Pronunciation

  • Galina BOUBNOVA (Moscou, Russie)
    Phonetic correctness: the case of the teaching of French to Russophone learners and Russian to French learners
    2006, Vol. XI-1, pp. 7-19

    In learning the phonetics of a foreign language an adult student takes in new sounds still sustaining the definitive influence of the phonological categorization of his or her mother tongue. In Russia phonetic correction mainly makes use of such methods as visual display as well as tactile and motive drills aimed at developing articulation. By making pronunciation subordinate to myoneural control that procedure virtually disregards the prosodic component of the speech. Teaching foreign language prosody as presented in this article is based on the fact that a student cannot only hear but also see the appropriate audio signal. The use of the visual channel enhances work on the prosody of a language to be studied both at the stage of its perception and at the stage of production.


  • Juana GIL FERNÁNDEZ (Madrid, Espagne)
    The teaching of pronunciation: the widening gap between fundamental research and classroom practice
    2012, Vol. XVII-1, pp. 67-80

    In recent times, in the academic field related to the training of L2 pronunciation teachers, the already existing gap between fundamental research and the application of its results in the classroom has widened. In some degree, this has been a consequence of that training being focused on methodological aspects more than on the intrinsic knowledge of the subject to be taught. In this article, on the basis of two concrete examples, the need for keeping pronunciation teachers permanently informed about the findings of the basic research in phonetics / phonology is defended as a means to achieve a very fruitful interaction between the two sides, theoretical ad applied, of the discipline.


  • Paolo MAIRANO (University of Warwick)
    Les effets de l’orthographe et de la phonologie de la L1 sur la prononciation de l’anglais L2
    2018, Vol. XXIII-1, pp. 45-57

    Recent research has revealed the effects of orthography on the pronunciation of consonant durations in the L2 English of L1 Italian speakers (e.g. the [p] infloppy being pronounced as longer than in copy). In this paper we compared this orthographic effect with an orthography-independent effect of L1 phonology, namely VOT. We measured closure durations and VOT for plosives produced by 30 learners of L2 English in Italy, 30 Italian late bilingual speakers of L2 English living in the UK, and 30 native English speakers. While VOT values produced by late bilinguals differed significantly from those produced by learners, closure durations were similar across the two groups. Additionally, L1 Italian VOT values proved thatlate bilinguals adapted VOT in L2 English by a larger extent than learners. It appears that the effects of orthography on L2 consonant duration can be more resistant to naturalistic L2 exposure than orthography-independent effects of L1 phonology.


  • Johan F. MATTER (Amsterdam, Pays-Bas)
    Authentic pronunciation in a Foreign Language: a neglected problem
    2006, Vol. XI-1, pp. 21-32

    This article addresses the problem why authentic pronunciation in a foreign language, contrary to other aptitudes in that same language, is so difficult, if not altogether impossible, to achieve. The problem is addressed from different theoretical perspectives: psycholinguistics, physiology and psychology. The approach by Guiora seems so far the most complete and the most promising. The problem of the necessity or the desirability of authentic pronunciation from a teaching point of view is not addressed. The article finishes on the question whether in the global village in which we live, the role of authentic pronunciation will not necessarily change in nature.


  • Sandrine WACHS (Paris 10)
    The influence of age on the pronunciation of French in Ile de France
    1998, Vol. III-1, pp. 57-66

    Does the way a language is spoken vary with the age of the speakers of that language? In this paper we want to discuss different forms of articulatory relaxation in the Ile-de-France area in relation to the age of the speakers of those forms. The study shows that everybody relaxes his or her pronunciation in informal sttings. Only the reduction of "speach markers", such as 'écoute', 'je ne dis pas', seems to be specific to 18-45 year-old speakers.