common errors of english fricatives made by first year english major students at hanoi university = các lỗi sai phổ biến trong việc phát âm các phụ âm xát ở sinh viên năm thứ nhất trường đại học hà nội

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES
****************

KERIM KARA

COMMON ERRORS OF ENGLISH FRICATIVES
MADE BY FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR
STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY
(Các lỗi sai phổ biến trong việc phát âm các phụ âm xát ở

sinh viên năm thứ nhất trường Đại Học Hà Nội)

M.A. MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HA NOI-2014


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

****************

KERIM KARA

COMMON ERRORS OF ENGLISH FRICATIVES
MADE BY FIRST YEAR ENGLISH MAJOR
STUDENTS AT HANOI UNIVERSITY
(Các lỗi sai phổ biến trong việc phát âm các phụ âm xát ở

sinh viên năm thứ nhất trường Đại Học Hà Nội)

M.A. MINOR THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111
Supervisor: Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan

HA NOI-2014


CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY

I here by declare that the research paper titled “Common errors of English fricatives made
by Vietnamese learners” my own work and to the best of my knowledge. It contains no

materials previously published or written by another person. Any contribution made to the
research by others, with whom I have studied at Ha Noi University of Language and
International Studies or elsewhere, is explicitly acknowledged in the thesis.

Author Name: Kerim Kara
Signature: ______________

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost I offer my sincerest gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Huynh Anh Tuan,
who has supported me throughout my thesis with his patience and knowledge whilst
allowing me the room to work in my own way. I attribute the level of my Masters degree
to his encouragement and effort and without him this thesis, too, would not have been
completed or written. One simply could not wish for a better or friendlier supervisor.

Besides my advisor, I would like to thank to my colleagues Mr. Kadir Basaran and
Mr.Abdil Karakoc, for their encouragement, insightful comments, and hard questions.

Last but not the least, I would like to thank my family: my mom Fikriye Kara and my
brother Sinan Kara , for supporting me spiritually throughout my life.

ii


ABSTRACT
English, being a global language, has penetrated into the education system of almost all
countries in the world, including Vietnam, as a compulsory subject at all levels and forms
of education.
This research was conducted to find out difficulties and possible solutions of learning and
teaching pronunciation of English fricatives with three interrelated aims. The first aim
focuses on figuring out errors in the pronunciation of English fricatives commonly made
by first- year English majors at Hanoi University whereas the second examines possible
causes that may be the contributing factors behind the pronunciation problems the students

face. Upon achieving the second aim, the researcher hopes further to put forwards viable
recommendations with a view to assisting students in their bid to improve their own
English pronunciation skills.
English, previously included the curriculum from the first year of middle school, is now
officially taught for children from six years old. Foreign language centers are dramatically
increasing in number, and English is the most popular foreign language offered for learners.
Although English has become an important demand for schooling and job opportunities,
Vietnamese people cannot pronounce English properly. Like some other languages,
Vietnamese has phonotactic features that keep native learners from pronouncing English like
native speakers.

iii

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: English consonants (Gimson,1989) ………………………. …………… ...... …. . 7
Table 2: English fricatives ( Raoch,1991) ……………………. .………………… ....... …..9
Table 3: Vietnamese consonants ( Trang Ngoc Dung, 2010) …………………..…. .... … 12
Table 4: Vietnamese initial consonants ( Tran Ngoc Dung, 2010) ………………… .... …13
Table 5: Vietnamese final consonants( Tran Ngoc Dung, 2010)……………………. ... …13
Table 6: Confusion of fricatives …………………………………………………... .... …..29
Table 7: Intra-language replacement of English fricatives ……………………… ..... …....31
Table 8: Replaced and replacing consonants …………………………………….. ..... …..32
Table 9: Inter-language replacement of English fricatives…………………...…… ..... …..34

Table 10: Omission of fricatives………………………………………………… ..... …….35
Table 11: Sound addition in pronouncing English fricatives …………...……… .... ……..38

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Vietnamese syllable structure ( Ngo Nhu Binh, 2009)……………… ...... ……. 16
Figure 2: Vietnamese syllable structure ( Doan Xuan Kien, 2005)………… ......... …..…..16

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
L1: First language of a learner
L2: Second language of a language learner
NL: Native language
TL: Target language

RP: Received Pronunciation

iv


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Certificate of Originality ........................................................................................................ ii
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ ii
Abstract……………………………………………………………………… ......... ………iii
List of tables.......................................................................................................................... iv
List of figures ........................................................................................................................ iv

List of abbreviations ............................................................................................................. iv
Table of contents .....................................................................................................................v

PART I: INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………… .....1
1.1

Background to the study…………………………………………………… ……..1

1.2

Aims of the study……………………………………………………………… .…3

1.3

Research Questions ……………………………………………………… .………3

1.4

Significance and scope of the study…………………………………… .…………3

1.5

Organization of the study……………………………………………… .…………4

PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I : LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………… ...... …5
2.1.1 Received Pronunciation………………………………………………… ........ ….5
2.1.2 English sound system …..…………………………………………………... …...6
2.1.3 English consonants and classification……………………………………....... .....6
2.1.3.1 Place of articulation…………………………………………………… ...... …..6
2.1.3.2 Manner of articulation ………………………………………………… ....... …7
2.1.3.3 Voicing…………………………………………………………………...... …..8
2.1.3.4 Positions of the soft-palate…………………………………………… .............. 8
2.1.4

English consonants characteristics ……………………………………… …….8

2.1.4.1 The position of English consonant in a syllable ……………………… .... ……8
2.1.4.2 The distinction of voiced and voiceless consonants ………………… ...... ……9
2.1.4.3 English Fricatives …………………………………………………… ...... ……9
2.1.4.4 Production of labio-dental fricatives /f/ and /v/……………………… ........... 10

v


2.1.4.5 Production of dental fricatives /θ/ and / ð / …………………………… ...... …10
2.1.4.6 Production of alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/ …………………………… .... ….11
2.1.4.7 Production of palato-alveolar fricatives /ʃ / and / ʒ/ ……………… ..... ……..11

2.1.4.8 Production of glottal fricative /h/ …………………………………… ..... ……12
2.1.5

A phonological contrastive analysis of Vietnamese an English………… ….12

2.1.5.1 A contrastive analysis of Vietnamese and English consonant systems… .. …12
2.1.5.2 A contrastive analysis of Vietnamese and English syllable structure … .. ….16
2.1.6

Pronunciation errors …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….… ...... ….17

2.1.6.1 Errors …….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…………… ... … 17

2.1.6.2 Errors and mistakes ….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…… ...... .… 18
2.1.6.3 Common errors in the pronunciation of English fricatives .…….…..... …… 19
2.1.7

Language transfer….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….…….… .. ……20

CHAPTER II: RESEARCH AND METHODOLOGY ................................................. 22
2.2.1 Introduction …………………………………..………………… ........... ……… 22
2.2.2 Subjects …………………………………..…………………… .......... …………22
2.2.3 Instrumentations ……………………..…………………………........... ……….22
2.2.4 Procedures ……………………..……………………………… ............ ……….23

CHAPTER III: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................ 25
2.3.1 Error classifications ………..…………………………………… ............... ……25
2.3.2. Errors grouped according to sounds ……………………… ................... ………25
2.3.2.1 Errors in list reading …..……………………………………… ................... …25
2.3.2.2 Errors in paragraph reading ……………………………… ...................... ……25
2.3.2.3 Errors in speaking ……..………………………………… ....................... ……26
2.3.3 Errors grouped according to types ………………………… ..................... ……..26
2.3.3.1 Errors in list reading…………………………………… .................. …………26
2.3.3.2 Errors in paragraph reading …………………………… .................... ………..26
2.3.3.3 Errors in speaking ………………………………………… ..................... ……27
2.3.4 Data analysis ………………………………………………… .................. ……..27
2.3.5 Sound replacement ……………………………………… .................. ………….30

vi


2.3.5.1 Intra-language replacement ………………………………................... ………31
2.3.5.2 Inter-language replacement ………………………………................... ………33
2.3.5.3 Sound omission ………………………………… .............. ………………….. 35
2.3.5.4 Sound addition …………………………………… ................ ………………..37
2.3.6

Possible causes of these pronunciation errors …………................. …………..40

2.3.6.1

Confusing English fricatives ……………………… .............. ………………40

2.3.6.2

Consonants unique to English ……………………………............ …………41

2.3.6.3

English distinctive syllable structure …………………… ............. …………42

2.3.6.4

Morphological difference between Vietnamese and English ……… ........ …42

2.3.6.5

Learners‟ inflexible organs of speech ……………………………… ....... ….43

PART III: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 44
3.1 Summary of the study ……………………………………………… . ……………44
3.1.2 Recommendation…………………… ........................................................... ….. 44
3.1.3 Recommendations for students …………………… ...................................... …. 46

3.1.4 Recommendations for teachers and students of English ..................................... 48
3.1.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 49
REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………... ………51
APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………… ...... …………I

vii


PART I: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
In the age of deepening global integration, with the steady rise of English as an
international language which serves as a gate way to an inexhaustible source of wideranging knowledge and acts as an irreplaceable bridge between nations when it comes to

exchange in trade, technology, and politics, it is a necessity, if not to say a must, for all
who wish to thrive, to put English under their control. However, among the four most
essential English skills, namely, listening, speaking, reading, and writing, English
speaking in general, and English pronunciation in particular, have always come to the
forefront as the foremost challenging aspects of language acquisition (Bjarkman &
Hammond, 2008), for two reasons. First, speaking is the one stubbornly posing the greatest
number of challenges to not only English learners, but also native speakers, due to its
complicated pronunciation (Gilbert, 2008). Second, the mastery of English pronunciation,
hence, English speaking skills, naturally facilitates the acquisition of the other skills
(Zhang, 2009). Good pronunciation, therefore, lays a firm foundation for language
acquisition and brings confidence and trustworthiness to non-native English speakers since
it is commonly used as the criterion to evaluate language proficiency (Fraser, 2000).

Duong Thi Nu (2008) was in agreement with Fraser when she asserted that although
Vietnamese English speakers

may

master extensive vocabulary and grammar, poor

pronunciation still prevents them from being understood, creating chronic unintelligibility
problems and lowering their credibility and prestige in the eyes of native English speakers.
English, being a global language, has penetrated into the education system of almost all
countries in the world, including Vietnam, as a compulsory subject at all levels and forms
of education. It is a contradiction but an easily understandable fact that English

pronunciation, though serving as a stepping stone for the mastery of the language, may
somewhat be intentionally neglected or undervalued by both Vietnamese learners and
teachers of English, due to the fact that it presents seemingly insurmountable
challenges for those whose native language‟s phonetics is strikingly different from that of
English (Gang, 2000). Hanoi University, formerly focusing exclusively on language
teaching, provides language learners with a foundation of pronunciation the very start of

1


the course. English pronunciation, in particular, is intensively introduced to students from
the first semester, using the course book named English Pronunciation In Use by Mark

Hancock (2003), with a view to familiarizing students with English sound systems, stress,
and intonation, thereby, equipping them with a necessary tool for further acquisition of
related skills. Nevertheless, after one semester of studying pronunciation which involves
extensive exercises, drillings, and testing, a sizable number of first year English majors at
Hanoi University still find themselves fall short of their initial expectation and face various
problems in the pronunciation of English sounds (Bui Thi Binh, 2011). Among these
challenging sounds, as Nguyen Thi Phuc Hoa (1999) pointed out, English consonants, in
general, and English fricatives, which pose serious challenges for non-native English
speakers all around the world, in particular, stand out. What noteworthy is that even after
nearly four years of frequent exposure to English and receiving a further course in English
phonetics and phonology, fourth year English majors still experience the same
problems in pronunciation like those of first-year (Bui Thi Binh, 2011). This is not unusual

in light of many research results confirming the importance acquiring proper pronunciation
in the first year of language learning. Pham Cam Chi (2009), for example, pointed out that
pronunciation should be mastered from the initial stages of language learning, and that, the
pronunciation problems existing beyond the first year of language learning, will likely to
persist and become the habits which are really difficult for language learners to get rid of in
more advanced stages.
On being an English teacher of numerous students from Ha Noi University, thus, giving a
chance to become fully aware of the situation, the writer of this paper would like to
conduct a study to figure out the common errors committed by first-year English majors at
Hanoi University in the pronunciation of English fricatives, examine possible causes of
these errors, as well as offer some suggestions for overcoming these challenges. A
determined effort is devoted with a sincere hope of putting forward practical

recommendations to assist both teachers and students of English in the process of teaching
and learning pronunciation so that common errors in pronouncing English fricatives
could be minimized at the beginning stage of language acquisition. This, in turn, assists in
building up language learners‟ confidence in English speaking in particular and English
usage in general.

2


1.2 Aims of the study
This research was conducted with three interrelated aims. The first aim focuses on figuring
out errors in the pronunciation of English fricatives commonly made by first- year English

majors at Hanoi University. The second examines possible causes that may be the
contributing factors behind the pronunciation problems facing the students. Upon
achieving the second aim, the researcher hopes further to put forwards viable
recommendations with a view to assisting students in their bid to improve their own
English pronunciation skills.
1.3 Research questions
Based on the discussion in the sections above, the research questions of this study were
formulated as follows:
1. What are the errors commonly made by first year English majors at Hanoi
University in their pronunciation of English fricatives?
2. What are the possible sources of errors?
3. What measures should be taken to tackle the problems?

1.4 Scope and significance of the study
With a view to assessing students‟ pronunciation of English fricatives from various
aspects, this study covers analyses of errors committed by first year English students when
they pronounce the consonants in words standing in isolation, in connected speech (text),
and in real speech (speaking), as well as the contributing factors behind these errors. The
results gleaned from analyzing the recordings and questionnaire will serve as a basis for
feedback for teachers and learners of English in general, and to the respondents of the
study and their teachers in particular, so that pronunciation teaching in the first year at
English department of Hanoi University could be further specifically tailored to the unique
problems facing students, thereby, minimizing the preventable pronunciation errors.

3

1.5 Organization of the study
This paper is made up of three parts. In Part I, the background, aims, scope, as well as
significance of the study are elaborated. What follows is the Part II reviewing theories
regarding English consonants, contrasting points between English and Vietnamese
phonological systems, and common errors in pronouncing English fricatives by non-native
English speakers. Part III focuses on the methodology, which includes the subjects,
instruments, as well as procedures underpinning the study. Moreover, plays the role of
analyzing and discussing the findings of the study. The conclusion brings the paper to the
end by offering suggestions for better pronunciation of English fricatives and presenting
the conclusion of the study.

4


PART II: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: LITERATURE REVIEW
This part intends to provide theoretical background and a relevant literature review of
previous related studies concerning English fricatives and Received Pronunciation, and
language transfer, so that readers can get better understanding of the research. A
brief contrastive analysis of Vietnamese and English consonants systems will also be
presented with a view to supporting further analysis.
2.1.1 Received Pronunciation

Different people may have different accents in speaking the same language, or as Roach
(1991) generalized in his book: “languages are pronounced differently by people from
different geographical places, from different social classes, of different ages and different
educational backgrounds” (p.4). English, being an international language, is spoken by
people around the world with varying accents, among which, British, American, and
Australian English have long been considered as the three most widely accepted or standard
accents of English. According to Wikipedia, “Received Pronunciation” (RP) is often
considered the standard accent in Britain, while in the United States, “General American”
accent is generally equated with standard accent, and that of Australia is deemed to be
General Australian. As Roach (2004) elaborated, RP is the term coined by linguist A J Ellis
for more than a century. Prior to that, it was named by Daniel Jones as Public School
Pronunciation or further as General British and Educated Southern British English. It was not

until Daniel Jones adopted it for the second edition of the English Pronouncing Dictionary
(1924) that RP became representative of the accent spoken by the social elite in England. RP
was then considered the Queen‟s English, or the English of strong preference for people
coming from middle-class or upper-class origin in Britain. It, subsequently, has long been
used in prestigious universities and official radio and televisions channels in Britain,
such as Radio 3, Radio 4, and BBC World Service. Unsurprisingly, RP is still regarded
as a standard pronunciation for English language teaching worldwide, including Vietnam.
RP standard can be found in pronunciation books such as English Phonetics and Phonology
by Roach (2000) or Better English Pronunciation by O‟Connor (2002), and other

5

pronunciation teaching materials of strong preference and high trustworthiness among
Vietnamese learners of English. Thus, it is appropriate for the author of this paper to adopt
RP English as the standard based on which analyses of errors made by students are
conducted.
2.1.2 English fricatives
English sound system features 44 sounds, classified into 2 groups, one includes 20 vowels,
and the other contains 24 consonants. The purpose of this paper

necessitates

the

elaborations of English fricatives (consonants) only; therefore, theories on English
consonants

systems, especially fricatives, will be carefully analyzed, providing a

foundation for further discussion of finding results. (Davenport & Hannahs, 1998).
2.1.3 English consonant classification
English consonants are, as Gimson (1989) elaborated, “articulated in one of two ways,
either there is a closing of one of the vocal organs, forming such a narrow constriction that
it is possible to hear the sound of the air passing through, or the closing movement is
completed, giving a total blockage. The closing movement may involve lips, tongue, or

throat, but in each case, the overall effect is very different from the relatively open and
unimpeded articulation found in vowels” (p. 19). English consonants are classified
based on four criteria, namely, place of articulation, manner of articulation, voicing, and
position of soft palate (Roach, 1991). The following parts paint a more detailed picture of
the classifications based on these criteria.
2.1.3.1 Place of articulation
Based on place of articulation, English consonants are formed into 9 groups as follows:
 Bilabial: /p/, /b/, /m/, /w/
 Labio-dental: /f/, /v/
 Alveolar: /t/, /d/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /n/
 Post-alveolar: /r/

6


 Dental: /θ/, / ð/
 Palato-alveolar: /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /tʃ/, /d

ʒ/

 Palatal: /j/
 Velar: /k/, /g/, /ŋ/
 Glottal: /h/
2.1.3.2 Manner of articulation

The criterion of manner of articulation specifies 6 different categories of English
consonants, specifically:
 Plosive: /p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/
 Fricative: /f/, /v/, /s/, /z/, /θ/, /ð/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/,/h/,
 Affricate: /tʃ/, /dʒ/
 Nasal: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/
 Lateral: /l/
 Approximant: /w/, /r/
The above classifications can be better illustrated by the following table:

7

2.1.3.3 Voicing
Voicing represents an important criterion, since the pronunciation of many words in
English is distinguished solely based on this criterion (Fledge & Brown, 1982).
English consonants, with respect to voicing, are classified into two groups:
 Voiceless consonants includes nine consonants that are pronounced without
vibration of the vocal cords: /p/, /f/, /t/, /s/, /θ/, /ʃ/, /h/, /tʃ/, /k/
 Voiced consonants, namely, /b/, /v/, /d/, /z/, / ð /, /ʒ, /d

ʒ/, /g/, /l/, /r/, /m/, /n/,

/ŋ/, /j/, and /w/, are produced with the vocal cords vibrating with varying degrees.

2.1.3.4 Positions of soft-palate
With regard to positions of soft palate, English consonants fall into 2 categories, one with
consonants produced with the soft-palate raised so that the airstream goes out through
mouth, while another includes sounds made while the soft palate is lowered, forcing the
airstream to get out through nose, as listed below:
 Oral consonants: /p/, /f/, /t/, /s/, /θ/, ʃ/, /h/, / tʃ/, /k/, /b/, /v/, /g/, /d/, /z/, / ð /, ʒ/,
/dʒ/, /l/, /r/, /j/, /w/
 Nasal consonants: /m/, /n/, /ŋ/
2.1.4 English consonant characteristics
The following analysis of special characteristics borne by English consonants hopes to
serve as a basis for further discussion of findings and recommendations presented in this
paper.

2.1.4.1 The position of English consonants in a syllable
One of the prominent characteristics of English consonants is their ability to stand virtually
in all positions, initially, medially, or finally, in a syllable, except for some sounds such as
/ŋ/, /ʒ/, /j/ /h/ and /w/ (Davenport & Hannahs, 1998). This represents the rather flexibility

8


of English consonants compared with those in other languages in the world and plays a
role in making up a diversity of English words, at the same time, creates a considerable
number of challenges for those learners whose mother tongue has limited distribution of
consonants in a syllable (Xiao & Zhang, 2009).

2.1.4.2 The distinction of voiced and voiceless consonants
Generally, compared with other languages in the world, such as Spanish, Italian, or
Vietnamese, English emphasizes the importance of voicing to a greater degree since in
minimal pairs like “bid” and “bit”, voicing makes a real difference to the meaning of the
words (Fledge & Brown, 1982). This, however, may represent a challenge to non-native
English speakers whose first language undervalues this distinction (Fullana & Mora,
2007). The problem is further complicated when those words are found in connected speech
which requires a native-standard adjustments of vowel and reduction of final consonants
while still keeping all the words understandable when pronounced (Anthony Nguyen, 2007).
2.1.4.3 English fricatives
According to Kambata (1996, cited in Nguyen Thi Phuc Hoa, 1999 , p.23), English
fricatives with nine consonants, as presented in the following table, are the consonants

which are produced by bringing the articulators closely together, thus, a narrow
passage is formed and acts as a channel through which the air stream escapes with friction.
Or as Roach (1991) illustrated, fricatives “are consonants with the characteristic that
when they are produced, air escapes through a small passage and makes a hissing sound”
(p. 47). Based on place of articulation, English fricatives fall into five main categories, four
of them contain 2 consonants which are distinct from each other only by a slight voicing.
Table 2: English fricatives (Roach, 1991)

9


What follows will be a brief discussion of the pronunciation of all English fricatives

which acts as a facilitator of further analyses.
2.1.4.4 Production of labio-dental fricatives /f/ and /v/
The two sounds, voiceless fricative /f/ and voiced fricative

/v/ have quite wide

distribution, with their presence in all positions in a syllable. They occur initially in words
such as “five”,” vie”, medially in “fifth” and “survive”, and finally in “life” and live”.
According to Roach (1985), English labio-dental fricatives are pronounced by raising the
soft palate and shutting off the nasal resonator. The air escapes from a narrow passage
formed by the slight contact between the edge of the upper teeth and the surface of the
lower lip, causing friction. Or as Ha Cam Tam (2005) elaborated, in the production of

English labio-dental fricatives, “the inner surface of the lower lip makes a light contact
with the edge of the upper teeth, so that the escaping air produces friction (p. 3). There
is no voicing in the pronunciation of /f/, while /v/ is produced with varying degrees of
vocal cord vibration, depending on the sounds following it.
2.1.4.5 Production of dental fricatives /θ/ and / ð /
The production of the two inter-dental fricatives is described by Thomas (1947- cited in
Tran Thi Trinh Hue, 2011,p.17) as “formed by placing the tip of the tongue against either
the cutting edges or the back of the upper teeth, and forcing the breath between the tip and
the teeth, or through the spaces between the teeth, or through both openings” (p.
17), while, according to Underhill (1994), the tip of the tongue is just slightly pressed
against the inside edge of the top front teeth, and the air stream is therefore just able to
flow out through a small gap between the tongue and the tip. Roach (1985), however,

considered the pronunciation of English dental fricatives as a process in which the tongue
is placed inside the teeth, with the tip touching the inside of the upper teeth, the air,
therefore, escapes through the gaps between the tongue and the teeth. Whatever theories
may be put forward describing the pronunciation of these two consonants, according to
Hattem (2009), among English consonants in general and English fricatives in particular,
dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/ have always come to the forefront as the most challenging
sounds -native English speakers. Like other pairs of fricatives, /θ/ is produced without the

10


vibration of vocal cords, while its voiced counterpart-/ ð / requires some degree of

vibration in its pronunciation.
2.1.4.6. Production of alveolar fricatives /s/ and /z/
Like labio-dental fricatives /f/ and /v/, the two alveolar fricative /s/ and /z/ are
produced by the raise of the soft palate and the shut off of the resonator. This process is
followed by a slight contact of the blade and tip of the tongue with the upper alveolar
ridge, thereby; the side rim of the tongue comes to close contact with the upper teeth
(Roach, 1991). The articulation of these sounds is quite intense, causing noticeable friction
with the air passing through a narrow passage formed along the center of the tongue
(Davenport & Hannahs, 1998). Alveolar fricative /s/ bears no voicing, whereas the
production of /z/ is featured by strong vibration of the vocal cords (Roach, 1991).
2.1.4.7 Production of palato-alveolar fricatives /ʃ / and / ʒ/
The production of /ʃ/, /ʒ/ is considered a combined process of producing alveolar fricatives

/s/ and /z/, and the raising of the front of the tongue toward the soft palate. The whole
process can be described as “The soft palate is being raised and the nasal resonator shut
off, the tip and blade of the tongue make a light contact with the alveolar ridge, the front
of the tongue being raised at the same time in the direction of the hard palate and the side
rims of the tongue being in contact with the upper side teeth” (Cruttenden, 2001, p.189).
What strongly distinguishes the articulation of /ʃ/, /ʒ/ from that of /s/ and /z/ is that the
tongue involved in the process touches an area of the hard palate that is further back than
that in the production of /s and /z/. The distinction is also illustrated by the general round
lips that native-English speakers often have when pronouncing /ʃ/ and /ʒ/, though in some
cases, the shape of the lips is determined mostly by the sounds following these two sounds
(Ha Cam Tam, 2005). Since the air is diffused in the wide area between the tongue and the
roof of the mouth, the production of /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ is generally less intense, which translates

into a rather low degree of vibration in the process of producing / ʒ/, while in that of /ʃ/,
the vocal cords have no role to play (Duong Thi Nu, 2008). The sound /ʒ/ has quite limited
distribution due to its recent and infrequent appearance in English sound system. This

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sound is often found in English words which are borrowed from French and most
frequently stands at word medial position (Roach, 1991) while the other above mentioned
fricatives have wide distribution in all positions of a syllable.
2.1.4.8 Production of glottal fricative /h/
Though the place of articulation of /h/ is glottal, which means that /h/ is produced by the

friction coming from the narrowing between the vocal cords, in real pronunciation of /h/ in
combination with other vowels, the process of pronouncing this consonant is actual not
separated from that of the vowels following it. Glottal fricative /h/, therefore, bears
the quality of the vowels it precedes (Davenport & Hannahs, 1998). For example, in the
word “head” which is pronounced as /hed/, the production of /h/ will be made
simultaneously with that of the vowel /e/, with the same positions of jaw, tongue, and lips
like that of /e/.
2.1.5 A phonological contrastive analysis of Vietnamese and English
2.1.5.1 A contrastive analysis of Vietnamese and English consonant systems
Vietnamese consonants system includes 26 consonants, among them, 22 can stand in the
initial position, while only 6 consonants appear in the final position (Tran Ngoc Dung,
2010), as showed in the following tables:

Table 3: Vietnamese consonants (Tran Ngoc Dung, 2010)

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As illustrated by the three tables above, Vietnamese consonants are totally absent in
syllable medial position, and distributed rather limitedly in the final position, with only six
consonants able to stand in syllable final position, three of them /p/, /k/, /t/ are unaspirated
while the other three /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/ are nasals.
English consonants, on the other hand, have wide distribution with virtually all
consonants able to occur at all three positions of a syllable, except for some specific
sounds such as /ʒ/ which often occurs medially and /h/ which never stand finally

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(Ladefoged, 1975).
A comparison of table 1 and table 3 reveals there are sounds that are unique to English,
namely, the two dental fricatives /θ/ and / ð /. In addition, a closer look at table 4 shows
that although it seems that both English and Vietnamese possess palato-alveolar fricative
/ʃ/, Vietnamese /ʂ/ is retroflexed, while that of English is merely palato-alveolar.
Though English and Vietnamese share many consonants, due to the limited distribution
of Vietnamese consonants, which enable them to stand mostly in the two positions, medial
and final, there are sounds specific to English, causing considerable difficulties for students

of English who tend to transfer their first language‟s sound system to their second language
in the process of language learning (Bui Thi Binh, 2011). Table 6 elaborates on the
consonants that Vietnamese and English have in common, as well as those specific to each
language.

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Table 6: Comparison of Vietnamese and English Consonant Sounds In SyllableInitial and – Final Position ( Giang 2000).

As table 6 details, in the initial position, Vietnamese and English share 14 consonants,
while that of the final position stands is only six sounds which are able to occur in

Vietnamese syllable final position, namely, nasals /m/, /n/, /ŋ/ and voiceless orals /p/, /k/
and /t/. A considerable number of initial consonants, including four fricatives /ʃ/, / ʒ/, /θ/

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and / ð /, and all of the fricatives in the final position are unique to English.
Moreover, English consonants are featured by their ability to stand in consonant clusters,
occurring mostly in syllable initial and final position, while, according to Doan Thien
Thuat (1999), modern Vietnamese consonant system possesses no consonant clusters,
though in the past, there existed cases in which 2 consonants can stand together in syllable
initial position. This may serve as a basis for predicting errors that may be committed by

English learners on encountering the sounds absent in their mother tongue‟s sound
inventory and sound patterns foreign to Vietnamese phonetics.
2.1.5.2 A contrastive analysis of Vietnamese and English syllable structure
Different theories have been put forwards with a view to fully and properly portraying
Vietnamese syllable structure. Among these, Ngo Nhu Binh‟s (2009) stood out, as she
asserted that tone and nuclear vowel play an indispensible and overwhelming part in
Vietnamese syllable structure while initial and final consonant/semi-vowel are
optional. What noteworthy here in her theory is that labialization also has a role to play in
a syllable, and initial consonant, labialization, nuclear vowels, final consonants/semivowels belong to the same layer inferior to tat of tone as illustrated by the figure below:
Figure 1: Vietnamese syllable structure (Ngo Nhu Binh, 2009)

Others, like Doan Xuan Kien (2005), however, refuted that tone, initial consonant and rime

(vowel and final consonant) play equal part in Vietnamese syllable while there are no
semi-vowels in the final position, as can be seen in figure 2:
Figure 2: Vietnamese syllable structure (Doan Xuan Kien, 2005)

Le Van Ly (1948) as cited in Doan Xuan Kien (2005) goes so far as to confirm that there

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