Speaking English in a „native-like“ way does not only consist of the abilities of speaking fluently and gramatically correct. Pronounciation and the proper use of the right sounds at the right time play an important role just as well.
This paper outlines the English and German sound system, alludes to the differences between the systems and points at possible resulting problems for the German English learner.
Before comparing English to other languages it has to be advised that English occurs in many global and local variations. Similar to the German „Hochdeutsch“, two main standards had been established: „Received Pronounciation“ (RP) of todays’s British English and „General American“ (GA). Since the chose literature basically deals with the latter, this paper is limited to „General American“.
To supply an introduction and a basis for the subsequent chapter a short overview of general sound production and the taxonomy of characterizing sounds is provided.
Following this taxonomy Englih consonantes are firstly described and thereafter opposed to their German counterparts.
Based on the determined differnces, possible phonemic and phonetic difficulties for the English learner are shown and adequate tasks to overcome those obstacles are introduced.
Analogue to the previous, the presentation of the vowel systems, their differences and resulting problems completes the paper.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- General production of speech sounds
- The consonant
- English consonants
- German consonants - contrastive analysis
- Difficulties for the foreign language learner
- Phonemic difficulties
- Phonetic difficulties
- The vowel
- Vowels
- English vowels
- German vowels
- Vowel contrasts
- Difficulties for the foreign learner
- Summary
- Literature
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper aims to provide an overview of the English and German sound systems, highlighting the differences between them and exploring the resulting challenges faced by German learners of English.
- The production of speech sounds in English and German
- The distinctive features of English and German consonants
- The contrastive analysis of English and German vowel systems
- The challenges faced by German learners of English pronunciation
- Strategies for overcoming pronunciation difficulties
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction sets the context for the paper, emphasizing the importance of pronunciation in achieving native-like speech. It clarifies the focus on "General American" (GA) as the standard for this analysis. The second chapter introduces the general process of sound production, highlighting the role of speech organs and resonance chambers. It also introduces the concepts of phonemic and phonetic features, which are used to characterize sounds.
The third chapter dives into the English consonant system, outlining the 24 consonants in "GA" and their classification based on place and manner of articulation, as well as voicing. It also introduces the concepts of lenis and fortis articulation.
Chapter four focuses on the English vowel system, detailing the different vowel sounds and their contrasts with German vowels. This section also explores the potential pronunciation challenges for German learners.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key terms and concepts explored in this paper include: English and German sound systems, contrastive analysis, pronunciation, phonemic and phonetic features, place and manner of articulation, voicing, lenis and fortis articulation, vowel contrasts, and pronunciation difficulties for German learners.
- Quote paper
- Catharina Belinghausen (Author), 2008, Contrastive Analysis: English-German, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/136427
