[etni] Re. Spik dis vay, etc
- From: joseph barnett <jophrabo@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni freelists <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 20 Feb 2010 11:46:22 -0800 (PST)
A variation on this theme: I teach English thru Hebrew to a class of Ethiopian
immigrant students. Their level is about 5th Grade and unfortunately most of
the language heard in our class is still Hebrew. To reinforce a solid core of
vocabulary I give them tests from time to time in which I say a word in Hebrew
and they write it down in English. Now, they have trouble perceiving the word
when I use my approximation of the Hebrew back (palatal or uvular) 'r,' as in
lagur 'to live', but when I roll my 'r' as they do in Amharic and Hebrew, they
get it immediately.
Incidentally, by insistence on the point, I succeed in getting each of them to
pronounce the "th" sounds in isolation and in simple words but after the
mini-lesson they tend to fall back on the more 'Israeli' d or z in this or s or
t in thin.
Another related story: Last year I tried to brush up my Spanish with an
interactive BBC course on the net. The main character in each scene was an
English tourist, whose Spanish we were meant to imitate. Hope I don't sound too
arrogant, but my accent was already a lot better than his and the experience of
copying a 'defective' pronunciation was irksome. So it seems to depend on what
the student's demands and expectations are.
My final word: ultimately the learner has to decide whether he/she wants
simplification or authenticity. Beginning a foreign language by acquiring a
faulty phonology will lead to irreparable damage and poor pronunciation habits.
Joe Barnett
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