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As in English stress isochrony equality in time is preferred, stressed syllables must occur at roughly equal time intervals Alip, 2016: 20. Thus, the
pronunciations of ‘Eli has de should be roughly equivalent to ‘cided to, ‘fetch him from the and ‘station’, respectively although syllable-wise they are different
in number. Phonologists have introduced the term foot to indicate the timing units in an
utterance. Foot is “ a stretch of phonetic material that begins at the onset of a stressed syllable and ends at the onset of the next syllable Giegerich, 1992: 181.
Thus, a foot starts with a stressed syllable and continues up to, but not including, the next stressed syllable McMahon, 2002: 124. In the above example, there
are four feet : ‘Eli has de, ‘cided to, ‘fetch him from the, and ‘station. The first foot consists of four syllables, the second three, the third four and the last two.
This simple example clearly reflects the concept of rhythm and foot, where the timing of an utterance depends on the number of feet rather than on the number
of syllables. This simple example also represents the concept of English as a stress-timed language, in which the length of an utterance depends particularly
on the number of stressed syllables. Above all, this simple example clearly shows how spoken English relies very much on the marked contrast between its
stressed strong and unstressed weak syllables to exhibit its characteristic rhythmic patterns.
A lot of languages make very little difference between syllables in the matter of stress. As a consequence, native speakers of such languages usually
find it difficult to achieve a natural speech-flow in English Stannard Allen, 1960:1. This is also true for native speakers of Nataia, a syllable-timed
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language, in which the length of an utterance depends on the number of syllables. The sentences in Nataia such as ngao pai miu ne mai takes less time
than ngao enga zuna miu ne pea because there are fewer syllables in the former. In their equivalent English sentences, I’ve asked you’ve come and I’ve called
now you’ve come, such timing difference does not seem significant. In conclusion, stress in Nataia is not phonemic i.e., it does not differentiate
words. On the opposite end, stress in English is to a limited extent phonemic i.e., it can differentiate words. Additionally, stress in Nataia is not systematic
i.e., it is mainly determined by the speaker’s choice and preference. On the opposite side, stress in English is systematic and unpredictable i.e., every
English word has a single possible stress pattern. It is understandable if Nataia learners of English find it difficult to deal with stress assignment in English
utterances. It is also important to note that Nataia is a syllable-timed language in which
the length of an utterance depends entirely on the number of syllables in an utterance. On the opposite side, English is a stress-timed language in which the
length of an utterance depends specifically on the number feet in an utterance. The fluent flow of its stressed strong and unstressed weak syllables creates
rhythmic patterns which are characteristic of English. It is understandable, therefore, that Nataia native speakers learning English phonology may find it
especially difficult to deal with rhythm of English. The logical consequence is that Nataia speakers might end up speaking English with a syllable timing.
Fortunately, Collins and Mess 2003: 187 do not categorize a different rhythm of pronunciation as belonging to the factor which leads to a
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breakdown of intelligibility. They simply categorize it as an error which gives rise to irritation or amusement. Still, native speakers of Nataia are
encouraged to keep improving their pronunciation so that their English will facilitate good communication beyond local communities.
Now that English is a world language, various local varieties have emerged which often deviate from the English spoken in its traditional
countries. In the past, local varieties were considered as“deficient models of language acquisition “Kachru, 1992: 59. Nowadays, such a view is not
widely accepted any longer. Now a large number of people do not mind accepting deviant forms as long as they do not interfere with communication.
Deviant forms are even appreciated as part of local characteristics and culture. Therefore, English teachers in any part of Indonesia, including in
the Nataia speaking area, do not need be down-hearted if their own English and the English of their students show local phonological characteristics.
They may keep on aiming for a native-like pronunciation, and at the same time they should not be down-hearted if syllable-timing often shows up in
their performance. Now comes the question of how to deal with suprasegmental difficulties.
When the target is the mastery of word stress, an English teacher can start with pronunciation drills on selected words from a word list. Later, a learner
is advised to listen and repeat the pronunciation of the same selected words in a digital dictionary. This practice is to ensure that a learner gets
increasingly used to the correct native pronunciations as well as assigning the correct word stress . However, when the target is the mastery of stress
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timing, an English teacher needs to introduce drills which contain higher units of utterances such as phrases and sentences. Of course, a teacher may
use ordinary reading passages for this purpose. However, Alip 2016: 22 recommends using a text such as Living English Speech by Stannard Allen
that contains systematically graded exposure of rhythmic patterns of English phrases and sentences. Finally, learners are advised to regularly listen to
English news programs on the radio. Certain radio stations such as Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC offer language programs
designed particularly for English learners. Finally, learners may regularly watch television programs where they are exposed to extensive visual
contexts of utterances. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Conclusions
The conclusions of this study are specified into three parts as follows:
5.1.1 Difficulties Behind Nataia Segmental Phonemes
Commutation tests along with minimal set tests that the writer conducted to find the complete inventory of the vowel and consonant phonemes of the Nataia
have ended successfully. The tests, the data of which were taken both from Oko Utu research text and the lexicon of the present writer as a native
speaker of the language, have finally pointed out that Nataia possesses 11 vowel and 22 consonant phonemes.
Though it is already clear that the Nataia has 11 vowels, the present writer considers it necessary to provide a fresh description of the vowel phonemes of
the local language. The Nataia turns out to possess five short vowels, namely ɑ as in ame ‘father’, ɪ as in imu ‘heshe’, u as in uku ‘like’, e as in esa ‘one’, ᴐ as
in one ‘inside’ and the schwa ə as in ne ‘already’. In addition, the local language also has five long vowels which include a: as in rea ‘a kind of gourd’,
in contrast with its short counterpart ɑ as in re’a ‘coconut shell’, u: as in wau ‘smell’, in contrast with wa’u ‘get down’, i as in sai ‘who’, in contrast with sa’i
‘catch’, e: as in rae ‘a kind of tree’, as in contrast with ra’e ‘harvest’ of corn. In brief, Nataia has 11 vowels, consisting of five short vowels ɑ, ɪ, u, e, ᴐ
and their long counterparts ɑ:, i:, u:, e:, ᴐ:, plus the schwa ə. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
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Side by side the 11 vowels are 22 consonant phonemes of Nataia. The complete list of the consonant phonemes includes b as in bo’a ‘village’, p as in
pea ‘come’, d as in dia ‘here’, t as in ti’i ‘give’, m as in mosa ‘male’, n as in nuji ‘tell’, ŋ as in ngala ‘able’, f as in fonga ‘likel’, v as in vali ‘again’, s as in
sara ‘way’, z as in zili ‘down there’, k as in kai ‘go away’, g as in gila ‘look’, ɗ as in dheo ‘bring’, ß as in bholo ‘but’, ɣ as in ghewo ‘forget’, ğ as in
‘geo‘ shine’, r as in rimo ‘all’, l as in latu ‘exist’, j as in jo’a ‘let up’ of rain, h as in hoa ‘shout at’, ř as in rhui ‘meat’. In brief, the consonant phonemes of
the Nataia include: b, p, d, t, f, v, s,z, m, n,ŋ, k,g, l, r, ř, ɗ, ß, ɣ, ğ, h, and j.
It is easy to see from the list that Nataia has five characteristic consonant phonemes i.e., alveolar implosive ɗ, bilabial implosive ß, velar implosive ğ,
velar fricative ɣ, and alveolar fricative ř. These five characteristic consonant phonemes of Nataia are expected to increase the number of unique global
speech sounds. After talking at great length about the individual speech sounds of Nataia, it is
now time to discuss how these sounds are organized. It is common knowledge, though, that sounds are organized into syllables and syllables are organized into
words. The possible sequences of sounds in a syllable differ from language to language and are limited within each language Finegan, 2004, 126. Nataia allows
every one of its syllables to consist only of one consonant and one vowel CV or just one vowel V. In other words, every syllable and word of Nataia should end in a
vowel. Indeed, Nataia as a vocalic language does not permit its syllables and words to end in a consonant phoneme. Unfortunately, this very vocalic nature turns out to be
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the first potential stumbling block for a Nataia native speaker in learning English phonology. The reason is that English allows a huge number of its words to end a
in consonant phoneme. Thus, the English word royal, for example, has been borrowed by Nataia native speakers as roza ‘extravagant’, a form that obeys the
phonological rule of Nataia as a vocalic language. Additionally, the syllable structure of Nataia which has only CV and V turns
out to be the second potential trouble spot for Nataia native speakers in learning English phonology. The reason is that Nataia does not permit any consonant cluster
in the onset position of its words, whereas English allows various patterns of consonants C and vowels V such as CCVC speak and CCCVCCC squirts in
the initial position of its words Finegan, 2004: 127. Consequently, Nataia native speakers tend to reanalyze the onset consonant clusters such as [sp] in speak into
two separate syllables and pronounce the word as [sǝpi:k] instead of [spi:k], the standard British English BE pronunciation as shown in Hornby’s Oxford
Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English 1974.
5.1.2 English Segmental Phonemes with Potential Difficulties
Robert Lado 1981: 11 states “that there is an unbelievably strong force binding the phonemes of any language. Therefore, an adult speaker of one language
cannot easily pronounce language sounds of another, even though he or she has no speech defect. What is even more startling, he or she cannot easily hear language
sounds other than those of his or her native language even though he suffers no hearing defect”.
The convincing statement of Lado, a co-founder of CA, above may help one to understand why adult native speakers of Nataia find it difficult to pronounce and
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hear specific English sounds. Nataia native speakers tend to transfer the entire system of their language to the system of English. To put it more specifically,
Nataia native speakers tend to transfer to English their phonemes and their variants, their stress and rhythm patterns, etc. Even Nataia speakers who listen to English
do not actually hear the English phonemes but they hear the phonemes of their own language.
Fortunately, however, Nataia and English have a good number of similar segmental phonemes. Such similar phonemes do not really pose pronunciation
problems. However, a few English sounds that are not part of the sound system of Nataia prove to cause difficulties for Nataia native speakers learning English
phonology. After conducting a comparison and contrast of English and Nataia consonant segmental phonemes, the present writer found out that there are six
characteristic sounds of English which are absent from the inventory of Nataia. The six sounds i n c l u d e two interdentals i.e.,θ, ð, two fricatives i.e., ʃ, ʒ
and two affricates i.e., tʃ, and dʒ. These ‘unknown’ L2 sounds prove to be very difficult for L1 speakers to pronounce.
A small research on the pronunciations of two Nataia girls recently confirmed that the six specific sounds of English are really difficult for them to pronounce.
In an effort to get over the difficulty, they substituted the six sounds with the nearest sounds from their na t i v e language inventory. The result is that they
pronounced θ in the initial, medial, and final positions of a word as [t]. They pronounced ð in the initial and medial position of a word as d, and ð in the
final position as s. They pronounced ʃ in the initial, medial, and final positions of a word as sand ʒ in all the three positions as z. In all the three
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positions, tʃ is pronounced as c and dʒ as j. Th e Nataia L1 sounds which appear instead of the English sounds L2 are clear signs of the first
language interference. In conclusion, all the six specific segmental sounds of English as a group turn
out to be the third potential difficulties for Nataia speakers in learning English phonology.
5.1.3 Suprasegmental Phonemes with Potential Difficulties
Finally, big challenges for Nataia speakers in learning English phonology come from ‘stress and rhythm’ which are vital aspects of the
suprasegmental phonemes. Stress poses a big problem because in Nataia it is not phonemic i.e, it does not differentiate words. This is just to say that the meaning
of a word is not affected in any way by a stress assignment. On the opposite end, stress in English is to a limited extent phonemic i.e, it can differentiate words
Giegerich, 1992: 180. There are some pairs of English words such as differ and defer which are segmentally identical but distinct in meaning, owing to a difference
in stress placement. There are also a number of other words such as pervert and import where stress placement signals a different syntactic category.
When speaking English, Nataia speakers may not realize that different positions of stress may lead to different meanings. So they may assign the wrong
stress in words such as differ and defer, resulting in global errors which cause a problem of intelligibility. They may also assign the wrong stress on words such
as import which may cause a minor problem of ‘irritation or amusement’ and at the same time emphasize the foreign accent of non-native speakers.
