Title:

// and // sounds and its problems with the Students of ESL Having Punjabi as their Mother-tongue

Course: Phonetics and Phonology Presented by: Khurram Piracha Roll Number 29 Presented to: Prof. Dr. Mubashar Nadeem Dept. of English, Federal Urdu University, Lahore

Introduction:
// and // are Consonant Fricative sounds.

Consonants
A basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed and which can be combined with a vowel to form a syllable. consonants in any language are the result of the brief stoppage or restriction of airflow in speech at different 'points of articulation'. While one is speaking, the vocal chords are either vibrated (voiced), or not (voiceless).

Fricatives
Denoting a type of consonant made by the friction of breath in a narrow opening, producing a turbulent air flow. fricatives are by far the largest group of English consonants.

// is a strong friction sound and //is a weak one.

The soft palate is raised so that all the breath is forced to go through the mouth. There is a narrowing between the tip of the tongue and the back of the alveolar ridge. The front of the tongue is higher than for /s/ and /z/. The lips are very slightly rounded.

These two sounds are paired together because they take the same mouth position. Sh is unvoiced, meaning only air passes through the mouth. And dj is voiced, meaning you make sound with your vocal cords.

The Fricative of English

These fricatives are called post-alveolar, which can be taken to mean that the tongue is in contact with an area slightly further back than that for s, z. If you make s, then //, you should be able to feel your tongue move backwards.

Post-alveolar fricative

The air escapes through a passage along the centre of the tongue, as in s, z, but the passage is a little wider. Most BBC speakers have rounded lips for //, //, and this is an impor-

tant difference between these consonants and s, z. The fricative J is a common and widely distributed phoneme, but 3 is not. All the other fricatives described so far (f, v, , , s, z, ) can be found in initial, medial and final positions, as shown in the example

words. In the case of , however, the distribution is much more limited. Very few English words begin with (peter Roach)

The // Sound in English

Linguists call the // sound a 'voiceless postalveolar fricative'. The 'post-alveolar' point of articulation is just behind the 'alveolar', the point for /s/ and /z/. To create the sh sound, air is forced between a wide groove in the center of the front of the tongue and the back of the tooth ridge. The sides of the blade of the tongue may touch the side teeth. The lips are kept slightly tense, and may protrude somewhat during the production of the sound. This sound is a continuous consonant, meaning that it should be capable of being produced for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire duration. This sound is a continuous consonant, meaning that it should be capable of being produced for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire duration. Common // sound spellings

Examples: word initial: she shore shell /i/ // /el/

word internal: fashion f.n/ ashamed crushing /emd/ /kr./

word final: crash wish /kr/ /w/ ch spelling: /mst/ /ef/ The // sound in suffixes

moustache chef

Station /ste.n/ Solution Partial p.l/ Nutritious /njutr.s/ /slu.n/

The // sound before suffixes /pre.r/ /r/

Pressure Assure

The // Sound in English

The // sound is voiced (the vocal cords vibrate during its production), and is the counterpart to the unvoiced // sound. To create the // sound, air is forced between a wide groove in the center of the front of the tongue and the back of the tooth ridge. The sides of the blade of the tongue may touch the side teeth. The lips are kept slightly tense, and may protrude somewhat during the production of the sound. This sound is a continuous consonant, meaning that it should be capable of being held for a few seconds with even and smooth pronunciation for the entire duration.

Common // sound spellings

ge spelling beige be garage r The // sound in suffixes

Version conclusion Leisure measure

vn knklun

The // sound before suffixes le me

Non-phonetic // sound words

Genre nr luxurious lris

Difficulties
The ESL students who have Punjabi as their mother tongue do not find any difficulty while uttering the // sound because they find its equivalent in their language. The // sound is represented in Punjab by the alphabet . On the other hand, the ESL students find the // sound difficult to utter because there is no such sound in Punjabi. Though the // sound has its equivalent in Urdu language which is widely spoken through out the country. The // sound is represented in Urdu by the alphabet . The people having rural background feel great difficulty while uttering this sound, and they use /j/ or /d/ sound instead. To give examples of mispronunciation // sound, some words are given below.

Word
Pleasure Measure

Correct Pronunciation
/ ple/ /me/

Mispronunciation
/plej/ /mej/

Treasure Leisure vision conclusion beige

/tre/ /le/ /vn/ /knklun/ /be/

/trej/ /lej/ /vjn/ knklujn/ /bed/

It is important to note here that the new generation who is being taught in urban areas find it less difficult to learn the // sound. They can easily grasp the sound after a good practice.

References
consonant: definition of consonant in Oxford dictionary (British & World English). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/consonant

fricative: definition of fricative in Oxford dictionary (British & World English). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/fricative?q=fricative

The SH [] and DJ [] Consonants | Rachel's English. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.rachelsenglish.com/videos/sh-and-dj-consonants

U.S. English Pronunciation - Lesson 6: the sounds // and // -- ESLport.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.eslport.com/2008/10/us-english-pronunciation-lesson-6.html

American English Pronunciation Lesson: zh sound //. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pronuncian.com/Lessons/Default.aspx?Lesson=119

O'Connor, J. D. (1980). Better English pronunciation. Cambridge [Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press.

Roach, P. (2009). English phonetics and phonology: A practical course. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.