Pronounciation

INDEPENDENT WORK

Group.17.66

Mahammadjonov.U

Theme: Communicative feauteres of pronounciation in communication process

Plan.

1. What is pronounciation and its types

2. Importance of pronounciation

3. Role of pronounciation while communication

PRONOUNCIATION

Pronunciation is the way in which a word or a language is spoken. This may refer to generally agreed-upon sequences of sounds used in speaking a given word or language in a specific dialect ("correct pronunciation"), or simply the way a particular individual speaks a word or language .A word can be spoken in different ways by various individuals or groups, depending on many factors, such as: the duration of the cultural exposure of their childhood, the location of their current residence, speech or voice disorders,[1] their ethnic group, their social class, or their education.

There exist numerous varieties of pronunciation in any language, the English language as well. The pronunciation of almost of every locality in the British Isles has peculiar features that distinguish it from the pronunciation of other localities. Besides, pr-n is socially influenced. It reflects class distinctions, education and upbringing. The varieties that are spoken by a socially limited number of people and used only in certain localities are called dialects. There are therefore local dialects & social dialects. All these varieties have much more in common. They are varieties of one & the same language, the English language.

Dialects have some peculiarities in pr-n, vocabulary and grammatical structure. Due to mass media (radio, TV, cinema), the increased mobility of the population, concentration of the population in the cities, the dialectal differences are becoming less marked. That, of course, does not mean the pr-n of a

Manchester dialect speaker does not differ from the pr-n of a London dialect speaker. Among the most well-known dialects one should mention Cockney (spoken by the less educated part of the Londoners), Cornish dialect (in Cornwall) & others.

Dialect speakers are, as a rule, the less educated part of the population. With the more educated people pr-n generally tends to conform to a particular standard. Dialects enrich the language & make it more lively & fresh.

In present – day English the number of local dialects is being reduced to fewer, more or less general, regional types. Every regional type of pr-n is characterized by features that are common to all the dialects used in the region. The regional types of pr-n, in their turn, are marked one from another by a number of peculiarities specific to each of them. British English phoneticians generally distinguish 3 main regional types of pr-n: Southern, Northern & Scottish regional types of English pr-n.

One of the types of pr-n, generally the one that is spoken by the educated people in the capital, is recognized as the orthoepic norm. The orthoepic norm of a language is the standard pr-n adopted by native speakers as the right & proper way of speaking. It is used by the most educated part of the population.

The orthoepic norm is based on the variants of pr-n that are widely used in actual speech, that reflect the main phonetic tendencies, & that are considered to be acceptable by the educated.

Since the orthoepic norm is ever changing & developing, from time to time the pronouncing dictionaries have to be revised & reset. E.g. in the (1937) edition of Everyman’s English Pronouncing Dictionary by D.Jones the pr-ns of the following words were indicated in such an order: “again” / ә'gein - ә' gen /, “national” - /næ әnәl, nәl, nl /. In the (1956) edition the order is reversed: “again” / ә'gen - ә' gein /, “national” - /næ әnl, nәl, nl, nl, әnәl /.

In connected speech the sound structures of words are modified under the influence of rhythm, tempo &utterance stress. But the pronouncing dictionaries do not and cannot reflect all these variants.

Pronunciation Varieties of British English

It is generally considered that the orthoepic norm of British English is “Received Pronunciation” (RP), though as many scholars state, it is not the only variety of British English pr-n that is recognized as the orthoepic norm in present-day Britain.

RP was accepted as the phonetic norm of English about a century ago. It is mainly based on the Southern English regional type of pr-n, but it has developed its own features. Though RP is carefully preserved by the public schools & the privileged class in England, the RP of today differs in some respects from the former refined RP used half a century ago. A.Gimson claims that the exclusive purity of the classic RP has been diluted, as some features of regional types of speech are “received” now, though some 50 years ago those features were considered to be regional, non-RP.

The Importance of Pronunciation

It is a recognised scientific fact that a child born in any country of the world can learn to speak any language of our planet. For example, a child from Poland has come to live in the USA at an early age. He or she will speak perfect English and have no Polish accent. And of course, such children will perfectly understand everything they hear, and other English speakers understand them. Pronunciation and clear understanding of English speech are two skills which complement each other. It means that, if you know how to pronounce the words and phrases correctly, with proper intonation, your level of speech understanding is also increased.

Thus, pronunciation training is a very important part of mastering any foreign language, including English. It doesn’t mean that the purpose of such phonetic training is to get rid of a foreign accent completely and forever. To be honest, it is not always possible and not so necessary, of course, if you are not going to work for foreign intelligence or teach yourself the language professionally. The main objective of such training is to learn how to hear yourself and others. Poor pronunciation creates additional barrier in understanding between you and a person you are talking to.

A Few Specific Pronunciation Tips

1

Learn to listen to others. The more you listen, the more successful you will be. Nowadays, there are many opportunities of hearing native English speech: songs, films, TV series, videos on YouTube and other sites, audiobooks, voice chats, etc. Make the most of this unique opportunity which has become available in the last few years!

2

Practice makes perfect. Even your English level is high, you can lose your phonetic skills if you have too little practice. To avoid it, just do some simple exercises:

read aloud or in a whisper, and repeat the words which you find difficult to pronounce,

recite poems or sing songs, observing rhythm and intonation,

speak English to your friends whose English is good or better than yours too – just for fun and practice.

3

If your pronunciation is not perfect, don’t speak fast. Pronounce words slowly and clearly, and any English native speaker will understand you.

With these simple recommendations, your improving self-confidence will help you to cope with difficulties in everyday communication in English more effectively. The better you master pronouncing words and sentences correctly.

Learners with good communication skills are likely to be understood even though they make errors in other areas, whereas learners with bad pronunciation will not be understood, even if their grammar is perfect. Learners who have bad pronunciation feel lonely, employment difficulties, avoid speaking in English, limited opportunities for further study. If the sound of word is differing it may lead the listener to some other meanings, and if this happens, it is very much obvious that it’s not a proper communication. Everybody judge people by they communicate, and so learners with poor pronunciation can be judged as uneducated, lack of knowledge in pronunciation or incompetent. So learners should have knowledge about the pronunciation. Many learners find pronunciation is difficult aspect of English to acquire. Therefore, some sort of instruction and practice is must in class.

Role of pronounciation while communication

Pronunciation, which refers to the way a word is spoken, contributes to how an individual is understood by the listener. Pronunciation of a word can differ depending on local/regional dialects. For example, someone with a British English accent may pronounce tomato as "toe-mah-toe" while someone with an American English accent may pronounce tomato as "toe-may-toe". Both of these pronunciations are correct, and the ability to understand these pronunciations can sometimes require a person to be familiar with the regional/local dialect of the speaker. If two people who are speaking the same language are having difficulty understanding each other, than slow and clear pronunciation of a word can aid in mutual understanding. Additionally, in some dialects, a word may not sound as if it is being fully pronounced by a listener who is unfamiliar to that dialect. Therefore, pronouncing the full word when misunderstanding is occurring can also aid in the listener being able to better process the word.

Although pronunciation is not crucial to actual understanding, it is important to clear communication. People can understand strong accents and mispronunciation most of the time, but it takes added concentration and effort that makes it difficult to catch nuances in the conversation or keep a conversation going for an extended period of time.

Mispronunciation or unclear pronunciation can also result in confusion and miscommunication if there are words that when pronounced differently have different meanings. The key is to speak slowly and clearly so that both sides can understand. Keeping conversations short and simple when one person has trouble pronouncing words can also help.

Pronunciation also involves far more than individual sounds. Word stress, sentence stress, intonation, and word linking all influence the sound of spoken English, not to mention the way we often slur words and phrases together in casual speech. 'What are you going to do?' becomes 'Whaddaya gonna do?' English pronunciation involves too many complexities for learners to strive for a complete elimination of accent, but improving pronunciation will boost self esteem, facilitate communication, and possibly lead to a better job or a least more respect in the workplace. Effective communication is of greatest importance, so choose first to work on problems that significantly hinder communication and let the rest go. Remember that your students also need to learn strategies for dealing with misunderstandings, since native pronunciation is for most an unrealistic goal.