Training the English language pronunciation of polylingual education in Kazakhstan

Абжамиева Гульназ Нурлыбеккызы
Магистрант кафедры Иностранных языков и перевода, Казахстан, Кызылорда
Кеншинбай Темирболат Ыбрайулы
Научный руководитель, доцент филологических наук, Казахстан, Кызылорда

«Training the English language pronunciation of polylingual education in Kazakhstan»
Abzhamiyeva Gulnaz Nurlybekkyzy
Master’s degree student, Kyzylorda State University after Korkyt Ata, Kazakhstan
KenshinbayTemirbolatUbraiuly
Professor of philological science, Kyzylorda State University after Korkyt Ata, Kazakhstan

Abstract: The article deals with the problem of teaching pronunciation of English in a comparative aspect with Russian and Kazakh languages. Comparative linguistic analysis contributes to the development of trilingualism in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Key words: English language, phonetic, pronunciation, trilingualism, polylingualism.

Learning English becomes very popular in Kazakhstan for children and adults. The number of hours of English is increasing in schools, colleges and universities, English is also widely developed in courses, in language centers and the tutor. How does English begin for students?

Many think that learning begins with words, phrases and stories from the picture. But in fact, immersion in English begins with the perception of the sounds of foreign speech, and then begins learning to pronounce the English language.

The purpose of this article is to consider some issues related to teaching the pronunciation of English in the comparative phonetic aspect of three unrelated languages. Comparison of pronunciation in different languages ​​can be applied to all units of phonetics: sounds, syllables, words, phrases, sentences. 

The object of technology in this case can be called exercises for training pronunciation of sounds and syllables of the English language, which include comparison of similar sounds. For example, in order to learn the interdental "c", students are invited to say such triads: sik - θik - tik, sin - θin - tin. [1, p.17].

The relevance of these exercises, adding to the English sounds, a comparison with Kazakh and Russian sounds is that they help to educate students in English pronunciation right now, when students in groups with Kazakh and Russian are studying in one of the exercises, and even in one group it is so , that some of the students speak Kazakh better, and some of them speak Russian. This entails a difference in their pronunciation on a foreign language and various typical errors. For example, when teaching students with the Kazakh language of teaching the German language, students well learn the pronunciation of a specific German sound [ü], since in Kazakh there is the same sound [ү], whereas for students with the Russian language of learning, the pronunciation of this sound requires additional efforts. Another example: in Russian the sound [x] is usually hard, so Russian-speaking students can easily pronounce English words, where the sounds [x] and [j] are always solid: join [dʒɔɪn, joine] (connect). In Kazakh, the sound [g] is hard and soft [2, p. 7]. Therefore, the students of the Kazakh branch often have an erroneous soft pronunciation of solid English sounds like [dʒ'øɪn ', jѐin] instead of [jojn].

The novelty of such exercises is that previously in the textbooks of the English language, the authors described only the pronunciation of English sounds. As an additional technique, sometimes similar Russian or Kazakh sounds are given. For example, the English deaf consonant is stronger than Russian [t] and is pronounced with aspiration [th] [1, p.14]. Another way to indicate is not the similarities, but the differences between the sounds of foreign and native languages. For example, unlike the Russian consonant [d], English [d] at the end of words is partially deafened [1, p.14].

Currently, in the framework of implementing the concept of foreign language education in the Republic of Kazakhstan, it is urgent to introduce an improved model for teaching languages ​​using differences between the sounds of unrelated languages, such as English, Kazakh and Russian. All educational literature is a practical course and begins with an introductory-corrective course, which describes the pronunciation of specific sounds, syllables, stress and other characteristic features of the language system, and are also given exercises for pronunciation training. We studied the introductory-corrective course in textbooks: verbal descriptions and exercises that help to put good pronunciation.

The following methods are used in the article:

- comparison of verbal descriptions and exercises for training pronunciation of the sounds of different languages;

- observation and analysis of typical mistakes of students in the course of teaching a practical English course at the university;

- experiments on the use of exercises that describe Kazakh sounds

To show the students their differences from English sounds.

The aim of this article is to develop this approach to the exercises on the pronunciation of English sounds, which will simultaneously involve all students in the learning process, as well as eliminate typical errors in their pronunciation. As an example, we offer you a few verbal descriptions and exercises for specific sounds of speech.

Consider, for example, the softening of consonants, described in detail in the textbook edited by Arakin V.D. in the following way:

- Palalization, or softening of consonants, arises under the influence of the following front row vowels (such as [and] and [e]).

- Palalization is created by raising the middle part of the tongue to the sky while pronouncing the consonants. This phenomenon is typical for Russian consonants and fulfills a meaningful function in the Russian language: mol - mol, bow - hatch, moat - rov, nov. In English, most consonants are pronounced without palatalization, firmly [1, p.15].

Students often mispronounce English words, softening consonants, between which are vowels of the front row (such as [and] and [e]). Therefore, we propose to supplement this description with the following table and comment:

Language	Example	Transcription*
English	Man	[mæn]
Russian	Обмен	[ʌбм‘ен]
Kazakh	Мен	[м‘ен‘]

* The apostrophe denotes the softening of consonants.

In this comparative table, the features of softening in different languages ​​are clearly visible:

- in the Kazakh language, consonants worth before and after a vowel [e];

- in the Russian language, only the consonant before the vowel [e] softens;

- English consonants are pronounced firmly, without mitigation.

Now let us turn to the pronunciation of the English sound [h] in the educational literature:

- [h] - a blind slotted pharyngeal consonant. When it is pronounced in the region of the word, an incomplete barrier forms between the root of the tongue and the back wall of the call. Language at the time of utterance [h] takes position for the subsequent vowel. The sound [h] occurs only before the vowel and by hearing is only an exhalation. When pronouncing the Russian [x], the back of the tongue is raised high to the soft palate. If a type [x] is to be weakened, the consonant should be weakened until a slight exhalation, preceding vowel [1, p.38].   

Students often mispronounce English words, instead of English [h] pronouncing a solid back-lingual Russian [x] or a back-slit Kazakh  [x].

Therefore, we propose to supplement this description with the following table and comment:

Language	Transcription	Example
English	[h]	have
Russian	[x]	хлеб
Kazakh	[x]	Гаухар, хат

 

In this comparative table, different kinds of sound [x] can be clearly seen in different languages:

- In the Kazakh and English languages, a dull sound is equally pronounced [h];

- The sound [x], which in Kazakh has the same sound as the Russian [x], is also a rear language, but this sound is a slit, i.e. when it is pronounced, the back part of the tongue rises to the sky, forming a gap through which the air stream leaves.

- In the flow of speech, the solid sound [x] is often replaced by a solid one [қ]: the word хат is often pronounced [қат], хабар - [қабар]. Own names beginning with the letter x in the Kazakh language have two variants of writing: Халима and Қалима. [2, p.34].

Thus, we compared some features of the English sound system, which are described in the modern educational literature and tried to show by examples examples of teaching pronunciation of the English language by comparing the differences in pronunciation of sounds in three languages: English, Russian and Kazakh.

The practical importance of these pronunciation recommendations is that teachers can use them in phonetics classes and practical English courses in carrying out phonetic exercises to eliminate typical pronunciation mistakes of students who contribute to the development of multilingualism in Kazakhstan.

References

1. Аракин В.Д. Практический курс английского языка. 1 курс. – М.:  1999, С. 14-17, 38.  
2. Кажбулатова  Л.С. Основы грамматики казахского языка. Пособие для начинающих. – Алматы, 2011. - С. 34.  

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