T1__Full text Institutional Repository | Satya Wacana Christian University: Errors in Pronunciation of Consonants and Diphthongs by NonEd Students of Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana Coming From Javanese, Ambonese, Manadoneseupangnese and Bataknese T1 Fu

ERRORS IN PRONUNCIATION OF CONSONANTS AND
DIPHTHONGS BY NON-ED STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITAS
KRISTEN SATYA WACANA COMING FROM JAVANESE,
AMBONESE, MANADONESE, KUPANGNESE AND
BATAKNESE

THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan

Oktavianita Jeremi Dwiroro Poluan
112012088

ENGLISH TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM
FACULTY OF LANGUAGES AND ARTS
UNIVERSITAS KRISTEN SATYA WACANA
SALATIGA
2017
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Table of Content
Cover
Inside Cover…………………………………………………………………….......
Approval Page……………………………………………………………...............
Copyright Statement……………………………………………………………....
Table of Content…………………………………………………………………...
List of Tables……………………………………………………………………......
List of Figures………………………………………………………………….......
Thesis Body
Abstract…………………………………………………………………....................

A. Introduction……………………………………………………………….................
B. Literature Review……………………………………………………………...........
2.1. Theoretical Background
a. Sound of speech………………………………………………………….....
b. Influenced by mother tongue………………………………………….......
c. Influenced by accent……………………………………………………......
2.2. Previous Study……………………………………………………………..........
C. Methodology………………………………………………………………….....…...
3.1. Research Questions…………………………………………………………......
3.2. Context of the Study………………………………………………………........
3.3. Participants………………………………………………………………….....
3.4. Data Collection Instrument……………………………………………….......
3.5. Data Collection Procedure………………………………………………........
3.6. Data Analysis Procedure………………………………………………….......
D. Finding and Discussion………………………………………………………….....
a. The Pronunciation of [v] [f]………………………………………….......…...
b. The Pronunciation of [θ]  [t] and [Ø]……………………………………......
c. The Pronunciation of [ð] [d] and [t]…………………………………….........
d. The Pronunciation of [ʒ]  [dʒ], [ʃ], [g], and [j]…………………………........
e. The Pronunciation of [dʒ]  [g] and [j]…………………………………..........

f. The Pronunciation of [tʃ]  [c]……………………………………………........
g. The Pronunciation of [eɪ]  [e]…………………………………………….......
h. The Pronunciation of oʊ]  [αʊ], [o] and [α]……………………………........
E. Conclusion…………………………………………………………….....................
Acknowledgment……………………………………………………………….......
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F. References…………………………………………………………………….........
G. Appendix…………………………………………………………………………...

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List of Tables
Table 1. Percentage of Students’ Score…………………………………………...
Table 2. The Findings of Phonological Errors…………………………………...

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List of Figures
Figure 1. Sound of Speech…………………………………………………………..

Figure 2. The Position of Sound [v]………………………………………………...
Figure 3. The Finding of Sound [v]……………………………………………….
Figure 4. The Finding of Sound [θ]……………………………………………….
Figure 5. The Finding of Sound [ð]……………………………………………….
Figure 6. The Finding of Sound [ʒ]……………………………………………….
Figure 7.The FindingofSound [dʒ].……………………………………………….
Figure 8. The Finding of Sound [tʃ]………………………………………………
Figure 9. The Finding of Sound [eɪ]……………………………………………....
Figure 10. The Finding of Sound [oʊ]……………………………………………

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ERRORS IN PRONUNCIATION OF CONSONANTS AND
DIPHTHONGS BY NON-ED STUDENTS OF UNIVERSITAS
KRISTEN SATYA WACANA COMING FROM JAVANESE,
AMBONESE, MANADONESE, KUPANGNESE AND BATAKNESE
Oktavianita Jeremi Dwiroro Poluan
112012088

Abstract

Many people in the world use English as a second or foreign language to
communicate with other people. However, not all Indonesians use English as
a second or foreign language because they had some difficulties, particularly
pronunciation. This research aims to analyze the English phonological errors
of consonant and diphthong which cannot be found in Bahasa Indonesia, such
as consonants [v], [θ], [ð], [ʒ] , [dʒ] and [t∫] , and diphthongs [eɪ] and [oʊ] .
This research useda descriptive qualitative method. In this research, there
were 15 participants who come from different ethnics and faculties, except
Faculty of Languages and Arts. The data was collected by using a sound
recorder, then analyzed by native English teachers from the USA to identify
the accuracy in pronunciation, and what consonants and diphthongs which
often pronounced incorrectly. The result showed that the consonants and
diphthongs which produced by the students were inaccurate. There were 41.99%
out of 15 participants who could not pronounce the consonants and
diphthongs correctly. Students from Manadonese often made the errors
compared to other students from other ethnics. The common phonological
errors which produced by the participants were the sounds [ð], [θ], and [ʒ] in
consonants and the sound [oʊ] in diphthong. From those results,it shows that
their pronunciation was influenced by their accent and mother tongue.

Keywords: Pronunciation errors, consonants, diphthongs.

A. INTRODUCTION
The function of language is very important in communication to
facilitate people expressing what is in their mind, so in this case,
Indonesians should know how to speak English. English is the most
common language which studied and used as the second or foreign
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language by the language learners. According to Lanteigne (2006), the
goal of the language learners is to make sure that they can
communicate what they have in mind effectively; they have to be
understood when they are uttering the words. During the process of
learning English, pronunciation is very important. According to Baker
and Murphy (2011), acquiring pronunciation skills have proven to be
a vital part of every EFL learner's ability to communicate in English.
In Indonesia context, Mathew (2005) carried out research on the
mispronunciations of English consonants; voiced stops, voiceless stop,
sibilants, affricates and interdentals for learners whose first languages

are Indonesian, Gayo and Acehnese. Therefore, language learners
should pay more attention to the way they articulate the foreign words
because the precision in pronouncing words is very important.
According to Moeliono & Dardjowidjojo (2003) and Tiono &
Yostanto (2008)’s study, English sounds such as [v], [θ], [ð], [ʒ], [dʒ],
and [t∫] cannot be found in Indonesia language. Therefore, for
Indonesian people, they found some difficulties when pronouncing the
English word, because the phonetic between Bahasa Indonesia and
English are very different. In addition to consonant, for Indonesian
speaker, AGPS (1986) also mentioned that there are possibilities for
the learners to have problems in diphthongs which are not found in
Bahasa ɚndonesia: [ɪə], [ʊə], [eɪ], [eə], and [oʊ]. Alip (2007) points

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out that Indonesian speakers tend to pronounce English diphthongs in
a lax manner but diphthongs in English should be tense.
For these reasons, this study will be conducted at UKSW and it
focuses on two of the English phonology that is consonant ([v], [θ],
[ð], [ʒ], [dʒ] and [t∫]) and diphthong ([eɪ] and [oʊ])were chosen due to

their frequent use in English which cannot be found in Indonesian.
Therefore, by doing this study, the writer wants to identifythe
commonphonological errorswhich are produced by the students in
UKSW based on their ethnicity by investigating the accuracies and
inaccuracies of consonants and diphthongs. The error analysis in this
study will focus on the errors that students make. This can provide a
significant understanding into how a language is actually learned by
the students. It will also help the students to understand the
phonological differences between their first language (L1) and the
second language (L2) they wanted to achieve.
B. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1. Theoretical background
a. Sound of speech
Indonesia and English have a different phonetic system. As
Swan and Smith (2001) cited that English has 22 vowels and
diphthong, and 24 consonants whereas Indonesia has only 6 vowels
and 3 diphthongs, and 21consonants.University of Iowa has made a
website

about

American

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English

phonetic

(www.soundofspeech.uiowa.edu/english/english.html). In Figure 1
shows an animated articulatory diagram, a step-by-step description,
and video-audio of the sound spoken in context. The animated side
view of the mouth is particularly helpful for tongue placement and to
see the difference between nasal and non-nasal sounds.This project
was a collaborative effort of the Departments of Spanish and
Portuguese, German, Communication Sciences and Disorders, and
Information Technology Services at the University of Iowa.
Figure 1. Sound of Speech

For example, in Figure 2 shows how the website gave the

description the sound [v] step-by-step.

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Figure 2. The Position of Sound [v]

(a)

(b)

(d)

(c)

(e)

(a) The inner border of the lower lip contacts the upper teeth to
create a constriction, (b) the tongue position may vary depending on
phonetic context, (c) the vocal folds are adducted and vibrating, (d)
the velopharyngeal port is closed, and (e) air forced through the lower

lip and upper teeth constriction creates audible frictional turbulence.
This website is very useful for the learners who study about English
because they could learn how the tongue moves when it produced a
sound.
b. Influenced by the mother tongue
As Harmer (2001:26) said that pronunciation is the knowledge
of how to say a word – that is how to pronounce it. In this case,
pronunciation is very challenging for the second language learners to
deal with. According to Trudgill (1994), mother tongue very
influences the pronunciation of someone who practices English in oral
communication. They are difficult to master and change their
pronunciation because their dialect is very strong and influence their
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pronunciation. He stated that “where you from are, of course, will not
only thing which influences how you speak. In addition, people speak
different kinds of English depending on what kind of social
background they come from” (p. 2). Mostly, someone who learns a
language as mother tongue will pronounce it fluently.
Similar to Tominaga’s study (2009), teachers’ intervention also
influenced

students’

pronunciation.

The

SPL

(Successful

Pronunciation Learners) said teachers’ good pronunciation and
concrete guidance on pronunciation were quite beneficial. In this case,
teacher’s mother tongue or language background can influence the
students’ pronunciation. As cited in Jung (2010), said that:
“The influence of learners' mother tongue on their pronunciation
is not really stronger than on other areas of language use. The
most important thing is that evidently many students thought the
factors of comprehensibility were more difficult or significant
than those of intelligibility, so they need to know meaningful
communications are more important than such pronunciations.”
(p. 159)
Hence, Jung (2010)added that “miscommunications with people
from different countries may occur due to a variety of pronunciations
of English and different sounds and speech styles as well as wider
socio-cultural and pragmatic competence and general variables” (p.
159).
c. Influenced by the accent
An accent also influences the way they speak English because
Indonesia has many different languages. According to Crystal (2003),
an accent is the cumulative auditory effect of those features of
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pronunciation that identify where a person is from, regionally or
socially. Derwing & Munro (2005) also said that accentedness, a
“normal consequence of second language learning” (p. 383). ɚt means
that accent has an important role in influencing language learners’
pronunciation because their accent shows their identity. However, as a
language learner, the most important thing is as long as they can speak
English with a good pronunciation, the accent is not really needed.
Harmer (1991) said that good pronunciation is needed for this, but a
“perfect accent” is not.
Basically, the accent may identify the locality in which its
speakers reside, the socio-economic status of its speakers, their
ethnicity, their caste or social class, their first language, etc., and all of
them could influence people accent (Davies, 2007:43). Indeed, even
when listeners are unfamiliar with the language they are listening to,
they appear able to distinguish native from non-native speakers
(Major, 2007).
The accent is about pronunciation, while dialect is a board term
encompassing syntactic, morphological, and semantic properties as
well. Accents characteristically differ in quality of voice, the
pronunciation of vowels and consonants, stress, and prosody.
Although grammar, semantics, vocabulary and other language
characteristics often vary concurrently with accent, the word 'accent'
refers specifically to the differences in pronunciation, whereas the
word 'dialect' encompasses the broader set of linguistic differences.
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Often 'accent' is a subset of 'dialect' because each area must have a
way to read a different language, especially Indonesia.
2.2. Previous Study
Based on Hakim’s (2012) study of phonetics in English
pronunciation with Javanese students in STAIN Bengkulu discovered
that they were difficult to remove their Javanese accent when they
speak English. He found that 27 people or 90% of the total
respondents had difficulty in eliminating the suppression remedy
Javanese accent. They use stressing in some phonetics, such as: [b],
[d], [g], [j], [dʒ], and [ð]. Some word at that language generally said
with more heavy and that very influence to the way how they speak
especially in their pronunciation. For example, neng ndi (where is),
ojo (don’t), etc. This can occur because of differences due to the way

it produces the sound of phonetics.
Similar to Hakim (2012), Tiono & Yostanto (2008)’s study
stated that the students made phonological errors in all of the
pronunciation

of

the

six

English

consonantal

sounds.

The

phonological errors could be found in all three positions of
occurrences. Yet, it should also be noticed that although they made
those phonological errors, they still managed to pronounce some of
the words correctly every now and then.
Sumbayak’s (2009) study about diphthongs explained that
diphthong /eɪ/ seems to be more similar to diphthong /aɪ/ which is
used most frequently in Indonesian. In many cases, there are
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tendencies to substitute diphthong /aɪ/ to vowel /e/ or sometimes with
unclear /eɪ/. She said there were difficulties for Indonesian speakers to
pronounce English diphthongs /eɪ/ and /oʊ/ accurately. The ability to
pronounce diphthongs was influenced by English proficiency and the
use of English in the academic environment. Producing diphthongs in
careful style gave more opportunity for the participants to produce
accurate diphthongs rather than in semi-careful style.
Based on those previous studies, it can be concluded that the
students’ accent and mother tongue are stronger enough to influence
their pronunciation although some of them tried to eliminate the
accent. They found many difficulties when pronouncing the English
words because its consonants and diphthongs are not existed in
Bahasa Indonesia.
C. METHODOLOGY
The study was conducted using a descriptive qualitative research
method. The study aimed to investigate the accuracies and
inaccuracies of consonants [v], [θ], [ð], [ʒ], [dʒ], and [t∫], and
diphthongs [eɪ] and [oʊ]. The study compared five ethnics; Javanese,
Ambonese, Manadonese, Kupangnese, and Bataknese in Universitas
Kristen Satya Wacana. The participants of this study were the students
in UKSW from different ethnics in many faculties, except Faculty of
Languages and Arts.

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3.1. Research question
There are two research questions that were attempted to address
in the study:
1. Are the non-ED students of UKSW able to produce consonants
and diphthongs accurately?
2. What are the common phonological errors produced by
Universitas Kristen Satya Wacana’s (non-ED) students coming
from different ethnicities?
3.2. Context of the study
The study was done by involving students from many faculties
of UKSW Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia. The reason why the place
was chosen for the study was as follows: (1) UKSW has been famous
as “ɚndonesia Mini” where all of the students are coming from the
different ethnic group. It will help the writer to collect the data, (2) the
students were already taken or still taking English subject in UKSW,
and (3) the location was suitable and easy for the writer to access.
3.3. Participants
The participants come from different faculties and ethnics group.
The total of participants of UKSW is 15 students (3 students for each
ethnic) whohavestudied English around six - ten years or who are still
taking English course in UKSW and still using their mother tongue
whether Bahasa Indonesia or regional language for communicating.
The participants are randomly chosen without differentiating on

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gender. These participants have same language background to
communicate whether Bahasa Indonesia or regional language.
3.4. Data collection instruments
To collect the data, the writer interviewed the participants by
asking some questions about their language background then used a
text that consist of some sentences in English which would be read out
aloud by the participants and be recorded, thus the error could be
noticed easily later. There were three sentences for each consonant
and diphthong, and each sentence contained a word which consists of
sound that could not be found in the Indonesian phonetic system. This
was done to identify their English pronunciation errors affected by
their ethnicities. The expected error pronunciation had divided into
three positions. The first one is Initial Position (IP) where the expected
error pronunciation of the sound is in the front of the word,for
example, villa. The second is Medial Position (MP) where the
expected error pronunciation of the sound is in the middle of the word,
for example, clever. For the last is Final Position (FP) where the
expected error pronunciation of the sound is at the end of the word,for
example,give. A mobile phone with sound recorder application is used
to record the data. The writer used two native English teachers from
the United State of America as the rater to justify the consonants and
diphthongs because the writer wanted to focus on an American accent.

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3.5. Data collection procedure
After the writer found the participants, the writer interviewed
them about their language background; next, the writer gave the text
to the participants and asked them to read aloud the sentences in the
text naturally. The writer recorded the participants when reading the
sentences. The words in the sentences were mostly common words in
order to make the subjects feel more relax and unaware what words
are being analyzed.
There are 24 words which were analyzed by the writer and the
raters. A list of 24 words is given to the participants. Those words are
designed to diagnose pronunciation difficulties of the participants.
Based on participants’ language background their pronunciation errors
are diagnosed into three positions: initial position (IP), middle position
(MP) and final position (FP). Those words were adequate to diagnose
the participants’ pronunciation errors. The sound recording is
conducted individually in a quiet place and took approximately three
minutes for each participant. Each participant required reading the
sentences at a normal speed.
3.6. Data analysis procedure
After recording the participants while reading the sentences,
then the writer listened to it and analyzed their English pronunciation
with the raters from U.S.A. to justify the errors. The sound recording
replayed 2-3 times and the pronunciation errors werelisted down.
After listing down the errors, the explanation of the errors would
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usethe standpoint of English phonetic system from O’Grady,
Dobrovolsky & Katamba (1996) and the explanation of each sound
would use the application of Phonetic: The Sounds of American
English from the University of Iowa. The data wereexamined by using

the following larges of score based on descriptive qualitative
(Arikunto, 2006).
Where : P = The total of man score
: N = The total of Phonetics

P = F x 100
N

: F = The total of correct phonetics
After scoring the total of the deviations, according to Sukardi
(2004), the writer used the percentage of the students’ score from the
calculation would be consulted to the interval of five scale percentages
as below:
Table 1
Percentage of Students’ Score
Interval

Qualification

85 – 100

Very good

75 – 84

Good

60 – 74

Medium

40 – 59

Poor

0 – 39

Very poor

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That percentage of the qualification would show the errors
pronunciation which was produced by the participants and it could
help the writer to see how many errors of consonants and diphthongs
appear.
D. FINDING AND DISCUSSION
Generally, the result of this study shows the accuracy and
inaccuracy of the pronunciation which produced by the participants.
The finding on Table 2 (see attachment 1) showed that most of the
participants could not pronounce the consonants and diphthongs well.
Attachment 2-6 showed the analysis from the raters after listening to
the sound record. The findings below were grouped based on the six
consonantal sounds investigated in this study.
a. The Pronunciation of [v] [f]
Figure 3. The Finding of Sound [v]

The University of Iowa described the sound [v] as a voiced
labiodentals fricative. In Figure 3 showed that there were20 errors or
44.44% in different positions which produced by 15 participants. It
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also showed that Bataknese was the one who made many errors. They
replaced the sound [v] to [f], whereas the sound [f] is voiceless. They
felt difficult to eliminate their mother tongue. It happened as the study
from Moeliono & Dardjowodjojo and Tiono & Yostanto’s study that
the sound [v] is cannot be found in Indonesia phonetic system.
Based on the theory about mother tongue, Trudgill (1994) stated
people speak different kinds of English depending on what kind of
social background they come from (p.2). The errors happened because
their language background is different. Almost all of them are still
using their mother tongue for communicating that is why the errors
occurred. However, for Bataknese, it could happen because they felt
difficult to eliminate their accent.
From 15 participants, there were 55.56% could pronounce the
sound [v] correctly. They could regulate their tongue to right
movement of the lips and the air coming out of their lungs when this
sound produced. On the other hand, during the analysis of this study,
the raters found something unique that was sounded [fv]. This sound
was like a combining sound between sound [f] and [v], and it was
produced by one participant from Kupang in two positions. First, it
was produced like sound [f] but then, suddenly it changed to sound [v].
So, the participant pronounced the word “van” in the Initial Position
as a [fvæn] not [væn] and the word “develop” in the Middle Position
as a [dɪfveləp] not [dɪveləp]. However, this participant could
pronounce the word “give” as [gɪv] in the Final Position correctly.
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Therefore, from those three positions of the expected errors, the result
of the finding found that most of the participants pronounced the
sound [v] replaced to the sound [f], even though it has the same
manner and place of articulation with the sound [v].
b. The Pronunciation of [θ]  [t] and [Ø]
Figure 4. The Finding of Sound [ θ]

The University of Iowa described the sound [θ] as a voiceless
dental fricative. In Figure 4 showed that in the Initial Position, there
were 12 errors. In the Middle and Final Position, there were 14 errors
for each position. The total of the errors phonetic were 35 errors
or88.89% which is produced by 15 participants. From five ethnics
group, there was2 ethnics group (Ambonese and Bataknese) who
made the errors in every position. The result in Figure 4 showed that
there were 4 participants or 11.11% who could pronounce the sound in
different positions.
This result was very different than the sound [v]. Most of the
participants pronounced the sound [θ] as [t], whereas the sound [t] is

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described as a voiceless alveolar stop, which means the front and sides
of the tongue contact the alveolar ridge anteriorly and laterally. And
the velopharyngeal port is closed; even the manner and place are very
different with the sound [θ].
Based on the analysis, the raters found that the result was a little
bit confusing when the sound [θ] was not sounded or even faded,
which showed by purple color. It means that the participants did not
pronounce the sound and they skipped it. It happened when the
participants pronounced the word “monthly” in the Middle Position
(MP) which pronounces as [mʌnθli] but they pronounced it as [mʌnli].
However, the raters also found something unusual that was the sound
[θ] replaced to [θ/t], which means the sound was not sounded as [θ] or
[t] and it produced by one of the participants from Ambon. She
pronounced the sound [θ/t] in all of the three positions. It was a little
bit confusing because the sound was not sounded as [θ] or [t].
Moreover, the raters found something different. One of the
participants from Kupang pronounced the sound [θ] correctly, but the
sound was palatalized, which showed by yellow color. It means
thatthe body of the tongue is raised toward the hard palate during the
articulation of the consonant. And this participant also pronounced the
sound [θ] as [ð] in the Final Position.
Based on the result, it can be concluded that all of the
participants were influenced by their accent. According to Crystal
(2003), an accent is “the cumulative auditory effect of those features
27

of pronunciation that identify where a person is from, regionally or
socially” (p. 3). Their accent is strong enough to influence the way
they pronounced the English words. Most of them felt difficult to
eliminate their accent, because according to Davies (2007), an accent
may identify the locality in which its speakers reside. Therefore, when
they pronounced the word “think” in the Initial Position, it should be
pronounced as [θɪŋk] but they pronounced it as [tɪŋk]. In the Middle
Position, the word “monthly” should be pronounced as [mʌnθli] but
they pronounced it as [mʌnli] and [mʌntli], even not on both. And in
the Final Position, they pronounced the word “faith” as [feɪt] and
[feɪð], not [feɪθ].
c. The Pronunciation of [ð] [d] and [t]
Figure 5. The Finding of Sound [ð]

The University of Iowa described the sound [ð] as a voiced
dental fricative.The result of the finding showed that most of the
participants replaced the sound [ð] to [d].There were only 4
participants or 11.11% who could pronounce the sound [ð] correctly.

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The total of the errors phonetic was 40 or 88.89% of participants
could not pronounce it well. This result was similar to the sound [θ].
In Figure 5, most of the participants pronounced the sound [θ]
as [d]. In fact, the sound [d] is described as a voiced alveolar stop,
which means the front and sides of the tongue contact the alveolar
ridge anteriorly and laterally, and the velopharyngeal port is closed.
The sound [ð] which replaced to [d] almost happened to the Initial and
Middle Position. The word “there” which pronounces as [ðer] but
they pronounced it as [der] and the word “father” which pronounces
as [fαðer] but they pronounced it as [fαder]. ɚt happened because there
is no sound [ð] in Indonesia phonetic system. The raters also found
that they replaced the sound [ð] to [t]. It happened when they
pronounced the word “with” as [wɪt], whereas it should pronounce as
[wɪð]. Furthermore, from the result, the raters found something
different that was sound [θ]. One of the participants from Ambon
pronounced the sound [ð] as [θ] in the Final Position. Likewise, there
was one of the participants did not pronounce the sound [ð] in the
word “father” [fαðer], which means it was disappeared, which was
showed by purple color.
This case was same like the previous sound. The participants
made so many errors because their accent was strong enough to
influence their pronunciation. Accent refers to phonological variation,
for example, variation in pronunciation, thus, if we talk about a
southern accent, we are talking about the generalized property of
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English pronunciation in the southern part of the United States. Based
on Crystal (2003), an accent is “the cumulative auditory effect of
those features of pronunciation that identify where a person is from,
regionally or socially.” It means that when they pronounced the
English words, their accent could show their identity. For example,
Javanese, their accent was very strong because they used stressing in
some phonetics, such as: [b], [d], [g], [j], [dʒ] and [ð]. So, that is why
when they pronounced the word “there” which pronounces as [ðer]
but they pronounced it as [der]. The sound became heavier because
their accent is very thick. Therefore, based on the result it can be
concluded that Bataknese was the ethnic who made so many errors in
every position.
d. The Pronunciation of [ʒ]  [dʒ], [ʃ], [g], and [j]
Figure 6. The Finding of Sound [ ʒ]

The University of Iowa described the sound [ʒ] as a voiced
palatal fricative. From the result, it can be concluded that most of the
participants pronounced the sound [ʒ] as [dʒ], [ʃ], [g] and [j]. They

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almost pronounced the sound [ʒ] as [dʒ] to all of the three positions.
Like the word “genre” which is pronounced as [ʒα:nrə], but they
pronounced it as [dʒenrə]. Also, they pronounce the word “vision” as
[vɪʃən] not [vɪʒən]. Moreover, some of them pronounced the word
“genre” as [gα:nrə] and [jα:nrə], which means they replaced the
sound [ʒ] to [g] and [j]. It can be occurred due to the influence of
mother tongue. Their language background could influence the way
they speak and the process of learning English. As Trudgill (1994)
stated that “where you from are, of course, will not only thing which
influences how you speak. In addition, people speak different kinds of
English depending on what kind of social background they come from”
(p. 2).
ɚn this case, teacher’s language background could also influence
their pronunciation. As Tominaga’s (2009) study, the SPL (Successful
Pronunciation Learners) said teachers’ good pronunciation and
concrete guidance on pronunciation were quite beneficial. It means
that the teachers are the target of the students’ learning process. ɚf the
teachers have a good pronunciation in English, so are the students.
Based on the result in Figure 6, the raters found something interesting.
From 15 participants, there were some participants pronounced the
sound [ʒ] as [s] and [k]. The most interesting were when some of them
pronounced the sound as [ks]. Furthermore, when they pronounced the
sound [ʒ], 4 of 15 participants got some notes. The yellow color in
Figure 6 showed that there were two of the participants pronounced
31

the sound [ʒ] as [dʒ] and it was palatalized. The other two pronounced
it correctly but it was also palatalized.
The finding of the errors phonetic in this sound was very
interesting. According to Derwing & Munro (2005) said that
accentedness is a normal consequence of second language learning
(p.383). It means that even though they are trying to eliminate their
accent, but it still influence the way they pronounce the English word
and it was normal as second language learners. Therefore, this result
showed that from 15 or 26.67% of participants could pronounce the
sound [ʒ] correctly and 73.33% could not pronounce it well, which
means the entire ethnics group made the errors phonetic.
e. The Pronunciation of [dʒ]  [g] and [j]
Figure 7. The Finding of Sound [dʒ]

The University of Iowa described the sound [dʒ] as a voiced
palatal affricative. In Figure 7 showed that the total of the errors
phonetic was 13 or 28.89% of participants could not pronounce the

32

sounds correctly and there were 71.11% of participants could
pronounce this sound correctly. This result of the errors phonetic was
smaller than the previous sounds [v], [θ], [ð], and [ʒ]. It means that
almost all of the participants could eliminate their accent or mother
tongue.
Based on the analysis, the raters found that most of the errors
phonetic replaced the sound [dʒ] to [g] and [j]. The word “ginger” in
the Initial Position, which pronounces as [dʒɪndʒ ] but they
pronounced it as [gɪndʒər], even one of them pronounced it as [gɪngər].
The raters concluded that it happened because they might not familiar
with the word or they never heard this word yet. According to
Major(2007) said:“even when listeners are unfamiliar with the
language they are listening to, they appear able to distinguish native
from non-native speakers.”
Likewise, other participants replaced the sound [dʒ] to [j]. The
word “adjust” which pronounces as [ədʒʌst] but they pronounced it
as [əjʌst]. It seems like they pronounced that word accordance to the
letter. There are some interesting things found by the raters during the
process of analysis, i.e. one of them replaced the sound [dʒ] as [dØ].
This case was same like the sound [θ] and [ð]. At the first, the sound
pronounced as [d] but suddenly it was faded even other participants
did not pronounce the sound, which means she skipped it. On the
other hand, the most interesting thing was when the raters found one
of them pronounced the sound correctly but it was slightly moved
33

backward, which means that this participant pronounced it in the
opposite way. It was hard to understand why she pronounced the
sound on that way and this was the first time the raters found it. The
result showed that almost all of the correct pronunciations which
produced by the participants were palatalized. It means that the body
of the tongue is raised toward the hard palate during the articulation of
the consonant. Therefore, based on the result, it can be found that
Javanese and Manadonese could pronounce this sound correctly
without any influences.
f. The Pronunciation of [tʃ]  [c]
Figure 8. The Finding of Sound [tʃ]

The University of Iowa described the sound [tʃ] as a voiceless
palatal affricative even the manner and place of articulation are same
like the sound [dʒ]. The result showed that the total of the errors
phonetic was same like the sound [dʒ]. From five ethnics group, there
is only one ethnic (Javanese) who made one error. This was very

34

interesting because Javanese accent is very strong and heavy, but they
could eliminate their accent when they pronounced this sound.
Most of the error phonetic which is produced by the participants
was the sound [c]. There were 4 of 15 participants replaced the sound
[tʃ] to [c]. It is produced by Ambonese, Manadonese, and Kupangnese.
In Figure 8, the total of the errors phonetic was 13, which means there
were 28,89% of participants could not pronounce this sound correctly
and 71,11% could pronounce the sound correctly. The percentage was
same with the result of the sound [dʒ].
The result also found some of them pronounced the sound [tʃ] as
[s], [ʃ], [t] even [tØ] in different positions. In the Initial Position, the
word “champion” which pronounces as [tʃæmpiən] but they
pronounced it as [cæmpiən] even there was one who pronounced it as
[kæmpiən]. In the Middle Position, they also replaced the sound [tʃ] in
the word “teacher” [titʃ ] to [c] became [tic r]. In the Final Position,
the word “match” which pronounces as [mætʃ] but they pronounced it
as [mæts] and [mæʃ]. The most interesting were when one of them
pronounced it as [tØ] in the Final Position, which means the
participant skipped the last sound. It happened as the sound [dʒ], in
the same position.
As Indonesian, they might think that when they found the
alphabet ‘c’ it will be pronounced as ‘k’. ɚt means that they did not
think about the sound but the alphabet. This can happened because it
was influenced by so many aspects. As cited in Jung (2010) said that
35

students’ mother tongue is not really stronger to influence their
pronunciation but the factors of comprehensibility were more difficult.
Afterward, the raters found that some of the correct pronunciations
were also palatalized same as the sound [θ], [ʒ] and [dʒ].
g. The Pronunciation of [eɪ]  [e]
Figure 9. The Finding of Sound [eɪ]

The diphthong [eɪ] is a sound made by combining two vowels.
This diphthong is combining from vowel [e] and [ɪ]. Both sounds are
described as a monophthong front vowel. The description from the
University of Iowa described that the sound [e] is when the tongue is
positioned forward and high in the oral cavity with the sides in contact
with the teeth laterally and the tip positioned behind the lower teeth,
the mandible is elevated, the lips in this sound are unrounded, and
may be retracted, the vocal folds of this sound are adducted and
vibrating, and the velopharyngeal port is closed. On the other hand,
the sound [ɪ] is when the tongue is positioned forward and slightly
lower in the oral cavity than for [i], with the sides in contact with the
teeth laterally and the tip positioned behind the lower teeth, the

36

mandible is slightly lower than for [i], the lips in this sound are also
unrounded, the vocal folds are adducted and vibrating, and the
velopharyngeal port is closed.
Based on the result, there were 21 errors which produced by the
participants. It means that from 15 participants, there were 46.67%
could not pronounce the sound [eɪ] correctly, but there were 53.33%
could pronounce it well. From five ethnics group, there was oneethnic
who did not make the error that was Kupangnese. They were good in
pronouncing this sound. However, Ambonese and Bataknese were the
most ethnics who made the errors. In Figure 8 showed that almost all
of the participants replaced the sound [eɪ] to [e]. They pronounced the
word “gate” as [get] not [geɪt] in the Initial Position and the word
“obligation” as [obligeʃən] not [ɑːbləˈɡeɪʃən]. Interestingly, there
was one participant replaced the sound [eɪ] to [ ] became [g t] in the
Initial Position and “stay” as [st i] not [steɪ] in the Final Position.
The result showed that there was only one participant replaced
the sound [eɪ] to [eɪə] in the word “stay”. This was very interesting
finding because the raters might think that the participants were
pronounced the sound [eɪ] as [e] and not the other sounds. The raters
said that most of the participants were really good to pronounce the
diphthong [eɪ] correctly. The raters noted that when the participants
found the word with the end ‘y’, they will pronounce it as the sound
[eɪ], however, if there is no ‘y’, they will just pronounce as the sound
[e]. It can occur that their mother tongue was influenced their
37

pronunciation. As Trudgill (1994:2), said that mother tongue very
influences the pronunciation of someone who practices English in oral
communication. They are difficult to master and change their
pronunciation. That is why when they pronounced this sound, they felt
difficult how to pronounce it well.
h. The Pronunciation of [oʊ]  [αʊ], [o] and [α]
Figure 10. The Finding of Sound [oʊ]

The sound [oʊ] is a sound made by combining two vowels. This
diphthong is combining from vowel [o] and [ʊ]. Both sounds are in
the monophthong back vowel. The description from the University of
Iowa described that the sound [o] is when the tongue body is back but
lowers than [u], with the primary constriction in the pharyngeal region,
the mandible is slightly lowered, the lips in this sound are rounded and
protruded, the vocal folds of this sound are adducted and vibrating,
and the velopharyngeal port is closed, whereas the sound [ʊ] is when
the tongue body is back and elevated into a mid-high position with
contact against the upper molars, while the tongue root is not as
retracted as other back vowels, the mandible is elevated but may lower
38

slightly, the lips are usually rounded and protruded, the vocal folds are
adducted and vibrating, and the velopharyngeal port is closed.
Based on the result, in Figure 9 showed that the total of the
errors phonetic was 28 which produced by the participants. It means
that from 15 participants or 62.22% could not pronounce the sound
[oʊ] correctly, there were only 3778% could pronounce it well. In the
result, the raters found the common sound which replaced the sound
[oʊ] was the sound [αʊ] in the Initial and Final Position. However, in
the Initial Position, they have not replaced the sound [oʊ] to [αʊ], but
also the sound [o] and [α]. The word “owner” which pronounces as
[oʊn ], but they pronounced it as [αʊnər], [onər] and [αner].
The result also found some interesting things in the Middle
Position, some participants replaced the sound [oʊ] to [o], [α], [e], [ ]
and [ɔ], in the word “postponed” which pronounces as [poʊstpoʊnd]
but they pronounced it as [postponet], [postpαnd], [postpend],
[postp nd], even [postpnɔd]. The most interesting were when the
raters found there was only one participant from Kupangnese
pronounced the sound [oʊ] as [α] in all of the three positions, even she
made the sound slightly moved backward same as the finding in the
sound [dʒ]. Moreover, in the Final Position, the participants also
replaced the sound [oʊ] to [αʊ], [e], and [α]. The word “pillow”
which pronounces as [pɪloʊ] but they pronounced it as [pɪlαʊ], [pɪle],
and [pɪlα]. The result can be concluded that when the participants
found the word using ‘w’, they would pronounce it as [oʊ] but if they
39

did not find ‘w’ in the word, they would pronounce it as the other
sounds. This finding was unique and interesting because the finding
was out of the writer and raters’ expectation. If the listener also has
the

same

problem

in

the

language

background,

the

miscommunication would appear. As Jung (2010) said that
“miscommunications with people from different countries may occur
due to a variety of pronunciations of English and different sounds and
speech styles as well as wider socio-cultural and pragmatic
competence and general variables” (p. 159). It is because
pronunciation is the knowledge of how to say a word – that is how to
pronounce it (Harmer, 2001:26).It means that their behavior of using
their mother tongue and accent in communication also influenced the
way they utterance the English words.
E. CONCLUSION
The aims of this study are to identify the accuracy and
inaccuracy of non-ED students’ pronunciation and to find the common
phonological errors which are produced by the students in UKSW
based on their ethnicity. First, the finding showed that the 41.99% of
the participants could not produce the consonants and diphthong
accurately. They felt difficult to eliminate their accent and mother
tongue. Generally, students from Manadonese often made the errors
compared to other students from other ethnics. The result showed that
most of the participants were influenced by their accent.Second, the
finding showed that common phonological errors which produced by
40

the participants were the sounds [ð], [θ], and [ʒ] in consonants and the
sound [oʊ] in diphthong. Mostly, the hardest consonants that difficult
to pronounce are sounds [ð] and [θ]. From 15 participants, there were
only 11,11% could pronounce the sound [θ] and [ð]. Most of them
pronounced those consonants inaccurately.
Based on the result, almost all of them pronounced the sound [θ]
as [t] and the sound [ð] as [d]. Nevertheless, the easiest consonants
that can be pronounced by the participants were the sounds [dʒ] and
[tʃ]. The errors of both sounds were not more than 30%, which means
they could pronounce it well. And the difficult diphthong to
pronounce was the sound [oʊ]. Most of them pronounced it as [αʊ].
Therefore, this study can be concluded that less than 50% of the
participants could not pronounce the consonants and diphthongs
accurately.
This research is limited because it only used 15 participants and
it was conducted in a very short period of time. Therefore, the
researcher would suggest for other researcher can analyze the British
English phonological errors of consonants and vowels by using
around 30 participants from freshmen students in UKSW who are
coming from different ethnics group, such as Torajanese, Balinese,
Sumbanese, Sundanese, and Papuanese to find if the result is more
interesting than American English.

41

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to say thank you to God for His guidance during my
thesis. He gave me strength when I felt so depressed and lazy to do
my thesis. Without His guidance, I would not be able to finish my
thesis. I would like to give thanks to my advisor, Mrs. Rindang
Widiningrum, M.Hum for her guidance and valuable time to give
some advice. With her big guidance, I could accomplish this thesis. I
also would like to give thanks to my second reader, Mrs. FrancesL.
Sinanu, S.Pd for her suggestions. I would like to give big thanks to
my parents and brother who always support me in many aspects. Last,
I would like to give special thanks to my best partner, Sigit and all of
my friends, also my family in Linnaaw Student Center for their
support during the process of making the thesis.

42

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