2.

1 Segemental Features (Vowels)

A vowel is a letter of the alphabet (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y) that represents

a speech sound created by the relatively free passage of breath through the larynx and oral
cavity. Vowels are the principal sounds of syllables. Letters that are not vowels
are consonants. Vowels are a major category of phonemes in English speech. Spoken
English has approximately 20 distinct vowel sounds, though there are dialectal variations.

WORD ORIGINAL SUBJECT

TRANSCRIPTIONS TRANSCRIPTIONS
National ˈnæʃənl neʃənl
Foot fʊt fu:d

In the word national, the subject pronounced the vowel ‘a’ as ‘neʃənl’. However, the correct

pronunciation of the vowel ‘a’ in the word should be ˈnæʃənl which has the similar

pronunciation as the word æpl.

The word foot should be pronounced as [ fʊt] which used the short vowel [ʊ].
However, the subject pronounced the word by using the long vowel sound [u:] which makes
it sounds like the word ‘food’.
2.2 Segmental Features (Consonants)

According to Richard Nordquist, a consonant is a speech sound that's not a vowel. The
sound of a consonant is produced by a partial or complete obstruction of the airstream by a
constriction of the speech organs. In writing, a consonant is any letter of the alphabet except
A, E, I, O, U, and sometimes Y. There are 24 consonant sounds in English, some voiced
(made by a vibration of the vocal cords) and some voiceless (no vibration).

WORD ORIGINAL SUBJECT

TRANSCRIPTIONS TRANSCRIPTIONS
Recently riːsntli  riːzntli 

The word recently should be pronounced as ‘riːsntli’ which uses the voiceless

sound of [s]. However, the subject used the voiced sound, [z], which
make it sounds like ‘riːzntli’.
2.3 Supra Segmental Features (Elision)

Elision is the omission of one or more sounds in a word or phrase, producing a result that is
easier for the speaker to pronounce. Sometimes, sounds may be elided for euphonic effect.
In Native English, elision comes naturally, and it is often described as "slurred" or "muted."
Often, elision is deliberate. It is a common misconception that contractions automatically
qualify as elided words, which comes from slack definitions. Not all elided words are
contractions and not all contractions are elided words.

WORD ORIGINAL SUBJECT

TRANSCRIPTIONS TRANSCRIPTIONS
Biggest bɪgɪst  bɪgɪs 
First fɜːst fɜːs

The subject dropped the consonant [t] from the word biggest and pronounce it as
“bɪgɪs” which is wrong from the original transcription as it should be
pronounced along with the voiceless consonant [t].

The subject also used elision when pronouncing the word first which
he also dropped the voiceless consonant [t]. However, the correct
pronunciation should have the sound of the voiceless consonant [t]
which make it sounds like ‘fɜːst’.

 
2.4 Supra Segmental Features (Assimilation)

Assimilation is the influence of a sound on a neighboring sound so that the two

become similar or the same. For example, the Latin prefix in- 'not, non-, un-' appears in
English as il-, im-. and ir- in the words illegal, immoral, impossible (both m and p are bilabial
consonants), and irresponsible as well as the unassimilated original form in- in indecent and
incompetent (Zdenek Salzmann, Language Culture and Society: An Introduction to
Linguistics Anthrapology. Westview, 2004). Assimilation can be synchronic being an active
process in a language at a given point in time or diachronic being a historical sound change.
There are 4 configurations found: the increase in phonetic similarity may be between
adjacent segments or between segments separated by one or more intervening segments;
the changes could be in reference to a preceding segment or a following one. Even when all
four occur, it changes in regard to a following adjacent segment account for virtually all
assimilatory changes. Assimilation to an adjacent segment are vastly more frequent than
assimilation to a non-adjacent one.

WORD ORIGINAL SUBJECT

TRANSCRIPTIONS TRANSCRIPTIONS
In the final ɪn ðə ˈfaɪnl ɪnnə ˈfaɪnl
Going up ˈgəʊɪŋ ʌp gəʊɪnAp

The subject tend to pronounced the word “ɪn ðə ” as though it were written in “ɪnnə” as

he was speaking it casually or rapidly. The same thing occurred as he

pronounced the word “ˈgəʊɪŋ ʌp” which he pronounced it as ” gəʊɪnAp” in
a rapid style of speaking. This happened because, the features of
adjacent sound combined so that one of the sound not be pronounced.
3.0 Possible Causes of Pronunciation Difficulties

One of the causes is the mother tongue interference. It is a common occurrence among
second language speakers (Swan, 2008). As for the subject, English is not his first language
but he has been exposed to English language since he was in primary school. Supposedly
there should not have been any problem with his pronunciation but, the subject still faces
with some pronunciation problem. This is probably due to the fact that he uses his mother
tongue widely in his daily life communication activity. The spelling or pronunciation patterns
and habits of first language can influence the pronunciation of English learner (Dechert,
1983 and Ellis, 1997 as cited in Baljit Bhel,1999).
Other than that, the differences in written and spoken English language can also
cause problems to English learners. Mohammad Maher Jesry (2005) mentioned in his
research that the lack of a simple correspondence between the spelling system and the
pronunciation system in English tends to cause problems for second language learners in
which it can lead them to initially or repeatedly misspellwords and mispronounce them.
Besides that, ethnicity can also influence the interference of second language
learners’ pronunciation. Our subject is a Chinese raised up in Sarawak and he used to
speak Chinese language as it is his first language. Every ethic or race will usually have their
own language or dialect. In fact, there is a wide difference between the vowel in Chinese
language and in English (Deterring, 2005). Geographical demographic can also causes
interference in subject’s pronunciation. As for our subject who happens to be a Chinese
raised in Sarawak, his Chinese language is highly influence with the local dialect. For
example,the dialect spoke in Kelantan is totally different from the one spoken in Kedah.
There is a possibility that when they learnt new language the accent interfere with their
learning.
4.0 Importance Of Correcting the Pronunciation

Pronunciation is one of the most important things that students have to master in order to
communicate appropriately and fluently. According to Fangzhi (1998:39), that it is important
to pay attention to pronunciation since it results in whether or not someone's message can
be passed or not by other people. Moreover, Gilbert (cited in Otlowsky, 2004:3) stated that if
someone cannot hear English well, she or he is cut off from the language. And if someone
cannot be understood easily, she or he is cut off from conversation with native speakers. We
can conclude from the statements above that pronunciation gives a significant effect to the
meaning of what someone says. One of the importance of pronunciation is to avoid
misunderstanding. Knowing a lot of vocabularies is meaningless if you cannot pronounce
those words correctly and no one can understand the words that you are trying to use. Even
worse, pronunciation mistakes can lead to some serious misunderstanding. The teachers
have been listening to bad English for years so they can understand your poor
pronunciation, and your friends are from the same country with you and speak English with
the same accent so that they can understand your words easier. The best way is to talk to
native English speakers, and if they can understand what you are saying, you have a good
pronunciation.
Another importance of correcting the pronunciation is to an effective communication
You are making it difficult for people who listen to you with your strong foreign accent. It is
irritated for other people if they have to keep asking you to repeat, but they still cannot figure
out what you are saying. Consequently, if it takes a lot of efforts to understand your English,
people will avoid communicating with you as much as they can. In contrast, they will enjoy
talking to you when you have a pleasant accent that is easy for them hear and understand
you.
REFERENCES

Flemming, E. S. (2013). Auditory representations in phonology. Routledge.

Ohala, J. J. (1990). The phonetics and phonology of aspects of assimilation. Papers in

laboratory phonology, 1, 258-275.

Morley, J. (1991). The pronunciation component in teaching English to speakers of

other languages. TESOL quarterly, 25(3), 481-520.

Plailek, A. T. (1975). Introduction to Linguistics.

Leben, W. R. (1973). Suprasegmental phonology (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of

Technology).