Training
Seven: Speaking, Topic vs Task
Pronunciation How important is pronunciation? Is English pronunciation difficult? What is 'correct' pronunciation?
D'ya Ken Me? Learning good pronunciation is essential in any language. The majority of students want to become fluent in a language and perfect grammar and an encyclopedic knowledge of vocabulary will not help them when faced with a native speaker who cannot understand anything they are saying. English pronunciation is ridiculous, it follows very few standard rules and is not in anyway phonetic “ai wud kwait laik a cop ov warta” every word must be taught. Ah, snobs and pedants flee the room. Despite the preference for certain accents the only actual definition of 'correct' pronunciation is that which can be understood by another native speaker whether he be from the frozen wilds of Sasquatchvilleburg or the elegant tea rooms of Galway. Let's start at the very beginning.... Like all languages the first thing you learn are your ABC's:
A
as in
day
clay
man
car
about
dare
O
as in
go
hope
gone
hot
now
cow
I
as in
high
sigh
sir
bird
hit
sit
What an uncooperative alphabet. Well let's try our old friends the consonants
G
as in
giant gym
gentle
gadget
giggle
C
as in
cease
cent
circus
cat
car
X
as in
Axe
Texas
Rex
Xylophone
So, it should be clear that simply knowing how to pronounce the alphabet is not always going to help you pronounce the words.