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Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www.iiste.org

ISSN 2422-8435 An International Peer-reviewed Journal
Vol.25, 2016

Identification of the Problems of Saraiki Speakers of English in

the Production of English Vowels at Secondary Level
Prof.Dr.Abdul Ghafoor Awan
Dean, Faculty of Management and Social Sciences, Institute of Southern Punjab,Multan

Muhammad Tariq Ayoub,

Assistant Professor in English, Government College of Science, Multan-Pakistan

Saima Bashir
M.Phil English Scholar, Department of English Linguistics, Institute of Southern Punjab, Multan-Pakistan

Abstract
English language is an international language and has prestige to become common language for communicating
among different nations. It has more strength than other languages of the world. It is the native language of
United Kingdom as for as the pronunciation of English language is concerned, it plays very important role in
human communication and speech but pronunciation also creates problems for non-native speakers of English.
The pronunciation of English vowels creates a lot of problems for non-native speakers of English. This study
identifies the problems in producing English vowels by non-native speakers of English .This problem is due to
difference between spelling and pronunciation in this language. The learners of L2 are unaware to identify the
difference between spelling and pronunciation. One letter has different sounds in English language. The
research is conducted in the district of Multan (Pakistan) where most of the people speak saraiki language as
their mother tongue. It is believed that Pakistani learners especially saraiki learners of English face colossal
difficulties in the production of English vowels and the recognition of English vowel sounds because of the lack
of teachers‘ guidance, influence of mother tongue and inconsistency of English vowels. Pakistani institutions
neglect the importance of pronunciation. This research is conducted in Multan city and the researcher selected
fifty students of grade 9th and 10th from five different Govt. and private schools. From each school, ten sariaki
students were selected and female students from four private and Govt. schools and from one school male
students were selected .A list of one hundred words was prepared and words were selected from the textbooks of
grade 9th and 10th. In interview, these selected words are pronounced by the target students and their
pronunciation was recorded in CD and data is quantified and analyzed into percentage. Findings of this study
show that incorrect pronunciation by the students is due to the lack of teachers’ training, influence of mother
tongue, ineffective teaching methods, written language problems and improper guidance by the teachers and the
surroundings. This study also suggests some ways for improving pronunciation of English vowels.
Keywords: Siraiki language, pronunciation, English language, Vowels

1. INTRODUCTION
Language is a means of communication. There are so many languages in the world by which people
communicate with one another, English language is one of them and is considered as powerful language of the
world because it is the language of British colonizers when they ruled over the sub- continent. It is prestigious
language because of the language of the rulers. In Pakistan, it is used as medium of instruction because of the
Globalization, Language of science and technology.
In Pakistan the importance of English can’t be ignored but there are some other languages which are
spoken in different regions with their regional accents. According to Haycraft(1878) that different countries have
their own local languages which are understood and spoken by the people in their regions .One of the varieties of
Pakistani languages is saraiki which is spoken in central part of Pakistan, Shakle(1976).All languages have their
phonological systems and English language is one of them. It has segmental and supra segmental phonology.
This research is based on segmental phonology that are called phonemes. According to Jones (1979) that every
speech sound has one or two classes that are called consonants and vowels. The researcher discusses the vowel
phonemes of English language. Peter Roach (1997) defines, vowel sounds are those which are produce without
obstruction to the airflow while producing these sounds. The researcher identified the problems of the
pronunciation of English vowels by L2 learners. In Pakistan the main problem in the pronunciation of English
language emerges from the wrong pronunciation concept of English vowels that are spoken by saraiki speakers.
The basic need of knowing a language is to get expertise in communication that is area not fervently researched
in our country Pakistan because of the focus on writing and reading skills in schools and spoken skill is
considered as neglected skill in our institutions. Syllabi are not designed that emphasize on productive skills
because pronunciation of L2 has not importance in Pakistani educational institutions. Due to this the students
speak English language in alien dialect and accent. Teachers report that students have keen interest in learning

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Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www.iiste.org
ISSN 2422-8435 An International Peer-reviewed Journal
Vol.25, 2016

English language whenever they get a chance .If the learning resources are faulty, the students learn something
which is not correct .Due to this, resources must be carefully selected. It mustn’t be out of place to mention here
that like native speakers, fluency shouldn’t be the target for l2 learners. Jesry,(2005) defines that it is not
necessary to speak English language as native speaker but it should be well understood. Mother tongue always
influences the pronunciation of the target language. Saraiki language impinges upon English language when the
saraiki speakers speak English language, it can be observed that they belong to saraiki community. So learning
target should be based on comfortable communication between foreign learner and native speaker. Home
environment also plays very important role in learning L2 pronunciation if the learners can’t learn better
pronunciation of L2 from outside the classroom, the pronunciation that they learn, become part of their
vocabulary. Another notable thing is the inevitability of dialect variations of all languages of the world so which
dialect can be chosen for a particular group of students for teaching and learning and which model can be
selected that is recognized and standard. The model which is recommended by phoneticians and linguists is
Received Pronunciation that is abbreviated to RP. It is recognizable accent and often described as typically
British. It is associated with south east England .It is considered the best accent which is used by newscasters,
announcers and in all BBC channels and is used in pronouncing dictionaries and textbooks.

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The focus of this study is to analyze and identify the problems of Saraiki speakers of English in the production of
English vowels. The problem is that they don’t have awareness about the difference between spelling and
pronunciation. There is no logical link between phonology and orthography as such that can be exploited or
taught during oral language learning process. Henry Martin, (2006) says:
“English pronunciation is more negligent and slovenly than any other language in the world even in
Europe”. Vowels have several variations, for instance vowel letters “oo” wool, flood, fool, poor, floor are
represented by different phonemes and are pronounced differently. J.D.O’Connor,(1992)writes that it isn’t easy
in ordinary English spelling the letters stand for, for example, in the words, “business, city, happy luggage,
because”.The letters“u, i, y, a, e”stand for the same vowel sound which occurs in “wit”. Most of the sounds
correspond one vowel letter e.g. “up, busy, use,put,sure”, the same vowel letter stands for different vowel sounds.
Similarly in words“water /wᴐ:tǝ/, lazy /leızı/, land/lænd/, bath /ba:θ/, oral /ǝʊrǝl/”, the letter ‘a’ stands for
different vowel sounds. Another example of difference between spelling and pronunciation is in ‘i’ letter in the
words,“ time /taım/, fit /fıt/, police /pǝli:s/, birth /b3:θ/ , the letter stands for various vowel sounds. Walter
Ripman says that English spellings areunholy muddle in relation to English pronunciation. Pronunciation of
English languagepresents too much difficulty for Pakistani learners because it is not their native language. These
difficulties are created by the difference between English spelling and pronunciation in which one vowel sound
/i:/ has seven different vowel letters as in “feel /fi:l/, meal /mi:l/, believe /bıli:v/, scene /si:n/, conceive /kǝnsi:v/,
police/pǝli:s/”,Ahmed,(1968). Similarly vowel letters “ou” have various vowel sounds as “would /wʊd/, tough
/tʌf/, bough /baʊ/, youth /jʊ:θ/, colour/ kʌlǝ/, shoulder /ʃǝʊldǝ/, brought/brᴐ:t/, tour /tʊǝ/, sour /saʊǝ/. Muller
Max (1982) says that English spellings are national misfortune to England and international misfortune for rest
of the world ,these are un-teachable, unhistorical and unintelligible. Our school going students have strong
desire to learn English language but our evaluation system keeps the students pinned down on writing and
reading only. Here it’s the memorization which is the name of the game and students can’t afford to part with it.
They listen and read the mispronounced words right from their childhood so these words become part of their
vocabulary, they consider as standard pronunciation and they learn new English words from the teachers and
saraiki speaking people who are around them. For pronunciation purpose, they don’t take pains to consult
dictionary because they aren’t familiar with phonetic symbols used in dictionary.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW
In English language learning and teaching, pronunciation plays a vital role. But pronunciation creates problems
for foreign learners who speak other languages as mother tongue. The learners of English often confuse with the
pronunciation of English vowels. For this they cannot identify the correct pronunciation of English words. There
are twenty vowels in English language in which twelve are monohthongs and eight are diphthongs. Peter Roach
(1997) explains “vowel sounds are those which are produced without hindrance and obstruction to the airflow.
Dulahunty and Garvey (2004, p 8) explain that vowels are produced with an unobstructed, smooth airflow
through oral tract, by different oral cavity shapes; differences in vowel qualities are produced. In term of
articulation, the problem with vowel sounds is that they are hard to teach and learn since the sounds lack
precision with regard to the articulation of place and manner. According to O’ Grady, Dobrovolsky and Katamba
(1996, p.37) that vowel articulation is difficult since the vocal tract doesn’t experience the narrowing which is
the hallmark of consonant phonemes. Another problematic sounds for learners of English are diphthongs.
Baruach, T.C. (1988) English language are into pure vowels, in articulation of these vowels the position of Jaws,
lips and tongue don’t alter and in diphthongs there is a smooth glide from one position of sound to the other.

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Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www.iiste.org
ISSN 2422-8435 An International Peer-reviewed Journal
Vol.25, 2016

According to Crystal, (1995, P. 239) that in English diphthong, the first part is much louder and longer than the
second part. Alkhuli (1983) studied on the impact of system of sounds on pronunciation learning and showed the
major problem in learning and teaching of pronunciation of English is due to the difference of sound systems of
native and English languages. It means the speech organs are not habitual to produce such systems of sound
because these sounds are not familiar to the learners that is why they use closest sounds.
Kharma and Hajjaj (1989) identified two types of problems in vowels, first many diphthongs are
replaced by some other sounds because the interference of L1, second is the distinctions between various pair of
vowels. Bell, (1995) defined that in learning pronunciation, the difference between native language and foreign
language creates problems. Accordingly one of the hindrance for achieving acceptable pronunciation of English
language for most of the Arabic students is to know the differences between the structure of sounds of Arabic
and English.
Waengler (2009) provided information about English vowels that presents a lot of problems in
perception and articulation by Arabic learners. Vowels and near equivalent which are not found in modern
Arabic language are / ʌ /, / ɔ: / and / e /. The central vowels without or with / r / colouring are not found in
Arabic language. therefore / æ /, / a / variation or / u / are substituted for / ʌ /, (Val Barros, 2003). Linguistics and
researchers have connection with problems about the complexity of system of vowel sounds in English language
and inconsistency of their pronunciation. Cruttendon (1994) states that vowel sounds create problems for the
learners of English language because of their inconsistency for example ‘O’ letter in words like, hot, bosom,
come, hold, women, represents different vowel sounds as / b /, / ʊ /, / ʌ /, / əʊ / and / ı /. So the learners of
English who donot have mastery over pronunciation, these words will create problems for them.
Carter, Nunun (2001) reported that teachers must be aware about the difference between phonology and
orthography and enable the learners to predict the pronunciation of different words from the spelling of the
words. So if the students do not know the relationship between spelling and sound, they mispronounced the
words by looking at their spellings.
Swan and Smith (2001, P 279-294) identified the linguistic problems which the Indonesian learners of
English may face in using and learning English language are separated into three problems, phonological aspect,
social aspects and problems faced by the learners during the process of learning. Both have different
phonological aspects that create problems for students is due to the lack of knowledge about correct
pronunciation. Secondly, the sounds that are not exist in their mother tongue (Ramelan as cited in Puspita 2006,
P. 17) thirdly the spellings of Indonesian words are same as they are pronounced. So the problem of
pronunciation is because of spellings which does not match with pronunciation.
Zhao, (1995) presented a list of errors about consonants and vowels of English language which was
committed by Chinese learners from China. He believed that Chinese learners substitute the target sounds in
English that are not present in the phonology of Mandarin Chinese.
Chang (1987) also found that Chinese learners often confuse / I / with / i: /. It is because there is not
such type of discrimination in mandarin Chinese. Chang, (2000) had conducted experiment in the English
diphthong /el/ pronunciation by Chinese students. She got result that Chinese students have problems in the
pronunciation of English constitute the basic source of problems for Chinese learners.
Teng (2002) claimed that in speaking L2 it is possible for Chinese learners to have difficulties and
problems in discriminating as there is not a counterpart in Mandarin Chinese.
Jenkins (2011. P9) claimed that for non-native learners, it is not possible to pronounce like English
speakers but the non-native speakers must try to learn pronunciation which is comprehensible and
understandable for natives and non-natives. She noted that non-native learners must learn some phonemes and
some phonemes are not so important as others are.
Huq, (1990, P164) argued that most of the Bangladeshi People can write, read and understand English
but small number of people speak English comprehensively. They face problems due to the absence of some
English phonemes in Bangladeshi Phonemes, and because of historical and geographical differences.
Many studies had tried to provide insight into the main problems that Spanish learners of English face
and expose both differences and similarities in phonological systems of two languages. The studies indicated that
the Spanish learners of English face complex problems due to the differences between short and long vowels by
strut and schwa vowels and by diphthongs like /ʊə/ and /əʊ/, (Kenworthy 1987, Sanchez 1994, Alcaraz and
Moody 1999, Palacios 2000, Estebas, 2009).
Wang, (1997) observed that in Canada the native Chinese Learners had serious problems in producing
and perceiving English vowels.

3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Type of Research
This study is concerned to qualitative approach. A checklist has been drawn and one hundred words have been
selected from the textbooks of 9th and 10th classes and data has been recorded in the form of interview and

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Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www.iiste.org
ISSN 2422-8435 An International Peer-reviewed Journal
Vol.25, 2016

collected data has been quantified into percentage.

3.2 Rationale for the selection of words

Vowel sounds create a lot of problems. Our young learners face serious problems in the pronunciation of English
vowels. Some of the factors that contribute to Worsen the situation are:
Complexity of English Spellings
An alphabet in English has a multiplicity of sounds. Learners are affected by the confusing notorious nature
of spelling of English Language and this nature of spellings affects the students as well as teachers of L2.
Influence of L1
The phonological system of L1 affects the phonological system of L2. Because all languages have their own
phonological systems. This interference of L1 has a great impact on the pronunciation of English language.
Bad Examples to follow
Learning target language requires some level of imitation and B-F Skinner explained better to this part of
learning process. However, in learning English pronunciation, no one can deny the role of imitation. A lot of
words are mispronounced because their pronunciation is inherited from one generation to another.

3.3 HYPOTHESIS
Saraiki students of secondary level face colossal difficulty in pronunciation due to the poor concept about the
role of English vowels in pronunciation.

3.4 Mode of Data Collection

Different Schools of Multan (Pakistan) have been selected on the basis of purposive sampling and case study
methodology is employed to conduct this research work. Fifty students were selected from five different private
and government schools. Ten students have been selected from each school. One hundred words for twenty
vowel phonemes have been selected from the textbooks of 9th and 10th classes. The students have been asked to
read the selected words and data has been recorded in CD because recording is an appropriate mode for this
research work and in recording the pronunciation sample can be repeated so many times because this enables the
researcher to identify the errors committed by the learners.
Table 1. Word List
/I/ Mountain Women Enough Glitter Except
/e/ Sweat Bury Breakfast Preface Merry
/æ/ Natural Photostat Than Platform Balcony
/ʌ/ Dozen Onion Flourish Southern Monkey
/b/ Donkey Cough Photographer Wander Because
/ʊ/ Bosom Cuckoo Brooklet Soot Wool
/ə/ Police Agree Table Crucial Balloon
/i:/ Creature Evil Deceive Genius Immediate
/a:/ Spark Martyr Heart Clerk Laugh
/ɔ:/ Normal Call Law Sword Orbit
/ʊ:/ Ruin Truth Wound Flew Tomb
/ʒ:/ Firm Merge Search Chirp Purpose
/el/ Bathe Danger April Later Data
/al/ Idle Horizon Lively Trial Miserly
/ɔl/ Noise Oil Point Toy Choice
/aʊ/ Bough Flour Couch Plough Powder
/əʊ/ Moment Phone Own Woe Go
/iə/ Here Beard Fierce Mere Inferior
/eə/ Parents Aeroplane Dear Aware Scarce
/ʊə/ Gourd Fuel Pure Assure Moor

3.5 Delimitation of the Study

This study is delimited due to the shortage of time and resources.
1. This research has a limited scope of containing fifty students from five different schools.
2. This research has been conducted in city of Multan (Pakistan).
3. It is delimited to the students of secondary school only.
4. Girls and boys from five govt. and private schools have been included in this research work for the
collection of data.
5. Problems in the articulation of English vowels were brought under discussion.

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Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www.iiste.org
ISSN 2422-8435 An International Peer-reviewed Journal
Vol.25, 2016

6. English consonants have not been discussed in this research work.

7. On account of brevity, the function of organs of speech have not been explained completely.

4. DATA ANALYSIS
Table 2 Percentage of students’ incorrect articulation /I/
Mountain Women Enough Glitter Except
100% 100% 80% 10% 76%

/e/
Sweat Bury Breakfast Preface Merry
94% 100% 99% 100% 54%

/æ/
Natural Photostat Than Platform Balcony
22% 88% 72% 64% 78%

/ʌ/
Dozen Onion Flourish Southern Monkey
22% 88% 72% 64% 78%

/b/
Donkey Cough Photographer Wander Because
88% 86% 100% 94% 44%

/ʊ/
Bosom Cuckoo Brooklet Soot Wool
100% 36% 94% 98% 94%

/ə/
Police Agree Table Crucial Balloon
100% 100% 100% 100% 90%

/i:/
Creature Evil Deceive Genius Immediate
98% 84% 24% 60% 99%

/a:/
Spark Martyr Heart Clerk Laugh
100% 100% 100% 100% 50%

/ɔ:/
Normal Call Law Sword Orbit
100% 100% 100% 80% 100%

/ʊ:/
Ruin Truth Wound Flew Tomb
100% 96% 98% 100% 100%

/ʒ:/
Firm Merge Search Chirp Purpose
100% 100% 100% 100% 100%
/el/
Bathe Danger April Later Data
100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

/al/
Idle Horizon Lively Trial Miserly

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Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www.iiste.org
ISSN 2422-8435 An International Peer-reviewed Journal
Vol.25, 2016

18% 100% 68% 86% 78%

/ɔl/
Noise Oil Point Toy Choice
66% 36% 58% 70% 74%

/aʊ/
Bough Flour Couch Plough Powder
100% 100% 80% 100% 20%

/əʊ/
Moment Phone Own Woe Go
100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

/iə/
Here Beard Fierce Mere Inferior
100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

/eə/
Parents Aeroplane Dear Aware Scarce
100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

/ʊə/
Gourd Fuel Pure Assure Moor
100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

4.1 Students’ Problems in articulation

English vowels generally mispronounce by the foreign learners. Pakistani students also mispronounce English
vowels.
/I/ Vowel of English language is mispronounced by the target students. They use /e:/ Saraiki and /e/ RP vowel
sounds for selected words in place of /I/. They pronounce the word ‘Mountain’ as /maʊnte:n/, “Women” as
/wʊmen/, “Enough as /enʌf/, Glitter as /glaɪtə/, Except as /eksept/.
/e/ Sound is mispronounced in the selected words by the students. They use /i:/, / ʊ /, /e:/ and / æ / sounds in
place of /e/. They articulate the word sweat as /swi:t/, Bury as /bʊri/, Breakfast as /bre:kfa:st/, Preface as
/pri:fe:s/. Merry as /mæri/. They cannot identify the correct pronunciation of these words.
/æ/ Sound creates problems for the students. This sound is replaced by /e:/, /e/ and /a:/ sounds in the selected
words. The students pronounce the words Natural, Photostat, Platform by using /e:/ Saraiki phoneme as /ne:ʧrʌl /,
/ fɔ:tɔ:ste:t/, /Ple:tfa:m/. The words then and than is minimal pair and students use same /e/ vowel sound for both
of these words. The word Balcony is mispronounced by the students using /a:/ as /ba:lkʌni/. They have lack of
knowledge about the correct pronunciation of English vowels.
/ʌ/ Vowel sound is replaced by / ʊ / in the selected words. The participants pronounce this sound in the words
Dozen as /dɔ:zʌn/. Flourish as /flɔ:rıʃ/ southern as /saʊðən/, Bulk as / bulk/. They mispronounce because of the
lack of teachers’ guidance.
/b/ Sound is also a problematic sound for the students. In each selected word of this sound they use different
vowel sounds. / ʌ /, / ɔ:/, / æ / and /a:/ sounds are used in the selected words as Donkey as /dʌŋki/, cough as /kʌf/,
Photographer/ fɔ:tɔ:gra:fə/, wander as /wændə/, Because as /bıka:z/. The students listen these words from the
society and imitate them.
/ʊ/ Sound creates confusion for the students with /ʊ:/ long vowel because students consider ‘oo’ letters are used
for / ʊ: / long vowel but it’s not true. This sound is replaced by /ʊ:/ and /b/ sounds by the students. In the words,
Brooklet, wool, Soot are mispronounced by using /ʊ:/ sound. The word Bosom and Cuckoo are articulated as /
bƄsəm/ and / kʌkʊ /.
/ ə / Schwa sound also creates problem for the Saraiki learners. In the production of this sound, L1 influences it.
The words ‘Police” is Pronounced as /pɔ:li:s/ Agree as / ægri/ , Table as / te:bʌl/, crucial as /krʊ:ʃəl/, Balloon as /
bælʊ:n/.
/i:/ Long vowel creates problem with /ı/ sound in the word immediate as /ımıdıət/. the words creature, Evil,
Deceive and Genius are pronounced as /Krıe:ʧə/, /evıl/, /dısaıv/ and /dʒeniəs/. The students pronounced these
words with the spellings. They are unable to use appropriate vowel sound for them.
/a:/ in British English /r/ sound is not pronounced when it comes after a vowel sound. The students pronounce
the selected words as they are written, spark is pronounced as /spa:rk/, Martyr, as / mertər/, Heart as /hʌrt/, Clerk

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Journal of Literature, Languages and Linguistics www.iiste.org
ISSN 2422-8435 An International Peer-reviewed Journal
Vol.25, 2016

as / klʌrk/, Laugh as /lƄf/. /r/ sound is silent in all these words but students pronounce it.
/ɔ:/ is very much confusing for Pakistanis. The students pronounced the words Normal as /na:rməl/, orbit as /
a:rbit/ and /ьrbit/, Sword as /sɔ:rd/. The words ‘Call and Law’ are pronounced by using /a:/ sound as /ka:l/ and
/la:/. In the first three words, students use /r/ sound which is not pronounced in correct pronunciation.
Students face difficulty with /ʊ:/ sound. They use /ʊi/ sound in the word ruin as /rʊın/, /ʊ/ for truth as /trʊθ/, aʊ
for wound as /waʊnd/, / jʊ:/ for flew as /fljʊ:/. /Ƅ/ for Tomb as /tƄm/. They listen these words from the society
and imitate them.
All the assessed students mispronounce /ʒ:/ long vowel in the selected words because / ʒ:/ is replaced by /ʌr/ by
Pakistanis due to the influence of Urdu and Saraiki languages. The students pronounce /r/ with vowel. The word
Firm is pronounced as / firm/, chirp as /ʧırp/, Search as /sʌrʧ/, Purpose as / pʌrpəs/ and Merge as /mʌrdʒ/. These
words are articulated with the spellings.
/eı/ diphthong is problematic for Saraiki students. They use /e:/ vowel sound in place of this diphthong. In the
selected words of this sound have been mispronounced by all the students. The word ‘Bathe’ is mispronounced
due to the similarity with the word ‘Bath’ by using /a:/ sound. The words, Danger, Data, April, and Later are
mispronounced as /de:ndʒə/, /de:tə/, /e:prıl/ and /le:tə/. Some students pronounce for ‘April’ as /ʌpre:l/. Highly
educated Pakistanis tend to substitute /e:/ in place of /eı/.
Most of the students face problem in producing /aı/ sound. They utter /I/ short vowel for this diphthong and they
miss the first part of diphthong. The word Horizon is mispronounced due to the similarity with the word
“Horizontal’, ‘Lively’ to ‘Live’. They mispronounced as /hьrızʌn/, /lıvlı/ other selected words of this sound are
‘Miserly’ , ‘Idle’ and Trial are mispronounced as /mızəlı/, /ıdʌl/ and /tre:l/ by the assessed students due to the
lack of improper guidance.
/ɔı/ Sound also presents difficulty for our Matric level students. All the assessed Saraiki students face problem in
producing this sound but some students articulate it in a correct way. Some students mispronounce it by using a
new kind of triphthong as /ʊaı/ and /waı/ in all the selected words, Noise as /nʊaız/. oil as /ʊaıl/, Point as
/pwaınt/. Toy as /tʊaı/. Choice as /ʧwaıs/. This sound is present in Saraiki Vowel sounds but Saraiki learners can
not pronounce accurately.
/aʊ/ Sound creates the problems for Saraiki students. They utter / ɔ:/ and / ʌ / short and long vowel in place of
this diphthong. The selected words of this sound have been pronounced with these short and long vowels. The
words ‘Bough and Plough’ are pronounced as /bʌf/ and /plʌf/ because these words are similar to the word
‘Tough’ in spellings so the students use the / ʌ / sound. The words ‘Flour’ and ‘Couch’ have same vowel letters
and students pronounce them by using / ɔ: / sound. The word ‘Powder’ is pronounced as /pɔ:dər/ by them.
/əʊ/ Sound is very much confusing for all the students. They use / ʊ:/ and / ɔ:/ long vowels in place of it because
this diphthong is not present in Saraiki vowel sound that is why the students face a lot of problems in producing
this diphthong. They pronounce ‘moment’ as /mʊ:ment/, Phone as /f ɔ:n/, /fʊ:n/, woe as /wɔ:/, Own as /ɔ:n/, go
as /g ɔ:/.
/iə/ Sound also mispronounced by all the students because they use /r/ sound with this diphthong in the selected
words but some students pronounce this diphthong as /eə/ with /r/. They pronounce ‘Here as /heər/’, Beard as
/beərd/ Fierce as /fi:ərs/, Mere as /meər/ and Inferior as /infi:riər/.
/eə/ Diphthong has been mispronounced by the target students. They use /r/ sound with this but /r/ is not
pronounced in British English. They pronounce the words ‘parents as /pærənts/. Aeroplane as /ærəple:n/, Dear as
/deər/, Scarce as /Skeərs/, Bare as /Beər/.
/ʊə/ is also a confusing diphthong for the students. They mispronounce the selected words ‘Gourd as /gʊərd/ and
/gᴐ:rd, Fuel as /fjʊ:l/, Pure as /pjɔ:r/, Assure as / əfɔ:r/ and moor as /mʊ:r/. They mispronounce this sound
because of the improper guidance by the teachers as well as from surroundings.

5. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This study finds that the Saraiki learners of English face a lot of problems in producing English vowels.
Following are the major problems that the students face during the production of English vowels.

5.1 Writing Language Problem

In written form, English is not a phonetic language that the pronunciation of words is not the combination of
various letters constituting it. According to Saif-ul-Haq, (2000) that the spellings of English words are not sure
proof and guide to its pronunciation as those words haven’t phonetic principles. In English, words have different
spellings but same in pronunciation, e.g. Lead as/led/, (metal) and Lead/li:d/ (to show the way by going with it).
Another thing which is more troubling is that same letters of alphabets are articulated in different way. For
instance, ‘work’ as /w3:k/, and ‘Fork’ as /f ɔ:k/, ‘Said’ as /sed/ and ‘Aid’ as /eıd/.

5.2 Recognition of Vowels Sounds

Pakistani learners of English face problems in the recognition of vowel sounds. Daniel Jones, (1976) indicated

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Vol.25, 2016

that when the learners of L2 here various speech sounds occurring in the language, they can’t recognize these
sounds readily and certainty. For the students, English vowel letters are bewildering Phenomenon and they can’t
decide which sounds the letters stand for, e.g., the letter ‘a’ has different sounds in English and it stands for short,
long vowels and diphthongs e.g.
Table 3 Different speech sounds

Similarly the letter i,e,o,u are pronounced differently in different words which create problems for the students.

5.3 Structural Change of English

In our country Pakistan, the academic experience is deeply immersed in English language but still our students
even after fourteen years of rigorous education, fail to command the mastery of correct pronunciation of English.
The students often face pronunciation problem because the articulation of manner of same phoneme changes
with a very minute change in the structure of certain words. Most frequently, this problem is found when the
nouns become verbs and vice versa, for example:
Noun Verb
Bath / ba: θ / Bathe / beıð/
Cloth / klƄ θ / Clothe / kləʊð/
Breath / bre θ / Breathe / bri:ð/ etc.
Similarly a vowel sound changes when a monosyllabic word changes into disyllabic or polysyllabic word e.g.
South as southern, Break as Breakfast, Nature as natural etc.

5.4 Influence of L1
Phonological interference of mother tongue in learning L2 basically is because of interference of Phonemes of
mother tongue. These Phonemes create problems in learning L2 pronunciation and the recognition of the actual
words. The interference of L1 is very much common that speakers can’t deal successfully with pronunciation
problems. When we make comparison of the phonological systems of both languages, we know that there are
many sounds that are missing in English sound system and vice versa, for example, English sound /b/ as in ‘Nod’
that is not found in Saraiki phonemes. Tariq Rehman, (1990) writes, “The RP Vowels /b/ and /ɔ:/ are replaced by
/a:/ sound, the word ‘Ball’ as /ba:l/ and Normal as /na:rmʌl/. There is no diphthong in Saraiki which ends with
schwa sound. The diphthong/əʊ/ is not found in Saraiki and it is replaced by /ɔ:/ sound by them. They
mispronounce the words ‘Boast’ as /bɔ:st/. ‘Go’ as /g ɔ:/ and ‘Phone’ as /fɔ:n/. English sound /el/ is replaced by
/e:/ sound e.g. Take as /te:k/. Another diphthong which is not present in Saraiki phonemes, is /al/ sound and it is
replaced by / l / and / æ / sound. The words “time, lively and miserly” are pronounced as /tæm/, /lıvlı/, /Mızʌrlı/.
Another notable thing is that Saraiki students pronounce, Schwa /ə/ sound as /ʌ/, /a:/ and / æ /, for example,
/telpəl/ as /te:b ʌl/ as /te:bʌl/, /bəlʊ:n/ as /ba:lʊ:n/, /əgri:/ as / ægri:/. Their accent is also like native language
because L1 impacts on the accent of L2.

5.5 Teaching Methodology

In language classes, the classroom activities are monotonous and boring. The students are expected to learn
English through heavy and difficult literary text like essays, poems, stories etc. Among the learners, no attention
is paid to develop spoken skill. In Pakistani schools, there isn’t any concept of teaching English sounds like short,
long vowels and diphthongs. Teachers adopt GTM for teaching English this country which is a potent tool for
teaching written language. But its efficacy in teaching spoken English is extremely doubtful.
There is no use of A.V. Aids in Pakistani Institutions that’s why the students face a lot of problems in
differentiating the vowel sounds due to lack of knowledge about manner and place of articulation, position of
hard, soft palates, lips and tongue etc. Another constraints like, rigid system of examination, over large classes,
too little time for English, inadequate teaching environment and lack of professional training that compel the
teachers to ignore pronunciation.

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Vol.25, 2016

6. CONCLUSIONS:
The survey report makes the fact crystal clear that students’ pronunciation isn’t up to the mark and they face a lot
of problems in pronouncing English vowel sounds especially in producing diphthongs because in teaching
English language, pronunciation is neglected aspect. Therefore,teachers shouldn’t neglect the teaching of
pronunciation in their institutions for it is difficult to break the production habits of old sounds in place of new
ones. However, the teachers’ aim should not to teach English with native like pronunciation but focus should be
on intelligibility. To acquire the knowledge of English language pronunciation especially vowel sounds, teachers
must be knowN the mechanism and function of organs of speech like lips, tongue position etc and the basic
vowel sounds. Keeping in view the significance and importance of English pronunciation, the teachers must
bring change in their teaching methodology by introducing practice of pronunciation and activities in classrooms
now and then.
Teachers must make their students able to distinguish between various vowel sounds. So teachers’
pronunciation should be a model for the learners. He/she should take pains for improving his/her own
pronunciation and the learners should be encouraged to participate in different activities like Panel discussion,
debates etc. The home environment must provide correct English pronunciation to the learners. They must be
motivated by the people outside the classroom.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS:
This study suggested some ways to overcome the pronunciation problems.
1. It suggests that, there must be pronunciation lessons ranking the same as in the other skills, for example,
vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure to draw the students’ attention for the importance of
pronunciation in English learning.
2. Some drilling related to errors can be given to the students so they can be aware of their lips, mouth and
tongue position.
3. Teachers must draw the mouth diagrams while producing different sounds, this will show learners
particularly the manner and place of articulation as how and where different sounds are produced.
4. Use of A.V. Aids can help students in learning English pronunciation.
5. Students must be encouraged and motivated for using dictionaries to learn English pronunciation.
6. Phonetic transcription must be taught.
7. Reading aloud drills and imitation can be helpful for the students for improving pronunciation.
8. Teachers must have good knowledge of phonology and phonetics of English language.

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