M.A. (African Languages) / Correct pronunciation of a language is essential since deviations in pronunciation may change the meaning of a word or render it meaningless. This study investigates the pronunciation of Zulu, as second language, by English speaking learners. Similar deviations have been studied with reference to other languages and resulted in theories such as 'Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis', 'Markedness Differential Hypothesis', 'The Error Analysis', 'Autonomous System Analysis' and 'Inter language'. A brief discussion of this research creates the theoretical framework for this study. Differences in the orthography of Zulu and English seem to be problematic. In certain instances, English utilises a variety of letters to represent identical sounds in written form, whilst Zulu is phonetic. When comparing the pronunciation of vowels and consonants of Zulu and English, it is clear that learners find sounds with a similar pronunciation especially confusing. In addition to this, sounds foreign to English often cause problems. Possible reasons for replacement of Zulu sounds by that of English sounds are indicated by this dissertation. The conclusion of this dissertation is that second language Zulu educators should be aware of these possible pitfalls and affords it special attention in order to improve the quality of pronunciation amongst second language learners.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uj/uj:13274 |
| Date | 11 February 2015 |
| Creators | Ncobela, Nthombenhle Rosemary |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | University of Johannesburg |
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