Pronunciation problems In Iraqi Kurdistan

When someone wants to learn a new language, he/ she faces many challenges,
problems and difficulties. Of course, many problems can be felt in learning English
language particularly in the field of pronunciation, and these problems may vary from
one area or country to another since they are affected by some reasons such as how
much the speakers of that language are familiar with the English sounds and how
much the sounds or phonics in the first language are close to the target language
which is English. Here, one can focus on the problems of pronunciation in Iraqi
Kurdistan which is also called Southern Kurdistan. In which many problems can be
seen especially in the areas of the pronunciation of some certain sounds and in the
areas of stress and intonation as well.

First, one can feel some vivid problems and mistakes in someone's pronunciation of
certain sounds and words when tries to learn English language in Iraqi Kurdistan.
These problems can be because of the difference between English and Kurdish
phonics in which there are some sounds in English that do not exist in Kurdish
Language such as /θ/ sound in a word like "think", that a Kurdish speaker may
confuse it with /s/ sound so eventually pronouncing it like /sink/ in which causes a
vivid problem even in the meaning that apparently the two words have two different
meanings. Also, another sound like /ð/ that a Kurdish speaker may pronounce it
like /z/ sound that in a word like "that" a Kurdish speaker may pronounce it like /zat/.
There is also another problem which is pronouncing the single words in which most
of the problems are because the certain vowels or the spelling of the word that does
not match its pronunciation. Such as in the word "lady" a Kurdish speaker may
pronounce it like /ladi/ which is because of the fact that the speaker is depending on
the spelling. These problems can be sorted out by using tongue twisters or drilling
also showing the learners how to produce those sounds by using diagrams and
pictures.

The second main problem is in the area of stress and intonation. That a Kurdish
speaker when first learns English Language finds it hard to use intonations in a correct
form in order to convey the meaning effectively also to mix one's feelings and
purposes. But rather, they mostly focus on what do they want to say, how to choose
the correct word and also how to be accurate rather than how to use intonation in
order to make the speech more understandable. For this reason, many may sound
monotone which makes them sound unnatural. Another problem is in the area of
stress in which for the stress of the single words a Kurdish speaker may put stress on
unnecessary parts of a word and may eventually add an extra syllable. This case can
be found when pronouncing the suffix "s" in a word like "dogs" a Kurdish speaker
may pronounce it like /dogɪz/ rather than /dogz/ which makes it again sound
unnatural. These problems can be solved by continuous practice that a teacher can
provide such as making the students read a text with different statements and ask them
record their voice while trying to read them with correct intonation and stress of
course with providing some general rules about the two subjects that can guide the
students with making them be aware of the exceptions.

In summary, Kurdish learners just like any other learners of English language around
the world have some problems in pronunciation which the problems are whether
because of the differences in the phonics or the familiarity of the Kurdish speakers
with English language and culture, which affect the way someone pronounces a word
or sentence with using correct sound, intonation and stress which again affect the
message of the speech that the speaker wants to convey. Of course, these problems
can be solved whether by continuous practice in or outside class that makes the
students be familiar with their use gradually and naturally so they will be learnt
through their journey of learning English language.