CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

For most of the learners of English, the foreign accent has always been a difficulty that could not be easily overcome. Numerous research studies have been carried out to study the reasons for this issue as well as the methods to help learners to produce spoken English close to native-like, if not to completely eliminate the foreign accents.

Among the difficulties learners encounter in acquiring the second language (L2) native-like speaking production, the voiceless interdental fricative (i.e., [0]) has been considered one of the most difficult sounds to acquire by most of the learners of English.

Many studies have identified various substitutions for [9] in the speaking production of learners from different first language (LI) and second language (L2) backgrounds. For example, Rau, Chang, and Tarone (2009) reported that Thai, Russian, and Fhingarian learners of English tended to substitute [t] for [0] while [0] was usually replaced with [s] by speakers from Asian countries such as Japan, Korea, and China (Lee & Cho, 2002; Rau et al., 2009).

In order to probe the causes of these problematic performances, one plausible way is to do a survey of the students’ pronunciation of words with interdental fricatives, so that the improvement of one part will facilitate the development of another.

In Cameroon, many native languages exist, making varied pronunciations of various sounds to be realized differently. Pronunciation at some level is seemingly difficult because the native language distorts and forcefully shows itself in pronouncing some consonants. It is also believed that these wrong pronunciations could emanate from process such as nativisation, localization, and indigenization responsible for creating new Englishes.

Objectives of the study

This study seeks to:

1. Asses the use of interdental fricatives by 400 level students at the University of Buea.
2. To find out the confusion and difficulties that students encounter when choosing appropriate words and their likely consequences

Research questions

1. What factors account for Students wrong pronunciation of dental fricatives?
2. How well do 400 level students of the department of English language master interdental fricatives?
3. What effect does the pronunciation of interdental fricatives have on 400 Level students?

Hypothesis

HO: 400 level students in the department of English Language don’t differ in the Pronunciation of dental fricatives

HI: 400 level students will not differ in their pronunciation dental Fricatives

H2: pronunciation of dental fricatives doesn’t affect 400 level students at the University of Buea

Delimitation of study

> This study seeks to specifically describe problematic areas of interdental fricative pronunciation by 400 level students at the university of Buea

Definition of key terms

Pronunciation

Pronunciation refers to the production of sounds that we use to make meaning. It includes attention to the particular sounds of a language (segments), aspects of speech beyond the level of the individual sound, such as intonation, phrasing, stress, timing, rhythm (suprasegmental aspects), how the voice is projected (voice quality) and, in its broadest definition, attention to gestures and expressions that are closely related to the way we speak a language.

Chapter one has looked at the background to dental fricatives, stating the problem affecting students’ use of dental fricatives. It has also presented the scope of study, objectives of the study and purpose of the study.