Journal of Language Teaching and Research Contents - Academy ...
Journal of Language Teaching and Research Contents - Academy ...
Journal of Language Teaching and Research Contents - Academy ...
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ISSN 1798-4769<br />
<strong>Journal</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Language</strong> <strong>Teaching</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Research</strong>, Vol. 2, No. 5, pp. 1086-1098, September 2011<br />
© 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finl<strong>and</strong>.<br />
doi:10.4304/jltr.2.5.1086-1098<br />
How to Improve Pronunciation? An In-depth<br />
Contrastive Investigation <strong>of</strong> Sound-spelling<br />
Systems in English <strong>and</strong> Persian<br />
© 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER<br />
Seyyed Mohammad Ali sooz<strong>and</strong>ehfar<br />
Dept. <strong>of</strong> Foreign <strong>Language</strong>s <strong>and</strong> Linguistics, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran<br />
Email: sooz<strong>and</strong>ehfar@yahoo.com<br />
Marzieh Souz<strong>and</strong>ehfar<br />
Dept. <strong>of</strong> Foreign <strong>Language</strong>s <strong>and</strong> Linguistics, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran<br />
Abstract—This study is a contrastive investigation between English <strong>and</strong> Persian sound-spelling systems in<br />
which the problematic areas for both English <strong>and</strong> Persian learners have been identified. Firstly, the researcher<br />
has determined the common base between the two languages, i.e. the structural phonology, <strong>and</strong> has postulated<br />
it as the tertium comparationis <strong>of</strong> the study. Through an in-depth examining <strong>of</strong> the sound-spelling<br />
characteristics <strong>of</strong> each language, the study has gone through the description stage. After that, the comparable<br />
features have been identified in the juxtaposition stage. Then, in the comparison stage, the detailed comparison<br />
<strong>and</strong> contrast <strong>of</strong> the two languages have been made in terms <strong>of</strong> the juxtaposed sound-spelling features. Finally,<br />
the EFL learners' pronunciation problems have been analyzed for the prediction stage. The results have<br />
indicated that there are a number <strong>of</strong> regularities <strong>and</strong> irregularities which can be problematic for both English<br />
<strong>and</strong> Persian learners, especially for non-native speakers learning English. Moreover, this study has some<br />
implications in TEFL for teachers to know <strong>and</strong> consider such problematic areas <strong>and</strong> teach the students these<br />
inconsistencies so as to reduce such preventative factors in their learning.<br />
Index Terms—contrastive analysis, pronunciation, sound, spelling<br />
I. INTRODUCTION<br />
Pronunciation involves far more than individual sounds. Word stress, sentence stress, intonation, <strong>and</strong> word linking all<br />
influence the sounds <strong>of</strong> spoken English, not to mention the way we <strong>of</strong>ten slur words <strong>and</strong> phrases together in casual<br />
speech. ''What are you going to do?'' becomes ''Waddaya gonna do?'' English pronunciation involves too many<br />
complexities for EFL learners to strive for a complete elimination <strong>of</strong> accent, but improving pronunciation will boost self<br />
esteem, facilitate communication, <strong>and</strong> possibly lead to a better job or at least more respect in the workplace. Effective<br />
communication is <strong>of</strong> greatest importance, so one must choose first to work on problems that significantly hinder<br />
communication <strong>and</strong> then refer to features in terms <strong>of</strong> accuracy. One should remember that the students also need to<br />
learn strategies for dealing with misunderst<strong>and</strong>ings, since native pronunciation is for most an unrealistic goal.<br />
Therefore, the English spelling system has both regularities <strong>and</strong> irregularities which can be problematic for nonnative<br />
speakers learning English. But it is possible for the teachers to know them <strong>and</strong> teach the students the<br />
inconsistencies. This paper tends to have a survey on the similarities <strong>and</strong> differences between English <strong>and</strong> Persian<br />
sound-spelling <strong>and</strong> identifies the problematic areas for both English <strong>and</strong> Persian learners.<br />
Objective <strong>of</strong> the Study<br />
This study is a contrastive investigation between English <strong>and</strong> Persian sound-spelling systems, in which, first, the<br />
sound-spelling system <strong>of</strong> each language has been described separately, <strong>and</strong> second, a number <strong>of</strong> both consistencies <strong>and</strong><br />
inconsistencies between the Persian <strong>and</strong> English sound-spelling systems have been explored. Moreover, through this<br />
investigation, the study has analyzed some problematic areas <strong>of</strong> pronunciation in Iranian EFL learners pronouncing a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> pre-determined vocabularies, containing some inconsistencies in the sound-spelling features, so as to specify<br />
the sources <strong>of</strong> such pronunciation problems, <strong>and</strong> therefore, to be helpful for both EFL learners <strong>and</strong> teachers. In<br />
particular, the following questions have been answered through the present study:<br />
1. What are the characteristics <strong>of</strong> the Persian sound-spelling system?<br />
2. What are the characteristics <strong>of</strong> the English sound-spelling system?<br />
3. What are the consistencies <strong>and</strong> inconsistencies between the English <strong>and</strong> Persian sound-spelling systems?<br />
4. What are the sources <strong>of</strong> pronunciation problems in Iranian EFL learners at the beginner, intermediate, <strong>and</strong><br />
advanced levels?<br />
II. LITERATURE REVIEW