چکیده:
In light of the fact that L2 pronunciation errors are often caused by the transfer of well-established L1 sound systems, this paper examines some of the outstanding phonological differences between Persian and English. Comparing segmental and supra-segmental aspects of both languages, this study also discusses several problematic areas of pronunciation facing Iranian learners of English. To reach such a goal, thirty EFL learners were randomly selected from three levels of beginning, intermediate, and advanced students enrolled for the Fall term in 2008 in one of the private institutes in Shiraz. Their pronunciations of a list of 40 words and 8 sentences were analyzed through read-aloud task followed by an interview. The words have been recorded though a computer-based files adjusted for voice. The result of the data analysis indicated that our EFL learners at three levels confront considerable problems in areas that are absent in their mother tongue or converged into one item which is technically termed as coalescence. In order to compensate for the difficulties encountered by our EFL learners, we as teachers should integrate pronunciation teaching in our classroom syllabi so that they will become conscious of the differences in the sound system of the two languages. In this way, the Persian learners of English will be helped to become proficient speakers of English with rare or no residue of foreign accent in the pronunciation of target words, phrases, or sentences, thereby leading to more intelligibility of their utterances.
خلاصه ماشینی:
"It is also stated that the pronunciation errors made by second/foreign language learners are not random errors to produce unfamiliar sounds, but rather reflections of the sound inventory, rules of combining sounds, and the stress and intonation patterns of their first languages (Swan and Smith, 1987, cited in Ohata, 2004).
Although contrastive analysis has often been questioned for its inadequacy to predict the transfer errors that learners will make in actual learning contexts (Whitman and Jackson, 1972), it cannot be easily denied that "such interference does exist and can explain difficulties" (Brown, 1994, p.
In line with the above contentions, this paper examines some of the significant phonological differences between Persian and English by focusing on segmental and supra-segmental aspects of both languages, and through comparison between the two languages, this study also points out several problematic areas of pronunciation encountered by Iranian learners of English.
According to their studies and in order to prevent errors, contrastive analysts compared first language and second language to find similarities and differences and consequently to predict areas of difficulties for learners.
In other words, Contrastive Analysis talks about similarities and differences between languages, explaining and predicting problems in second/foreign language learning and finally developing course materials for language teaching (Mirhassani, 2003).
6. Conclusion The above analysis, interpretation and exemplification between the two languages have clearly revealed that the Persian speaking EFL learners encounter diverse phonetic and phonological problems resulting from two basic causes: (a) the differences between the mother tongue and the target language, and (b) mother tongue interference (MTI)."