English Pronunciation for Foreigners (Classic Reprint) - Softcover

Sarah Jan Barrows

Softcover

ISBN 10: 133068673X ISBN 13: 9781330686737

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2020

Synopsis

Excerpt from English Pronunciation for Foreigners The foreigner finds English pronunciation difficult because he has acquired, through years of speaking his native tongue, not only fixed habits of using his organs of speech, but habits of hearing speech sounds. When he hears a new sound he tries to recognize in it one of his own sounds. Thus he says "dis" for "this" because to his ears they sound alike. It is important therefore that the pupil hear the English words correctly; and the teacher may help him to do this if she will show him the movements of the lips and tongue that produce the sound, for our eyes are better trained than our cars to distinguish differences. The pupil will hear the sounds more accurately, the more closely to his ear they are pronounced. If words containing difficult sounds are not taught until the sounds themselves have been mastered, the task of learning to pronounce the words will be easier. The pupil should also have the opportunity of hearing each word pronounced accurately and distinctly many times before he attempts to utter it himself; and the teacher should guard against the impulse to repeat the pupil's mistakes, lest she strengthen him in his wrong habits. The teacher will need to analyze very carefully each word to ascertain just what sounds actually are contained in it, for English spelling is often misleading rather than helpful in the determination of correct pronunciation. Thus the pronunciation of "handkerchief" according to its spelling leads to error; a better spelling would be "hangkerchif." "Roses" and "doses" look more alike than they sound; as do war and far, fury and bury, rough and cough. The teacher will find a study of her own speech organs and their movements during speech very helpful. With mirror in hand she should observe carefully how she forms each speech sound; and by watching her pupil's lips she can often discover the mechanical reason for his mispronunciations. In the following study of English sounds a

About this edition

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2020
• ISBN 10: 133068673X
• ISBN 13: 9781330686737
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 67