4
That is the reason why this problem should be studied by the researcher in writing her
skripsi with the title “ The Effectiveness of Minimal Pairs towards Students’ English Pronu
nciation,” at the Seventh Grade of SMP Muhammadiyah 17 Ciputat.
B. The Identification of the Problem
Based on the Background of Study about the Effectiveness of Minimal Pairs some problems could be identified, as follows:
1. The students have problems when they pronounce English word caused by
the influence of the students’ mother tongue. 2.
The students have difficulties to differentiate between long and short vowels
3. The students also misspell when they pronounce English sounds
4. They also pronounce the English words as they are written
C. The Limitation of the Problem
In order to make the problem focus,this research is limited on the effectiveness of minimal pairs towards students’ at the seventh grade of SMPS
Muhammadiyah 17 Ciputat.
D. The Formulation of the Problem
Based on the limitation of the problem this research is formulated as follows: can the students at the grade VII of SMPS Muhammadiyah 17 Ciputat
differentiate between long and short vowel sounds and repeat them in minimal pairs?
E. The Significance of the Study
1. To the writer
Giving the information about technique of teaching English pronunciation. 2.
To the teacher and students Giving information to the teacher in teaching English pronunciation. So,
the teacher makes experiment and more efficiency in teaching English
5
pronunciation. To the students it can assist upgrading their ability to speak English.
3. To the institution
Giving information about the method or technique in teaching English pronunciation.
6
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Pronunciation Theory
1. Definitions of Pronunciation
Pronunciation is sometimes not easy to define by the linguists, indeed they have the various definitions, and basically the aim is similar, as Kreidler viewed
that pronunciation is a terminology that is correlated among speech and language. He noted
“speech is an activity which is carried on in numerous events; language is knowledge, a code which is known and shared by people who used their
knowledge for transmitting and interpreting messages in the events ”.
1
It means when someone delivers the message to the hearer by hisher voice, then its
message could be received by the hearer clearly and understandable, but the hearer sometimes does not understand that or even seems confusing about what
the speaker said. Therefore, shehe needs any knowledge to process what the message received to hisher eardrums. As the words that speaker delivered by his
her voice is delivered by the wave of speaker’s voice that created the different sounds from the words. To catch those sounds the hearer absolutely has a sense to
defferent sounds from the word that speaker said by hisher knowledge or code. That is why the language is defined as knowledge or code.
On the other hand, Ur assumed pronunciation is “to say the sounds right,
to use the words to express the appropriate meanings, or construct their sentences in a way that sounds acceptable
”.
2
More and more, the aim of pronunciation is to ease the speaker and hearer in receiving message on communication. The message
will be easy to receive, if it delivers clearly and can be understood, so what the speaker wanted from the hearer can be received as its purpose.
1
Charles W. Kreidler, The Pronunciation of English, second ed., USA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd., 2004, p.4.
2
Penny Ur, a Course in Language Teaching: Practice and Theory, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996, p.103.
According to those definitions, it can be concluded that pronunciation is the way of a person in sounding word or uttering
language and one of the people’s ways in pronouncing, uttering, even in communicating a language to deliver
someone’s desire in communication, so that the communication is hopefully more clear and understandable.
2. The Concepts of Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not just a word that has the meaning how people pronounce or utter a word or sentence in language, but it has some aspects that
explain the ways in pronouncing the word that will be understandable in spoken language. Ur
stated “three concepts of pronunciation, those are: the sounds of the language or phonology, stress and rhytm, and intonation
”.
3
a. The Sounds of Language
Sounds of language or phonology, which is the symbols of language, hear which is produced by the organs of speech.
4
English language has the number of sounds produced by organs of speech. Those sounds are classified in two
categories, vowels and consonants. Some of the continuous voiced sounds produced
without obstruction in the mouth are what may be called „pure musical sounds’ unaccompanied by any frictional noise. They are called vowels. All other
articulated sounds are called consonants.
5
Avery and Erlich noted, “Consonants involve a narrowing in the mouth
which in turn causes some obstruction of the airstreams. With vowels, air passes rather freely through the mouth because there is very little narrowing”.
6
It seems when people producing consonants are signed by the activity of the mouth
narrows, there is pressing on the throat or mouth when the word produced. On the
3
Ibid, p.47.
4
Daniel Jones, The Pronunciation of English, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, p.11.
5
Ibid, p. 12.
6
Peter Avery and Susan Erlich, Teaching American English Pronunciation, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009, p.12.
