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An Introduction To Pronunciation Teaching: /NNTR 'DK NTPRNN Si 'E Nti: / /ba: Vas 'Lkis
An Introduction To Pronunciation Teaching: /NNTR 'DK NTPRNN Si 'E Nti: / /ba: Vas 'Lkis
1. Introduction
It is common knowledge that pronunciation teaching in Greece is the poor
relation of most ELT programmes. Although course books, especially in the last few
years, typically include pronunciation practice among their activities, most EFL
teachers in our country equally typically choose not to focus on pronunciation,
believing that the time gained in this way can more usefully be invested in more
grammar practice. And yet, pronunciation is assessed in all of the exams the
students are asked to take, while misunderstandings in spoken communication often
arise as a result of poor pronunciation!
There are a number of reasons why so little attention is paid to pronunciation and
they relate to both teachers and learner, as well as the materials that are available
for teaching pronunciation:
• Most teachers do not themselves have an adequate level of awareness of the
phonology of English to enable them to feel confident about teaching
pronunciation. At the same time, many feel (sometimes wrongly) that their
own phonological performance is not an appropriate model for learners to
imitate; as a result, they avoid teaching or correcting pronunciation altogether.
• EFL learners are also not always as highly motivated to improve their
pronunciation as they are with regard to other aspects of their spoken
production. It is true that pronunciation is closely linked to identity and it is
therefore quite understandable that some learners, especially adults, simply
do not wish to sound like native speakers. It is equally true, however, that
poor pronunciation is often to blame not only for communication breakdowns
due to the unintelligibility of what the learner is trying to say, but also for
problems in understanding what other speakers of English (native or
nonnative) are saying,
• Finally, pronunciation teaching materials, in spite of the recent publication of a
number of specialist titles, are still quite sparse, while coursebooks as a rule
fail to pay systematic attention to the development of pronunciation skills. In
addition, most of the pronunciation activities to be found in teaching materials
are based on a behaviourist drill-and-kill paradigm, which inevitably leads to
boredom among students and teachers alike. While there is clearly a variety
of activity types based on more sound pedagogic foundations in other areas
of the curriculum, pronunciation teaching seems to have changed very little in
the last fifty years.
However, a more principled approach to the teaching of pronunciation, coupled
with a higher level of awareness of the English phonological system among
teachers, could fairly easily lead to tangible results.
And yet, very few teachers would understand, much less appreciate the
relevance of phonological statements like the following to our profession:
The lack of aspiration of syllable-initial fortis plosives in accented
syllables can often lead to them being perceived as the equivalent
voiced lenis plosives.
4. Segmental Phonology
The distinctive categories of sound (phonemes) in a language are normally
divided into two main categories: (a) the vowels, i.e. the sounds that are produced
when there is no obstruction to the airflow passing through the windpipe (trachea)
and out of the mouth; and (b) the consonants, i.e. the sounds that are produced
when some form of obstruction occurs in the airflow.
4.1. Vowels
Among the vowels, some are monophtongs, i.e. they sound like one sound, and
some are diphthongs, i.e. they consist in a glide from one sound to another.
Examples of monophthongs are the vowel sounds found in the words hat, run, far
and dog (respectively: /æ/, //, // and // while examples of diphthongs are the
vowel sounds in the words cake, toy, high and beer (respectively: /e /, / /, /a / and
/ /). We will mainly be concerned here with the monophthongal vowel sounds.
In describing the articulation of vowels, it is important to describe the following:
the horizontal position of the tongue
the vertical position of the tongue
the lip position
the typical duration (length) of the vowel
By varying one or more of the above while allowing the airstream to flow
unobstructed, we can produce different vowels. Greek has a fairly uncomplicated
vowel system, consisting of only five vowels: /i/, /u/, //, //, //. English, however,
has a fairly complicated system consisting of twelve distinct vowel phonemes as well
as eight diphthongs: /i/, / /, /
/, /u/, /e/, //, //, //, /æ/, //, //, //, / /, /e /, /
/, / /
, /
/, /e/, /a / and /a
/. The following tasks,
adapted from Underhill 1994, will help
us explore how the position of the articulators, and especially the tongue, can
determine the quality of the English vowels we produce.
Task 4: Length
Say the following words. Underline the word in each pair whose vowel is longer.
• pick /pk/ peak /pi k/
• pull /p
l/ pool /pu l/
• bed /bed/ bird /bd/
• luck /lk/ lark /l k/
• pot /pt/ port /p t/
The following diagram (called the vowel quadrilateral) shows the main vowels in
BBC English. To understand how it works, imagine that the left hand side of the
diagram represents the front of the mouth, while the right represents the back of the
mouth. The top represents the roof of the mouth. Thus, /i:/ is a close front vowel, //
is a mid centre vowel and // is an open back vowel.
Close
Mid
Open
Here is, then, a summary of characteristics of the English vowels in this accent:
4.2. Consonants
As we stated above, consonants characteristically obstruct the air flow. This
sometimes involves a complete stoppage, so that no air can escape through the
mouth or nose, but it can also involve different degrees of obstruction or delay in the
release of air.
In describing the articulation of consonants, the following features seem to be
particularly important:
• fvfvfvfv
•
• szszszsz
•
• fvfvfvfv
•
• szszszsz
•
Is the following statement true or false?
In English all voiced consonants are fortis, while unvoiced consonants are lenis.
Articulators Definitions
• alveolar ridge the rear, soft part of the roof of the mouth
• back of the tongue the part of the tongue that is a little further than the middle, towards
• epiglottis
the back
• front of the tongue
the hard, bony ridge behind the upper front teeth
• glottis
the part of tongue that is between the middle and the front
the front part of the tongue just after the edge, where most of the
• hard palate movement occurs
• root of the tongue the uppermost front part of the tongue; the edge
• tip of the tongue the middle part of the roof of the mouth
• tongue blade the opening between the vocal folds
• uvula the little lump of soft tissue that you can observe in the back of your
• velum mouth dangling from the end of your soft palate
the flap of cartilage lying behind the tongue and in front of the
entrance to the larynx
labio-dental: the lower lip and the upper teeth are used
dental: the tongue tip is placed between the teeth or close to the upper teeth
alveolar: the blade of the tongue is close to the alveolar ridge
palato-alveolar: the blade of the tongue is just behind the alveolar ridge
palatal: the front of the tongue is raised close to the palate
velar: the back of the tongue touches the velum
glottal: the gap between the vocal folds is used to produce audible friction
• //, //
• /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /n/, /l/
• /p/, /b/, /m/
• /h/
• /k/, //, // (this is the consonant in -ing endings), /w/
• /f/, /v/
• /t/, /d/, //, //, /r/
• /j/ (the initial consonant in yes)
5. Suprasegmental Phonology
5.1. The nature of the syllable
In phonetics and phonology, a syllable is defined with reference to the way it is
produced, the way it sounds and the combinations of phonemes that can comprise a
syllable. In phonetic terms, a syllable can be:
• a minimum syllable which consists of a vowel in isolation, for example the
words are //, or /
/ and err /
/.
• a syllable which has an onset, i.e. more than silence preceding the centre of
the syllable, for example bar /b
/, key /ki
/, more /m
/
• a syllable which does not have an onset, but has a coda, i.e. more than
silence following the centre of the syllable: am /æm/ , is /z/, ought /
t/
• a syllable which has both an onset and a coda: run /r n/, sat /sæt/, fill /fl/
In English, it is possible to have the following types of syllable:
• a syllable with zero onset, i.e. one that begins with a vowel.
• a syllable with one initial consonant
• a syllable beginning with two or more consonants, whose onset is then said to
be a consonant cluster:
• If the consonant cluster consists of /s/ followed by another consonant, then /s/
is the pre-initial consonant and the other consonant is the initial consonant.
If the consonant cluster begins with a consonant other than /s/, then
the first consonant is the initial consonant and the next consonant is
the post-initial consonant.
Thus, in a monosyllabic word like spleen /spli:n/, /s/ is the pre-initial
consonant, /p/ is the initial consonant and /l/ is the post-initial
consonant.
• A syllable with no final consonant is a syllable with zero coda.
• When there is one consonant in the coda, it is called the final consonant.
• When there are more than one consonants in the coda, then one of them is
the final consonant and the other either the pre-final or the post-final
consonant.
Pre-final consonants are /m/, /n/, //, /l/, /s/. We can see them in words
like bump /b mp/, bent /bent/ , bank /bæk/, belt /belt/ , ask /
sk/.
Post-final consonants are /s/, /z/, /t/, /d/, // as in the words bets /bets/,
beds /bedz/, backed /bækt/, bagged /bæd/, eighth /et/.
• The possible combinations of consonants in the coda are laid out in the
following table
• It is also possible in some cases to have a syllable with no vowel, when there
is a syllabic consonant in the syllable. For example, students /stju.dn ts/ (the
fullstop symbol (.) denotes a syllable division, whereas the diacritic denotes
a syllabic consonant)
In recent phonological work, the term rhyme has also been introduced. The
rhyme consists of the vowel and the coda (which is optional) and is divided into the
peak (which is normally the vowel) and the coda. Therefore, the structure of the
syllable can be represented as follows:
peaks piks
proms prmz
springs sprz
straight stret
straw str
twelfths twelfs
blocked blkt b l k t
clouds kladz
facts fækts
freed frid
peaks piks
proms prmz
rhymes ramz
springs sprz
straight stret
straw str
twelfths twelfs
Regarding syllable division, the most widely accepted rule seems to be the
maximum onsets principle. This states that where two syllables are to be divided,
any consonants between them should be attached to the second syllable as far as
possible, within the restrictions governing syllable onsets and codas.
must mst
have v
them m
your jr
should d
that t
us s
With regard to compound words, the question is, which of the two words that
make up the compound should receive the primary stress. The general tendency is
that compounds which consist of two nouns have primary stress on the stressed
syllable of the first noun:
typewriter /ta pra t/
tea cup /tikp/*
The same rule seems to generally apply to other compounds (e.g. greenhouse
/rinhas/, underline /ndla n/); however, there are certain exceptions, which take
the primary stress on the stressed syllable of the second word:
• compounds in which the first word is an adjective and the second ends in -
ed: bad-tempered / bædtempd/
• compounds in which the first word is a number third class / dkls/
• compounds functionin as adverbs downstream / danstrim/
• compounds functionin as verbs whose first word is an adverb uprade
/pre d/
Having said all this, it has to be borne in mind that rules governing stress
placement are more complicated than this necessarily simplistic introductory account
may have suggested: what we have described are mere tendencies, and the
exceptions are plentiful. Moreover, as we will see in the next section, the rhythm of
English often requires that there should be some stress movement, which means
that in many cases the actual stress of words in context is different from their stress
in isolation.
*Note that the same rules apply whether the compound word is spelt as one word
or is hyphenated or is spelt as two words.
The term sentence stress is not entirely accurate, but it is used extensively in
pronunciation teaching materials to refer to the way stress functions beyond the word
level. Word and sentence stress combine in English to create the rhythm of an
utterance, i.e. the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables and pauses.
Whereas the rules of word stress are independent of context, sentence stress is
dependent on the context and the speaker’s intention. In other words, while the
stressed syllable in a word is given, the most prominent syllable in an utterance is
not necessarily given. The following two tasks exemplify this point.
In addition, so that strings of syllables that are not prominent can be pronounced
faster and the overall rhythm of a tone group can be maintained, a number of sound
linking phenomena often occur at word boundaries, which may affect the realisation
of both vowels and consonants. We will not go into these phenomena in detail, as
they pertain to rapid colloquial speech Brown 1990 and foreign learners will not
usually be expected to reproduce them. However, an awareness of such phenomena
may be beneficial to learners on the receptive level, as it is often the case that
learners fail to recognise words that are otherwise familiar to them when they hear
them pronounced in this manner.
Very briefly, then, sound linking phenomena which may occur between words
include the following:
Assimilation
• Alveolar consonants at the end of a word often assimilate to the place of
articulation of the next consonant sounds. For example:
‘good boy’ /d b / is often realised /b b /
‘hit man’ /h t mæn/ is realised /h p mæn/
‘this shop’ / s
p/ is realised /
p/
‘these shops’ /i
z
ps/ is realised /i
ps/
• Voiced consonants at the end of a word are often devoiced when a voiceless
consonant follows.
‘have to go’ /hv t / is often realised /hf t /
Elision
In rapid speech, certain consonants in consonant clusters at word boundaries
tend to be deleted. This is most often the case with the alveolar plosives /t/ and /d/
as well as the dental fricative //. Thus, the rapid colloquial pronunciation of the
following phrases is as shown:
• ‘next please’ /nekspli
z/
Liaison
You have probably noticed that it is not always possible to determine when one
word ends and the next begins. This is due to the phenomenon known as liaison. To
achieve liaison, you often need to insert a sound which, orthographically, does not
seem to be there:
• ‘law and order’ /lrnd/
• ‘they are’ /ej/
• ‘o off’ / wf/
5.5. Intonation
5.5.1. The Nature of Intonation
Intonation refers to the nature and movement of pitch in a tone unit. When we
examine the pitch movement in a tone unit there are three variables to observe:
• direction of the pitch movement
whether the pitch rises (), falls (), first rises and then falls (), first
falls and then rises () or whether it is level ().
• degree of pitch movement
to what extent the pitch rises or falls
• placement of pitch movement within the speaker's own voice range
whether the speaker uses their normal pitch or they speak higher or lower
than their normal range
Thus, a pitch movement upwards or downwards may start in the high, middle or
low range of a speaker’s voice (placement of movement), and may involve one, two
or three ranges (degree of movement):
It is clear that the first speaker shows more interest in what their interlocutor has
said and is more encouraging than the second.
Apart from such general statements about the degree of emotional involvement
betrayed by intonation, though, there is very little that intonation on its own can tell
us about the speaker’s emotions. However, if we consider in what ways the
speaker’s intonation deviates from what would be normal in each specific context of
communication, it is possible to reach some safer conclusions regarding the affective
function of intonation.
Recent analyses (Cruttenden 1997, Wichmann 2002) suggest that we can relate
each of the two main pitch directions to an overall meaning: ultimately rising tones
(, ) are associated with tentativeness, lack of finality, or openness, while
ultimately falling tones (, ) are associated with certainty, finality, closeness.
This seems to be consistent with the grammatical intonational norms mentioned in
the previous section. When the intonation system is used in an unexpected way, i.e.
in a way that differs from the norm, then the speaker’s intention must be that the
listener should read some additional affective meaning into the utterance. Thus, in a
polite request like Could you close the door? the normal intonation pattern is
ultimately rising. If instead a falling contour is used, the impression conveyed is one
of abruptness and rudeness.
Attitude, then, can be conveyed by intonation if there is a deviation from the
expected intonation pattern.
6.1. Segments
/p, t, k/
These sounds may be produced with not quite enough aspiration in syllable
initial position, so that they may sound like /b,d,g/ respectively to the English ear.
/b, d, g/
These sounds do occur in Greek, but learners may have difficulty in hearing the
difference between /d/ and /nd/ and /nt/; between /b/ by itself and /mb/ and /mp/; and
between /g/ and /k/ and /g/
/r/
The Greek /r/ sound is midway between a /d/-like sound and a trilled /r/. It is an
acceptable substitute for English /r/. The /r/ produced after /p, t, k/, however, may be
too full a sound. If high acceptability is the goal, then learners should be encouraged
to soften and reduce it.
/j, w/
The Greek learner tends to hear and pronounce these two sounds as full vowels
(/i/ and /u/ respectively). Although these two sounds are very similar to the
consonants the problem is that /j/ and /w/ pronounced in this way will tend to be
interpreted by the English listener as separate syllables.
/s, /
Greek has a sound which is midway between these two English sounds
phonetically, so there will be problems in perception and production. The difficulty is
compounded by the fact that speakers of some varieties of Greek have a negative
stereotype of the // sound, so some Greek learners, particularly those from Athens,
may be reluctant to make the sound.
/z, /
These two sounds will be confused in perception and production.
/h/
Greek learners tend to produce this sound with too much force and 'hissing'
quality. The Greek /x/ phoneme can be realised as a velar, uvular, or palatal
voiceless fricative, while the English /h/ is glottal.
/mp/
Learners frequently mishear and mispronounce this consonant cluster as /mb/.
/nt/
Learners frequently mishear and mispronounce this consonant cluster as /nd/.
/k/
Learners frequently mishear and mispronounce this consonant cluster as / /.
/sm/
Learners frequently mishear and mispronounce this consonant cluster as /zm/.
Vowels
Greek learners often mishear and mispronounce the following vowel roups:
/i/ and //
//, /æ/ and /
/
// and //
//, // and //
/u/ and //
//
There is no schwa in Greek. Learners tend to substitute either /e/ or the Greek
vowel /a/ for schwa.
6.2. Suprasegmentals
Because of the Greek trisyllabic constraint and monotonic principle, word stress
is sometimes a problem for Greek speakers, who usually fail to produce stressed
syllables in positions before the antepenultimate and may also fail to produce
secondary stress.
The rules of sentence stress are more or less the same in the two languages, so
there will be no problems in perception. However, because Greek is less stress-
timed than English and its pronunciation involves little or no vowel reductions, Greek
speakers’ rhythm often sounds unnatural, as unstressed syllables tend to sound
almost as prominent as stressed ones.
Finally, with regard to intonation, there are two main problems: one is the
generally narrower pitch range employed by Greek speakers, which may give an
impression of lack of interest, and the other is the tendency to use an ultimately
rising intonation in all questions.
7. Further Reading
This brief introduction has only attempted to give some basic background
information on the English phonological system. A more through presentation of the
main features can be found in Roach 2000. Those who are interested in an even
more detailed treatment should consult Cruttenden 2001 (on segments), Giegerich
1992 (on English Phonology) and Cruttenden 1997 (on intonation).
If you find the many phonetic and phonological terms difficult to remember,
Roach 2002 is a very helpful glossary.
As far as the teaching of pronunciation is concerned, the most accessible books
available are Kelly 2000 and Celce-Murcia et al 1996 (the latter focuses on American
English, but the techniques described apply equally to British English)