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Vietnamese EFL Learners' Difficulties with English Consonants ISSN 1923-1555[Print] Studies in Literature and Language ISSN 1923-1563[Online] Vol. 3, No. 2, 2011, pp. 56-67 www.cscanada.net DOI:10.3968/j.sll.1923156320110302.434 www.cscanada.org Vietnamese EFL learners’ Difficulties with English Consonants Luu Trong Tuan1,* 1Ho Chi Minh City University for Natural Resouces and Environment process in learning a foreign language of adult learners. and Hung Vuong University, Vietnam * Thus, teachers of English should teach the students the Corresponding author. Address: Ho Chi Minh City University for Natural Resouces and manner of articulation, the place of articulation, kinds Environment and Hung Vuong University, Vietnam of consonants, voicing of both English consonants (the target sounds) and the Vietnamese sounds (the sounds Received 11 June 2011; accepted 27 August 2011 that Vietnamese students tend to use to substitute for the English consonants). On the surface, some of the Abstract characteristics of English consonants are similar to the The research was conducted to examine the most Vietnamese ones. However, they internally differ from problematic English consonants facing the students each other a lot. at Hung Vuong University. Data collated from the The four English consonants such as /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ questionnaire survey reveals that the students have the do not really exist in Vietnamese. On the surface, some most difficulty in pronouncing the English fricatives of the characteristics of the English consonants /ʃ/, /ʒ/, / /∫/, /ʒ/ and the affricates /t∫/ and /dʒ/ among the English tʃ/ and /dʒ/ are similar to the Vietnamese consonants. consonants surveyed. The students tend to substitute However, they internally differ from each other a lot. Vietnamese sounds for the English sounds. For example, in the case of the English consonant /tʃ/ Key words: English consonants; Fricatives; and the Vietnamese consonant /c/: First, the Vietnamese Affricates; EFL consonant /c/ as in “cho” (meaning “give”) can occur in word-initial position and in word-final position while the Luu Trong Tuan (2011). Vietnamese EFL learners’ difficulties English consonant /tʃ/ can occur in word-initial position, with English Consonants. Studies in Literature and Language, word-medial position and word-final position. Second, 3 (2), 56-67. Available from: URL: http://www.cscanada. the Vietnamese consonant /c/ is voiceless, laminal, n e t / i n d e x . p h p / s l l / a r t i c l e / v i e w / j . s l l . 1 9 2 3 1 5 6 3 2 0 1 1 0 3 0 2 . 4 3 4 palatal stop and the English /t / is voiceless, laminal, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/j.sll.1923156320110302.434 ʃ post-alveolar affricate (Roach, 1990, p.62). Third, the Vietnamese /c/ is stop, whereas the English affricate /tʃ/ is “a combination of the articulatory characteristics of a INTRODUCTION stop and a fricative”. Moreover, the Vietnamese stop /c/ in word-final position is “pronounced but unreleased” but Having been a teacher of English for several years the English affricate /tʃ/ is pronounced and released in all and from my own experience of teaching English positions. pronunciation, phonology, listening and speaking skills, This research was guided by the following question: public speaking subject and so on, the author of this What problems do the EFL students at Hung Vuong thesis has found that students usually have difficulty University face in acquiring /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/ and /dʒ/? pronouncing a certain number of the English consonants since the students’ English accent has been strongly affected by Vietnamese. When they encounter the English 1. Literature REVIEW consonants, they tend to substitute the Vietnamese consonants for the English ones. This process is a natural 1.1 Speech Sounds Copyright © Canadian Research & Development Center of Sciences and Cultures 56 57 Luu Trong Tuan (2011). Studies in Literature and Language, 3(2), 56-67 “Vocal sounds are produced in the human body by the Platt and Platt, 1992, p.401) (see Figure 1). organs of what is called the vocal tract” which consists of In a voiced sound, “the vocal folds are close together “the nasal cavity and the oral cavity”. (Richards, Platt and and vibrating.” In other words, “speech sounds which are Platt, 1992, p.401) and “vocal sounds which are organized produced with the vocal cords vibrating are called voiced. to communicate information are called speech sounds.” Such vibration can be felt when touching the neck in the In other words, speech sounds are made by air moving region of the larynx” (Richards, Platt and Platt, 1992, outward from the lungs through the mouth or nose” (Avery p.402). In a voiceless sound, “the vocal cords are apart and Ehrlich, 1995, p.10). The main purpose of the speech and without vibration”. Therefore, “there is little or no sounds is produced by the vocal organs for the sake of airflow through the glottis” as in Figure 1 (Ladefoged, communication. 2000, p.123). According to Ladefoged and Maddieson (1996, p.12), Based on the above criteria and according to Roach (1990, the world’s languages contain two classes of speech p.62), the sounds /ʃ/ and /tʃ/ are voiceless and the sounds / sounds such as consonants and vowels and each language ʒ/ and /dʒ/ are voiced in English. in the world has the different number of consonants and 1.2.2 Manner of Articulation vowels. The manner of articulation is the way in which speech As for the production of a vowel, “a speech sound sounds are produced by the speech organs such as oral in which the airstream from the lungs is not blocked in stops, fricatives, affricates, nasal stops, a lateral and any way in the mouth or throat, and which is usually approximants (Fromkin, Rodman, Collins & Blair, 1988, pronounced with the vibration of vocal cords.” All vowels p.58). However, this thesis only focuses on the two and a number of the English consonants are voiced. English fricatives /ʃ/, /ʒ/ and the two affricates /tʃ/, /dʒ/ In order to produce an English consonant, an English only. speaker has to use the airstream from the lungs “is Firstly, a fricative is “a speech sound produced by completely blocked (stops: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/), partially allowing the airstream from the lungs to escape with blocked (lateral: /l/) or where the opening is so narrow friction, which is caused by bringing the two articulators, that the air escapes with audible friction (fricative: /f/, /v/, e.g. the upper teeth and the lower lip close together but not /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/). With some consonants (NASALS) close enough to stop the air stream completely” (Richards, the airstream is blocked in the mouth but allowed to Platt and Platt, p.148). For example, /ʃ/ as in “sheet”, escape through the nose”(Richards, Platt and Platt, 1992, “washing”, “fish”, and /ʒ/ as in “genre”, “pleasure” and p.78). Therefore, their voicing depends on the way that “garage”. each sound is produced. 1.2 Articulatory Features The English consonants can be judged from the three main characteristics: voicing, manner of articulation and place of articulation (Roach, 1990, p.62) and (Fromkin, Rodman, Collins & Blair, 1988, p.58). These characteristics help the world’s linguists describe the individual consonants and distinguish them from each other. 1.2.1 Voicing The first way in which consonants can be different from each other is in terms of voicing. The English consonants /ʃ/ /ʒ/ can be “voiced or voiceless.” (Rogers, 2000, p.47) The The airflow coming out from the lungs is shown by the arrows. voicing of consonants depends on the state of the glottis, Figure 2 which is “the space between the vocal cords.” (Richards, The Illustration of the English Sound /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ (Yates, 2003, p.92, 94) Secondly, an affricate is “a speech sound produced by stopping the airstream from the lungs, and then slowly releasing it with friction. The first part of an affricate is similar to a stop and the second part is similar to a fricative” (Richards, Platt and Platt, 1992, p.11). The oral stops in the English affricates /tʃ/, /dʒ/ are the English / t/ and /d/. To produce an oral stop, speakers have to stop the airflow from the lungs completely and then releasing Figure1 Two States of the Glottis (cited from Ladefoged, 2000, it suddenly. For example, the voiceless affricate /tʃ/ as in p.123) “cheat” /‘tʃi:t/ and the voiced affricate /dʒ/ as in “just” 56 57 Copyright © Canadian Research & Development Center of Sciences and Cultures Vietnamese EFL learners’ Difficulties with English Consonants /‘dʒʌst/. As for the second part, they are fricatives which Here are the descriptions of the place of articulation of are above-mentioned. the English fricatives /ʃ/, /ʒ/ and the English affricates / tʃ/, /dʒ/. Firstly, the place of the articulation of English fricatives /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ is post-alveolar. A post-alveolar sound is a speech sound articulated with “the tongue blade makes light contact with the alveolar ridge and the soft plate is raised” so that the airflow only escapes through the oral cavity (Kelly, 2000, p.51). In other words, a post- alveolar sound is produced with the tongue near or touch the back of the alveolar ridge, further back in the mouth than alveolar consonants. The difference between the English /ʃ/ and the English /ʒ/ is the voicing only. /tʃ/ /dʒ/ The closing phrase of /t/ in /tʃ/ and /d/ in /dʒ/ are shown by the arrows Figure 3 The Illustration of the English Sounds /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ (Yates, 2003, p.88, 90) In short, the manner of the English fricatives /ʃ/, /ʒ/ and the English affricates /tʃ/, /dʒ/ is the term referred to the way the airstream from the lungs coming out through the oral cavity.
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