VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Y TRU ALIO

IMPROVING PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH
BY ÊĐÊ LEARNERS ORIENTED TOWARDS
COMMUNICATION PURPOSES
(CẢI THIỆN PHÁT ÂM TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NGƯỜI
ÊĐÊ THEO ĐỊNH HƯỚNG MỤC ĐÍCH GIAO TIẾP)

Ph.D. DISSERTATION
Major: English Linguistics
Code: 62.22.15.01

Hà Nội, 2015

i


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

Y TRU ALIO

IMPROVING PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH
BY ÊĐÊ LEARNERS ORIENTED TOWARDS
COMMUNICATION PURPOSES
(CẢI THIỆN PHÁT ÂM TIẾNG ANH CỦA SINH VIÊN NGƯỜI
ÊĐÊ THEO ĐỊNH HƯỚNG MỤC ĐÍCH GIAO TIẾP)




ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This dissertation could not have been completed without the help and support from a
number of people.
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere deepest gratitude to Assoc.
Prof. Dr. Võ Đại Quang, and Dr. Nguyễn Huy Kỷ, my supervisors, who have
patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose
stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my
growth as an academic researcher.
My special thanks go to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Lê Hùng Tiến, former Head of the
Postgraduate Studies Faculty, Dr. Huỳnh Anh Tuấn, Head of the Postgraduate
Studies Faculty and all the staff for their tremendous help with administrative
clearance, and many others, without whose support and encouragement it would
never have been possible for me to have this dissertation accomplished.
I am grateful to the University of Tây Nguyên where I have been working for the
best possible conditions from which I have benefited for the completion of the
dissertation.
Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my family, my colleagues for the sacrifice
they have devoted to the fulfillment of this academic work.

iv


TABLE OF CONTENTS
CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY ......................................................................................................................... I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................................IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS .....................................................................................................................................V
ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS ..................................................................................................................VII


2.2.3. The progress ...................................................................................................................................53
2.2.4. Questionnaire for teachers’ attitude towards Êđê learners’ pronunciation ................................54
2.3. DATA COLLECTION ........................................................................................................................................54
2.3.1. The setting ......................................................................................................................................54
2.3.2. The participants ..............................................................................................................................55
2.3.2.1. Êđê learners............................................................................................................................................. 55
2.3.2.2. The volunteer teacher of English ............................................................................................................ 56

2.3.3. The procedure of the data collection .............................................................................................56
2.4. DATA ANALYSIS ............................................................................................................................................57
2.4.1. The descriptive and contrastive techniques...................................................................................57
2.4.2. The wave forms ..............................................................................................................................57
2.4.3. Tables and graphs ..........................................................................................................................61
2.4.4. Logical inferential statistics............................................................................................................61
2.5. SUMMARY ..................................................................................................................................................62

v


CHAPTER 3. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................... 64
3.1. THE POTENTIAL CAUSES OF ÊĐÊ LEARNERS’ ERRORS IN PRODUCING ENGLISH SOUNDS ................................................64
3.1.1. The similarities between English vowels and Êđê vowels .............................................................66
3.1.2. The differences between English vowels and Êđê vowels .............................................................67
3.1.3. The similarities between English consonants and Êđê consonants ..............................................69
3.1.4. The differences between English consonants and Êđê consonants ..............................................70
3.1.5. The differences in consonant sequences ........................................................................................75
3.1.6. The differences between English syllable structures and Êđê syllable structures ........................81
3.1.7. The differences of sounds in connected speech of the two languages .........................................82
3.2. THE ÊĐÊ LEARNERS’ MISPRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH RELATED TO LINKING AND ASSIMILATION ...................................84

APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................................... I
APPENDIX 1. THE CHART OF ENGLISH VOWELS AND CONSONANTS ................................................................................... I
APPENDIX 2. THE CHART OF ÊĐÊ VOWELS AND CONSONANTS ........................................................................................ II
APPENDIX 3 THE RESULTS OF PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH LINKING............................................................................... III
APPENDIX 4. THE RESULTS OF PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH ASSIMILATION ...................................................................... V
APPENDIX 5. THE MEAN, THE SD AND THE SE OF PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH LINKING ................................................... VII
APPENDIX 6. THE MEAN, THE SD AND THE SE OF PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH ASSIMILATION ............................................ IX
APPENDIX 7. KEYS TO THE TEST FOR PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH LINKING .................................................................... XII
APPENDIX 8. KEYS TO THE TEST FOR PRONUNCIATION OF ENGLISH ASSIMILATION.............................................................XIII
APPENDIX 9. INTENSIVE COURSE ON ENGLISH PRONUNCIATION .................................................................................. XIV
APPENDIX 10. LESSON PLANS ............................................................................................................................ XXVIII
APPENDIX 11. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS ........................................................................................................ LVII
APPENDIX 12. INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEVICES FOR RECORDING ...............................................................................LX

vi


ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

AlPlVAlPlV+
AlNV+
AlFrVAlFrV+

(Alveolar plosive voiceless)
(Alveolar plosive voiced)

(Bilabial plosive voiceless)
(Bilabial plosive voiced)
(Bilabial nasal voiced)
(Bilabial semi-vowel voiced)
(Consonant)
(Dental fricative voiceless)
(Dental fricative voiced)
(Labial dental fricative voiceless)
(Labial dental fricative voiced)
(Lateral voiced)
(Glottal fricative voiceless)
(Palatal alveolar affricate voiceless)
(Palatal alveolar affricate voiced)
(Palatal voiced)
(Post-alveolar voiced)
(Palatal alveolar fricative voiceless)
(Palatal alveolar fricative voiced)
(Velar plosive voiced)
(Velar plosive voiceless)
(Velar nasal voiced)

/A/
/B/
/P/
/V/

27. V±
28. V
29. S
30. St

/H/
/S/
/O/
/CM/
/DN/
/U/
/T/
/M/
/N/
/F/
/E/
/R/


39. SE2nd
40. SPE
41. /…/
42. […]

(The second standard error)
(The Sound Patterns of English)
(Slanting brackets used for phonemic transcriptions)
(Square brackets used for phonetic transcriptions)

viii


LIST OF GRAPHS
Graph 3.1: Scores obtained by 40 learners on linking ...….………………...............96
Graph 3.2: Scores obtained by 40 learners on assimilation…….….........................116

Sentences of assimilation
Sentence 18...............................................................................................................102
Sentence 35b.............................................................................................................104
Sentence 52...............................................................................................................105
Sentence 72...............................................................................................................106
Sentence 79...............................................................................................................107
Sentence 121…………………………………………………………………….…108
Sentence 126…………………………………………………………………….…110
Sentence 128……………………………………………………………………….111
Sentence 151……………………………………………………………………….113
Sentence 190……………………………………………………………………….114

x


DEFINITIONS OF KEY TERMS
The following cues have been used in this dissertation to convey the information
presented.
(1) The italic type is used for the emphasized sounds, words, phrases or sentences
which are defined in the text.
(2) The mean () is the average of a set of scores (obtained by adding the
individual scores together and dividing by the total number of scores). The mean
gives us information about the central tendency of the scores.
(3) The standard deviation (SD) is the most important measure of dispersion. The
standard deviation can be estimated by deducting the mean from each individual
score, squaring the resulting figures to get rid of the minus signs, adding these
together and dividing by the number of scores minus one. This gives the variance.
The SD gives information on the extent to which a set of scores varies in relation to
the mean.
(4) The standard error (SE) equals the standard deviation divided by the square

This is a study of improving pronunciation of English with respect to linking and
assimilation for Êđê learners.
This study attempts to achieve three objectives that are (i) identifying the potential
causes of Êđê learners‟ errors in producing English sounds; (ii) identifying the
problems of English mispronunciation related to linking and assimilation made by
Êđê learners (iii) working out the treatment to improve English pronunciation for Êđê
learners.
The main issues in the present study are dealt with the following research questions:
(i) What are the potential causes of Êđê learners‟ pronunciation from a contrastive
perspective? (ii) What are the English pronunciation problems encountered by Êđê
learners with respect to linking and assimilation? (iii) To what extent does the
application of pronunciation improvement techniques affect Êđê learners‟
pronunciation with regards to linking and assimilation?
In order to find out the answer to the research questions, this study employs
contrastive analysis for identifying the similarities and differences between English
sounds and Êđê sounds, and action research with three steps: (i) identifying the
English pronunciation problems encountered by Êđê learners; (ii) the treatment:
designing an intensive course of English pronunciation, conducting the teaching of
the intensive course, recording Êđê learners pronunciation; (iii) the progress:
comparing the results of the recordings.
The findings of the present study are concerned with the differences between English
sounds and Êđê sounds that are thought to be the potential causes of Êđê learners‟
errors in producing English sounds. By the application of the intensive course of
English pronunciation and the appropriate teaching techniques, Êđê learners
pronunciation has improved significantly.

xiii


PART A. INTRODUCTION


pronunciation. In addition, there have been a number of studies related to English
pronunciation for learners of different countries, but not for Êđê learners, a group of
ethnic minorities in Vietnam. On the account of these, I have got a strong belief in
solving the identified aspects of English pronunciation made by Êđê learners, and as
a teacher of English, I realize that there is a need to improve their pronunciation of
English towards communication purposes. So an investigation into improving
English pronunciation of linking and assimilation is necessary, and my decision on
choosing the theme for my study is based on this belief.
2. Aim of the study
The overall purpose of the study is to improve English pronunciation produced by
Êđê learners with the focus on English linking and assimilation.
3. Objectives of the study
This study is an attempt:
- to identify the potential causes of Êđê learners‟ errors in producing English
sounds;
- to identify the problems of English mispronunciation related to linking and
assimilation made by Êđê learners;
- to work out the treatment to improve English pronunciation for Êđê learners.
4. Research questions
(1) What are the potential causes of Êđê learners‟ pronunciation from a contrastive
analysis perspective?
(2) What are the English pronunciation problems encountered by Êđê learners
with respect to linking and assimilation?
(3) To what extent does the application of pronunciation improvement techniques
affect the students‟ pronunciation with regard to linking and assimilation?
5. Scope of the study
The study is defined to the problems of English pronunciation encountered by Êđê
learners at Tây Nguyên University with respect to linking and assimilation of
English.

study are presented in the appendices that end the dissertation.

3


PART B. DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1. LITERATURE REVIEW
The literature review presents the theoretical background related to the definition of
English pronunciation, pronunciation from the communication view and from the
teaching view, the research on English pronunciation with the focus on linking and
assimilation, and the research on Êđê pronunciation.
1.1. Definition of pronunciation
So far, there have been a number of research on the English pronunciation which
serve as the ground for the study review. These works are: Teaching Pronunciation,
a reference for teachers of English to speakers of other languages, compiled by
Celce-Murcia et al. (1996); An Introduction to the Pronunciation of English that has
been written by Gimson (1962); English Phonetics and Phonology that is
researched by Roach (1988); Gimson‟s Pronunciation, done by Cruttenden (2001);
Applied English Phonology written by Yavas (2006); Phonology in English
Language Teaching worked by Pennington (1996); Teaching Pronunciation,
researched by Celce-Murcia, et al. (1996); How to Teach Pronunciation, done by
Kelly (2000); Teaching English Pronunciation, studied by Kenworthy (1998), etc.
Their contributions have been made relating to the English sounds and aspects of
connected speech. These works are understandable and become guide-principles
governing rules of pronunciation of English in the following parts of the study
conveying linking and assimilation of English as Underhill (1994: 58) points out:
“Connected speech is not just the sum of its individual words. Continuous
connected speech consists of a flow of sounds which are modified by a system
of simplifications through which phonemes are connected, grouped and
modified. Stream of speech pronunciation brings together the three branches of

It is obvious that sounds in connected speech of English have their own phonetic
and phonological characteristics. Pronunciation not only relates to correct
articulation but also concerns with the meanings from an utterance. As Dalton &
Seidlhofer (1995) claim that “pronunciation is never an end in itself but a means to
negotiate meaning in discourse.” Dalton & Seidlhofer (1995: ix) insist that “while
teacher education may require an understanding of pronunciation as an aspect of the

5


language system, it will often be preferable in teaching to proceed according to
priorities determined by how pronunciation functions in language use”.
The selected aspects for the study on pronunciation of linking and assimilation have
two reasons: (i) the English pronunciation is conceptualized as actual sounds of
English in spoken forms; and (ii) at the beginning of English learning, the
pronunciation towards communication starts with the basic phonetic and
phonological pronunciation. Since pronunciation of English is important not only to
Êđê learners for the purpose of understanding and being understood, but also to
those who learn English with the problems of English sounds in connected speech
as Rogerson & Gibert (1993:1) state:
“Sometimes „communication breakdown‟ is due to a grammar or vocabulary
mistakes and sometimes it is due to a pronunciation mistake. Just as you need
to be able to analyse and correct your grammar and vocabulary mistakes you
need to be able to analyse and correct your pronunciation mistakes. It is not
necessary to pronounce every sound perfectly to be understood – only a few
parts of each sentence are really important, but these parts are essential. The
native speaker depends on hearing these parts clearly, therefore you need to
know which parts of a sentence must be clear and how to make them clear”
(Rogerson & Gilbert, 1993: 1).


language as Pennington (1996:2) regards:
“Pronunciation is also a primary medium for communication of information
about ourselves as individuals and as representatives of different groups. Since
it opens the way to a better understanding of how language works and how the
different aspects of linguistic and social meaning are interrelated, an
understanding of the phonology of a language is a necessary basis for fully
effective teaching of a spoken language” (Pennington, 1996:2).

Recently, as Jenkins (2000) states, pronunciation is taken into the new century with
a perspective relevant to the needs of the world‟s majority of English speakers.

1.2. Definition of linking and its types
According to Avery & Ehrlich (1998: 84) “in connected speech, words within the
same phrase or sentence often blend together. Connecting groups of words together
is referred to as linking. When words are properly linked, there is a smooth
transition from one word to the next.” Consider the link of consonants to vowels for
illustration:

7


- C(labial) + V: stop it , grab it, came in;
- C(dental) + V: with it, breath it;
- C(alveolar) + V: washed it, run around;
- C(palatal) + V: march in, cash out;
C(velar) + V: back out, sing it
(Avery & Ehrlich (1998: 84)
According to Celce-Murcia et al. (1996), the amount of linking is not entirely
preditable, but linking occurs with regularity in the following five environments:
(1) Linking with a glide commonly occurs when one word or syllable ends in a

The effect of linguistic context on pronunciation is, as Pennington (1996: 26-7)
explains, as follows:
“The strictly linguistic context of neighboring sounds influences the
pronunciation of given segment or stretch of speech. In connected speech,
sounds are coarticulated to a greater or lesser degree. Coarticulation means
that the one sound, rather than being produced entirely distinctly from other
sounds with which it occurs tends to blend imperceptibly into the next”
(Pennington, 1996: 26-7).

There exist many phonological processes such as elision, deletion, linking,
assimilation to make the pronunciation fluent and smooth. Dalton & Seidlhofer
(1995: 123) states that “linking is more specific: it applies only to what happens at
word-boundaries where either two vowels or a consonant and a vowel meet”.
In relation to the way English sounds are produced, phonologically, the writer finds
that the final sounds of a word might release their phonetic and phonological
characteristics stretching across sounds in connected speech that can be a linkage of
preceding sounds to the sound of the following words. Moreover, English words in
connected speech are not produced in isolation, but they are produced with a link.
The phenomenon of linking of English occurs when the final sound of one word
affects the initial sound of the following word. Linking of English often happens
across word boundaries.
In the present study, besides the ending sounds of individual words of English, the
writer also refers to what ending sounds of words leave off in continuous speech
stream, i.e. the ending sounds of preceding words will spread and stretch its
phonetic and phonological features to the next sounds in connected speech.
(7)

(8)

9


10


pain, „n‟ of in is assimilated by a plosive bilabial /A/ that follows it, in this case „n‟
changes to /P/.
(3) Coalescent assimilation, for example, „Is that your dog?”, /C/ of that + /U/
of your come together and create a third sound with features from both original
sounds. /C/ + /U/ become /CM/.
(Celce-Murcia et al., 1996).
Pennington (1996) considers coarticulation as the effect of linguistic context on
pronunciation, Spencer (1996) considers coarticulation as phonological process and
postlexical process in English. Katamba (1996) explores that in the production of
speech, due to adjustment of the articulatory apparatus in the transition from one
sound to the next, phonetic properties may spread their distinctive features in their
environment; this phonological process leads to allophones and assimilation, and
the phonological behaviour of phonemes is largely determined by the phonetic
features, as Katamba (1996) points out:
“In language a phoneme has several allophones, with the allophone selected in
a particular position being dependent on the other sounds that are adjacent to
it. The commonest phonological process responsible for this is assimilation.
Assimilation is the modification of a sound in order to make it more similar to
some other sound in its neighborhood. The advantage of having assimilation is
that it results in smoother, more effortless, more economical transitions from
one sound to another. It facilitates the task of speaking. The speaker usually
tries to conserve energy by using no more effort that it is necessary to produce
an utterance” (Katamba, 1996: 80-1).

In an utterance, Roach (1988: 106) points out that speech sounds often occur one
after another, therefore they are produced with the movement of organs of speech in

in cup is described as fortis, voiceless, bilabial and oral stop. In contextual aspect as
in the word cup-ful or cup final, the phoneme /p/ can be realized as a labio-dental
stop. In English there is a complication in both phonemic system and its phonetic
realization that Gimson (1962: 50) summarizes as follows:
-

different coexistent phonemic system;

-

phonetic discrepancies in the realization of the phonemes;

-

variation in the distribution of phonemes in words, even within a community
using the same phonemic system;

12