17 which all decisions as to content and method are based on the learners reason for
learning p. 19. In brief, ESP is the use of a particular variety of English in a specific context of use and justified by the
learners’ needs. In this study, the learner is a Japanese singer who uses English for entertainment purposes since he has debuted
internationally. As the EFL speakers, they face problems in speaking English one of which is
pronunciation. Pronunciation problems appear because as EFL speakers, they do not use English as their first language in which they are not also accustomed to speak
English in their daily life. As a result, they cannot pronounce English words as perfect as the words in their language. Nation and Newton 2009 also stated that the EFL
speakers often have pronunciation problems in speaking English. The pronunciation of the speakers can be influenced by the first language of the speakers. As Nation
Newton 2009 stated that the research studies show many learners’ first language has
been the major influence when they produce English sounds. One evidence for this is where speakers of the same first language typically pronounce the second language in
the same way, making the same kinds of substitutions and patterns of pronunciation.
5. Japanese Phonology
In order to describe the pronunciation process of the Japanese singer in producing vowels including diphthongs and liquids, this research discusses the
explanation of Japanese phonology.
18
a. Vowels
Japanese language does not have many kinds of vowels like in English. It even does not have the diphthongs. Ohata 1994 stated in his journal that Japanese language
has only five vowels in its vowel inventory which are very different from English vowels containing fifteen different vowels, which include several diphthongs such as
aw, ay, and oy. The Japanese vowels are presented in Table 2.1.
Table 2.1. Japanese Vowels System
Front Central
Back High
i u
Mid e
o Low
a
In Japanese Vowels System table adapted from Okada 1991, a sounds like “cut” in English but with more slightly open mouth. i in Japanese sounds like “feet”
in English. Meanwhile u in Japanese, they pronounce it with the lips compressed toward each other but neither rounded like [u] nor spread to the sides like [
ɯ]. e in Japanese has the same sound as “set” in English. Finally o is somewhere between
“core” and “coke” in English.
b. Consonants
As in its vowels, Japanese consonants also have differences from English consonants. There are more consonants in English than in Japanese; f, v,
θ , ð, ʃ
19 ,
ʒ , ʧ, and ʤ do not exist in the Japanese consonantal system Avery Ehrlich, 1992; Kenworthy, 1987. The Japanese consonantal system is presented in Table 2.2.
Table 2.2 Japanese Consonantal System
Place and Manner of Articulation
Bilabial Alveolar
Alveopalatal Velar
Glottal Stops
Voiceless p
T k
Voiced b
D g
Fricatives Voiceless
S
Ҫ
h Voiced
Z Nasals
m n
Liquids approximants
r
Although Japanese has a liquid consonant as shown in Table 2.2, the liquid does not exactly sound like the English liquid r or l, but rather it is considered to be an in-
between sound of English r and l. The exact articulation point is not specified for the Japanese r sound. As Akamatsu 1997 stated, r is an apical postalveolar flap
undefined for laterality. Therefore, it is specified as neither a central nor a lateral flap, but may vary between the two which is similar to Korean r.
B. Theoretical Framework
As the framework of the theories, it sums up that the researcher uses five theories. The first is the phonological analysis theory from Veen and Mve 2010 including the
