Potential Problematic Areas of English Pronunciation for Amharic Native Learners based on Phonological Contrast between the two Languages

Abstract

This study was conducted to identify elements of English pronunciation foreign to the learners‟ native language and to spot possible difficulty areas that native Amharic speaking learners might encounter in learning and using English as a foreign language. The phonological system of Amharic appears to differ from its English counterpart in many ways. The study yielded a comprehensive contrastive-based finding: there are several English pronunciation aspects that are novel to Amharic phonology and therefore predicted as problems for Amharic speakers. Among other types of segmental differences, including allophonic and phonetic in type, the resultant list under phonemic problem areas included foreign English vowels, consonants and syllable structures; while the supra-segmental problems included English stress, intonation, and rhythmic patterns absent in Amharic. Its implications for EFL in Ethiopia suggest L1-based and empirically informed support and pronunciation materials.