Assignment TEFL 2
Assignment TEFL 2
PRONUNCIATION
By Group 5 :
A. DEFINITION
Most people think of pronunciation as the sounds we make while
speaking. As speakers of a language, we need to be able to understand
each other with relative ease. The pronunciation patterns native speakers
use reflect those commonly accepted by particular speech communities.
Though most of us think in terms of speech production, the Longman
Dictionary of Applied Linguistics emphasizes “the way sounds are
perceived by the heater” to define pronunciation (Richards, Platt, and
Weber, 1992, p. 296). An emphasis on hearers’ perceptions is especially
relevant. How we pronounce words, phrases, and sentences communicates
to others considerable information about who we are, and what we are
like, as people. As language teachers, we need to acknowledge that
variation is a central feature of English pronunciation since there are many
legitimate varieties of English in a large number of English-dominant
countries around the world.
Cook (1996 as cited in Pourhosein Gilakjani, 2016) defined pronunciation
as the production of English sounds. Pronunciation is learnt by repeating
sounds and correcting them when produced inaccurately. When learners
start learning pronunciation they make new habits and overcome the
difficulties resulting from the first language.
According to Yates (2002 as cited in Pourhosein Gilakjani, 2016),
pronunciation is the production of sounds that is used for making meaning.
Pronunciation is the production of a sound system which doesn't interfere
with communication either from the speakers’ or the listeners’ viewpoint
(Paulston & Burder, 1976). Pronunciation is the way of uttering a word in
an accepted manner (Otlowski, 1998). Furthermore, Richard and Schmidt
(2002) defined pronunciation as the method of producing certain sounds.