English Phonology Research Articles

Student's Perspective On Learning English Phonemes

Studying phonemes is a part of phonology, so writing this article is about learning basic phonemes. Phonemes are the basic level of phonological learning because phonemes are the smallest basic units that form the elements that make up speech sounds. Therefore, in this article we will study the basic phoneme which is the smallest functional unit of language. a phoneme cannot stand alone because a phoneme has no meaning, but its role is very important because a phoneme can distinguish meaning. For example, the phonemes [l] and [r]. If we separate these two phonemes, we will definitely not understand their meaning. A phoneme has an identity basis which is called the meaning distinguishing function of the sound units of language. The method used in this article is a method that collects information through questionnaires to analyze students' understanding of phonemic learning and draw conclusions about basic phonemic learning, whether learning is important and easy to understand.

Students’ Perception Of Presentation Activities In Learning English Phonology

This research aimed to find out the advantages of presentation activities in learning english phonology. Descriptive qualitative method was used in this research. Data were collected using an interview to gauge the students’ perception of presentation activities in learning english phonology. The population of this research was ten students from TBI 1 in Islamic State University of North Sumatera. The research finding shown that the students had a highly positive and positive attitude about the use of presentations in English phonology lessons. The students believed the presenting activities were educational and helpful in developing their English pronunciation and vocabulary. It could be concluded that the use of presentation activities in learning english phonology gave some advantages to the students at TBI 1.

Overview Of Knowledge Of English Language Education Students Class Of 2021 About Minimum Pairs

The study of the English language's phonology, or sound system, is known as English phonology. To understand each other between speakers and listeners, English users must be able to pronounce correctly so that the message is conveyed without misunderstanding. One of the important points that must be learned from the science of phonology is minimal pair words to train English language learners to speak like native speakers. This descriptive study aims to determine the level of knowledge of students about the lecture material that has been studied in the fourth semester, namely Minimal Pairs. The study method is cross-sectional with a sample size of 126 respondents taken by consecutive sampling. The level of knowledge of students was found to be in the good category as much as 32.5%, sufficient category as much as 62.7%, poor category by 4.8%. Most of the respondents, 62.7%, had a sufficient level of knowledge. The conclusion obtained from this study is that students majoring in English tadris class of 2021 UIN North Sumatra have a sufficient level of knowledge about Minimal Pairs.

Phonological Analysis in Delivering Stories through Video Recording

Postulating the language as means of communication playing crucial role in our daily lives is truly indisputable. A lot of problems occurred in the field of phonology by the students in delivering their speaking performance. This research is intended to analyze the phonological error in the second semester students in performing stories in the form of speaking. The kind of this research is classified as qualitative research which focuses on analyzing students’ utterances, particularly in terms of English phonology. In this study, the data were collected in the form of video-recorded speaking performance and written transcription by the subjects of the research. Furthermore, after a careful and detailed analyzing process by the researcher, it is concluded that most students made several phonological errors in pronouncing some English words. The result of the study showed that diversity of language skills and components particularly pronunciation, fluency, and accuracy is dominantly due to the previous educational background, students’ motivation in learning, the intensity of students’ exercise, students’ current efforts in learning English, and having a grit. By having a grit, the students have passion and perseverance to train themselves in learning English and practicing the English skills for long-term.

Acquisition of English Phonology: Spectro-Temporal Mapping of English Mid Vowels in Pakistan

Acquisition of English Phonology: Spectro-Temporal Mapping of English Mid Vowels in Pakistan

An Acoustic Study of the Role of Consistency of Input in Acquisition of English Central Vowels in Pakistan

The study is aimed at observing the effect of consistency of input on the acquisition of English central vowels /ə/, /ɜ:/, /ʌ/regarding jaw opening (correlated with F1), tongue fronting (correlated with F2) and Duration of vowels. This is a quasi-experimental research that has a frame of ‘pre-test-post-test control-group’. The researcher took three intact class groups, at middle level from a public girls school, and assigned them to experimental groups and control group. Experimental Group A was consistently exposed to English RP based audios/videos for 60 consecutive days. Experimental Group B was inconsistently exposed to input in alternative days adding up to 30 days. Control group C was not given treatment of any kind. The target central vowels were embedded into / hvd/ syllables in the carrier phrase ‘say --- please’ as a stimuli. Each phrase was recorded five times in pre-test and five times in post-test adding up to twenty seven hundred tokens of English central vowels. FormantPro (Xu, 2013) software was run to obtain average values of F1, F2, and Duration of vowels of each participant. The results of the data show that central vowels of group A, particularly vowel sound /ʌ/, are significantly affected by consistent exposure to RP vowels contrary to the central vowels of group B and group C. This study recommends consistent exposure of input for effective acquisition of English phonology related to administrative and pedagogical practices.

Fine-scale cultural variation reinforces genetic structure in England.

Genes and languages both contain signatures of human evolution, population movement, and demographic history. Cultural traits like language are transmitted by interactions between people, and these traits influence how people interact. In particular, if groups of people differentiate each other based on some qualities of their cultures, and if these qualities are passed to the next generation, then this differentiation can result in barriers to gene flow. Previous work finds such barriers to gene flow between groups that speak different languages, and we explore this phenomenon further: can more subtle cultural differences also produce genetic structure in a population? We focus on whether subtle, dialect-level linguistic differences in England have influenced genetic population structure, likely by affecting mating preferences. We analyze spatially dense linguistic and genetic data-both of which independently contain spatially structured variation in England-to examine whether the cultural differences represented by variation in English phonology colocalize with higher genetic rates of change. We find that genetic variation and dialect markers have similar spatial distributions on a country-wide scale, and that throughout England, linguistic boundaries colocalize with the boundaries of genetic clusters found using fineSTRUCTURE. This gene-language covariation, in the absence of geographic barriers that could coordinate cultural and genetic differentiation, suggests that similar social forces influenced both dialect boundaries and the genetic population structure of England.

Theory Of English Constant In Phonology

The theory of consonants in English phonology is an important aspect in understanding the sound system in that language. Phonology is the study of how the sounds in language are used to form meaning. In English, consonants and vowels have different roles in forming word structure and sound articulation.Consonants in English are defined as sounds that experience resistance or airflow shift when spoken. There are various types of consonants in English, such as hissing consonants, popping consonants, sliding consonants, and so on. These consonants have certain characteristics, such as the place and manner of articulation, which distinguish one consonant from another.Places of articulation refer to the parts in the mouth or throat that are used to produce consonant sounds. For example, the lips, teeth, tongue, palate, and throat can play a role in the production of consonants. For example, the consonant /p/ is pronounced by bringing the lips together, while the consonant /k/ is pronounced by moving the back palate with the back of the tongue.The manner of articulation refers to the type of resistance or shift in airflow that occurs when pronouncing the consonant. Some examples of how consonants are articulated in English include complete closure of the airflow (eg /p/), partial obstruction of the airflow (eg /s/), or passage of air through the nose (eg /m/). The theory of consonants and vowels in English phonology helps to explain how these sounds form a distinctive language system. Knowledge of the place and manner of consonant articulation, as well as the position of the tongue and the tilt of the vowel lips, allows linguistics to analyze the differences in sounds in English. In the study of phonology, this theory also helps to understand sound patterns, sound changes, and the placement of sounds in words as well as in the broader structure of language.

English Phonological Interference by Indonesian Speakers in a MoFA’s Media Briefing

Phonological interference occurs when a speaker reproduces the sound in the second language system but the use of the first language system is still recognized. This phenomenon is frequently found in the speech or utterances of second language speakers such as that of presented in a video from Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affair’s (hence MoFA) YouTube channel entitled “Media Briefing of Covid-19 Vaccine Development in Indonesia”. Thus, this study focuses on the phonological interference in the video by investigating its types based on particular characteristics of the categories. This research applies Weinreich’s theory of phonological interference (1968) as the grand theory to answer the research problem and qualitative descriptive method as the research. The data collected are obtained by recording technique to combine the equivalence of the video recording and the transcript. The results show the findings on four types of phonological interference. They are under-differentiation of phonemes, over-differentiation of phonemes, reinterpretation of distinctions, and actual phone substitution.

Analyzing the Student’s Phonological Awareness and its Relation to the Reading Skill in EFL Classroom

Phonological awareness has been claimed as one of the significant factors in learning to read. This paper reported our research on students' phonological awareness in EFL classrooms. We wanted to examine whether the phonological awareness tasks correlate with reading accuracy. Firstly, we analyzed their phonological awareness in the tasks of identification, substitution, addition, and deletion in English phonemes and syllables. Then, we discussed the relationship between phonological awareness and reading skills. We observed the students (N=143) of the even semesters (II, IV, VI, and VIII) at the English Education Department (Academic Year 2021/2022), Universitas Bandar Lampung, Indonesia. From the complete task of knowing students' phonological awareness that has been carried out, there was an increase in the average score from Semester II to Semester VIII students. The highest mean score was found in the student's test scores of Semester VIII (91.2; SD 6.3) and the lowest for Semester II students (62.5; SD 11.4). To test whether the phonological awareness tasks correlated with reading accuracy, the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (r) was calculated, and the results showed that the reading accuracy had a positive correlation either for the phoneme (r = 0.472) and syllable (r = 0.534) tasks and the correlation was significant (p < .01).

The French Phonetic Impact on English

The Normandy conquest to England represented a shift in power from the Anglo-Saxon into French or Norman possession. It sheds great effects on people’s life. This shift undoubtedly made a great influence or impact on English in considering that languages are channels for the interaction of cultures and habits. Hence, English was influenced by Latin descendants which reflected by Old French, Old Norse and later the Anglo-Norman variety. This paper tackles French phonetic impact on English which made crucial changes in each spelling and pronunciation by which English shifted from old to middle era. Moreover, by French conventions, some consonants and their literary representations were added to English by loanwords. Vowels were reduced, lengthened or diphthongized by certain processes or phonetic environments. The modifications and merges appeared in the Middle English phonemes were nearly the main inputs for Present- Day English.

EM-CSP: An efficient multiclass common spatial pattern feature method for speech imagery EEG signals recognition

BackgroundBrain-computer interface (BCI) technology has many applications in various scientific fields, such as used in communication (speech recognition). The data of imagery speech has been collected in electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. MethodIn this paper, we propose an approach for EEG feature extraction of imagined speech with high accuracy and efficiency. In this way, we improve the common spatial pattern (CSP) binary algorithm to multiclass level in two parts ‘One-vs-One’ and ‘One-vs-All’. The “Kara One” dataset is used in this research that includes EEG signals of thirteen subjects with twelve trials and sixty-four channels for any four English words signals and seven English phonemes signals. ResultsWe compared our proposed CSP to other imagined speech feature methods. The classification accuracy of the second part of the proposed method is 97.34% in the subject-wise overall model which is 19.97% better than the best previous result. ConclusionWe have obtained the highest classification accuracy for sixty-four channels, which is the highest accuracy ever achieved using this database. Our proposed model is ready to be tested with more EEG data. This proposed work, which includes an ensemble method for classifying speech imagery words, can greatly contribute to intuitive BCI development using silent speech.

Discrepancy between Self-Reported and Actual Phonics Content Knowledge of Government Primary School Teachers in Pakistan

The discrepancy between teachers' self-reported and actual knowledge can be lethal for any pedagogic process. In that case, they cannot achieve the learning objectives by transferring the required knowledge and skills among the learners. This research intends to explore the gap between phonics-related self-reported and actual knowledge of Pakistani government primary school teachers to see how far they are competent in phonics knowledge. This investigation further elucidates the quality of pre-and in-service teacher preparation programs in equipping the primary grade instructors with the required skill. For this purpose, 230 government primary school teachers were asked to report their phonics knowledge through a Likert scale questionnaire. In addition, a section of 10 MCQs was added to assess their actual knowledge of which different aspects of phonics, i.e., the definition of phonics, number of sounds in the English language, identifying consonant and vowel digraphs, short and long vowel sounds, number of sounds and syllable in a word and consonant blend. The findings realised the severe discrepancy between the self-reported and actual knowledge as only 28.3 % of teachers could score average or above-average marks, though the majority overrated their competence. Comparatively older, less qualified, and less professionally trained teachers with non-M.A. English qualifications were more prone to the tendency of overvaluing their knowledge. This situation implies that specific phonics content-based training is not provided to the teachers during pre-and in-service teacher preparation programs. However, the phonology of English is taught to them to some extent; teacher knowledge is not assessed at any stage. These findings propose content-based teacher training, teacher knowledge assessment, and the incorporation of technology to facilitate teachers.

ANALYSIS OF PHONOLOGICAL ERRORS IN FIRST SEMESTER STUDENTS IN PERFORMING SELF INTRODUCTION A CASE STUDY IN INSTITUTE LEVEL

Some problems have emerged related to the phonological errors made by the first semester students in delivering their speaking performance. This research is intended to analyze the phonological error in the first semester students in performing self-introduction. This study used qualitative research method particularly in terms of English phonology that focus on observing and analyzing the observation of English-speaking skill. In this research, the collected data were in the form of transcripts of the video-recorded performance that performed by the subjects of research. It is concluded that most students showed several phonological errors in pronouncing some words. All students of the first semester have successfully performed their self-introduction fluently and accurately based on the basic self-introduction pattern. The result of the study showed that the emergence of various variations in the accuracy of phonology is mainly due to the previous educational background and the students’ current efforts in learning language. However, most students of first semester did phonological errors in pronouncing several words. In order to speak English fluently and accurately, it is expected that the students learn about English phonology well by considering the appropriate place of articulation and manner of articulation.

Development of English Phonology Teaching Materials and Learning Strategies

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengembangkan bahan ajar bahasa Inggris dan strategi pembelajaran. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kepustakaan. Data penelitian diambil dari buku fonologi, dokumen, dan literatur pendukung lainnya. Hasil penelitian menemukan bahwa ada dua poin yang dikembangkan dalam penelitian ini. Bahan ajar disusun dengan mencakup semua materi yang diajarkan dan juga dibuat sesuai dengan KKNI yang berorientasi. Pembahasan kasus-kasus lokal mengenai hambatan pengucapan bunyi bahasa Inggris oleh masyarakat Indonesia juga dimasukkan dalam bahan ajar sebagai bentuk pembelajaran pemecahan masalah. Strategi pembelajaran yang dikembangkan dalam mata kuliah ini adalah implementasi metode blended learning. Metode ini difokuskan pada proses kegiatan pembelajaran dan pada tugas. Metode ini dipilih agar mahasiswa dapat memanfaatkan teknologi yang ada saat ini dan mempertajam literasi digitalnya. Kesimpulannya, bahan ajar yang dikembangkan dalam penelitian ini berorientasi pada KKNI dan strategi pembelajaran menggunakan blended learning.

The Velar Nasal in thing and think : Evidence from Thomas Spence's (1775) Pronouncing Dictionary for the Eighteenth-Century English Phonology Database

ABSTRACT: The history of the velar nasal phoneme involves two stories: the emergence of /ŋ/ as an independent phoneme, as in thing /θiŋ/, and variation between velar and alveolar nasal pronunciations in the context of unstressed <-ing>, as in loving /'lΛviŋ/–/'lΛvin/. The latter has been the object of study in English (historical) phonology and dialectology (e.g., , , , ). The former, however, received little attention until the final decades of the eighteenth century, when Thomas Spence first coded the velar nasal with a separate notation system in The Grand Repository of the English Language (1775). Spence's is one of the eleven pronouncing dictionaries from which the Eighteenth-Century English Phonology Database ( ECEP ) draws its data. The current paper reports on the methodological steps adopted in order to compile a new consonant lexical set for the study of the velar nasal phoneme /ŋ/, labeled thing and further subdivided into two subsets to account for the combination of the nasal consonant spelled <n> and a voiced /g/ or voiceless velar plosive /k/ consonant ( thing and think ). The selection of example words is based on the inventory of dictionary entries in The Grand Repository , then contrasts Spence's entries with other pronouncing dictionaries in ECEP and narrows down the list according to diverse linguistic parameters such as word-position, stress, part of speech, and number of syllables. The compilation of the lexical set thing will thus facilitate research on the incidence and distribution of the velar nasal phoneme in the history of English. This in turn will add to the body of research underlining the value of evidence drawn from pronouncing dictionaries and will contribute to fostering the "phonological turn" that has been growing in historical linguistics over recent decades.

Монгол оюутнуудын aнгли хэлний /r/ эгшиг авианы дуудлагын алдаанд хийсэн дүн шинжилгээ (МУИС-ийн ШУС-ийн англи хэлний дунд түвшний оюутны жишээгээр)

Монгол оюутнуудын aнгли хэлний /r/ эгшиг авианы дуудлагын алдаанд хийсэн дүн шинжилгээ (МУИС-ийн ШУС-ийн англи хэлний дунд түвшний оюутны жишээгээр)

The Effectiveness of Phonics Instruction Applying Korean Phoneme on English Word Reading Ability in Elementary School Students

The purpose of this study is to verify the effectiveness of phonics instruction applying Korean phoneme in English phoneme and monosyllabic word reading. To achieve this, an experiment was conducted in nine lessons over a period of three weeks. Participants were 22 Korean-speaking participants aged 9-10 years. The experiment group of 11 participants learned phonics by comparing sounds of English phonemes and Korean phonemes. The control group of 11 participants learned phonics using only English phonemes only. The effectiveness of the two teaching methods on English phonemes and monosyllabic word reading was found to be as follows. First, the result of phoneme reading test in the experimental group was found to be higher than that in the control group. Second, in the case of monosyllabic word reading test, both groups showed improvement of test results, although such improvement was not statistically significant. Participants in the experimental group attempted to read by combining each phoneme in the second test. However, participants in the control group did not try to combine each phoneme. This finding supports the view of applying of learners’ native language in learning and teaching phonics.

Impact of Consistency of Input on Acquisition of English Front Vowels: An Acoustic Study

The study observes the impact of consistency of input on the acquisition of English front vowels /ɪ/, /ɪ: /, /e/, /æ/ concerning jaw opening (correlated with F1), tongue fronting (correlated with F2) and duration of vowels. This is a quasi-experimental study that has ‘pre-test-post-test control group’ framework. Three intact class groups, at middle level from a public girls school, were assigned to experimental groups and control group. Experimental group A was consistently exposed to English RP based audios/videos for sixty consecutive days. Experimental group B was inconsistently exposed to input in alternative days. Control group C was not given treatment of any kind. The target front vowels were embedded into / hvd / syllables in the carrier phrase ‘say --- please’ as a stimuli. Data comprising of thirty six hundred tokens of English front vowels were analyzed using FormantPro (Xu, 2013) software. The results show that front vowels of group A, particularly vowel sound /æ/, /ɪ:/ are considerably affected by consistent exposure to RP vowels contrary to the front vowels of group B and group C. This study recommends consistent exposure of input for effective acquisition of English phonology.

The rise tone in the English and Malay intonations of Malay learners of English


 
 
 English is a widely spoken language around the world and its intonation may vary significantly across its varieties. Miscommunication is possible given that intonation may function differently in different varieties. Given this context, this study sets out to describe functions of the rise tone in the English and Malay intonations of Malay learners, and to determine the influence of their L1 on the use of the rise tone in Malaysian English. Sixty ESL learners were asked to narrate a short story individually according to a series of pictures presented to them. Eight of them were also asked to narrate their stories in Malay. Their narrations were analysed acoustically using Praat and the tone functions were identified using Brazil’s Discourse Intonation model. Findings show that the learners used the rise tone in both languages mainly to: (i) convey new and shared information, (ii) continue speaking, and (iii) present items in a list. Findings may contribute details to Malaysian English phonology and shed some light on intonation usage among Malaysian English speakers.