Interlanguage: Activity 1
Pronunciation
Please read the information about interlanguage before working through these activities.
- Look at the same video from Pari’s Retell task. Listen to her pronunciation of / ɣ /.
Transcript (PDF)
- In the table below, in the right column write words in which she produced the target sound accurately. We have inserted Pari’s phonological errors with "gh" based on the answers in error analysis activity 3.
- Look at both the errors and the correct instances of use of "gh" that you have entered and answer the following questions:
a. Is there a rule or pattern in Pari’s IL production of "gh"? Explain.
b. Does the new information provided by TLU analysis suggest a teaching strategy for "gh"? If so, how?
| Line |
Pari Words w/phonological error: / ɣ / |
Line |
Pari Words w/correct pronunciation of: / ɣ / |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | væ/k/ti keh | ||
| 2 | ota/k/ | ||
| 9 | tæ/k/sir | ||
| 20 | væ/k/ti keh |
|
Line |
Pari Words w/phonological error: /ɣ/ |
Line |
Pari Words w/correct pronunciation of /ɣ/ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | væ/k/ti keh | 1 | ota/ ɣ /æsh |
| 2 | ota/k/ | 18 | mæ/ ɣ /azeh |
| 9 | tæ/k/sir | 22 | mæ/ ɣ /azeh |
| 20 | væ/k/ti keh |
3. a. Is there a rule or pattern in Pari’s IL production of "gh"? Explain.
Looking at the small sample of data suggests that Pari may have an easier time pronouncing voiced "gh" when it is located between two vowels. From error analysis activity 3 recall that we thought that Pari has difficulty pronuncing the voiced "gh" when it is followed by a consonant (mainly alveolars and voiceless /t/ and /s/) or when it occurs at the end of the word. But in the table above we see that she doesn’t seem to have as much difficulty pronouncing words like “otaghæsh” (line 1) and “mæghaze” (2 times, lines 18 and 22), where the sound / ɣ / is followed by a vowel, not a consonant.
b. Does the new information provided by TLU analysis suggest a teaching strategy for "gh"? If so, how?
In teaching, you could draw Pari’s attention to the contexts where she pronounces this consonant right, and get her to compare it with contexts where she pronounces it wrong. Show her how to start with the sound in medial position before a vowel, in words where that following vowel is followed by a consonant, such as “mæghaze”. Create a nonsense word by gradually deleting the vowel before the consonant, blending the sounds in more and more rapid speech, to produce the nonsense word “*maghze”.
