Preliminary Concepts

Phonetics x Phonology

Fonética e fonologia são ramos complementares da linguística.

Têm como objetivo investigar e estudar os sons da fala.

“The ear hears phonetics, but the brain hears phonology”

(DANIEL , 2011)
 Phonetics

Phonetics

“Phonetics is a scientific description of what speech sounds exist in a

language. It represents how they are produced and perceived and what
acoustic properties they have. Thus, it can be put in the class of natural
sciences. Phonetics essentially seeks to trace the processes physiologically
involved in sound production. It describes the ways the sounds are produced
and the points at which they are articulated.”

As transcrições fonéticas se dão entre colchetes: [ ]

Unidade básica: fone
 Phonology

Phonology

“Phonology is concerned with the regularities that govern the phonetic

realisations of sounds in words of a language. It looks at and tries to establish
a system of sound distinctions relevant to a particular language. It then seeks
to determine how the elements of this abstract system behave in actual
speech. Phonology actually delineates the functioning of sounds in particular
contexts.”

As transcrições fonológicas se dão entre barras: / /

Unidade básica: fonema
 The Distinction

- Phonetics describes the physical realisation of sounds. It studies the

physiological processes involved in sound production.
- Phonology on the other hand looks at the behavioural patterns of
sounds in actual speech, their realisations in different environments,
whatsoever these may be.
 Pronunciation

.Pronúncia: V. SOTAQUE
.Sotaque. (fr. accent)
Chama-se sotaque ao conjunto dos hábitos articulatórios (realização
dos fonemas, entonação, etc.) que conferem uma coloração
particular, social, dialetal ou estrangeira à fala de um indivíduo
(sotaque ou pronúncia caipira, alemã, etc.).
Os dicionários costumam trazer a transcrição fonológica das
palavras, por exemplo:
/prƏnɅnsieɪʃen/
 Teaching (ESL, EFL)

What does teaching comprise, especially in ESL / EFL context?

Pronunciation teaching should not be seen as ‘fixing problems’ but rather as
‘teaching how to speak’. Learners who start with a focus on pronunciation at
the beginner level also find they acquire a useful metalanguage – for example,
terms such as ‘stress’ and ‘unstress’, ‘weak form’, ‘rhythm’, ‘schwa’ and so on.
This helps them tackle pronunciation issues throughout their learning. In addition,
an early acquaintance with the phonemic structure of English, however basic,
can help learners realise that English is not a phonetic language, and this can
help with writing and grammar development, too.
Some Considerations
Who learning pronunciation would be
importante to?

 Refugees
(Current great refugee crisis due to Syrian and African wars)
 Immigrants
 Diplomats
 Journalists
 International Students
 The Importance of Pronunciation

“[… ]poor pronunciation can mask otherwise good language skills, condemning
learners to less than their deserved social, academic and work advancement.”
(FRASER, 1999)

“Learners with good pronunciation in English are more likely to be understood

even if they make errors in other areas, whereas learners whose pronunciation is
difficult to understand will not be understood, even if their grammar is perfect!
Such learners may avoid speaking in English, and thus experience social isolation,
employment difficulties and limited opportunities for further study, which may
affect their settlement [in Australia].

[…] learners with poor pronunciation may be judged as incompetent,

uneducated or lacking in knowledge, even though listeners are only reacting to
their pronunciation.”
(YATES, 2002c)
The Importance of Pronunciation

Key factors in effective communication (good pronunciation)

(BURNS; CLAIRE, 2003)

• Intelligibility
The speaker produces sound patterns that are recognisable as English.

• Comprehensibility
The listener is able to understand the meaning of what is said.

• Interpretability
The listener is able to understand the purpose of what is said.
The Importance of Teaching Pronunciation

 Students' demand
Students rate effective pronunciation teaching as a priority and an area in which they need more guidance;
(FRASER, 1999)

 Teachers' role
As one of the most difficult aspects of L2 to acquire, explicit help from the teacher is required.
(YATES, 2002c)
The Importance of Teaching Pronunciation

Responses to reasons sometimes given for not teaching pronunciation explicitly in an ESL program:
(FRASER, 1999)

o Learners are very unlikely to attain a native-like accent

Their intelligibility can be greatly improved by effective pronunciation teaching.

o Pronunciation improves most through the gradual intuitive changes brought about by real interaction with
native speakers
For a large proportion of ESL learners the skills that enable this type of interaction do not come naturally; most need a
'leg-up' from explicit pronunciation teaching.

o It is offensive to prescribe an 'accent norm' to which learners must assimilate. People should be free to
express themselves in whatever accent they choose
It is not true that this freedom is given by withholding pronunciation teaching. On the contrary, it is effective
pronunciation teaching that offers learners a genuine choice in how they express themselves.
Practice
 Pronunciation Problems for Brazilians

Why pronunciation activities are so important for Brazilians?

 The English and Portuguese vowel systems are quite different.
 While English has twelve pure vowels, Brazilian Portuguese has nine.
 Brazilian Portuguese has frequent nasal vowels.
 Over-emphatic pronunciation of most unstressed syllables.
 Spelling and pronunciation are very closely related in Portuguese.
 Pronunciation Problems for Brazilians

Vowel Pronunciation Problems for Brazilian Portuguese Speakers:

 /i:/ tends to be pronounced too short, and is confused with /I/
e.g.: bit /bɪt/ and beat /biːt/.
 /e/ is confused with /æ/
e.g.: bet /bet/ and bat /bæt/
 /ɑː/ is shortened and confused with / æ /
e.g.: aunt /ɑːnt/ and ant /ænt/.
 Suggested activity

Telephone Number Pronunciation Activity

Reasons for using this activity:

 This activity practices both speaking and listening skills.
 It works well in pairs or in groups and usually generates
lots of fun.
 Suggested activity

Telephone Number Pronunciation Activity

Vocabulary:
 Bat /bæt/: a long wooden object used for hitting the ball in games such as baseball.
 Bait /beɪt/: food used for attracting and catching fish, birds, or animals.
 Bart: a male given name, form of Bartholomew, Bartlett, or Bartram.
 Beat /bi:t/: to hit repeatedly.
 Bet /bet/: to risk a sum of money on the unknown result of an event in the hope of winning more
money.
 Bert: a male given name.
 Bit /bɪt/: a small piece or a small amount of something.
 Boat /bəʊt/: a vehicle for traveling on water.
 Boot /bu:t/: a type of shoe that covers the foot and the lower leg.
 But /bət/: conjuction used to express a difference or to introduce an added statement
 Suggested activity

Telephone Number Pronunciation Activity

Procedure:
 • Draw the face of a mobile telephone on the board.
 • Elicit the numbers and then dictate a number to the students.
 • One by one, erase the numbers and replace them with the words on the
worksheet, drill the pronunciation as you do this.
 • Dictate another number to the students this time saying the words and not the
numbers.
 • Students then work together as a class, in groups or in pairs and repeat the
procedure with their own telephone numbers.
 • If they have given their real numbers, you could get the students to actually
phone the number and check.
Suggested activity
 References

BURNS, Anne; CLAIRE, Stephanie. Clearly Speaking: Pronunciation in action for teachers. National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research (NCELTR): Sydney,
2003. Available at: <http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/docs/research_reports/Clearly_Speaking.pdf> Access on: 7 Dec. 2017, 22:30.

DANIEL , Iyabode Omolara. Introductory Phonetics and Phonology of English. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2011. Disponível em:
<http://www.cambridgescholars.com/download/sample/59221>. Acesso em: 14 de Dez. de 2017.

Dicionário de linguística. Vários autores. São Paulo: Cultrix, 2006.

Fonética e fonologia. Norma Culta. Disponível em: <https://www.normaculta.com.br/fonetica-e-fonologia> Acesso em: 14 de Dez. de 2017.

FRASER, Helen. ESL Pronunciation Teaching: Could it be more effective? In: ALAA Conference, 1999, Perth. Available at:
<https://www.cdu.edu.au/walking_talking_texts/documents/Pronunciation-paperbyHelenFraser.doc> Access on: 9 Dec. 2017, 21:00

SPAFFORD, Derek. Telephone number pronunciation. Available in: <https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/telephone-number-pronunciation>. Access: December 12th,
2017.

SWAN, Michael. Learner English, 4th ed. Cambridge University Press. 2002.

YATES, Lynda. Fact sheet - What is pronunciation? AMEP Research Centre: Melbourne, 2002c. Available at:
<http://www.ameprc.mq.edu.au/docs/fact_sheets/01Pronunciation.pdf> Access on: 7 Dec. 2017, 20:30.