1 Eralingua: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Asing dan Sastra Vol.X, No.

X, Month, Year

“The Influence of Phonetic and Phonology

Understanding on the Pronunciation of English
Words”
Muhammad Taufiqurrohman1, Nurhamelia2, Putri Amelia Damayanti3
123Department of English Literature, Faculty of Adab and Humanities, State Islamic

University of Sunan Gunung Djati Bandung, Indonesia

taufiqrhmn1@gmail.com1, nur.hhamelia@gmail.com2,
putriameliadamayanti@gmail.com3

E-ISSN : P-ISSN :

Abstract. This study aims to investigate the understanding of students in grade 2-D majoring
in English Literature at Sunan Gunung Djati State Islamic University, Bandung, who have
finished studying phonology, especially phonetics in English, which is included in the Manner
of Articulation material. This science is learned when they try to learn the pronunciation of
words in English. The problem of this research is that most of the students in grade 2-D can
understand the correct phonetic pronunciation of English words such as how /haʊ/ and hoe
/həʊ/. This study uses quantitative descriptive research with several steps, namely
identification, category, analysis and concludes the data. In collecting data, researchers used
questionnaires and documentation. The results showed the understanding of the
pronunciation of English words with the correct phonetics. There are still pronunciation
errors such as the following words; "potato" read /poteito/ which should be /pəteitəu/,
"compare" are mostly /ˈkɑːmper/ which is actually /kəmˈper/. The average error was found
because they rarely or did not explore these words in English, also because they felt ashamed
and afraid of ridicule from others. Finally, the researcher found that there were already many
students who understood the pronunciation of English words with the correct phonetics,
although there were always some students who still did not understand the pronunciation.
Most of the pronunciation errors are in the phonemes /ə/, [ʃ], /a:/. English vowels proved to
be the most difficult area for listeners, more than single consonants because students were
unfamiliar with a large number of vowels.

Keywords: pronounciation, voiced, unvoiced, phonetic, English.

https://ojs.unm.ac.id/eralingua

INTRODUCTION
The study was done on the basis of segmental analysis of vowels, single
consonants in English. It explores the types of perception errors made in the areas
under concern, accounting for issues like vowels, consonants, and what the major
causes of such problems are. And as we know that speech is the natural, easy and
common approach of communication between humans. People are expert in their
native languages in terms of speech production and understanding, every group of
 Title of article – name of first author (page.x-x) 2

people use specific languages to communicate and deliver messages among

them.(Elfahal, 2019) Speech perception refers to the processes by which humans can
interpret and understand the sounds used in language. The study of speech
perception is closely linked to the fields of phonetics and phonology in linguistics and
cognitive psychology and perception in psychology.
In their speech speakers also unintentionally communicate many aspects of
their social position such as sex, age, place of origin (through accent), physical states
(alertness and sleepiness, vigor or weakness, health or illness), psychic states
(emotions or moods), physico-physic states (sobriety or drunkenness, normal
consciousness and trance states), education or experience, and the like. We are know
that students are required not only to have good knowledge of vocabulary and
eligible grammar, the four language skills, but also correct pronunciation. .Mastery
Pronunciation includes the ability to understand the sound system or phonology.
(Bani Ahmad, 2018) Although English is not the second language of students in
Indonesia, they really need communication skills in English one day when they
graduate and work. (Tambunsaribu, 2019)

Pronunciation is a way of pronouncing words or producing sounds use

mouth organs properly.(Sujana et al., 2019) Accurate pronunciation is must be
achieved in the learning English process. In addition, this will help them to have a
good job in their future and enable them to communicate with foreigners
successfully if they have a chance and the need. Every element of society had to be
at least mutually supportive at improving foreign language skills, especially in
English, not just students only so as not outdated and still be able to compete with
other countries, especially in understanding international news. Therefore, to have
good speaking skills one must know how the pronounciation of vowels and
consonants relates to phonology in English.

The language itself is a set of codes, their meaning is predefined for its
speakers, particular language codes are not defined to every human speaking other
languages.(Elfahal, 2019) Language is the system of communication in speech and
writing that is used by people of a particular country or area for talking or writing.
Language in the context of linguistics is seen as an arbitrary sound system,
conventional, and used by humans as a means of communication. Furthermore,
Owen (Solehan, 2011) explains that language can be defined as a socially accepted
code or conventional system for conveying concepts through the use of desired
symbols and combinations of symbols governed by provisions).
English is an important communication tool to keep up with the world's
globalization era, one of which is in Indonesia. Having a good, correct and similar
English pronunciation to native speakers requires regular practice so that words can
be spoken correctly and easily understood by the interlocutor (Sujana et al., 2019). In
the English sound system there are many ways of pronunciation in each individual
caused by various factors, such as the origin, the initial influences, and the social
environment. English also has several sound systems, namely Consonants and Vowels
(long, short and Diphtongs) (Hudson, 2013). Diphtong are two vowels or vowel distinct
3 Eralingua: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Asing dan Sastra Vol.X, No.X, Month, Year

and pronounced consecutively in one speech (Smith, 2015). Diphthongs are divided
into eight types, namely [eɪ], [aɪ], [əʊ], [aʊ], [ɔɪ], [ɪə], [ɛə], [ʊə] (Jensen & Bauer,
1982) .
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetical system of
phonetic notation that was originally based on the Latin alphabet.(Tambunsaribu,
2019) IPA is designed to represent only the qualities of speech that are part of spoken
language: telephone, phonemes, intonation and separation of words and syllables.
To illustrate additional qualities of speech, such as grinding of teeth, lisping, and
sounds made with cleft lip and palate, an expanded set of symbols, additions to the
International Phonetic Alphabet, can be used. IPA symbols consist of one or more
elements of two basic types, letters and diacritics. For example, the sound of the
English letter [t] can be transcribed in IPA with a single letter [t], or with a letter
supplemented with a diacritic, [t̺ʰ], depending on how precisely the pronunciation is
desired.(Tambunsaribu, 2019)

Table 1. Vocal and consonants in English

Vocal Consonants

/i/ [p]
/e/ [b]
/æ/ [t]
/ʌ/ [d]
/o/ [m]
/u/ [n]
/ə/ [k]
/i:/ [g]
/a:/ [f]
/o:/ [v]
/u:/ [s]
/з:/ [z]
/ei/ [θ]
/ai/ [ð]
/oi/ [ʃ]
/iə/ [ʒ]
/eə/ [tʃ]
/uə/ [dʒ]
/əu/ [l]
/au/ [ɹ]
[j]
[w]
[h]
[ŋ]
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Since English has a fairly difficult phonetic, there is a way to read the word
correctly called 'phonetic transcription', which is defined as a kind of alphabetic
writing in which each letter represents a sound. Nowadays, the development of
science and technology has generated a great demand of intercommunicating. In
order to meet this demand, English has become an international language and very
important and compulsory subjects at schools. (Ahmed, 2017)
The technology of today bring up the world to your computer and cellphone
near your physical location, your language alone is not enough tool to communicate
globally And to exploit human production in all aspects of life in the world with 7111
living languages, 3,116 of them are spoken only without written systems(Elfahal,
2019).
There are many ways that we can use to learn and understand a language, a
word, such as a smartphone, attending seminars, digital books on language, journals,
and etc. It is not possible for anyone to know all the languages he needs in his daily
life affairs. If someone who knows a large number of languages, he can transfer this
knowledge to others through training and education that requires great effort and
time, instead one learned machine could be replicated to unlimited numbers of other
machines without extra effort.

RESEARCH METHOD
Quantitative research, according to Robert Donmoyer, is an approach to
empirical studies to collect, analyze, and display data in numerical rather than
narrative form.(Syahrum & Salim, 2012) According to Cooper & Schindler (2006: 229),
quantitative research tries to make accurate measurements of something.(Syahrum
& Salim, 2012) In this research, it is related to educational problems and is always
associated with an understanding of learning and cognition.
Researchers used one type of instrument, namely a questionnaire.
Respondents in this study were 16 students of class 2-D English Literature UIN Sunan
Gunung Djati Bandung. Data analysis was carried out through several steps, namely
sorting out respondents' answers, observing errors, analyzing the results of the
questionnaire and narrating the research findings. The measurement of the
respondents' knowledge of the phonetics and phonology of English words begins
with a test of the correct pronunciation of a word and then a test of questions about
the understanding of voiced and voiceless English words.
It is hoped that the addition of knowledge of English word pronunciations,
students and all communities can together further improve the quality of the English
teaching and learning process in the future.

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

During the course of carrying out this case study, the researchers found that
most of the second semester students of class D English Literature UIN Sunan
Gunung Djati who had taken lessons in phonetics and phonology classes had a good
understanding of reading phonetic symbols and found it very helpful in improving
their English pronunciation skills. . This is evidenced by the survey results which show
5 Eralingua: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Asing dan Sastra Vol.X, No.X, Month, Year

that 80% of respondents are able to distinguish and pronounce the most similar
words such as how /haʊ/ and hoe /həʊ/. If students already know the difference in
sounds, they already have competencies related to language sounds. This is
reinforced by Bachman (1990)(Bani Ahmad, 2018), that pronunciation or phonology
is part of the competence of language sounds.

The ability of students to overcome errors and weaknesses in English

pronunciation after completing their learning is based on the data they know about
various types of languages vowels and consonants. They can pronounce the sounds
/i/ ,/e/ ,/æ /,/ʌ/,/o/, /u /,/ə/,/i:/,/a:/,/o:/ , /u: /, /з:/,/ei/,/ai/,/oi/,/iə/, /eə/,/ uə/,/əu /,/au /. They
understand how to determine the correct examples of words to say each vowel
sound in English either monophthongs or diphthongs. Not only the ability to
pronounce vowel sounds but students are able to know 24 consonant sounds [p],
[b], [t], [d], [m], [n], [k], [ɡ], [f],[ v], [s], [z], [θ], [ð], [ʃ], [ʒ],[tʃ], [dʒ], [l], [ɹ], [j ], [w]
,[h].

According to some respondents in this study, their ability to pronounce

English words improved and reduced their pronunciation errors. Examples of errors
that occur when ronouncing the word "compare" are mostly /ˈkɑːmper/ which is
actually /kəmˈper/, "thick" /ðɪk/ should be pronounced /θɪk/ and the word "potato"
read /poteito/ which should be /pəteitəu/. but some others think that learning
phonetics and phonology has not fully helped in good pronunciation.

The results of the survey also revealed that in addition to mastering and
understanding vowels and consonants in English, they can also distinguish sounds
that sound and sound that doesn't sound.

Figure 1 Figure 2

Figure 1 and Figure 2 show that most of the respondents have answered
correctly. In consonant sounds, there are voiced sounds, [b], [d], [m], [n], [ɡ], [ŋ], [
v] ,[z] ,[ð], [ʃ] ,[ʒ], [d], [l], [ɹ], [j], [w], and muted [p], [t], [ k], [f], [θ], [s], [h], [t].
Voiced sounds are sounds when they produce vibrations in the vocal cords, whereas
voiceless sounds have no vibrations. There are 8 words that contain unvoiced letters
that must be spoken by the respondent. These words are 'thick', 'please', 'compare',
'scissor', 'pressure', 'queue', 'chin', 'potato'. The results of the analysis show that
there are still respondents who have errors in pronouncing the letters [ʃ] in the word
'pressure', there are respondents who pronounce the letter [ʃ] with [ʒ] or vice versa.
The same problem occurs when they say the words 'vision'.
 Title of article – name of first author (page.x-x) 6

The abilities possessed by students who have taken phonetics and phonology
courses based on the data obtained can increase their confidence to dare to speak
English. Previously, many students felt that when they wanted to express
expressions in English there was a fear of making mistakes in pronunciation because
they had not learned how to pronounce properly and correctly, while in the learning
process with good motivation, tips and tricks showed how to speak the language.
English properly and correctly results in better skills. , especially in every English
pronunciation. Overall, the data obtained by fifteen respondents said that after
studying phonetics and phonology their English pronunciation skills were getting
better.

CONCLUSION
Based on the identification and data analysis conducted by the researcher, of
the 16 students who were the subjects of this study, it was found that as many as 80%
of the students who had taking phonetic and phonology classes have a good
understanding and the other 20% still do not have a good understanding. The results
of this study indicate that with a good understanding, the ability to identify vowels
and consonants can reduce pronunciation errors in English so that they have good
and correct pronunciation.

From this identification, it is also known that the causes of pronunciation

errors that are still often made by respondents are because most of them rarely or
even have never heard the word, feel ashamed and afraid of being ridiculed when
pronouncing English vocabulary so they do not get used to pronouncing English
vocabulary, and lack their knowledge of how to pronounce properly and correctly
because they are not taught to pronounce by lecturers or language teachers.

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