CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 21 Pronunciation variations of Indonesian President`s speech in APEC CEO Summit 2014.
4 have understanding and acceptance or positive judgment towards the non-native
speakers. In order to accept a certain spoken language by non-native speakers, an understanding of knowledge about pronunciation variations of certain language is
necessary. Hazen 2001 states “if people had a better understanding of how
language works, they would probably be less inclined to make negative judgments about speakers of different dialects
” p. 1. So, this is the reason that in this era, pronunciation variations are more accepted, even in formal international fora.
The phenomenon of pronunciation variations happens during the presentation of Mr. Joko Widodo as President of Republic of Indonesia in Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC CEO Summit 2014 in Beijing. The news reports reported about his performance in giving presentation in front of hundreds
of CEOs by using English with his strong Javanese accent. The CEOs and many people who watched the news praised him for his straightforward and simple
presentation. It shows that the listeners or the audience were still able to recognize and understand his English speech, although it was influenced by his strong
Javanese accent. His confidence in using his Javanese accent during the presentation in English is quite unique and attracted people‟s attention. From this
phenomenon, the researcher came out with a research question: “What are the
pronunciation variations in Indonesian President‟s APEC CEO Summit 2014
speech as being compared to Standard English pronunciation? ”
The researcher believes that this paper can give benefits to language learners and teachers, especially the students and the lecturers of English
Education Study Program. Pronunciation variation is part of linguistics study. It
5 shows the variations of English pronunciation which are different from common
pronunciation variations which occur in Inner Circle countries. Kachru 2006 states that Inner Circle countries are the countries where the people are English
native speakers like the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, or Canada. Indonesia is categorized as a member of Expanding Circle or the countries where
English does not have official status and being taught through the education system. Therefore, these pronunciation variations can give additional knowledge
for students who want to study further about linguistics, especially in the field of phonetics and phonology. Besides, pronunciation variations are also part of lesson
material which is beneficial to train the students‟ listening, speaking, and
pronunciation skills. Those skills are parts of important subjects in English Education Study Program. Charity and Mallinson 2011 state that language is the
important part of culture and identity. So, understanding the variations and diversity of language is critical to be taught in multicultural education. Therefore,
this paper can be beneficial as a reference for linguistic study or further research for both English Education Study Program students and lecturers.