ANALYISING THE COMMUNICATION PERFORMANCE OF UNDERGRADS IN ENGLISH DIPHTHONGS AND TRIPHTHONGS

Abstract

Phonetics and phonology are very important branches of English linguistics and most of the public and private sector universities in Pakistan teach this branch in their English-pertaining undergraduate academic programs, on the other hand, refined pronunciation in the English language is generally considered one of the key success aspects in the job market. Hence, the study aims to analyze the communicative performance of undergraduates with a major in English by highlight the the common mistakes of undergraduates in vowel sounds, and to underline the elements/factors responsible. The researchers involved 20 undergrads for pronunciation tests from both public and private sector universities. The findings show the common mistakes made by a large number of students in diphthongs and triphthongs are mixing monophthongs with diphthongs, disordering the phonemes in a word, omitting and adding unnecessary sounds. Based on the results of the pronunciation tests, the researchers highlight several factors accountable for mispronunciation such as insufficient knowledge of English phonology, different sound patterns, variances in orthography and phonology, lack of practice, less exposure of  the target language, mother tongue interference, lack self-confidence and interest, lack of academic and social opportunities. The study suggests strategies for teachers and students to overcome the aforementioned challenges to improve pronunciation.