A review of typical pronunciation problems experienced by Xhosa speakers learning English as a second language

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to attempt to identify the typical pronunciation problems experienced by specifically Xhosa-speakers of English as a second language, to determine the form of pronunciation to be taken as model, and to discuss various principles that should underly the teaching of pronunciation ;\review of the literature indicates that individuals tend to transfer the forms of their native language to the second language when attempting to speak the language. The accent and degree of accentedness with which a person1 speaks, influence a person's comprehensibility and intelligibility. The choice of a model of pronunciation seems to be between the British (RI') and American forms. The advantage of such choices is that these forms are without difficulty mutually intelligible. In South Africa, RP remains the most important candidate. However, the second language learner of English should be permitted some latitude in the phonetic realisation of the RP phonemes, especially as far as vowel articulation is concerned. The extent of permitted phonetic and phonemic latitude will depend upon the level of performance at which learners, with their different needs, will be aiming. The results of this indicate that Xhosa-speakers of English experience considerable difficulty with vowels, consonants and stress placement, specifically [e. a, ʊ, ʌ , 3: , k, ǝ ] The teaching of pronunciation at both primary and secondary schools is a priority if learners want to remain comprehensible and intelligible.