An accent almost always makes the conversation partner come to any sort of prejudgement of the speaker. It might sound unpleasant, as in the case of German accents from the view of some English speakers, or can lead to misunderstandings. Therefore, it is important for learners of English as a second language to pay attention to their pronunciation from the beginning.
I will analyse which contrasts between English and German exist and further look into the most common mistakes of learners and misperceptions that lead to a characteristic German accent. We can assume that there are mispronunciations with different degrees of ‘graveness’, depending on the probability to cause misunderstandings. So in the following, I will turn to the question why pronunciation should not be neglected in teaching and what corrections language teachers should give priority to in the teaching of phonology. The chapter on teaching mainly refers to the teaching of German students in secondary schools. The assumptions can however be transferred onto other teaching situations. I will show that the teaching of pronunciation will always have to be adapted to the learners’ individual language environment as this is bound to strongly influence their accent.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 The contrasts of English and German Phonology
2.1 Is a contrastive approach reasonable in phonology?
2.2 The consonants
2.2.1 Consonants in German
2.2.2 Consonants in English
2.2.3 Consonant contrasts
2.3 The vowels
2.3.1 Vowels in German
2.3.2 Vowels in English
2.3.3 Contrasts
3 German accent
3.1 Sources of error
3.1.1 Unknown sounds
3.1.2 Apparently similar sounds
3.1.3 Overuse of ‘new’ sounds
3.2 Stress, Syllabification and Intonation
4 Teaching pronunciation
4.1 Why is correct pronunciation important?
4.2 Priorities and Compromises
4.3 Youtube and SingStar.: New focuses in teaching
5 Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This work examines the phonological contrasts between English and German to identify the root causes of the characteristic "German accent" and discusses effective pedagogical strategies for teaching English pronunciation in secondary schools.
- Contrastive analysis of English and German sound systems.
- Identification of typical learner errors, including unknown and confusing sounds.
- The role of stress, syllabification, and intonation in foreign accents.
- Prioritization of pronunciation teaching to avoid common communication barriers.
- Integration of modern media, such as YouTube and music, in pronunciation training.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Sources of error
There are certain structures in the English phonology that are regularly mispronounced by German learners of English and therefore can generally be classified as part of a typical ‘German accent’. We can differentiate between errors that result from unfamiliarity or apparent resemblance to familiar structures, wrong allophonic realization of phonemes and mistakes due to overuse. (cf. Mair 1995: 14)
3.1.1 Unknown sounds
We have seen in the preceding chapter that there are English phonemes which do not have an equivalent in German. German learners often replace these phonemes with familiar sounds that they know from their native language or dialect. They either do not hear a difference between the phonemes or are not able to produce the sounds. The most common mistakes because of substitutes by Germans are /t/, /f/ or /s/ instead of the unfamiliar dental fricative /θ/, respectively /d/, /z/ or /v/ for the corresponding voiced /ð/. The voiced fricative /ʒ/ and the affricate /dʒ/ are often substituted by the unvoiced /ʃ/ and /tʃ/. Even though it is a cliché that Germans replace /w/ with /v/ and some learners certainly make that mistake, the /v/-/w/ confusion results in overuse rather than in simply substituting the sound by a different phoneme as I will describe in chapter 3.1.3. Common learners’ substitutes for vowels are: /e/ or /ɛ/ for /æ/, /ø:/ for /3:/, /a/ for /ʌ/, /e:/ or /ɛ:/ for /eɪ/ and /o:/ for /əʊ/. Errors of this kind belong to the ‘crudest’ ones as usually words get a different meaning when a phoneme is substituted – minimal pairs become homophones. (cf. Mair 1995: 15f.) Yet, we can say that most learners are aware of the fact that English has some ‘new’ sounds and do not simply assume that all words can be pronounced with just the phonemes that exist in German. Particularly the substitution processes of consonant phonemes is mostly only a beginners’ problem.
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of cultural perceptions regarding accents and outlines the necessity of addressing pronunciation in English as a second language.
2 The contrasts of English and German Phonology: Compares the consonant and vowel inventories of both languages, highlighting key differences and the challenges posed by L1 interference.
3 German accent: Analyzes specific sources of pronunciation errors, including misperceptions of similar sounds and the impact of non-native stress and intonation patterns.
4 Teaching pronunciation: Discusses the pedagogical importance of phonology and proposes modern strategies for teaching English pronunciation in the classroom.
5 Conclusion: Summarizes that pronunciation training must be adapted to individual needs and calls for a restructuring of foreign language teaching methods.
Keywords
Phonology, German accent, English pronunciation, L1 interference, Contrastive linguistics, Consonant contrasts, Vowel systems, Stress patterns, Intonation, Second language acquisition, Pedagogical strategies, Phonemic awareness, Allophones, Final devoicing, Language teaching.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this publication?
The work focuses on the phonological differences between German and English and how these differences lead to the characteristic "German accent" when speaking English.
What are the primary thematic areas covered?
The main themes include a contrastive analysis of phonemes, common errors in consonant and vowel production, the influence of intonation and stress, and methods for teaching effective English pronunciation.
What is the central research objective?
The objective is to identify why German learners struggle with specific English sounds and to provide recommendations on how teachers can prioritize corrections to improve learner fluency and intelligibility.
Which scientific methods are employed?
The work utilizes a contrastive linguistic approach, comparing the phonological systems of German and English to explain error patterns and pedagogical needs.
What topics are discussed in the main body of the work?
The main body covers the analysis of consonant and vowel contrasts, sources of pronunciation errors (including unknown and similar sounds), the impact of intonation and word stress, and specific classroom teaching methods.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include phonology, German accent, L1 interference, contrastive linguistics, vowel systems, and language acquisition.
How does "final devoicing" affect the perception of German speakers?
Transferring the German rule of final devoicing to English makes consonants at the end of words voiceless, which can cause misunderstandings and contribute to the stereotype of a "rough" or "chopped off" accent.
Why is the "education of the ear" considered important?
Given the internet-driven environment where students are constantly exposed to native English, the work argues for training students in active listening to recognize phonemic differences and avoid common imitation errors.
- Quote paper
- Clara S. (Author), 2009, The German Accent in English, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/211507
