Pronunciation matters

By Anna Sobell

The importance of pronunciation

Why does it matter?! Place yourself in a foreign land, in a hot and busy restaurant, standing in front of an overworked and impatient waiter. You know the language, you’ve studied it for 2 years; you’ve got the vocabulary and the structure to order the local delicacy….BUT you’re being met with a confused and increasingly frustrated face. The waiter does not understand your pronunciation of the desired local delicacy and you’ll have to either give up, mime, draw a picture or leave the restaurant feeling you’ve failed. This is the kind of breakdown in communication that poor pronunciation can lead to, sometimes with considerably more serious consequences if the context is within business.

Many people argue that pronunciation is just a kind of ‘cherry on the top’ of language learning; however, there is a strong argument against this and it is gaining more and more weight as language training theory evolves. Perhaps one of the most important things that clear pronunciation gives a learner, is confidence; without which learners are reluctant to practice, take linguistic risks, learn from their mistakes and take ownership of their own learning.

Confidence is king!

For many learners of a foreign language, pronunciation worries can really act as a barrier to feeling confident enough to express themselves fully and really showcase their passion and knowledge of their new language. This is naturally particularly more salient in a work environment; we all want to appear as professional, competent and confident as possible when it comes to business and pronunciation anxiety can really become a hindrance. It’s impossible to deny that pronunciation problems affect the ability to communicate effectively, be accurately and immediately understood, work efficiently and develop relationships with target-language-speaking colleagues.

Get personal!

Pronunciation is definitely one area of language learning where there isn’t a ‘one-size-fits-all’ method. Pronunciation problems are specific to individuals and are affected by a number of factors; such as native language interference, confidence, physiology, age and any other previous language acquisition. This is exactly why a bespoke and personalized pronunciation course is the best way forward. The planning which takes place before a course and after a detailed and thorough needs analysis is equal to the need for expert teaching and guidance during a course; and our MasterClass for Pronunciation and Accent Reduction does precisely that.

Pronunciation tips

One useful trick is to say the alphabet (any language) out loud, all the time focusing on the movement going on in your mouth. This will heighten your awareness of how and where sounds are made, which will aid you in being able to understand more when you’re having difficulty making a particular sound.

Now think up a random sentence (write it down if you wish), then say the sentence, focusing again on what is going on inside your mouth and where the sounds are coming from. Then repeat this process but this time, place your fingertips on your throat. Depending on your language, you will probably notice that some sounds create vibration and others don’t. For example, in English – the ‘th’ sound in ‘mother’. This can be effectively contrasted with the ‘th’ sound in ‘think’.This distinction between the two sounds can be categorized into two groups of sounds; voiced and unvoiced. Again, being in possession of this type of knowledge may help you when pronunciation issues arise.

Another trick I’d recommend is to repeat this process, but this time, place a piece of paper a centimeter away from your mouth. You’ll notice that some sounds produce enough plosion (release of air) to make the paper move. Again, this distinguishes different types of sounds out, in English ‘plosive’ sounds are ‘p’, ‘b’, ‘t’, ‘d’, ‘k’ and ‘g’. This is an effective, practical and memorable method to highlight the distinction between different sounds.

Fun fact!

One of the most difficult words to pronounce in the English language is actually a term which is used to describe a phonological process!

Monophthongization – /mɒnə(f)θɒŋɡʌɪˈzeɪʃn/

Definition:

The process by which a vowel sound changes, or is changed, to a monophthong; an instance or result of this.