2
To
require
correct
English
pronunciation,
one
has
to
learn
phonology
which
is
known
as the study
of the
sound
patterns of
language
or the pronunciation pattern.
Stevick
(1978)
as
cited
by Pennington
(1996:02)
in
her
book
of
Phonology
in
English
Language
teaching:
An
International
Approach
observes that
"Pronunciation
is
the
primary
medium
through
which
we
bring
our
use
of
language
to
the
attention
of
other
people".
He
says
that
pronunciation
is a
main
tool
to
make
other
people
understand.
Therefore,
an
understanding
of
English
phonology
as
an
important
basis
is
required
to
have
if
we
want
to create
an effective
speaking.
Phonology
includes
two levels: segmental and supra-segmental.
Segmental
consists of
vowels and consonants
and
any
component
sounds
to
form
words. Supra
segmental consists of
duration,
rhythm,
stress,
and
intonation. From
four
of these
supra
segmental, stress
is one
of
the
biggest
problems
for
English
learners.
Most
of them
have
difficulty of knowing
where to
lay
the
stress
in
a
word. Kingdon
(1958) as
cited by
Mahandru
in Journal
of
English Language
Teaching
says that
"A
foreigner's
intelligibility
may
depend quite
as
much
on
correct stressing as
on
correct intonation".
Putting stress on
the
wrong syllable may
cause
confusion
.and
misunderstanding;
especially
it
happens
in word pairs
that are written
identically
without
clear context.
Here
is one of the examples
of
word stress
in word
pairs
of the
word "discount"
"discount". We can
see
the
difference
through
conversation between
2
people
which
the
context
is
not
clear.
A: What
do
you
want?
B:
discount.
In
this
conversation, the
use
of
stress
is really
important because
it
shows
its
meaning.
If B put stress on the
first
syllable,
then
he
means that
he
wants
to
get
a
discount.
The
word
"discount'
here
is
a
noun.
However,
if
the
stress is
on
the
second syllable, then
he
means
that
he
wants
to
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