to kno tings abot de völd) The following rendering of the phrase “in school we don’t sleep” can be heard from a native speaker of Spanish: /ɪn eskuːl wɪ dɔn eslɪp/ (roughly: In eskol wi don eslip) And this pronunciation of the sentence “this house has a long history” would not be unthinkable from a French speaker: /dɪs aus æs ə lɔŋ ɪstərɪ/ (roughly as: Dis aus äs ö long istori) 2 The following example is taken from a TV commercial for language courses. A German junior coastguard receives an SOS alarm over the radio, and the following dialogue is heard: Ship: “Mayday, mayday. We are sinking”/meɪdeɪ meɪdeɪ wi ɑr sɪŋkɪŋ/ Coastguard: “What are you thinking about?” /wɔt ɑr ju sɪŋkɪŋ əbaʊt/ Here the company responsible for the ad is taking advantage and making fun of the fact that Germans often find it difficult to pronounce the sound /θ/, for the simple reason that this sound is not part of the German sound system. Had it been a real conversation, the effects could, of course, have been quite dramatic. Examples such as this clearly illustrate the advantages of knowing some of the ins and outs of English pronunciation.

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 15

2013-10-15 09:14

1 Why do we Need to Know about Phonetics?

/tə duː/ Find out how many first languages there are in your own classroom and what they are. Identify some language-specific difficulties the speakers of each language might encounter when learning English.

A distinction can be made between pronunciation errors that distract and those that destroy. Errors that distract are such that no great harm is done. The message is received correctly, but with a minor delay during which time the recipient needs to decode and recode what has been said, and by using context, can figure out the intent of the speaker. In the end the recipient understands the message. Errors that destroy are those where the intended message is misunderstood or does not come across at all. This is sometimes referred to as communication breakdown. Obviously, errors that lead to communication breakdown are serious, and should be avoided. In the classroom, these types of errors need to be addressed, mainly by focusing on how the message could be interpreted by a recipient. Often such types of error are caused by the influence of the sound patterns in the learner’s first language. Errors that distract are not equally serious, but the earlier learners are made aware of the importance of pronunciation, the quicker they will learn to produce comprehensible speech. The longer a learner is led to believe that he or she pronounces correctly, the greater the risk of fossilization, which means that the error has become so natural that it is very difficult to get rid of. Learning and speaking another language are sensitive issues, and it is essential that language teachers handle their students with care. To develop good teaching strategies for correcting pronunciation errors without making the individual student feel targeted and/or ill at ease is well worth the effort. Knowledge about phonetics will make this task easier, as it allows us to understand the cause of certain problems, and then to zoom in on those specific areas in order to help students get over any obstacles. It must be remembered that our main task is to encourage students to use the language and to help them make improvement.

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 16

2013-10-15 09:14

1 Why do we Need to Know about Phonetics?

Knowing how to pronounce individual words In some languages, such as for instance Finnish and Turkish, it is fairly easy to know how to pronounce words since spelling and pronunciation to a large extent go hand in hand. English, unfortunately, is not one of those languages. Consider the following group of words: tool

foot

blood

door

brooch

First, pronounce each one of the words. Then analyze how you pronounce the mid-part—i.e., the vowel sound—of each word. How many different sounds do you detect? If you did it correctly, there should be as many different sounds as there are words, namely the following five: /uː/ in tool /ʊ/ in foot /ʌ/ in blood /ɔː/ in door /ǝʊ/ in brooch So here we have five words with five unique renderings of the spelling <oo> in the middle of the word. Let us take a look at another five words. tough cut

love blood does

Now, do the same thing with these words. How are the vowel sounds in the middle of these words pronounced? Again, if you did this correctly, one and the same sound should appear in all five words and that sound is /ʌ/. /ʌ/ in tough /ʌ/ in cut /ʌ/ in love /ʌ/ in blood /ʌ/ in does © T he au tho r and S t u dentlitte r at u r

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 17

2013-10-15 09:14

1 Why do we Need to Know about Phonetics?

This exercise teaches us that it is often impossible to guess how a word in English should be pronounced by simply looking at its spelling. In chapter 5 some key explanations for this state of affairs are offered, when we look at the historical background of present-day English. So instead of knowing by sight how to pronounce a certain word, we need to consult teachers, friends or dictionaries to find out its correct pronunciation. To show how sounds are pronounced, we use the International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA. In the IPA, there is a symbol for each language sound, and in this way we can illustrate in detail the pronunciation of sounds, words and longer stretches of speech. In chapter 3 there will be more about the IPA, and in subsequent exercises you will be able to practice how to use it. To be able to use the IPA not only helps develop one’s own mastery of English pronunciation; it is also a very helpful tool in teaching English to others, as it provides exact information on how to pronounce individual sounds. In chapter 3, we will learn how to transcribe the sounds of English. Knowing how to pronounce individual words is, of course, essential when it comes to the ability and willingness to communicate. In the curriculum for the compulsory school, it is stated that “communication skills also cover confidence in using the language and the ability to use different strategies to support communication and solve problems when language skills by themselves are not sufficient.” Having a good command of pronunciation increases the confidence of the speaker, and, for instance, helps reduce speaking anxiety.

Learning about specific sounds in English Each language has its specific set of sounds. English is said to have 44 phonemes, or distinct sound units, whereas in Swedish there are approximately 35, just to give one example. In English there are no front, rounded vowels like those we find in Swedish3, but on the other hand there are several diphthongs in English which are not found in Swedish. This is dealt with in more detail in chapter 4. In the final chapter of the book, chapter 9, we look at some specific aspects of English pronunciation that L1 speakers

3 u, as in ut, y, as in ny, and ö, as in snö

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 18

2013-10-15 09:14

1 Why do we Need to Know about Phonetics?

of Swedish, and of some common immigrant languages in Swedish schools, tend to find problematic.

Summary We need to know about phonetics primarily to make sure that what we are trying to communicate in English is in fact what is getting across to those we are talking to. Knowing about phonetics also helps us when we are uncertain about how to pronounce a certain word. Moreover, it helps us come to grips with the specific sounds that make up the English sound system. These are only three of a multitude of reasons why it is important, interesting and fun to know about phonetics. These three, however, are the most important ones for a young learner of English to concentrate on, and so they form the core of this book. To inspire students early in their language learning process is one of the main tasks of language teachers. The teacher should ideally be a rolemodel (or at least one of several) for the young learner, and the teacher’s ability to speak English clearly, as formulated in the curriculum for English, is vital. By learning about phonetics, awareness of the intricate aspects of speaking and pronunciation is raised, promoting both teachers’ and students’ pronunciation skills.

Further reading Dalton, Christiane & Barbara Seidlhofer (1994). Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sundqvist, Pia & Liss Kerstin Sylvén (2012). Ämnesdidaktiska utmaningar i det heterogena engelsk-klassrummet: En jämförelse mellan elever med stor respektive liten mängd extramural engelska. In: Gericke, Niklas & Bengt Schüllerqvist (eds.) Ämnesdidaktisk komparation – länder, ämnen, teorier, metoder, frågor och resultat. Karlstad: Karlstad University Press. Sundqvist, Pia & Liss Kerstin Sylvén (2011). Fritidssspråk i femman – framtidens studenter formas. In: Ylikiiskilä, A. & M. Westman (eds.) Språk för framtiden. Rapport från ASLA:s höstsymposium, Falun, 12–13 november, 2010. Language for the future. Papers from the ASLA Symposium in Falun, 12–13 November, 2010. Uppsala: Swedish Research Press, pp. 186–198.

978-91-44-07955-4_01_book.indd 19

2013-10-15 09:14

| The Ins and Outs of English Pronunciation

The Ins and Outs of English Pronunciation

Liss Kerstin Sylvén

The Ins and Outs of English Pronunciation An introduction to phonetics

Liss Kerstin Sylvén

Art.nr 36044

www.studentlitteratur.se

978-91-44-07955-4_01_cover.indd 1

2013-10-15 09:46