Research Method RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

58

3.3 Research Data

The data were Cantonese and English consonants, each can be categorized based on its place and manner of articulation. Therefore, the objects of the study were books, journals, articles, graphic files, audio files, and video files that feature and discuss these sounds on how they can be produced and should be accepted. The data gathered from the resources was compared to each other and analyzed in terms of their similarities and differences and became evidences. These evidences were the findings of this research, and these findings lead to the answers to the formulated research problems. The research subjects function as both basis and focus of the research.

3.4 Data Gathering Technique

The writer gathered the data through various processes within the scope of library study. In finding relevant and reliable theory and data for the research, the writer had undergone the process of studying in the library of Sanata Dharma University Yogyakarta. In this process, the writer read and studied various relevant and reliable books concerning the theories on phonetics and phonology, English and Cantonese speech sounds, and pronunciation learning. There were also books on the noted history of English learning in Guangzhou that explain the going-on learning process from the time of colonialism up to the modern time as mentioned in the background, qualitative research methods, library study methodology, contrastive analysis and lasts but not least, under-graduate theses applying micro-linguistic contrastive analysis study on two different languages. 59 The writer also gathered the necessary data from various multimedia sources. Through the internet, the writer was able to gather information that was not available in the library. The data varies from academic articles, academic EFL journals, and updated news about English language learning worldwide from online news websites. There were also graphics, or audio files related to the research topic such as pod-casts. There were also video files that help the writer to attain a deep understanding on both the RP English and Guangzhou Cantonese‟s consonant sounds‟ similarities and differences. For these kinds of data, the writer downloaded them, studied them, combined and related them with the data found at the library and later, used them as reliable references to help the writer in completing this research. It should be noticed that the writer had only secondary data as what is required in a library-study based phonological contrastive study.

3.5 Data Analysis Technique

The data analysis technique that the writer used in this research was the contrastive analysis technique. The description of contrastive analysis in general, according to Fisiak 1987, is “a sub discipline of linguistics concerning with the comparison of two or more languages or subsystem of languages in order to determine both the differences and similarities between them”. This research uses a more specific technique which is called the phonetics contrastive analysis, which is a part of microlinguistic contrastive analysis. James 1980, p. 72 mentions the main aim of a Contrastive Phonetics contrastivist, which is to make “a detailed descriptions of the sounds of a pair of languages and then somehow 60 equati ng certain of these sounds interlingually for purposes of comparison”. At this point, the writer would like to make the problem limitation clearer by stating that this research is done pre-phonologically. Thus the term preliminary emerged. This statement i s according to James‟ 1980, p. 72, where in his brief explanation on Contrastive Phonetics, he also elaborates how can it be done pre- phonologically. One of the important statements that can be found in his explanation is that Contrastive Phonetics can b e done “without reference to the differences in function”. It means that it does not deal with the function of a sound. The discussion about sound function can be found within phonology‟s field, which James 1980, p.73 called, functional phonetics. James‟ technique of contrasting speech sounds with articulatory and acoustic phonetics approaches was the data analysis technique of this research. Such equations can be made pre- phonologically by “taking as the criterion for comparison the articulatory grid employed in the IPA chart James, 1980, p. 72”. The contrastivist‟s job is first, to compare similar sounds of L1 and L2 and match them based on their description upon their place and manner of articulation. This is the practical step of articulatory phonetics. James 1980 also mentions that this articulatory phonetics approach is a feasible one. He says that the feasibility of this approach is “guaranteed by the fact that the world‟s languages do tend to employ sounds produced by a limited number of combinations of articulatory features pp. 72-73 ”. This is the first approach to phonetics contrastive analysis, comparing the L1 and L2 sounds with a shared articulatory basis, as well as the first practical step in conducting the analysis. 61 The second practical step requires another approach, which is associated with the acoustic properties of speech sounds; the acoustic phonetics. This second approach to phonetics contrastive analysis requires the contrastivist to do two things. First, to compare L1 and L2 sounds in the way they are common physically and second, to note the differences accompanying this similarity. James 1980, p. 73 elaborates it further by mentioning that while the difference of two sounds, each belonging to L1 and L2, can be traced to an articulatory source, it is easier to be demonstrated and described in physical, acoustic terms. For example, in comparing the initial [p] consonant of the English word pal with the Cantonese word [pa ʊ] 抱 „to embrace‟. Articulation wise, the initial [p] found in both words are similar, but they are not exactly the same since the [p] in pal is aspirated, while the [p] in [pa ʊ] 抱 is „un‟-aspirated. This example is provided simply to elaborate the argument that this acoustic phonetic approach brings details to the comparison as it has the ability to „deepen‟ it by adding the „aspiration‟ feature. According to James‟ 1980 theory on this technique, together with its two approaches, the writer had conducted four steps to execute a contrastive analysis of the consonants of English and Cantonese. Before the explanation on how the writer applied the data analysis technique to answer the research problems, it should be noted that in this research, Cantonese is L1 and English is L2. This is due to the cons ideration that one of this research‟s purposes has to do with helping Cantonese EFL learners.