Of Spoken

A C O N T R A S T I V E STUDY of THE T O N G A AND EN G L I S H
SPOKEN
P H O N O L O G I C A L SYSTEMS IN R E L A T I O N TO THE P E R F O R M A N C E
A
OF SELECTED GROUPS OF T O N G A SPEAKERS'.
A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE. OF M. PHIL.
S C H O O L OF O R I E N T A L AND A F R ICAN STUDIES--
UN I V E R S I T Y OF LONDON..
JUNE, 1979.
By
ALICE K A T H L E E N MALILW.E MUDZI;.

ProQuest Number: 10731174
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS

The quality of this reproduction is d e p e n d e n t upon the quality of the copy subm itted.
In the unlikely e v e n t that the a u thor did not send a c o m p le te m anuscript

and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if m aterial had to be rem oved,
a n o te will ind ica te the deletion.
uest
ProQuest 10731174
Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). C opyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.
All rights reserved.

This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C o d e
M icroform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
ProQuest LLC.
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346
DEDICATION
To m y brothers- for sacrifices
m a d e on m y b e h a l f .
TABLE, OF ■■CONTENTS:
t. — Preface
ii - Acknowl edgements:
±±±. - List of phohetio symbols; and signs;

Eage_
Chapter ■' 1 ■ - introduction 1
■'SECTION■■1- .
Chapter .2 - A description ■of Tonga Sounds 6
i. Consonants- ■ 6
ii. Vowels; 20
ii.i. ■Syl 1abl e..Struc tu-re ■-26
iy , Consonant Clusters 27
. y, :Shprasegmental.features; ..33
'Chapter ■■ 3 '■ A description of English-Sounds;
i. Consonants; : 39
ii. Syllable. Structure. ■.52
iii.. Consonant Clusters; , 54
.iy. Vowels & Diphthongs ;.62
, y . .Suprasegmental features; 76
--SECTION-2 -•
. Pronunciation Performance.
Chapter - 4 .
■■ i. .English Consonants- 93
ii. English. Consonant Clusters; H 6

iii, English/Vowels; 126.
iy. English Suprasegmental.features: ‘ 145
■'SECTION-3 -• •
''Chapter --5-;- Discriminatory-.Perception & Performance.' '
i. Vowels- 166
ii. Consonants' .255

:t a b l e ;- op contents -■ CCont,;d.)
Page
iii..Conclusion ■ :266
Footnotes'
Appendix ■ 272
Bibliography^ 287
PREFACE
A number of books on Engli s h phonetics for foreign students haye
been written, equally a number of studies on the sound systems of the
Bantu Languages of Zambia haye been undertaken, bu t so far no systematic
contrastive study of any specific Bantu Language of Zambia and English, has
been undertaken, in a community where both English and the Bantu languages
pl a y such an important role in the lives of the people. Of particular
importance is the u s e made of E n g l i s h as a med i u m of instruction in
schools, and the fact that the future of eyery Zambian child lies largely
in his p erformance in the Engl i s h language both in the w r itten and
spoken aspect of it.
This wo r k is an attempt to study the spoken p e r f o rmance in the
English language o,f Tonga speaking children at two d i f ferent stages of
their education using a constrastiye study of the sound systems of the
two languages as a basis. The study aims at finding out firstly, how
far the spoken p e r f o rmance of the Tonga children diverges from that of
standard English, and whether the divergencies can be e x p l a i n e d in any
way by wha t happens in the two languages.
One aspect which this study pro p o s e s to deal with, wh i c h has not
been attempted so far by anyone, is an analysis of To n g a children's
performance in E n glish stress and intonation.

ii.. A C pJOWXiEDGEMEM’S-,
My sincere thanks* are due to m y supervisor Dr. Hazel Carter
who has helped m e in numerous ways during the writing of this- thesis
both at a professional and personal leyel.
M y thanks are also due to Professor Carnoclian, and Dr. H a yward
of the D e partment of Phonetics- and Linguistics, also, Dr. R. Serpell
of the Depar t m e n t of Psychology, Dr. D. Lehmann of the D e p a r t m e n t
of Education, Univer s i t y of Zambia, and Dr. J.M. Wil d i n g of the
Department of Psychology, Be dford College, for helping m e with
various aspects of this work.
I am also grateful to the teachers and H e admasters of Choma
Secondary School, and Nahumb a P r i m a r y School for allowing me to
work with their pupils and in so doing, u p s e t t i n g their normal
routine. M y thanks are no less due to the pupils themselves'
without whose co-operation, this study would not have b e e n possible.

i i i . Li s t of Phonetic Symbols and Signs
i: - En g l i s h y a r i e t y of cardinal vowel 1
i - Tonga y a r i e t y of cardinal vowel 1
i. - short ver s i o n of Tonga y a r i e t y of cardinal yowel 1
I - English, short front y owel
£ - English, y a r i e t y of cardinal vowel 3
e - Tonga yariety of cardinal yowel 2
c( - Tonga y a r i e t y of cardinal yowel 4
^ - English, short front yow.el
Cl ; - English, -yariety of cardinal y o w e l n o . 5
D - English, short back, yow.el
D ; - English, y a r i e t y of cardinal yow.el 6
0 - T o nga y a r i e t y of cardinal vowel 7
u: - English, y a r i e t y of cardinal y o w e l 8
n - Ton g a ya r i e t y of cardinal yowel 8
U - E n glish short ba c k yo w e l
^ : - English, long central yowel
^ - English, short central yowel
A - English, ope n central yow.el
P - yoiceless- b i l abial plosiye .-r— .1— . ; . ,L
t> — \je>ic— V*A©\Va»oi\ ^Yo&v\j« . — ~ ^
t - yoic e l e s s alyeolar plosiye
d - y o i c e d alyeolar plosiye
k - y o i c e l e s s yelar plosiye
g - y o i c e d y e l a r plosiye
j, ^ voiced pafeW plosive
tj - y o i c e l e s s p a latal affricate
d"^ - y o i c e d palatal affricate

- b i labial nasal
- alyeolar nasal
- palatal nasal
- vel a r nasal
- alyeolar lateral
- English, dark. 1
- alyeolar flap
- y o i c e d bilabial fricatiye
- y o iceless labio dental fricatiye
- y o i c e d labio dental fricatiye
- y o i c e l e s s dental fricatiye
- y o i c e d dental fricatiye
- yoiceless- alyeolar fricatiye
t- y o i c e d alyeolar fricatiye
- y o iceless palato alyeolar fricatiye
- y o i c e d palato alyeolar fricatiye
- yoic e l e s s pa latal fricatiye
- y o i c e d palatal fricatiye
- clustering of yoiceless alyeolar fricatiye + palatal

semi-yowel
- clustering of y o i c e d alyeolar fricatiye + palatal

semi-yowel
- y o i c e d yel a r fricatiye
- yoiceless glottal fricatiye + l a b ialization
- v o i c e d glottal fricatiye +■ l a b ialization
- yoiceless. glottal fricatiye +* labialization
- bilabial semi-yowel
- palatal semi-yowel
post-alyeolar f rictionless. continuant
/ - high, tone
^ - low tone
-\y
- nasalization e.g. : (^w.il
- centralization e.g. : (.1 ).

■£ more, c jfid-n Ll-ku f T ^
y _m u^de-cl iy\e\(,^ ^ w e ( no 7
- closer qualit y e.g. (el
: “ length, - e . g . (±:J
- half length, e.g. (i.X
C'J - m a i n stress on following syllable
m - En.4 of wo r d group with,close grammatical connection
- E n d of utterance
C » 1 - stresse^syllable
r ■7 - unstre s s e d syllable
I?] - falling head
- rising head
C* * H — r^.\môrcecS ConSonc\v>4.^^ L^P

CHAPT E R 1
I N T R O D U C T I O N :-
Zambia, like many of Britain ,:s former colonies, uses E n glish as a
medi u m of instruction in schools. Immediately after independence in
1964, Zambia decided to use English as a medium of instruction in all
schools from grade 1 to U niyers i t y leyel, The language situation
remained as such u n t i l this p o l i c y was reversed in the new educational
reforms p u t forward by the Government in 1975. In these reforms it was
suggested that English should be t aught as a subject in the first four
years of a c h ± l d l;s education. The me d i u m of instruction during these
years should be in the local language commonly used in a given area.
After the fourth grade, howeyer, English should be u s e d as the me d i u m of
instruction. Howeyer, at the time when the data for this study were
being collected, the education reforms on language use in schools had
not yet been implemented. The p r i m a r y school where some of the data
was collected, was still u s i n g the ol d system u nder w hich E n glish was
the m e d i u m of instruction from grade 1 upwards.
There is always controversy among Zambian educationists oyer, the
status of English in schools, and the threat it poses to the teaching
of local languages.. Some belieye t h a t it is p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y upsetting
for a child to receive instruction, and indeed his first reading lessons,
in a language hecan hardly un d e r s t a n d when he is starting school. This
group belieyes that this m i g h t haye adverse effects on the child s progress
at school. Others feel that since the child will haye to receiye
instruction in the English language at some stage in his education,
the sooner this is done the better. Others still, look a t the pro b l e m
as a competition between Engli s h and the local languages, and in a wider
sense, b etween w e s tern culture and the local culture. This group
believes that the special status accorded to English in schools,
p articularly und e r the 1965 policy, when English was us e d as a m edium
of instruction throughout the child's education, was a serious threat
to the p o sition of the local languages and the culture emb o d i e d in
them. Whatever the merits of each of these arguments, the main
p o i n t of interest for this study is that none of these opposing
groups offers any objection to the use of English as a m e d i u m of
instruction at some stage in the child^s education. Th e i r main area
of difference seems to be at w h a t stage this should happen, and how
much, time should be devoted to English, and to the local languages,
respectively.
This study makes no attempts to extol the merits o f any of these
Views. Our m a i n interest as far as this study is. c o n c erned is the
fact that English is, and will continue to be u s e d as a m e d i u m of
instruction in Zambian schools for a long time to come. It was on
this basis that this study was conceived and the. b e l i e f that such a study
wou l d be useful to Zambia for some time to come.
The work itself proposes to study the spoken p e rformance in the
English language of a group of Tonga speaking children at two different
stages in their education, and to determine how far their performance
diverges from standard English at a phonological level. This study
also hopes to establish whether there are any changes that take place
in the children's p ronunciatio n at each, of these stages in their
education.
3 -
The two stages of education chosen for this, study are grade 5
and form 3. The informants in grade 5 haye had four full years
of formal education, and are in their fifth, year. The informants
in form 3 haye h a d nine years of formal education and are in their
tenth. English has been u s e d as the medium of instruction
throughout the p e riod each informant has been in school. Informants
in grade 5 haye so far been taught by Zambian born teachers, while
informants in form 3 have been t aught by Zambian born teachers from
grades 1 to 7, and then by a mi x t u r e of Zambian and expatriate
teacher^ the latter m a inly from the U n i t e d States, from forms 1 to 3.
It was the intention of the writer to take one of the lower
grades i.e. grade 1 or 2 instead of grade 5 in order to assess
the methods u s e d to expose the child to the language he is about to
learn at the ve r y b e ginning of his education. However, it was
decided that it w o uld be difficult to collect mu c h in the way of
data with any of the lower grades within the time available to the
writer. Form 3 was chosen mainly because it is m i d w a y through
the secondary school system. This is the stage when children in
secondary schools write their first p u blic examination, the Junior
School Certificate Examination. Those who do well in this
examination p r o c e e d to the Ordinary leyel? those who do not, leave
school in search of jobs or training of some kind. This stage
therefore is interesting parti c u l a r l y as it concerns children in
that section of the school pop u l a t i o n who might have to leave
school after the Public Examination. It means that they ma y haye
to ma k e do with whatever skills in the spoken and written aspect
of the English language they m a y haye ma n a g e d to learn in the ten

- 4 -
years of formal education w i t h o u t any further help from a teacher.
Furthermore, whereas u p till now the written aspect of the language
has been the student'-s m a i n preoccupation, the importance of the
spoken a spect of the lan'gBtige becomes all too apparent as one
prepares to go 'job hunting'. The ability to speak in 'good' English
would no doubt create a favourable impression on the pro s p e c t i v e
employers.
The first section of this study is. a description of the sound
systems of En g l i s h and Tonga. It is h oped that the knowledge of the
sounds of the target language i.e. the language which the informants
are in the process of learning, as well as the sounds of the
language which the informants have already mastered, will be useful as
it will give us an idea of wh a t is going on in each language at the
p honetic and p honological level - and it mi g h t also help to explain
some of the diyergenc,';, from standard Eng l i s h we m i g h t encounter
in the informant performance. This p r o nunciation p e r f o r m a n c e is
based on a Reading Exercise which the informants u n d e r t o o k from two
grade 5 English readers.
The third section of this w o r k is an analysis of the responses
of the Tonga informants to an exercise designed to test their ability
n o t only to make an auditory distinction, b u t also to pronounce the
various English vowel sounds and consonants with adequate articulatory
distinction. The exercise is b ased on a tape-recorded list of
English words containing minimal pairs, triplets, and consonant
clusters, read out by an English speaker w hich was p l a y e d to the

_ 5 -
Tonga informants for repetition and their responses being tape-
recorded.
This exercise aims at establishing whether or not there would be
any significant difference in the pronunciation of E n g l i s h sounds by
the Tonga info.rmants, between this exercise where they haye to repeat
the sounds after a speaker of En g l i s h as first language and the first
8-xercise which is bas e d on their spontaneous speech.

6
SECTION 1 CH A P T E R 2
A DESCRIPTION OF TONGA SOUNDS
i. CONSONANTS
The Tonga language covers a group of dialepts spoken in the

it
southern p a r t of Zambia. A certain amount of v a r i a t i o n in
pronunciation, grammar and v o c a b u l a r y exists w ithin this area. In
addition to this there are the I L A , SALA and LENJE languages spoken
in the west, east and north of the To n g a speaking area respectively,
which have close affinities to it. In.this work the Tonga speaking
area will be divided into Nort h e r n and Southern Tonga. The p r esent
sketch of Tonga phonetics is ba s e d on the writer 's own speech which
for the purposes of this paper shall be classed under Southern Tonga
with notes on varieties which, differ from this.
Tonga uses 25 single consonant phonemes including the s e m i - v o w e l s ,
and these can. be grouped according to pl a c e and m anner of articulation.
The p l o s i v e s : plosive sounds are made by stopping the air stream
completely and then releasing the imprisoned air w hich escapes
through the mouth maki n g an explosive sound. There are six such
sounds in Tonga, viz:
P t k
b d g
The following words show their occurrence in initial and medial
positions:
dish out
kupinga to o b struct
sepa c si eye
- 7 -
/b/
,bbubba L b u b a -] struggle (physically)
kubbila ^JtubilaTJ to sink
bba steal
/t/
tukana l^tukana^] insult
butimba jj£utimba~l mud
ciloto a dream
/d/
delele Pdelele J okra
i_
m udima ymudima darkness
cilido |~tîlido J eating vessel
/k/
kamba pkamba clap
lukoma J^Lukoma^j d r inking vessel
kapuka |ltapuka^j an insect
/g/
Q ay a ^gajaj^ grind
mugomo [m ugomo J water container
cipego a gift
Kipegcd
Voiceless plosi'yes: The Tonga voiceless plosiyes bil a b i a l / p / ,
alveolar / t / and velar /k/ are pro d u c e d with slight aspiration.
Aspira t i o n is not a distinctive feature in Tonga therefore the
p r esence of it makes no semantic difference to lexical items. The
velar /k/ has an additional feature w hich it shares w i t h the voiced

plosives and that is that, it is 'reinforced! T hese plosives are
exploded in all p o s i t i o n s .
Voiced plosives: bilabial / b / f alveolar /d/, and yelar /g/,
The distinctive feature of the Tonga voiced pl o s i v e s is that
the effort p u t into p roducing the sounds is much greater than for
instance in the English voiced plosives and for this r eason these
consonants are referred to as 1r e i n f o r c e d . The T onga voiced
plosives are v o iced and exploded in all positions.
/j./ is a v o i c e d light palatal plosive which is p r o d u c e d b y 'the front

f
of the tongue m a k i n g contact against the hard palate. A c c o rding
to Dr. Carter's Chapter on Ton g a grammar, p. 4, this sound sometimes
occurs in free varia t i o n with the palatal fricatiye /j/ in some
people's speech. Both jhj and /j/ are absent in my speech; their
place being taken b y the voiceless affricate / t j /.^
Examples
cintu thing
buce w h e n it was dawn
A f f r i c a t e s :- An affricate is a consonant sound m a d e up of a sequence
of a p l o sive followed by a fricative. It is p r o d u c e d b y stopping the
air completely as if one is going to produce a plosive sound and
then opening the closure slightly so that the air causes friction.
The initial p l osive sound and the fricative which follows are made
nearly at the same place of articulation and are n o r mally both
v oiced or voiceless. Conseque n t l y an affricate sound can be made

wherever a plosive, is m a d o , and like plosives yoi c e l e s s affricates can
be as.pijated or u n a s p irated according to their phonolo g i c a l environment.
A f f r i c a t e s :-
cula frog
a coolwe with, luck
bwaca it is dawn
/0I5/
j ulu sky, heaven
kujata to hold
luja a horn
Fricatives: Fricatives are consonant sounds made by b r i n g i n g two
organs of speech close together leaving a narrow space b e tween them
through which, the air from the lungs escapes. T h e air causes
friction as it forces its way out through the n arrow passage.
T h e friction m a y or m a y not be accompanied by voice. T h e following
are the fricatives in T o n g a : —
Bilabial alveolar palato-alveolar palatal velar Lob\ojvz\c>r
y
of these only the following are in the w r i t e r ’s speech:-■ ifi,
/B/, / h w /,
occasio n a l l y J j/ as
v ariant of /hj/. / is' a v o i c e d bi-labial fricative p r o d u c e d by bringing
the two lips- together leaving a n arrow space through w h i c h the air passes.
It is sometimes ’h eardPweakly a rticulated / i / in free v a r i ation with the
fricative type in some people's speech. Jfi / can b e followed b y all
vowels. The following are examples of it occurring in initial and
medial positions-:
10 -
/p/
ben d a | ^ o c\ stalk
cibanda [thp.Sndla molar
kusiba Ikusifia { to whistle
Labio-yelar f r i c a f . i y e s /hw/ and /fiw/ involve two articulators.
The air is expelled from the lungs causing considerable p r e ssure
throughout the vocal tract. However, stricture occurs at the labial
and velar positions. The lips are rounded and the ba c k of the
tongue is raised towards the soft palate as in the p r o n u n c i a t i o n of
The / w / o f f —glide occurs more promin e n t l y wh e n the
following vowel is a front one. Both /hw/ and //Q,/ can be followed
by all vowels as in the following examples
/hw/
•f?winkaila^ Ljw ^ *3 ^ ^ ila*] sob
kufwel»a kuhwefta to smoke
simaafwa ^simaahwa an epilepi-tic
/ £w /
vwikila j~~fiwikila~~J bury
kuvwula j__kuliwula to be plentiful
kuvwola Qkufiwola to get paid
/s/, I'zj are alveolar fricatives pro d u c e d by the bl a d e of the tongue
maki n g contact with the alveolar ridge. The tongue is considerably
contracted .i.atera.lly and the pas,sage through which the air passes
is very narrow. The air causes friction between the tongue and the
alveolar ridge. The friction be i n g voiceless for /s/ and voiced for
/z/. Both /s/ and /z/ can be followed by all vowels and they can
- 11
both occur in initial and medial positions,. Th e following are
examples of this:-
/s/
Samba | s a m b a ’ll wash e
kusuma j" kus u m a ^ j to sew
busu [>usu Ma i z e flour
/z/
zanga jjzangaJ ridicule
muzoka j~muzoka~^ b i g snake
bwizu ^wizu grass
;.Phoneme has the following variants

& 3 ' L? jl a n d l H 3 for
class 5 nouns and verb radicals before yowel /i/ in C^. pos i t i o n as
in the following e x a m p l e s :-
isumo Jj IsuijkTJ îsjumo^ ^hjumeQ a spear
siba jjBijSeTj jjsjipa^J j~hjiâ^J whistle (verb)
similarly /z / phoneme has the following variants: JjL jz.j and

/ •i
Jij under the same phonologic a l conditions as those for /§/ for
example:-
izuba Q - zuâJ |îzju|&a sun
zimba [zimba £zjimba^j jlrj Imba swell
In the writer's own speech oa and and and [fijj are in
free variation in the above m e n t i o n e d conditions/ wh i l e for other
people all the variants listed above are dialectal pronunci a t i o n s
of the /S/ and /Z/ phonemes in the same p h onological conditions.

- 12 -
Alveolar and p a latal fricatives
There are three pairs of fricatives made in the r egion between
the alyeolvw; and the hard palate — [s jând \lz and
and jlfijJ *which are dialectal pronunciations of thejhj j and phonemes
Basically each dialect uses a dif f e r e n t pair, thus £sjjand |z;fjtend
to be associated with southern T onga Qij^jandîjJwith northern Tonga
a n d Q j m d £ 3 ] with b o t h southern and northern Tonga wh i c h has had
some influences from the neighbouring ILA Language to the West.
However, this is an area of pho n o l o g y in which great y a riety and
overlapping exists. My own idiolect with influences from southern
and west shows / h j / and /fij/ w i t h occasionally / J / in certain words
as a va r i a n t offhjjQ*
The yari.ety and overlapping referred to aboye is sometimes
reflected in the orthography. It is not uncommon to find the
sounds [sj^J , [jhj^J ,j^ j| and j"J , , /^3_] reP r e s e n ted o r thographi-
cally as ■csyând z.zy'T"respectively in one book, and a s < s h 7 and ZLzh'T'
in another. Howeyer, the Zambian Languages (Orthography booklet,
p r oduced by the M i nistry of Ed u c ation in 1975 r e commended the use
of i s y 7 to represent the voiceless members of this group and 7zy7 ,
the voiced ones respectively.
- /& j/ and /Sj/ are essentially a sequence of an alveolar
fricative and palatal Semivowel. The tongue is in a position for
isl or jz/j, from this position it is raised towards the hard palate
to produce a j glide. Friction is produced in the alveolar region
and is voiceless for / s j / and voiced for /zj/.

- 13 -
These two sounds are dialectal variants of /hj/ and /fij/ and /S/
and /z/ in class 5 nouns and v e r b radicals in position, b efore
vowel /i/. Examples of this have be e n cited under /£/ and /z/.
/ J / and /^ / are .palato-alveolar fricatives made by the front
pa r t of the tongue approaching the area b e tween the teeth
ridge and the hard palate. Friction is produced in the region
between the hard p a late and the a l v e o l e k and is v o i c eless for
/S / and voiced for /j^ /. These sounds are normally dialectal
variants of /hj./ and /hj/, /sj/ and /zj/ and are used mainly
in the western pa r t of the Tonga speaking area. The shape o f the
lips for / _f / and / ^ / is d etermined by the v owels wh i c h follow,
normally it is spread for front vowels and rounded for back
vowels. Both /J" / and / can be followed by all vowels
and they can occur in all positions. The following are such
examples:
/J'/
iSyuumbwa ( J um bya'J lion
(jijumbâJ lion
[sjumb^cT] lion
ûsyanga [k u ja ^ g a " ] to sow
[ k u h j a ^ g a -] to sow
j j a i s ja r jg a j to sow
W
Uyana
& ana] dance
j j i j ana"J dance
j z ja n a ^ J dance
- 14 -
,/Z / -
Kuzyondola |jtugondola_j to give a
Qcufijondola^J love potion
|jcuz jondola^J to someone
/hj/ and /fij/ are palatal fricatives made toy rai s i n g the front
of the tongue till it is near the hard palate. T h e sound wh i c h results
is accompanied toy cavity friction and is voiceless for /hj/ and
voiced for /fTj/. The shape of the lips is conditioned toy the
following vowel, spread for front vowels and rounded for back vowels.
Both /hj/ and /faj/ can toe followed by all vowels and they can
occur in bo t h positions as demonstrated b e l o w : -
Aj / /£j/
-syupa [hjupal -zyula l^fijula~j
be troublesome up root
kusyanga (jtuhjarjgaTJj kuzyingaila [hufi j»^gaila"]
to sow to roll up
kusyiima j^kuhji\na~3 -touzya [jSufija^]
to be sulky ask
Velar fricatives:^ Tonga has one velar fricative, voi c e d hi,

w hich is A b s e n t in the writer's own speech, its p l a c e being taken
by the velar plosive j k j . A c c o r d i n g to Wa r d and W e s t e r m a n n , a velar

fricative is articulated by the back of the tongue near the v e l u m
or soft palate.
kana jjhnaJ a small child
kala small intestine

i > ia 3
contrast
Kkala [jcalaj sit down
komana j j r otianaj g e t finished
contrast
* 't
|(komana komana 1 be h a p p y .
Voiceless glottal fricative /h/ is produced by a sudden expulsion
of air from the lungs. Fricti o n occurs between the op e n vocal cords.
15 -
This is a sound m a i n l y found in people's names in To n g a and in a few
cases it functions as another v a r i a n t of /h j / / sj/ or /§/. Its
voiced counterpart [ \^,j is even rarer, being found only in in t e r
jections. /h/ is found only in initial pos i t i o n and only front yowel
/ 61 / can come after it except in one isolated case shown below
/h/
haanene |~haanene "3 grandfather
1^sjaanene3 grandfather
[hjaanene^l grandfather
hena , jjienaZI 0 que s t i o n tag
Gena3 J
/£/
haneu ^Fianeu
This is an expression us e d as a command to stop the ox e n m o v i n g when

ploughing.
hiiya jjfiiija
This is used to express the sensation caused by cold water on one's

body.
Nasals: In the formation of all kinds of nasal consonants, the air
is prevented from going through the mo u t h by a stop a t some point. The
difference between one nasal consonant and another is in the po i n t at
which the m o u t h passage is stopped. There are four vo i c e d nasal
consonants in Tonga distinguis e d from each other b y their p lace of
articulation.
Bilabial nasal / m / : The m o u t h passage is stopped by the closure
of the lips, the soft palate b e i n g lowered, the air goes out through
the nasal c a v i t y .
Alveolar nasal /n/: The tongue forms a closure with the teeth
ridge and the soft pala t e is lowered allowing the air to go through the
nose.
Palatal nasal The mo u t h p a ssage is stopped by the closure
between the centre of the tongue and the hard palate. The soft
palate being lowered, the air goes through the nose. In addition to
the single palatal nasal sound M ' there is also a con s o n a n t cluster
16. -
n+j=/njy spelt in .the same way as the single sound in To n g a orthography,

The consonant cloister sound is rather rare and I can think of only
two rather objectionable words in w h i c h it is u s e d in free variation
wi t h the palatal nasal, viz:
Kunya . [jcu j^kunja^j to empty o n e 's

bowels
nyo f m a l e or female
organ
V elar nasal /*j /: The mouth, passage is stopped b y the closure
between the back of the tongue and the velum, the soft pa l a t e is
lowered letting the air pass through, the nose.
The bilabial, alveolar and palatal nasals can be followed b y all
yowels, b u t the v e l a r nasal can only be followed b y /a/, /o/ and /u/
b u t not by /i/ and /e/. T h e shape of the lips in all four nasals is
determined b y adjacent sounds, particu l a r l y by the following vowel,
thus lips are spread when the following vowel is a front one and
rounded for back vowels as follows:
M
•-atama j^matama"3 cheeks
munseme Qmunseme^j ma t
mizimo QnizimrQ spirits
/n/
- nana [_nana3 apply cream o n body
- nika [nika] soap
- nununa ^nununa 1 saye (life)
7V
n handa rv\ anda ~3 house
i►!
inhonzi j^j o n z i j sleep
inhunzu [Uûnzuj impetuosity
</*7
-nyamuka
r
1 bamukaj ”1 stand u p
kunyema £kuj®ema^ to be angry
buunyu meanness
Lateral c o n s o n a n t s : Lateral consonants are m a d e by stopping
air passage in the m i ddle of the m o u t h and allowing it to go ou t

- 17 -
both sides of the tongue. The p o s i t i o n of the tip of the tongue
determines their place of articulation, thus the tip of the tongue
could be on the teeth ridge, teeth or hard palate giving an alyeolar,
dental or„palatal lateral r e s p e c t i v e l y ,
There is one voiced alveolar lateral in Tonga, / / /. This sound
is sometimes flapped / / / i.e., pro d u c e d by the tip of the tongue
making a single tap on the alveolar ridge, the side rims m aking a light
contact with the upper molars. These two occur in free var i a t i o n in
the speech of some people. / [ / can be followed by all vowels and can
occur in both positions as in the following examples:-
1L/
-lala J^lala^) lie down
mali mo n e y
lubono £luôno"J wealth
Semivowels /j/ and /w/: Se m i —vowels can be d e s cribed as having
characteristics of both a vowel and a consonant. W e s t e r m a n n and Ward
state that a semi—vowel is an independent vowel glide in wh i c h the
tongue starts from the pos i t i o n of a close or (half close) vowel such
as N H (or H and immediately moves to some mo r e open

position, i.e., to that of a vowel of greater sonority than itself.
Thus /w/ is the semi-yowel beginning from t h e jvtj or Joj pos i t i o n an<A
/y/, the semi-vowel from t h e ^ y or Jej position.
Tonga has both the phlatal /j/ and labio-velar /w/ semi-vowels
as shown in the following:
/j/
kuyaka y p u ja k e T ] b u ild
-y e e k a Q je e k a J b re a th
-yum una jfjjumuna^J c a rry
/w /
—w a a la J jvaala J th r o w
mawezo jjnaw ezo]J s h o u ld e :

rv —i
L: - ’’:SJ
- 18 -
The semivowel ,/w/ has the allophones L r l ,W and in the
following e n v i r o n m e n t s :-
Iwf — ? | V* 3 ? e *-9 * ibbwe ^ i b V e^ “ stone

/ / b/_j M ubwa înupya^J dog
/w/ .— ^ ^ j J p/ e.g. kupwa Qaipxa^j a game
/$/ __^ £- -j j '/ h y e.g. Mwana jmâna^j a child
i.e. /w/ is realised as a voice d yelar nasal after v o i c e d bilabial
nasal.
CONSONANTS WITH SPECIAL FEATURES
A number of Tonga consonants haye additional features apart from
those indicated in their description. The following consonants are
designated as 'geminate 1 as well as '-reinforced1, four from the
plosive group, the A f f r i c a t e pa i r and the v o i c e d alveolar fricatiye:
b d k g
-tj ol3
These consonants are considered ' g e minate 1 bec a u s e the duration of
contact b e tween the articulatory organs lasts longer du r i n g their
produc t i o n than it does for other consonants, ' r e i n f o r c e d 1, because
the effort p u t into the produ c t i o n of these consonants is much greater
than in other consonants.
Besides the above features, some consonants seem to b e accompanied
with additional breath during their p roduction and this articulation
is sometimes referred to as mur m u r or breathy voice. This has an
effect upon the p i t c h of the previous syllable and so these
consonants are also known as ' d e p r essors1. The following are the
consonants wit h this feature:
b d 9
dj^ z lij liw
- 19 -
TONGA SINGLE CONSONANTS
t-4
p (d
rti ■P
t~4 t—! (d
id O H
-p o id P
C >■ PM rd
ii W P H I H
rd v id p a)
‘H I i
—i r4 f cd i—1 >i r-4
fd o o ■H (ti id
5 4-> 0) O ■P P o +»
H
*H ■i o
a
0) 3 «s
i-H
a)
>•
(d
r-4
id
(d
r4
(U
■H ■p
O
PQ cd H •3 r-4
ft pfl PM > PI O
P lo s iv e
■b d
Nasal
Fricative !
h] £>)
Affricative
Lateral
Flapped
&mi~yowel
u>
l) Note - /J'" / and / are dialectal variations
of / / and //Ti / - see page 12.
2) /£/ is a n allophone of /£ /
- 20 -
iii. TONGA VOWELS
TONGA VOWELS IN RELATION TO CARDINAL VOWELS
*c*
U "
O-
There are five vowels in Tonga. There is no vowel length
distinction as found in some languagesr nor are there any diphthongs
such as. found in English. Two adjacent vowel letters - same or
dif ferent— represent different syllables +/i/or / w I

ri r -r between
them.
e.g. Lnti-jinga*^]
Q j l te- jente
C sumajika^]
tatawula^]
If the second yowel is /i/ or / e / , the glide is towards / j / , and

if the second vowel is /o/ or /u/, then the glide is towards /w/ as
- 21 -
the following d e m o n s t r a t e s :
Mateu j~matewu 3 leaves

maunda j^mawunda'J heaps
muo ^muwo 1 wind
mainza [jnajinza J rain season
inkoe JjLrjkoje 3 eyelash
Tonga front yowel / i / : The front of the tongue is raised to
close front position with lips spread. The muscles of the tongue are
tense, while its sides make;, light contact with the u pper molars. This
Tonga y o wel is slightly lower than the cardinal y owel 0 1 ■ A /
occurs after all consonants except the velar p l o sives /k/,/g/ unless
they are in a cluster wi t h nasal / / or in c o mbination wi t h a semi

vowel /w/.
Examples follow:
bbila Jlsila J sink, go o u t of view
yalila JTjalila J spread for
gwitingana j^gwi tir^gana^j be busy

kwika [kwika fit a handle onto
inkila [ii'jkila'^j drown
angila tie for
Tonga front vowel /e/: The front pa r t of the tongue is raised to
a p o sit ion between half close and half open, the lips are spread and
wider apart than for /i/. The quality is between that of cardinal
vowels jê J and ) . This vowel occurs after every consonant except
velar p l osive /g/ unless it is in a cluster with semi-vowel /w/ or
nasal
The following are examples of t h i s :
macece childishness
-beja ‘ lie
idelele okra
mungenyu dip
gwenuna open suddenly

Tonga front yowel / a / : The front p a r t of the tongue is raised to
an open position. The mouth is more open than for /e/ wi t h considerable
opening of the jaws. No contact is made between tongue and upper
molars. The quality is near to that of cardinal vowel but slightly
retracted. This vowel occurs after all consonants' as in the following
examples:
i nhanda ] I ^ ej ir\c\ a house
-jala close
inyama C f p6( ^ a n meat
-sabila m a k e noise for
Tonga back yow e l / o / : The b a c k of the tongue is r a ised to a
position between half close and half open with m e d i u m close lip
rounding. No contact is made between sides of the tongue and the
upper molars. The quality is be tween cardinal yowels [[pQand . /o/
occurs after all consonants as in the following e x a m p l e s :
-gobola C 3 ° £ o \ < 0 chop
-fwooma * d hiss
— syonda c\c\*3 crash
moomo ^ \ bone m a r r o w
L m o f t m o J
Tonga back yowel / u / ; The b a c k of the tongue is ra i s e d to a
slightly less, close p o sition than for cardinal yowel ) u . There
is slight contact between the tongue and the upper molars, and the
lips are closely rounded. The quality isnear to that of a slightly
lowered cardinal yowel Qu d • • / v occurs after all consonants
as in the following e x a m p l e s :
izuba the sun
yanuna 1 ~ A Ci ry vji m take w a shing off the

line
- 23 -
m a buyu L. tn 3 “J b aobab fruit
inhunzu ^ i ^ vo “z-U*] impetuosity
N a s a l i s e d yowels,: It has been noted by Dr. Hazel C a rter in her
An outline of Tonga grammar page 7 that the language has nasalised
yowels before certain consonants. Thus the combination <f/mf ^~7 j hw
as in the word imfula-/ is not a clustering of bilabial nasal /m/
and voiceless labio dental fricatiye /f j , b u t a nasalisation
of the p r eceding y o wel / i / and the fricatiye consonant /hw/ i.e.,
j'^/hwula'J . This means that any of the above described yowels
can be nasalised if it p recedes one of the nasalised consonants. For
a full list of such, consonants refer to page29.
W ord-final y o w e l s : There is a tendency for the yowels to have a
more open quality at the end of the word than anywhere else. Perhaps
the m o s t striking example is in the following words where the vowel
/u/ has strong L°2 like character:
aboobu j~ $ £ O O p U J and as such
/e/ has a strong like quality in the
following:
ndime L rtc3Urv\ e. \ it's me
/i/ has a strong {j5 ] like quality in the
following:
£imaubi \__Siirnaupi ^ name of a village
Vowel c h a n g e : Vowels change regularly within a w o r d and at word

/*
juncture,. These changes take pl a c e when vowels are j u x t aposed at morpheme
boundaries, e.g., p r efix + n astem; infinitive + v radical. The

- 24 -
following are some of the changes w hich take place:-
(i) i/u+V "becomes Sv+W - contraction to semi-vowel and
doubling of v o w e l .
ft* Prefix stem
i + a yaa mi-ayi Jjnjaa j i\ yawns
mi-ak a Qnjaaka^ years
mi-anda j^mjaanda^ h u ndreds
i + e yee mi-endo |mjeendo[ legs
mi-ezi [mjeezi} m o n t h s
infinitive + K_ArJUt
kuli-ela jjkuljeela] to measure

on eself
i + o yoo kuli-olola ^kuljoololajj to stretch

oneself
kuli-onyaonya [kul j ooJ^SiJ^to -Peighn si i
i + u yuu mi -un d a [mjuunda] fields
mi-u n g u
-teuu^ P umP k ^ n s
kuli-uma [kuljuuraajto beat ones
u + e wee ku-enda jjkweendaj to wa l k
ku-ena jlcweena^ to scrutinize
bu-ele scabies
u + i wii ku-ita jkwiita] to call
lu-imbo [lwiimbof a song
ku-idb< jjcwiida] to get burnt

(of meat)
u + a waa ku-anga jjcwaav^^to tie
i jlwaanoja story
lu-ano
tu-ambo jtwaamboj sayings

- 25 -
ii) Regressive a s s i milation:-
u + o oo ku-ola jfk o o la \ t o cool
m u -o fu [jnoohvmâ b l i n d p e r s o n
a + o -oo ba-ofu |^ o o h w u ] t h e b l i n d
£jJb a~o n a jtjioonajthe sleeping
a + e ee ba-enzu jj^ e e n z u j v i s t o r s
b a-e m p a jTêempaj t h e y h av e l e a r n t
a le s s o n
A n alternative analysis for what I haye shown here as Regressive
assimilation has been s u g g e s t e d , for u-t-0,this is on same basis as the
previous one, C o n t r action to semi vowel + v owel doubling to - woo
with subsequent deletion of the w i.e. u + o 9 woo - mu>eofu moofu,
The assimilation approach however seems simpler (one-step process)
and perhaps justifiable in v i e w of the unambiguous assimil at i o n for
a-fo , a*[ie.
It should be remembered that as stated on page Xb two vowels
form the nuclues of two distinct s y l l a b l e s .

- 26 -
iv. Syllable structure
The following syllabic structural patterns are found in Tonga:
v u - you
uli - you are
cv pen. - no
CCV ^ jwi - word

mpu - boil
cc£v ndyu - a type of mus h r o o m
nswi - fish
C lustering is limited to the patterns described on page 17 . There are

4 >
no long yowels in Tonga as noted on page 20, the wo r d naa - whether
consists of 2 s y l l a b l e s . Non-phonemic lengthening m a y occur in
shouting e.g.
-Koboolal - cornel
b ut
Kobool^-dt come 1 (shouted)
and in some ideophones:

Kumuna kut»wi-i-il. - being absolutely silent.
Kutontola kuti siko-o-o being freezing cold. But these are
restricted contexts, and in consequence the pattern C V : is not classed
as a basic structure.
As shown by the examples, morjsyllabic words are p e r m i t t e d in Tonga,
b u t there are no 'closed syllab l e s ’ i .e . ending with, a consonant.
Syllabic segmentation of polysyllabic words will always r esult in
open syllables e.g.
i) i-ndya glutton
ii). i-mpa-nda ' - for. (ed stick
iii) i-mpwi-zyi a cow
iy) i-ndo-ngwe groundnuts
y). nda-ka-mwi-n - I sang for him

mbila
vi) ku-dwa-nta-u-kci - to jump about
This constitutes one of the major differences b e t w e e n Tonga and
E nglish phonology.
50 *T3 M
3 ft cr X
o o p
3 '
X)
rT
w
o
H p
pi cr o tr ft
p i o p ft in
Ip r3n 13 3 H- p
m cr
ft
r-t o ft
tor cr x Hj fD
p
lZ i CD £. p
L-J cn n p o x
cr <—
*
P>
cr
n S. o
c+
p p ’ p
H* era rt
p
O 
3
p
in
P
in pr
3 cr p P ft
rt t—
CP
p ft
CP
cf n
P n
o
n
o
cr X
p-
o
p
o p p o z
C/3
P in in p
r-t- o o 1-3 rt o
in o
cr rt p p
p
in z
ft
3
t—-
p
p
P
p era >
rt p cr z
LZ -
p rt
ra*
3 3 3 5 5
?r 3 P rt >— ^
p
cr 3 cr p cr -a — > xp
p
i in
C
1
X cr
rt cr o r r
c X
tr s '
P 3 p P p p
3
00
rt o p ft
n
P pr
P
P
P
p
cr
P
P
3 Cx 3 ‘
X)
o ft 3
p
o & ft
P
r
P
cr* ft >
—• o '
<
Ore) p
era
<5
O
n cT
era
p
n
C/3
rt ft O H
3 ‘C CP
r -|
p
rt
n
C/3
ft
cr
P
3
tn
50
Cl C ’' 1 r 7
n ri p < a
ft oo
r> P
3
cr ^ ^ 3 era
4. 5 5 : •-t
P
n \ :e <r n.> * - ’S
o
rt' 3 XI H
£ n) 23 :a?
{J' £3
^ 3 * 8? o n P
O
f-t rt
.Qj Cx S2- I c era
C/3
3 Z
2 r&~
c -p
r>
rb -t? o P < ft O
u-i
s»- >
& P «
ft
so i ^— * l_£j \ ! J j llj U J ^ LlJ n

L.J o
p
p-
ft
o r* p o P
p o
»-t-i
i-t rt
o era
tx o p
ft p 3 3 cr in J'
3 •<
X
ft o ST
x <J
rt
p
cr ft o p
p r-l O p
o CT X p~
o
ra* ca in
1 ft rt rt
cr cr a . X p
r-t
cr P p
P
»
—> cr p cr
-—^ . n>
H
p CP o o
p
p
r* '-C era
r * P p
ft o p
ft r-t- in (/)
3 x
3 ft 3 p
rt
ft
ra
ft
ft
p
x in P
P p
p cr CP era
CP
p
x
o ft
cr
?CI
3 Lr- P P fD p*
-v 7T Cu P-. P o
>~t p
n> O'
t/i
ro 3
3 P
1
£ ^
r— i -a r? b'1 •
npi R p
I ,1 m p
rn tCL C l, Cu
P o
CL? f_jr
Csi it jUr
d±^ :U^
Cô C -O
JA l-J u J UJ
H*
H) P
fD
P
LA •03 o
f t -
Ls* ^ I___ I I / I f I___ I £ j C+

to
C+
H-
)
L --------------- O
a
A
3
L - A h f\
fPs A O
\l C-J> D C l,
P
Cl
p
p -
*i
p
p
A Vj rr
M ro
\l 3
ro
— j f~ & *Tl
* \
r~\ rp
1 ] [
*.N
P
)
rr»
U)
r - \
s
£>
H-
^
O
P
I__J l-fj (0
L-J CD P.
1 J I— -J L— J w o
u— f CT
L-----1
R
o
a
l\ A |\ t\ o
3 p n P p A
t-n N Cfl w N
rt rt rt CT
ro
N Vl vj j -- 3
CD
\1
P p
p 3 P p p
3 N P t/1 pi c/i cr
c/i rt rwt
w t-o
rt rt w
rt o \o
-Pjp
P
P
o ro rt)
P p
tv
p
p
pr rPt
p p ro
to
rNt
o
r? r - t H L P n
r t rf ' 3 -- 5 ^5— C~*r
«r?
*• l f (l h & A \ c UcT; ? 3 = p-rt v 3 *_ XL-
fij C/3
f -• » if .5 ^ V c T . c r . ;£ £ :d : U
-" si)
U u <• r
T *
£
J
.J
. f*
3
2ail,-J < - U £ 1 •-?;S
ffc .
^ o
.N £^ A £
*? J
*■<°%
U &
J j U J u
1— ^ Jj *— *^ U L J u J
t-—- cr r—- cr cr 3 T3 r-t-, T-t

>-t p n p p
cn ro O •1 rt
ro o O n O n ro P o O
rt 3 3 7T 3 pr p
P p- p 3 3
cr o pr w
p o p ' < -i p cr, >-i r-t r-l r|
cr* OTQ o cr cr cr cr
Q «
£T N V) w n "2 '
P
O rt r t
p^
rt
P,
pt
r t
33 P
P
P^
P
P^ r -
3 r ” 4. " Jtrrt
ro ro <0
p r * r-t r1 ro r-t
p
t’ ro g 3
rt .
r» < r"
ro
«—
t
ro
3
ro 3 ro
3
ro ro
ft 3
3 ro D-. P n o
ro r*- pr
3 cr? OK) cr
tr ro a- o to —*
>
p o p
ro cr p
p ro o
to ro
P
£
P>- cr
t iTi HT' nji rsi ‘a T ' ts o
JD-. . D-.
dh --
:p^ D . r-t 5 -c r :c r cr cr TJ -o H> a
X Ms ft)
L_J fD
U J u j L lJ ^ U U U U L ) <d to
ct-
£B
Ct
' H-
o
EJ
A l\ f\ K 1^ f\ h f\ K /\ O
q a
3 3a a
3 a a 3 3 3 3 3 3 r-I
P
D-.pL.Q-. <2 cr cr cr cr ■-o
Lirf* * ^ ^ -a D" cr f> '<
P O “O
3 cr
S/
N| ■^,
M
N| M M ^ ^ M vj \l Si
p
3
o
a a 33 3 3 CTO
n-. . 3
O-i a o- a p cr cr C3 3 3 o
•-< O-. cr P- *■< a
p l
cr cw
p cr cr 3 3 ’< '-o
O
p 3 3 cro v< cr cr *<
cr a p a p p
3 P
p
cr P ?r p 3 n '
a p a p p
a <"t
FT a
p pr
p
5
r i ^ n n n n
" J j \
n n rcn n n f ” ! r—
■■c :<L_ J5 r cl~ rt- ^ 2 3.C-0 ,+.
L *
L J :. JsL, a £.■” Sb £ r
,±. >ir at 3
2 - -5
V 3
-0
/;-
£? £— * ^ £ r-y ^
9> ^ X "T)
r 'r> --t TP
I ~XP
3 ft) o - X
:tr £ 3- -£3— ^ L5 ,
o. L 3' (*
1 1
£ lJ J" Lj ^ ^ 2> LJ £ ^
P L -i ",
J 1 1— ! t p
r- 1— [ L-f J— IL— I ildj
£j cr
Li!l
P U)
t-rt 3 cr
p V) r-I 0 p p
o r-t- $
3
■-< Pu o p O
a’
3 C3 p a p 3 p
P Hi t-■ rr m
cr
<! p zr
w -a d? r-t P o
O p a p
cr P P
cr o a a a
L -
a xr
p
CTO I - rat
pr 3 p
p
p m pr p
rr
t-’ p
p 3 3 --a
r-t p
p
I p
3 3 cr P
r-t
cr
p
p p a
r-l CTO
Crt cr 3 a p
lQ p
a o 3
p P
a p
p
p (n
p
p . 3 13
N TJ
p P*
v-
P
P-
PC* 3-,' C l.
5*J
n>
13
U) L $ -o
3 3 o
n> a
o? CD
CD 3
3
r~*i £ 13
r~i r~i r~n n<-!■ 1rrrr 1-rr*
............. i—i r-^ . r-i
■n-,O■p»i-^
.ID-,.t ^>x}n A l r n r1 —p i1 r ~ i n p» cr
'—r
p
s
Pj D-
“ ■43
-7-3 —T
3 Li . o L £r — x N VI L - r C-3- (Ar a
H*
O
3
*U> LSD A Hj cd
\___ I 1— ^ V—4 ^ ® LJ \ j L_i \ j1— ^ I— ^ cd cr.
i__ 1 i J L J £ £ £ m n
cV
L j L j J__ 1 &
H*
o
tJ
A A A A j\ f' A h A
A f\ A A f\ A A o
pr cr" cr cr xj •X7 3 3 3 3 3 r-I
p
£ £ ^ d "< N V) ON? O'? ?r
si
l< 3 Nj
JL ^ 3 cr d "O
cr
V v M M ^ ^ V \l \1 V CD
4 3
n>
pr pr
l£ -
pr ^ pr P 3 3 3
PT e c c cr "d tj 3 Crq ON? w c o
sj a- Lr
rr cr p‘ v< d N cr 3 w M
cd cr c *■< 3 cr p cr P p p (X
•-< 3 o cd p 3 P ■ P w 3
P cd p cr p 3 Vi "C fr
p cr v
3
p
p p fD p
3
P
n n n P n
■\n-r" P7T L*
” - 7T ^ -w 3 ^
n
LJ3 9£
cS ? * C c- " ' A
' K
:p £ >C :ccT ? -W c' rso 3 9 ^
£
<*
;.«U
!> *
^
f,,Ar
jl_ P
; A; - (
(t U- - ot. l— ! ^
N
£
Cb
M
r
^ lC
SD (L .0)
£
*
I
QJ 0 6 c~-'2) , . f p A
s>
■5 " Ip 21 I I 1— ! cs S. c-i.^r
. t-r
4* r js
3
** " r&o 5" p . i— 1 L - J ^ LJ? /^> ft) A1 £
u f S l j P S>
___ 1
LJ
L_J a
I
—i
?
\fj
T3 cr eu
o O CD
P Ot) C l.
p V) cr
w
cr
cr cr cr O cr o
r-t •1 n> Ct
P cd a> at? ■-<;
O
3 p n 3
O- pr cr p n
cr 13 s
P p
r-I
? P &
J . (0
c£
PP $ ^5
CD CD V* cr? F*C
a- 3 3 ^ 3 p
cd -5 3
co
p V) P
W •-<
W ' x x* x x 3 ■ n
c ‘C c G• 3 G G 3 3 o- VJJ
N
o m *i— ro p
-< ro •< p ro G r1 oo
'C X* 3 OP CL
ro p OP 3
p
p P x cr X
3
p" ro P
P
ro p p P
3
p
OP
X
3
p n p n n n C'rJi n n n n n rJ
^ Jj’ r*'1 £ f E f f L S ^ S i T t . c
iS * %&-.%**% * c£ ci . i £ ‘ S
» :-f t o j £^ ? ® ?-w I "3
so . . £ 5 1
— 'cj> ® § f j J it,"|
U <* 3
LJ , , 1 Iss>
f* 1 i l J , i ^ i* —
LJ U u U U
U LJ
<i p n p 3 p
"d o r-t
O
o X ro ro t~t
X ro ro P n x p
o
X n" V—*1 3 ro cn p x x X
ro p
ro ro o o P ro 3 OP ro X
P X <3 r-t op ro 3 P
r-t ro ro * P
r-t V)
p X
r-l
P
X o
O Crt
$ ro
ro
- 33 -
iv . S U P R A S E G M E N T A L F E A T U R E S OF T O N G A
L a n g u a g e s use v a ria tio n s o f p itc h in d iffe re n t w a ys. T h e use made o f p itc h
in tone lan g u a g e s o f w h ich T onga is one, is u n lik e th a t o f lan gu ag e s lik e E n g lis h
w h ich are in to n a tio n a l. P ik e d e fin e s a tone language as one " h a v in g le x ic a lly
6
s ig n ific a n t, c o n tra s tiv e b ut re la tiv e p itc h on each s y lla b le . " P itc h is le x ic a lly
and g ra m m a tic a lly s ig n ific a n t in a language i f the m eaning o f w ords or th e ir
g ra m m a tica l fu n c tio n is d is tin g u is h e d s o le ly by its d is tin c tiv e use w ith in them.
It is c o n tra s tiv e b ut re la tiv e because the to ne m ic nature o f each s y lla b le can
o n ly be d ete rm ine d by c o n tra s tin g i t w ith the su rro u n d in g s y lla b le s ie the tone
o f a s y lla b le can be d e s c rib e d as h ig h o n ly i f the tone o f s y lla b le s im m e d ia te ly
around i t is lo w in r e la tio n to i t and v ic e v e rs a .
In T on ga tone is d ete rm ine d by w he th er a v o w e l is u tte re d w ith a hig h
or lo w p itc h in co m p a riso n w ith the su rro u n d in g v o w e ls . B a s ic a lly tw o tones
are needed to d e s c rib e the to n a l syste m o f T on ga , these are h ig h and lo w tones, but
w ith in the syste m o f th ese two b a s ic tones there is a v a rie ty o f ju n c tu ra l
fe a tu re s . F o r in s ta n c e ,, in some c o n te x ts a v o w e l is both h ig h e r in p itc h than
w hat fo llo w s and lo w e r than w ha t pre ced es i t as in the fo llo w in g ite m :
b a sin ko n d o ; w a rrio rs . T h e - s i- in th is ite m is lo w e r in p itc h than ba- and h ig h e r
than -nko-o T h is is c a lle d s lip p e d h ig h tone. In o the r c o n te x ts there is a
s u c c e s s iv e lo w e rin g o f tones w ith in a se nte nce as in the fo llo w in g :
T w a k a li k u b e le k a j i lo
We were w o rkin g y e ste rd a y

- 34 -
The fe a tu re is know n as d o w n d rift and it is a c h a ra c te ris tic fe a tu re o f the Tonga
se nte nce . What happens in a down d r ift s e nte nce is th a t the mean p itc h le v e l
th ro ug h ou t the s e n te n ce fa lls so th a t both h ig h and lo w tones a t the b e g in n in g o f
a se nte nce are h ig h e r than th ey are at the end o f i t .
A t tim es the o p p o s ite happens, and a sequence o f hig h tones may become
p ro g re s s iv e ly h ig h e r in p itc h as fo llo w s :
/ ^ / ///
w a k a y a n d a u la m ulim o - He lo o k e d fo r w o rk.
T h is fe a tu re is c a lle d cre sce n d o .
A c c o rd in g to P ik e , each s y lla b le in a tone language has p itc h as fu lly b a s ic
(in h e re n t) to the w ords in w h ic h i t o ccurs a s ^ p ^ [ t ] [jQ a r e ^ ie re n t *n
fo llo w in g E n g lis h w o rd s: p ie , tim e , w ife , b ut ju s t as |jQ in w ife changes
w i v e s , s i m i l a r l y some of the tonemes may be r eplaced by others in the grammar
o f tone la n g u a g e s. T h is seems to be the case in T on ga where each in d iv id u a l
ite m has a lim ite d num ber o f tone p a tte rn s o f it s ow n, the o c c u rre n c e o f w hich
is d ete rm ine d by a g iv e n c o n te x t. B e lo w is an illu s tr a tio n o f v a ria tio n o f tone
p a tte rn s in some le x ic a l ite m s . T he fo llo w in g le x ic a l ite m s have the b a s ic

tone p a tte rn s show n b e lo w :
W wa [“ “ H mushroom s
nhanda a house
m ucem bele E --3 an o ld woman
B u t the p a tte rn s change in the c o m b in a tio n s show n b e lo w :
W ow anhanda c - - - 1 a type of mushroom

/ | r — -r ^
nhandam botu j a fin e house
/ ^ s s r~~— — _ _
m ucem belem a j a com rade in o ld
age
Tone and d e p re sso r co n s o n a n ts : We have in d ic a te d in the c h a p te r on T o n g a p h o n e tic s
that there e x i s t s in T on ga a group of consonant s w hi ch are not onl y never pronounced
on a h ig h p itc h , b u t th e y a ls o have a lo w e rin g e ffe c t on the tone o f the p re c e d in g
s y lla b le and fo r th is reason they have been d e s ig n a te d d e p re s s o r c o n s o n a n ts fo r
a f u l l l i s t o f them see page
1)1 u use ka
LT ' 1 he who lau gh s
21 but u u ja y a he who k i l ls
cr-
S' f s'
31 ib a s o n d a th e y who d iv in e
4L . but ib a z y a n a
is '
J th ey who dance
r- -
5). iitu b a 1
J the one w h ic h is w h ite
6)
1 the one w h ic h s tru g g le s
hut iib b u b b a |
7). oonyem ena you, who are an g r y w i t h
8h
Y- .1
but oodedem a you, who are hoarse
t -
9). n o tu y a la w e who spread
c -
- 36 -
/
10) but notugaya
> s ^
c j.
[2 - '-3
11) icisiya the one which is black
E . " '- - 1
12) but icizuza the one which runs
C - ‘ - I
Constraints: for V preceding C

*« to be
preceding and following V. (Note non-effect of bb^, dp and zp
in 6, 8 & 12 above.)
s' S
ibeenzu
Z" - -i visitors
but ibeenzuma
L~- --1 my friends
Tone is lexically significant in Tonga as the following lexical
items show:-
maumba
Z ' '-J maggots
maumba
E - -
butt er
maanda
lz ~ .
houses
maanda
s'
£ -
graveyard
musuku horn used for healing purposes
musuku
s
E. - -i a musuku tree
makoko
E - - J
types of beer
makoko
L — - l
self seeded crop
Tone is grammatically significant as the following show:
bamubona
s'
EL _ —- I they have seen him
bamubona _ they have seen you

- 37
w abona
t - l
he has seen
wabona
L- ' -3 you have seen
tw abona we have seen

Gr / - 3
tw abona the l i t t l e ones have seen

c - 3
.tw abona when we have seen
E " - 3
n in da bo n a
E - - -3 had I seen
nin da bo n a
y- s ^
n in da bo n a
cr - - -3 I s h o u ld have seen
when I saw
c ~ . i
T o make a co m p le te a n a ly s is o f the g ra m m a tic a l s ig n ific a n c e o f tone in T on ga w o u ld
7
in v o lv e going in to the m orph oton olo gy o f the lan gu ag e w hich is beyond the sco pe o f
o f the p re s e n t s tu d y . F o r our purposes i t is enough to remember the le x ic a l b a s is o f
the syste m ie the fa c t th a t each le x ic a l ite m h a s 'a b a s ic u n d e rly in g tone p a tte rn o f
its own w h ic h neve r changes b u t is re a liz e d d iffe r e n tly in c e rta in c o n te x ts , and the
su rfa ce co n c e p t o f d o w n d rift.
STR ESS: i n T o n g a s tre s s is found w h e ne ver a h ig h tone comes before a lo w tone,
or a p ause. The s y lla b le on w h ic h the h ig h tone fa lls is s tre s s e d . In the fo llo w in g
word M usim bi the - s i- w h ic h comes im m e d ia te ly b efo re the s y lla b le -m bi w ith a lo w
tone, is s tre s s e d . T h is s tre s s p a tte rn h ow e ve r has no g ra m m a tica l or le x ic a l
s ig n ific a n c e w h a ts o e v e r. T h e re is a p o s s ib ility o f the e x is te n c e o f a no the r s tre s s
p a tte rn in T o n g a w h ic h m ig h t have a g ra m m a tic a l s ig n ific a n c e . I t is p o s s ib le th a t
s tre s s re p la c e s h ig h tone in c e rta in c o n te x ts . F o r in s ta n c e the 2nd and 3rd person
p lu ra l d i m i n u t i v e have s im ila r s u b je c t p r e f ix e s ie -w - fo r 2nd and 3 rd p e rs o n

- 38 -
s in g u la r, tu -tw - fo r 1st person p lu ra l and 3rd person p lu ra l d i m i n u t i v e . The s i m i l a r i t y
in s u b je c t p re fix e s poses no problem when the verb w h ic h fo llo w s them belon g to the
hig h tone group.
It is easy to t e ll w h ic h person is being re fe rre d to by the s h if t o f the h ig h tone from
one s y lla b le in one c o n te x t to another in the o th e r, b u t when a verb from a lo w tone
group fo llo w s , s tre s s alo ne seem s to m ark the d is tin c tio n : eg,
w a s ib a
cr he has w h is tle d
w a s ib a
C- you have w h is tle d
tw a s ib a
- - 3 the l i t t l e ones have w h is tle
tw a s ib a
- - 1 we have w h is tle d
(T h e s tre s s e d s y lla b le is re p re sen te d by a d o t:)
w a s ik a he has a rriv e d
G» -
•
w a s ik a
L- • - n you have a rriv e d
tw a s ik a O - - a the l i t t l e ones have a rriv e d
•
tw a s ik a
Cr • - i we have a rriv e d
A p a rt from th is , s tre s s does n ot seem to p la y an im p o rta n t p a rt in the Tonga
language as tone does. W hatever s tre s s there is ,s e e m s to be bound to t o n e ; o th e r w is e
a ll s y lla b le s tend to be e v e n ly s tre sse d in T o n g a , t in t is each s y lla b le tends to be
u tte re d w ith the same degree o f fo rc e . F u rth e rm o re , each s y lla b le is u tte re d at rou gh ly
the same in te r v a l ie takesabout the same am ount o f tim e to s a y . F o r these reasons
Tonga is s a id to be a s y lla b le tim ed language as opposed to E n g lis h w h ic h is a
s tre s s tim ed la n g u a g e .
- 39 -
CHAPTER 3
A DESCRIPTION OF ENGLISH SOUNDS
i) CO NSONANTS
T h e E n g lis h .co n so n a n ta l m odel used in th is c h a p te r is th a t o f G im s o n ’ s In tro d u c tio n
to the p ro n u n c ia tio n o f E n g lis h .
E n g lis h has tw e n ty -fo u r s in g le co n s o n a n ta l phonemes w h ich can be d iv id e d in to
two g en eral c a te g o rie s :
A, O b s tru e n ts : T h is group is com posed o f a rtic u la tio n s w h ic h in v o lv e an o b s tru c tio n
o f the a ir strea m . T h e s e in c lu d e p lo s iv e s , a ffric a te s and fr ic a tiv e s . In th is group
there is a ls o a d is t in c tiv e o p p o s itio n betw een fo r tis and le n is , o f w h ic h more w ill
be s a id la te r.
OBSTRUENTS
d b t d k g
P lo s iv e s : T h e re are. three sta g e s in v o lv e d in the p ro d u c tio n o f a p lo s iv e sound:
a) c lo s u re d u rin g w h ic h the a ir Is im p ris o n e d at one p o in t or a no the r in the v o c a l
tra c t by the a r tic u la to ry organs com ing to g e th e r thereby fo rm ing an o b s tru c tio n ; b)
h o ld , the p e rio d d u rin g w h ic h the a ir is h e ld back before the a rtic u la to ry organs
separate to le t i t escape and; c) re le a s e , d u rin g w h ic h the organs form ing the

9
o b s tru c tio n p a rt ra p id ly , a llo w in g the im p riso ne d a ir to e scape. As the a ir rushes out
i t makes an e x p lo s iv e sound.
E n g lis h has three p a irs o f p lo s iv e sounds: b ila b ia l: / p , b / , a lv e o la r: / t , d / and
v e la r: / k , g / . T h e fo llo w in g w ords show th e ir o ccurre nce in i n i t i a l m ed ia l and fin a l
p o s itio n s .
- 40 -
/p/ /b /
p ill 0 x 0 b il l L W s il
ra p id C raepi<Q rabid
L rs a tX ti J
rip rib
frx P l O i v > l
/t /d /
t ill k tii 1 d il l
C < h ll
flo a tin g lo a d in g
w r it rid
[r x tl L r x d ~2
/k / /g I
k ill g ill
U x ll
C ^ ii d
ra c k e t fagged
C Icxt, J JjrêQxdi^]
r ic k r ig
C r iK
C r x ^ 3
T he v o ic e le s s p lo s iv e s / p , t , k / : The e ffo rt and m u s c u la r energy p u t inAthe p ro n u n c ia tio n
o f these sounds is much g re a te r than in th e ir v o ic e d c o u n te rp a rts , fo r th is reason the
v o ic e le s s p lo s iv e s are s a id to belong to the 'f o r t i s ’ and the v o ic e d to the T e n is ’ s e rie s .
The fo r tis s e rie s are u s u a lly accom panied by a s p ira tio n when i n i t i a l in a s tre s s e d
s y lla b le . When in i n i t i a l p o s itio n / p , t , k / are d is tin g u is h e d from / b , d , g / m a in ly through
the p resence o f a s p ira tio n in the fo rtis s e rie s , ra th e r than the pre sen ce o f v o ic e in the
le n is s e rie s .
When the fo rtis s e rie s precede a vo w e l in an u n s tre s s e d s y lla b le , and in fin a l p o s itio n ,
w hat a s p ira tio n there is , is r e la tiv e ly w eak - in fa c t in fin a l p o s itio n there may not be
any a u d ib le re le a se o f the p lo s iv e at a ll, fo r e xam ple:
potato
p o lic e 3
41
p o llu te
tom ato H.'fc r>-\<*vfc.a nr
today
to g e th e r
c o lle c t t i . K 'h 3
c o llid e Q 1a i d 3
com bine 3 \<~ 3* vva & I n
top C t p p l
pot
II p p f c 1
p ock
L f T> K 1
When a fo r tis c o n s o n a n t is preceded by / s / there is no a s p ira tio n even when the s y lla b le
is s tro n g ly a c c e n tu a te d :
s p o rt
s to rk L s -t
sco rn Q s>k o : <■>11
V o ic e d p lo s iv e s : L e n is s e rie s tend to be pronounced w ith le s s m u s c u la r energy and
breath e ffo rt than the fo rtis s e rie s , In i n i t i a l and fin a l p o s itio n s , the le n is s e rie s may
be o n ly p a r tia lly v o ic e d and lik e the fo rtis s e rie s , there may not be ahy a u d ib le re le a s e
in fin a l p o s itio n . T he m ain d is tin g u is h in g fa c to r betw een the tw o s e rie s in th is p o s itio n
is the le n g th o f the s y lla b le w h ic h they c lo s e and not the v o ic in g fa c to r. S y lla b le s c lo s e d
by the fo r tis co n so n a n ts are much s h o rte r than those c lo s e d by the le n is .

42 -
IN I T I A L L Y -P A R T IA L L Y V O IC E D ;
big boast L v» V ] b ra in C- b r a x r T ]
dog date L ^ ^ *-1 dry C d r ^ l 3
gone goat g re at
r
NO A U D IB L E R E L E A S E IN F IN A L P O S IT IO N S :-
tab s la b C *S > ^ W "3 1 sob j ^
sad Csae<A R road C . r 's a r d R bed \ W c\ ~1
tag C fc s la g L ^ e ^ B rogue L r s u 3 3
M e d ia lly , fo llo w in g an a cce n tu a te d s y lla b le the le n is s e rie s are v o ic e d , and the v o ic in g
fe ature tends to be the m ain c o n tra s tiv e e le m e n t betw een the tw o s e rie s in th is
p o s itio n : e .g .
husband L A harbour rubber

«Q
la d d e r £ ' | 3^3 R adorn [ V d a j n R o rd er Ld:oU j

b eg in eager L ' f; ^
a8°ny L Wc\a*itl\
In a c lu s te r o f tw o sto p s - p lo s iv e p lo s iv e or a ffr ic a te , e ith e r w ith in a w ord or a t w ord
ju n c tu re , the f i r s t p lo s iv e n o rm a lly has no a u d ib le re le a s e , and th is appl
fo rtis and le n is s e rie s as in the fo llo w in g e xam ple s:
dropped /) > /+ /'/ L d r p p - t R
rubbed /b /+ /d / [ > n U R
o b je c t / b /+/ot3 / j R ■ & l o L 1S . U : t B
good job L c .a r iU jtk R

I f N
- 43-
A ffric a te s : F o r^ d e s c rip tio n o f how a ffr ic a te sounds arc made sec p. % . T h e re arc twc
p a la to -a lv e o la r a ffric a te s in R .P . One b e lo n g in g to the le n is ae-êsand one to the fo rtis
s e rie s . T he p o s t a lv e o la r a ffric a te s / t r / and /dr/ ca nn ot be regarded as phonem ic
e n titie s as th e ir o ccu rre n ce is re s tric te d m a in ly to the i n i t i a l p o s itio n in a w ord.
T h e E n g lis h a ffric a te s are produced by a c lo s u re to the a ir stream betw een the
tip , blade and rim o f the tongue and the upper a lv e o la r rid g e . A t the same tim e the
fro n t o f the tongue is ra is e d to w ards the hard p a la te in re a d in e ss fo r the fr ic a tiv e re le a s e .
A ffric a te s share m ost o f the fe a tu re s o f R .P . p lo s iv e s , the f o r t i^ / t ^ / h a s the same
e ffe c t o f s h o rte n in g the s y lla b le w h ic h i t c lo s e s as the p lo s iv e s in the fo rtis s e rie s and
i t is a ls o s u b je c t to a s p ira tio n in i n it ia l p o s itio n , w h ile ^ /o t^ jle n g th e n s the s y lla b le as
'the p lo s iv e s in the le n is s e rie s and th is is the p rim a ry d is tin c tiv e fe ature ant^
% in th is p o s itio n .
S econdly y ^ s h a r e s the fe a tu re o f p a r tia l v o ic in g in i n i t i a l and fin a l p o s itio n s as has
been noted in the v o ic e d p lo s iv e s . The fo llo w in g w ords show the a ffric a te s in i n i t i a l,
m e d ia l and fin a l p o s itio n s :
Hi
chap b u tch e r L b <\f p a tc h L f^ 3 3
/%/
jam Q c k a e m J aSed badge
F ric a tiv e s are p roduced by two organs o f speech com ing r e la tiv e ly c lo s e to g e th e r c a u s in g
the e s ca p in g a ir stream to produce fr ic tio n . F ric a tiv e s are th e re fo re lik e p lo s iv e s in th a t
th e ir p ro d u c tio n is accom panied by a n o is e com ponent. The fr ic tio n may o r may not
be accom pa nie d by v o ic e ,
- 44 -
T he R .P . fr ic a tiv e s co m p rise fo u r p a irs :- ^ } j^ ^ I j£ ^ j J

'■> * If J <3/
w h ic h can be d is tin g u is h e d from each o th e r by the fo llo w in g p h o n e tic features'.
a) p la c e o f a rtic u la tio n : jfyf “ L a b io -d e n ta l,
/& j h j - d e n ta l / S ’Z'( a^ve o â r>
J% Paâto"a^veoâr ~/ ^ j " 8l°tta^
b) fo rce o f a rtic u la tio n - lik e the p lo s iv e s and
a ffric a te s , the fr ic a tiv e s can be d iv id e d in to
the fo rtis and le n is s e rie s . Hence J'F^

w h ic h b elong to the fo rtis s e rie s tend to be
pronounced w ith more m uscu la r energy and
s tro n g e r breatW fo rce than j l/> j £ fJ ^
w h ic h b elong to the le n is s e rie s .
c) L ik e the le n is p lo s iv e s and a ffric a te s , the le n is fr ic a tiv e s
tend to be fu lly v o ic e d o n ly when th e y o c c u r betw een v o ic e d
sounds such as:
o ver easy D ' . ^ l
p le a s u re L p i 13^3 o the r
In i n i t i a l and e s p e c ia lly in fin a l p o s itio n s the le n is fr ic a tiv e s
may o n ly be p a r tia lly v o ice d or c o m p le te ly v o ic e le s s such as:
lea ve breathe E. r 1
’; b f]
peas Hpi.'zd rouge £ - ru:3~D

. - 45 -
T he fo rtis fr ic a tiv e s are v o ic e le s s in a il p o s itio n s ,
r , ,i*..................
/ k j ^ v o ic e le s s in i n i t i a l p o s itio n s b ut may have some v o ic in g
in m ed ia l p o s itio n betw een v o ic e d sounds such as:
b e h in d t> i J behave
j^l does not o c c u r in fin a l p o s itio n ,
d) A g a in lik e the p lo s iv e s and a ffr ic a te s , when both the le n is
and fo r tis fr ic a tiv e s o c c u r in fin a l p o s itio n th e ir v a lu e is
dete rm ine d by the le n g th o f the s y lla b le s th ey c lo s e s in c e
the v o ic in g fa c to r is n o t s tro n g ly o p e ra tiv e in th is p o s itio n ,
th us the s y lla b le s c lo s e d by the le n is s e rie s tend to be much
lo n g e r than those c lo s e d by the fo r t is . T h is is p a r tic u la rly
a u d ib le when the p re c e d in g v o w e l is a lo n g one o r d ip htho ng
as in : ,
p ro o f - Prove
lo th jE 1 ^ <if ft loa th e [E \ ^ El
race C.Oe-ts d raise C.ce.'-Z-J
The fo llo w in g w ords illu s tr a te the o ccurre nce o f fr ic a tiv e s in in i t i a l, m e d ia l and
fin a l p o s itio n s :
N
fa s t L f c - s t d w a fe r le a f C d k 'p " !
li
vast n v ci / & - t ] w ave r W ^X V le a v e Q i : v _]
/d /
th ig h e th e r [1 i;flail w re ath cr i;e l
- 46
hf
thy d th e r w reathe c r 1; *1
hi
s in k s o rc e re r sauce
H > =: s i
z in c ra zo r L cei zA H ra is e
sh e e t rs.v*ri m is s io n n *E \ le a s h D ; : J 1
/?/ ~ v is io n
L^^3nl rouge
h i
heat C b i . - O beh old [E lc*X U
B. N a s a ls , L a te ra ls and F ric d o n le s s C o n tin u a n ts :
T h is se con d c a te g o ry inclu de & th ose a rtic u la tio n s in w h ic h there is o n ly a p a r tia l
c lo s u re o r an unim peded o ra l or n a s a l escape o f a ir, T h e se sounds are u s u a lly a ll
v o ic e d and fr ic tio n le s s
^ ^ *3
L
w
r i
N a s a l co nso na nts nrp f orm ed by ^ to p p in g the a ir from g o in g o u t through the m outh.
The s o ft p a la te is lo w e re d m aking i t p o s s ib le fo r the a ir to go through the nose.
T he re are three n a s a l co n so n a n ts in R .P . E n g lis h whose p la c e s o f a r tic u la tio n
correspond to the three o ra l p lo s iv e s . T h e s e are: b ila b ia l /m / , a lv e o la r / n / and v e la r /tjj.

- 47 -
The fo llo w in g is th e ir o ccu rre n ce in i n i t i a l, m ed ia l and fin a l p o s itio n s :
b ila b ia l / m /
meet [>;.<! man may d m
army summer L S A wv sw im m ing UOX M13 J

lame C . t e . r v ^ ‘3 seam ham
C . w« ~ o
a lv e o la r / n /
name know L, ^ ^ net
many H l rsX 1 m in er L m a m ^ m inu te r*,r>ax rvX-t \
moon Q rviu,-n ] Pan CL P ^ r x ”3 down J ^ o \o v V , r\~ 3
v e la r / j j / does n o t o c c u r i n i t i a ll y in a w ord, b u t i t does m e d ia lly and in fin a l
p o s itio n s :-
songs lon ge d L, \ 3 hanger U
th in g run n in g L /V y rv X ^ "^ ] s w in g
T he v o c a lic n a tu re o f n a s a ls is em phasized by the fa c t th a t th ey are o fte n
em ployed to perform the s y lla b le fu n c tio n o f v o w e ls in c e rta in c a s e s . T he a lv e o la r
n a sa l / n / is the m ost fre q u e n tly used fo r th is purpose as in the fo llo w in g e xam ple s:
m utton k itte n B r ita in 0 & rx t;n Q sudden E > A « * rT ]
S y lla b ic / m / is n ot as common as s y lla b ic / n / but i t a ls o o c c u rs in such w ords a s:-
rhythm P r l ^ y T ] s c h is m Q s iZ ." 0 Pris m L P f ' l z -rvJ
/ appears, in a s y lla b ic s itu a tio n w ith some speakers in the p ro n u n c ia tio n

»*^ —-I
o f the w ord - bacon - L ^ e x V ^ X J o th e rw is e i t does n ot seem to appear anyw here e ls e .
hQ
Laterals: Lateral consonants are made "by partially closing the
middle of the mouth and allowing the air to go out on both sides
of the tongue. The position of the tip of the tongue could be on
the teeth ridge, teeth or hard palate, giving us an alveolar,
dental or palatal lateral respectively. There is only one
alveolar lateral in English / t /. It has three main allophones
ie clear£t^voiceless£^l[and dark(jfrU The following is their
distribution in various positions
a) :-
initial
late learn
medial
silly colour
word final, intervocalic in contexts:
pull it fool around kill it
plain clay
word final after vowel:
pull sill
after vowel - before consonant
cold sold salt

D a rk jjk J a ls o . o fte n perform s a s y lla b ic fu n c tio n as in the fo llo w in g
w ords: , .
b o ttle C > p t* 2 ] c a ttle s ic k le £ s X
F ric tio n le s s c o n tin u a n t:, .E n g lis h has o n ly one v o ic e d p o s t-a lv e o la r fr ic tio n le s s
c o n tin u a n t phonem e.^ r ^ , T h is is produced by the tip o f the tongue a g a in s t the
back p a rt o f the te e th rid g e , the c e n tra l p a rt o f the tongue is k e p t lo w , w h ile there
is g e n e ra l c o n tra c tio n o f the tongue g iv in g a h o llo w in g e ffe c t to the tongue p o s itio n
and a re tro fe x io n o f the tip .- T he fo llo w in g is it s o ccu rre n ce in w ord i n i t i a l, m e d ia l

A
a n d 'fin a l- lin k in g w ith an i n i t i a l v o w e l in the fo llo w in g w ords:
in itia l •
run
m e d ia l
ru ra l £Y V T3O ' . h e ro in r b*\rx d ir e c t Q dx fctT]
w ord fin a l- lin k in g w ith an i n i t i a l v o w e l in the fo llo w in g w ords:
fa r aw ay more and more th ere and then
Ofo.; ra wex“d lb" ^ trTj

fo llo w in g fo r tis a cce n te d p lo s iv e
tric e S ^j p ra y Jle X c r7 C J
F o llo w in g fo r tis fr ic a tiv e , u n a cce n te d fo r tis p lo s iv e or a ccen ted fo r tis p lo s iv e
preceded by j s f in. same s y lla b le j t f s lig h tly d e v o ic e d "
e .g . • '
f r a il b e frie n d approach
- 50 -
n itra te C , n o iX t ^ e . 1 ^ 3 c o ckro a c ll L lt D ltU 3 V -tjJ
s p rin g O p 1 scream O k -o r 1 scree n C % lcdr/ n J
F o llo w in g b e n is co n so n a n t ~ HO 3 ^ u t fr ic a tiv e a fte r j d /
e.g bre ak Lt>uei\<Tj g rass
but - drum dry L < Û < *x H
B o th G im son and Jo ne s have observed th a t fo r many R .P . Speakers
in u n stre sse d in te r v o c a lic p o s itio n , e.g
ve rry L ,V lX l~ l so rry p e rio d L e r s i ' r ^ t Q

-— *
S e m ivo w e ls: E n g lis h has two s e m iv o w e ls , p a la ta l s e m iv o w e l /j/ and la b io -v e la r
s e m iv o w e l / w / . S em ivow elsare made by the m ovem ent o f the tongue from the p o s itio n
o f a c lo s e or h a lf c lo s e v o w e l to a more open p o s itio n [ e to th a t o f a v o w e l o f a
g re ate r s o n o rity . T h u s the tongue m ovement fo r the p a la ta l s e m iv o w e l /)/ s ta rts
a p p ro x im a te ly from p o s itio n /i:/ (w ith spread or n e u tra l lip s ) and fo r / w / from
/ u : / (w ith rounded lip s )m o v in g away im m e d ia te ly to the p o s itio n o f the fo llo w in g sound as
dem on strate d in the fo llo w in g e xam ple s:
/]/
w ord i n it ia l:
ye t yo ur yeast
When / j / fo llo w s a fo rtis p lo s iv e there is some s lig h t d e v o ic in g i f the p lo s iv e
is in an u n a cce n te d s y lla b le , S lig h t d e v o ic in g a ls o ta kes p la c e when /)/ fo llo w s

- 51 -
/s p , s t, s k / and fo r tis fr ic a tiv e s . T he d e v o ic in g phenomenon becom es more o bviou s
when / j / fo llo w s a fo rtis co n so n a n t and / h / in an a c c e n te d s y lla b le before / u ; , /
re s u ltin g in a fo rtis p a la ta l fr ic a tiv e j j ^ b e i n g pro du ced . E x a m p le s
fo llo w in g :-
sputum s tu d e n t askew
() o
fo llo w in g fo r tis fr ic a tiv e s :
fumes e n th u sia sm s u it t
fo llo w in g a cce n te d / p , t , k , h / before / u : , d >v' / >
pure tune s e cure hue
/w/
w ord i n i t i a l:
weed L u n '.
wax
w ork C .W V .V -J
A s in the p a la ta l s e m iv o w e l /]/ there is some s lig h t d e v o ic in g when / w / fo llo w s a
fo rtis c o n so n a n t in an u n a cce n te d s y lla b le , / s k / , or an a c c e n te d fo r tis fr ic a tiv e . T he
d e v o ic in g is co m p le te when / w / fo llo w s an a ccen ted / t , k / .
C on son an ts p re c e d in g / w / e s p e c ia lly i n i t i a ll y 5 a ccen ted s y lla b le s , w i l l
be Up rounded in a n tic ip a tio n o f / w / .

- 52 -
G im son noted th a t among c a re fu l R .P . sp ea kers and some re g io n a l d ia le c ts
o f E n g lis h , w ords s p e lt w ith wh - are pronounced w ith / h w / or w ith a fo rtis v o ic e le s s
la b io -v e la r fr ic a tiv e anc^ *n s u c h speech w here there is o p p o s itio n s betw een
such w ords as w itc h and w h ic h , has a phonem ic s ta tu s . H ow e ve r among
many R .P . s p e a k e rs , p a r tic u la r ly men the use o f jfrvjl has d e c lin e d .
E xa m p le s: •
fo llo w in g / s k / : - square
fo llo w in g fo r tis fr ic a tiv e : th w a rt

E
fo llo w in g u n a ccen te d / p , t , k / outw ork
fo llo w in g a cce n te d / t , k , / tw is t
tw e n ty
queen
q u a rre l [> v O g > ~ + 1,
p o s s ib le o p p o s itio n s betw een

/ w / and /h w , / w itc h
w h ic h
w ea th er [__(aj %. ^ ~2
w hether [lW o o t.^ Z \ [# /v \s .
#|
l| S y lla b le S tru ctu re o f E n g lis h
E n g lis h has a la rg e number o f p o s s ib le s y lla b le s tru c tu re s . The fo llo w in g
are o n ly some o f the p o s s ib le s tru c tu re s :-
i) vv eye
add
alb
u ncle
vccc I
- 53 -
ii) C W sew
CYC p ut
£ pv C
CYCC L band
CYCCC C ttn ts 3 te nts
H i) CCW C te- ' e l H c la y
CCVC L ^ r X f> H g r ip .
CCVCC L S - V a e n J ijf Stand
CCVCCC L s l f\ w \ slum ps
iv ) CCCVC s tr ip
CCCWC L s + r e i- t" 3 s tra ig h t
CCCVCC L S + r in iT l s trin g s
T h e re are 24 s in g le phonemes as in d ic a te d on p a g e • O f th e s e , 22 can
be found in i n i t i a l p o s itio n , w h ile / ^ / and / j j / c a n n o t be i n i t i a l. T he fo llo w in g
can o ccu r as second p la c e co nso na nts 1, r, w j (and o n ly a fte r s) - p t k m n.
1, r, w, j can a lso o c c u r as th ird p la c e consonants (a fte r sp , s t, s k , sm, sn, s i.)
The fo llo w in g co nso na nts o ccu r o n ly in im m e d ia te ly p re -v o c a lic p o s itio n /y f
H \ - fH H / ) / o f th e s e ^ A f), /tj( a n d ô l^lca n o n ly o c c u r s im p le .
C onsonant c lu s te rs are found in s y lla b le i n i t i a l and s y lla b le fin a l p o s itio n .
C lu s te rs o f tw o and three co n so n a n ts can o c c u r in s y lla b le i n i t i a l and o f tw o,
three, and fo u r co nso na nts in s y lla b le fin a l p o s itio n . T here are how eve r r e s tr ic tio n s
on the co nso na nts w h ic h can o c c u r to g e th e r in a c lu s te r. F o r in s ta n c e a conso na nt

c lu s te r o f three in s y lla b le i n i t i a l p o s itio n w i l l a lw a ys have /S / as the fir s t
e le m e n t. E .g . scream {^S \C .V *X ; ^ ^ ie se c o n ^ c o n so n a n t o f a s y lla b le
i n i t i a l co n so n a n t c lu s te r is a p lo s iv e , then the f ir s t c o n so n a n t m ust be / S /
e.g sp o t
The co nso na nt fo llo w in g a p lo s iv e in an i n i t i a l co nso na nt c lu s te r is -e ith e r
/ r / s / w / , /)/ or / l / w ith co n so n a n t c lu s te r in fin a l p o s itio n , i f the la s t conso na nt
o f a co n so n a n t c lu s te r is / s / , the p re c e d in g co nso na nt is e ith e r v o ic e le s s or / n /
or / 1 / j i f /z. / th en the p re ce d in g co nso na nts is v o ic e d e .g.
baths pence U P S -n S j fa ls e L J "3
sto v e s pens L
S im ila rly i f the la s t c o n so n a n t o f a co nso na nt c lu s te r is / t / , the p re ce d in g c o n so n a n t

'if?
is e ith e r v o ic e le s s or / m / / n / or / l / , / d / then the p re c e d in g c o n so n a n t is v o ic e d
A
e.g. / t / dream s p e lt / d / - sta b b e d |_Sdr^£.io<:
beamed — L W no c Q . F o r exam ples o f some o f the c o n so n a n ts c lu s te rs th a t
can o ccu r see n e xt s e c tio n b e lo w .
> i,
i 11 C on son an t C lu s te rs
A co n so n a n t c lu s te r is a sequence o f co nso na nts o c c u rrin g at e ith e r the o n s e t
or c lo s e o f a s y lla b le . The E n g lis h lan gu ag e p e rm its a g re at d ea l o f
consonant c lu s te rin g , h o w e ve r, not a ll the p o s s ib le c lu s te rs p e rm itte d in the
language are g o in g to be show n in th is s e c tio n , o n ly those w h ic h the w rite r fe e ls
are fre q u e n tly used w i l l be lis te d .

- 55 -
The fo llo w in g types o f consonant c lu s te rs are p e rm itte d in E n g lis h p ho nology:
1) I n it ia l - ccv iii) F in a l - v c c
ii) I n it ia l - cccv iv ) F in a l - v c c c
v) F in a l - v c c c c
pl - p la y
C . p l e x 31
pr - pray
u p '- * ■ 0
P) - pew
bl - blow
br - brown
L W r * v n 3
bj - beauty
tr - truck
cj - tune
tw - tw it
C t^ x - t 3
dr - d riv e r E < ir a t\|T j
dj - dune
dw - dw arf
F 3
kl - clou d F c* 'O* j
kr - cream r _ K
kj - cure
3
kw - q uick F _ K u jX K 3
gl - glue C 3 '« ]
gr - great F ^ r e l- tJ
mj - mews
F ^ 3
nj - n e u tra l
- 56 -
fl fly
[fi« l
fr fr u it
HfriAJtl
fj future
vj v ie w
l » ‘1
through
0r L9ru: 3
th w a rt
L.6ui3:v'3
sp spoon
Cj*?1*10 "3
St s tic k
31
sk sky
[> w a i 31
sni smoke
rvA£>v*
sn snore
si s la te r sie/i-O
sj pseudo
j3syA:<*w H
sw swim
H s.vm-s:^ 31
Sr shrank
[3r 3
spl spleen Cs?t!:n l

spr s p ring
sp j sputum
L sf,jwA-a)>'>"3
s tr s tra ig h t
i3s+f e-x-t 3
s tj ste w
L s*y *: 3
skr scram ble
l_>Kr s e ^ V A " ^
skw squatter
£ > \ o o t*
- 57 -
iii Final - VCC
pt Stopped [\tD P* 3
depth L^fB ~]
ps taps
bd sobbed
CsdU 3
tabs
bz
[_k32.WZ 3
tfr * eighth
Cm© 1
shouts
ts
US**** 3
dz buds
C lo A c i- Z *3
kt packed d paakt 3
ks tic k s CtxV<.5. 3
gd begged 3
rags [V s e < y z 3
3* ■
tj+- searched
A34 - lodged
C dd^ 3
mp stamp
md blamed
mf triumph C ,k * 'c * T A r 'iP ^

KÔ- warmth Cu>:>.' ^ 0
mz farms 7L ~~|
nt scent
nd sand L s ^ c ^ o l
J itt '
inch L^ts 3
i
- 58 -
n fi anthem ^ *>£ n 9 &
ns answ er
nz beans
L k U w -z -l
longed L I p T \ / ]
9 “
s in k
iP pulp
L f M f 3
ib b u lb
1_W /U \ d " 3
u s h e lte r
L U f t » l
id s o ld C, s 3 u u 3
ik m ilk L m r l k "3
\ t j - m ulch C ^ i ]
\J j - bulge C u u ^ i
lm elm
In k iln
I > \ « 3
If g u lf
C y f t ^
Iv so lv e 3sav\v3f
w e a lth [ I w d f r "3 ■
ie -
Is fa ls e t-fo d s l
Iz s o u ls
U - w elsh
ft s o ft D -^ O
ft tw e lfth
fs coughs [ I k p ; f s ~3
vd sta rve d [ I s t . c p 'lJ l’K

- 59 -
vz sto v e s V Z.J
toothed
0t - U u i f r t -]
ft* m y th s '1
c^'cS c lo th e d
C k V ^ v ^<h]
&Z.
c lo th e s
C_K\ av^z."]
sp wasp
C.<*» P Sp
St passed
sk ask
[ > * *
zd s e iz e d
-zcty
s la s h e d
C slaahvd
iv VCCC
p ts erupts
pst e la pse d
L I l '3 e . p s + - _ j
depths
dst m id s t
kts a cts
kst axed CL ^2 \c,S't Li

\<*e - s ix th
U i k s q L]
m pt prom pt L?r t “]
mps mumps C Wi rs wi Np S LI
ni fs nymphs
nts pants
\L ~L\
ndz, mounds cv'tr y-\ A'zTl
JtttV . - lun che d C w ^
- 60 -
lun ge d
-
n 0-js m onths
[ " " • ' e s ]
nst paunced
nz d --- >
- thanked
"3
z in c s
U w -
ip t h elped
lp s g ulps L v \ l p O
Its b e lts
lk t m ilk e d r u llk t "d
Ik s s ilk s C s i l l e d
l bz - . b u lb s L b / \ \ u ^ . A
lc \“Z. m oulds |__yv"i I 4 Z -l
\^ -tr b elched
U g i - b uldg ed
lmd film e d L f x l - , 4 1
l mz overw helm s C, ^ V S- W % I '21-
ln z k iln s P K lln - z .\]
lfs s h e lfs
C k l ^ o
\ U . tw e lfth
iv d d is s o lv e c i L<Ax z p U«A'A
lvz re s o lv e s L ^ r z p l v z j
ft s lo fts H I P f t * J
s pt grasped
C ^ r o '-‘ s p - t d
- 61 -
sps - gasps
s ts - p o s ts L p * v s t ^
skt - baske4 C b c i ; s K t ^
sks - tu s k s E L 't r / 'N M c s
v) - VCCCC
m pts - tem pts HZ. S-V-v-% ^>3l
m pst - g lim p s e d C ^ lV v 1 ^1]
lp ts - s c u lp ts L S k / v l p d rS Z ]
k s ts - te x ts L t l K s ^ s 33
iVf, VO W ELS.
% E n g lis h v o w e ls in re la tio n to the C a rd in a l v o w e ls

\
E n g lis h has 12 r e la tiv e ly pure v o w e ls w h ic h can be grouped in to seven
sh o rt ones: / ! / , / £ /, /s q /, /Q/> /T /V , /b/> and //\ / , and fiv e lon g
ones: / i : / , /Q :/, / « H> , / 3 - '/ an^ /U-’ /» I t is g e n e ra lly agreed th a t the E n g lis h
vo w e ls are d iffe re n t from each o th e r n ot o n ly in term s o f le n g th but in q u a lity
as w e ll. A u th o r itie s on E n g lis h p h o n e tic s tend to d iffe r in th e ir em phasis on the
q u e stio n o f le n g th and q u a lity . T hu s those who w an t to show the c lo s e
re la tio n s h ip w h ic h e x is ts b e t w e e n the l o n g and s h o rt v o w e ls tend to la y em phasis
on the d is tin c tiv e im p orta nce o f le n g th , w h ile those who w an t to d em onstrate the
d iffe re n c e betw een the v o w e ls , em p ha size th e ir q u a lity . Am ong the cham pions
o f q u a lity there are some who contend th a t the q u a lity o f v o w e ls can be
d ete rm ine d a c c o rd in g to w h e th e r there is m u s c u la r te n s io n o f the tongue d urin g
th e ir p ro d u c tio n , T ho se v o w e ls , w h ic h req uire c o n s id e ra b le m u s c u la r te n s io n on

- 63 -
the p a rt o f the tongue, are c h a ra c te riz e d as ’ tense v o w e ls ’ and those d u rin g the
p ro d u c tio n o f w h ic h the tongue is h e ld lo o s e ly are c la s s ifie d as T a x v o w e ls ’ , on the
same lin e ^ as the E n g lis h co nso na nts from the o b s tru e n t group have been d iv id e d
in to the ’ f o r t is ’ and ’ le n is ’ s e rie s . F o r the purposes o f th is w ork h ow eve r, both
the q u a n tity and q u a lity o f the v o w e ls w i l l be regarded as o f e q u a l consequence
and su ch term s as tense and la x w i l l be e m ployed to mean as above w henever i t
is f e lt the use o f such a term w i ll help to c la r ify a p o in t,
E n g lis h lo n g fro n t v o w e l / i : / T h is is made w ith the fro n t o f the tongue ra is e d to
n e a rly c lo s e fro n t p o s itio n , w ith lip s sp re ad . The m uscles o f the tongue are tense
w h ile its s id e s make a firm c o n ta c t w ith the upper m o la rs. T h is E n g lis h v o w e l is
near to c a rd in a l v o w e l [ ^ i ^ * l'v'l does n o t n o rm a lly o ccu r in s y lla b le s close d
by / * ) / .
E xa m p le s
need L ^ v ’ ti \
p ie ce
seige [> ^ 1
bead E U U 1
p°iice .
T h e le n g th o f the v o w e l / i : / v a rie s a c c o rd in g to its p o s itio n in a s y lla b le ,
and asto w h e th e r the v o w e l appears in a s y lla b le c lo s e d by a fo rtis o r le n is
co n so n a n t. T h u s , the v o w e l is lo n g e s t when i t appears fin a l or in a s y lla b le
clo s e d by a le n is c o n so n a n t. The fo llo w in g are exam ple s o f th is :
see L T Ii T
seed |__ S c\ ^
64 -
wee
L*>» ‘ H
weed
. Its le n g th is c o n s id e ra b ly reduced when i t appears in a s y lla b le c lo s e d by a
fo rtis consonant*
see C s l;~ 3
seat L s . t J
C o n tra s t;- c— , \ —i
weed j u) \' d J
weep 5p ^
T h is is the p a tte rn w ith a ll the so c a lle d lon g v o w e ls in E n g lis h .
E n g lis h s h o rt fro n t v o w e l / I / : T h is is pronounced w ith p a rt o f the tongue more to
the c e n tre than to the fro n t in a h a lf c lo s e p o s itio n ; the lip s are spread lo o s e ly
w h ile the tongue m u scle s are in a more re la x e d c o n d itio n as com pared to the
te n s io n o f the lo n g v o w e l / i : / . T h e s id e s o f the tongue make a lig h t c o n ta c t w ith
the upper m o la rs. T he q u a lity o f th is v o w e l is near to th a t o f a c e n tra liz e d
c a rd in a l v o w e l E .g :-
p ity
b u s in e s s C lo t
p en n ie s C p t n i z l
p ercentage
The degree o f c lo s e n e s s and c e n tra liz a tio n o f th is vo w e l v a rie s a c c o rd in g to the
a c c e n tu a l fo rce fo llo w in g up on the v o w e l, G im son c ite s the w ord ' v i s i b i l i t y *
[ jV X h a v in g a v o w e l more lik e the one d e s c rib e d above in the f ir s t
and th ird s y lla b le s , and a som ew hat more c e n tra liz e d / I / on the second and fo urth
. -65 -
s y lla b le . In u n a cce n te d s y lla b le s o f c e rta in words there is free v a ria tio n R .P .
betw een / I / and /■£»/. In fa c t the w ord V i s i b i l i t y ’ quoted above is tra n s c rib e d
by the O xfo rd A d va n ce d L e a rn e rs D ic tio n a ry o f C u rre n t E n g lis h as
Such w ords as pro ble m , p o s s ib le , in te re s tin g are q uoted bv G im son as h a v in g
and J j& la p p e a rin g in free v a ria tio n :
ro J — j^pcpblsn'f] ^ Cppsxk>\"3wL f ps^ 1
|ve n K s “ L.^n -bcxsti^~3*

E n g lis h s h o rt fro n t v o w e l / £ /: T he fro n t p a rt o f the tongue is ra is e d to a p o s itio n
b etw een h a lf c lo s e and h a lf open, the lip s b eing lo o s e ly spread and s lig h tly w id e r
a part than fo r / I / . T h e s id e s o f the tongue make lig h t c o n ta c t w ith the upper
m o la rs. T h e q u a lity is in betw een th a t o f c a rd in a l v o w e l M and c a rd in a l v o w e l fed

e ith e r a more open q u a lity o f c a rd in a l b d nam ely c lo s e r q u a lity o f
c a rd in a l n am ely f f l -
e x a m p le s :- set [ > * * 1
head
many
E n g lis h s h o rt fro n t v o w e l /cig/: T h e fro n t p a rt o f the tongue is ra is e d to a
p o s itio n b etw e en h a lf open and open. T he mouth is s lig h tly more open than fo r / £ /.
T he s id e s o f the tongue make s lig h t c o n ta c t w ith the back m o la rs . T he lip s are
n a tu ra lly open. T he q u a lity is n ear to th a t o f a more open c a rd in a l v o w e l / £/ ^ J
does n o t o ccu r in fin a l, open s y lla b le s .

66
Examples: sat ^
pack
lad £ \aej □
Although this vowel is traditionally short there is a lengthening
process going on in R.P., especially in syllables closed by lenis
consonants. Even though.this is a general characteristic among
all vowels, according to G-imson a lengthened /ag / is equivalent
in quantity to the longest varieties of the five traditionally
long vowels, and he suggests that this may he due to the
increasing proximity in R.P. of / E / and /as / in quality and
that.the extra length serves as an additional disnctive feature.
Contrast: sat
sad
cap
K'ae:
cab
;English,:ShortCentral Vowel f/\/: The .centre of the tongue is
raised to the height just above the fully open position with
considerable opening of the jaws, lips are normally open,
and there is no contact between .the tongue and the upper molars.
The quality is that of a centralized slightly raised cardinal
vowel c a n mCtiJ. I A/ does not occur in final, open syllables.
examples: but t— bA-fc'T]
money /Nil'll
colour L. K a I^
flood f r / A J "I
E n g lis h Ion# b ack v o w e l / f l f : / : P a rt o f the tongue, betw een the ce ntre and back is
r a is e d t o open p o s itio n , w ith c o n s i d e r a b le o p e n in g o f t h e ja w s a n d t h e l i p s
being n e u tra lly open. There is no c o n ta c t betw een s id e s o f the tongue and the upper
m ola rSt The q u a lity is th a t o f a s lig h tly more fo rw a rd c a rd in a l v o w e l LQ]. /<?:/
does n o t n o rm a lly o c c u r before /fj /.
E xa m p le s
p ath I P *0
c a rt
h e a rt
psalm £ S C\ ; w \ 3
lau gh IT I C il -f*
L o n g /d'/ e xa m p le s:
ca r
ca rd
tar C t c >; 1
ta rd y
R educed: e xam ple s:

c a rt C . K c i ’O
ta rt C 'b a t 7!
E n g lis h b ack v o w e l / f t / : The back o f the tongue is ra is e d to o p e n p o s i t i o n ,
the ja w s b e in g .o p e n w i t h s lig h t open lip - r o u n d in g . T h e re i s no c o n t a c t b e tw e e n
the tongue and the upper m o la rs . The q u a lity is th a t o f open lip -ro u n d e d c a rd in a l
68
vo w e l jfyj ie se con da ry c a rd in a l vo w e l • / / > / does not o c c u r in a fin a l opt
s y lla b le . E xa m p le s fo llo w :
cot
wand L uj Pntt
cough £ K D f
because t U l< P
E n g lis h lo n g b a ck v o w e l / j : / : T he back o f the tongue is ra is e d betw een the h a lf
open and h a lf c lo s e p o s itio n s , w ith m edium lip rou n d in g , No c o n ta c t is made
betw een the tongue and upper m o la rs. T he q u a lity lie s betw een c a rd in a l v o w e l
a n d fjfffie a c lo s e r typ e o f c a rd in a l v o w e l [,^"3 or a more open
q u a lity o f c a rd in a l vo w e l does not o c c u r before E xam phLes
fo rce
door La* 1
cause C io.-zl
s a lt
L o n g / O ' / e xam ple s:

more 0 *1
cord D o; 43
dw arves Ldtoa; vTd
fa ll 1
Reduced le n g th : e xam ples:
p o rt
Cp=>+1
c o u rt
Li<>+1
d w a rf £©1uaf 3
- 69 -
E n g lis h s h o rt a lm o s t c e n tra l v o w e l: / y / p a rt o f the tongue, betw een the back and
the ce n tre , is ra is e d to a p o s itio n ju s t above h a lf c lo s e , no c o n ta c t being made
betw een the tongue and the upp er m o la rs . T he tongue m u scle s are lo o s e ly h e ld and
the lip s are c lo s e ly b ut lo o s e ly rounded. T he q u a lity is th a t o f a. c e n tra liz e d
c a rd in a l v o w e l o c c u r s in both a ccen ted and u n a c c e n te d s y lla b le s but

by
i t does n o t o ccu r in w ord i n i t i a l p o s itio n s nor in s y lla b le s c lo s e d * /* ) / • I t o ccurs
A J
fin a lly .o n ly in u na ccen te d s y lla b le s e .g . th e w eak form s o f ' t e d , 'dcd, and ' w ho '
are som e tim e s re a liz e d a s £ tv ^ E xa m p le s fo llo w :
p.,ii
w o lf H . V j J v l - P 'l
buii
good
c o u ld
A c c o rd in g to G im son th is v o w e l som etim es appears in free v a ria tio n w ith the
lo n g back v o w e l / u : / in some w ords in the speech o f some p e o p le . T he w ords
g ive n as e xam ple s are:

room
groom
broom G ' b r u i s ' d
E n g lis h b ack vo w e l / u : / P a rt o f the tongue s lig h tly more fo rw a rd o f the b a ck, is
ra ise d to a p o s itio n som ew hat le s s c lo s e than c a rd in a l v o w e l jji^ J w ith m in im a l
c o n ta c t betw een the tongue and upper m o la rs . T he m u s c le s o f the tongue are
tense as com pared to the la x s ta te in the p ro d u c tio n o f /"If/, w h ile the lip s are
c lo s e ly rounded. T h e q u a lity is th a t o f a s lig h tly lo w e re d and c e n tra liz e d

- 70 -
c a rd in a l v o w e l Qi . / u : / does n ot o c c u r before /. E xam ples
route
ju b ile e Colû/Uxli^]
glu e
C a u .-1
food CfM.-oQ
L o n g and red uce d form :
shoe shoot Q « t l
hooves [^V iu W zQ h oo f C \n v - v f "1
lose H \ u; -zT\ lo o s e
E n g lis h C e n tra l V o w e l / % : / T he ce ntre o f the tongue is ra is e d to a p o s itio n betw e en
h a lf-c lo s e and h a lf-o p e n , no c o n ta c t b eing made betw een tongue and upper m olars.
T he lip s are n e u tra lly open. S ince th is is a c e n tra l v o w e l, i t c a n n o t be re la te d to
any o f the c a rd in a l v o w e ls w h ic h have e ith e r fro n t or back q u a lity . / 3 :/ does n o t
n o rm a lly o ccu r before / ^ / * E xa m p le s fo llo w :
w o rth E
b ird
turn D t s ; n i
perch C p i'- t T ]
s e a rch
jo u rn e y L o K v . m ^
Lon g and reduced form s:
curd c u rt
heard h u rt L - U l- td
er r earth E 5 0 Q
E n g l i s h Short Central V o w e l / g / : T h i s v o w e l is related in quality to the a b o v e
d e s c r i b e d long central v o w e l / 3 :/, their m o d e of production b ei n g s o m e w h a t the s a m e .
T h e difference b e t w e e n the t w o v o w e l s be i n g that the short v o w e l / g / o c c u r s m a i n l y
in u n a c c e n t e d syllables, it is also the v o w e l c o m m o n l y u s e d in w e a k forms of s u c h
w o r d s as 'a*, 'an’, 'the* a n d 'for* - / a / , /^n/ / ^ / /•£&/ e t c »
suitable £ S U ;t s U 3
a ga i n
sister [_Sx S +
1
—* J
woman 1 VJ v~ too
b u tte re d EbA-VscJ 3
ENGLISH DIPHTHONGS
OX
Gimson defines a diphthong as '<k sequence ^yocalic elements which form
a glide within one syllable. It may be seen to consist of two elements
in its formation. Gimson describes the first element as the starting
point and the second element as the point in the direction of which the
glide is m a d e . The first part is usually more prominent in the sense
that most of the length and stress associated with, a diphthong is

o
concentrated on this part. According to Ladefoged, the second part
is so brief and transitory, that it is difficult to determine its exact
quality. Diphthongs are equiyalent in length to the long yowels. Their
length is similarly affected according to whether they appear in open
syllables o ^ if closed, whether it', is by a fortis or lonis consonant..
Thus, the first element is long in an open syllable and before a lenis
consonant and considerably shortened before a fortis. /el/: This
diphthong has its starting point slightly below the cardinal vowel
ie and moyes towards the English short yowel /l/.

E x a m p l e s follow:
w e ig h t
b re ak ^ Yo v" X '^ • 2 \
sa y [ S e - l "3
p a in Q ^ < 3 .5 n ~ 2 \
fame L _ f e -'I rrt 3
L o n g and reduced fo rm s:-
phase L f e - r x z H face 1— 1" e . X s d
pays £pe:fZ_J P ace C . P e3:5' J
may [2 m e ; x21 maê
/at/: T h i s d i p h t h o n g starts from a point slightly b e h i n d the cardinal front v o w e l
a n d m o v e s in the direction of the E n g l i s h short v o w e l /I/. Examples;-: ..:
time /2~b c \ r m ~ 1
h ig h [I U & x 3
jibe
eye L ^ X 21
either Q ctl
L o n g a n d r e d u c e d forms:-
hide [d W. cZ; X dl I! height
five 21
/pi/: T h i s starts from a point a little b e l o w the cardinal b a c k v o w e l b d and
m o v e s t o w a r d the direction of the E n g l i s h short v o w e l /I/.

- 74 -
Examples:- — i
boy C J
noise Lnoixd]
Ok
voice
toy 12 ^ 3
v o id C VO .T e l 7 'lu o it C .W :T -fe "3
)°ys C o l^ .T Z jj Joyce L ° L ° X S d
/9lf/'- T h i s d i p h t h o n g b e g i n s at a central position a bout the s a m e are a as the t w o
E n g l i s h central v o w e l s / 3 :/ a n d / ^ / a n d m o v e s t o w a r d s the E n g l i s h short v o w e l
/*!//* E x a m p l e s follow:
&oat C e ^ ' 7 / ”b2]
know rA^^T J
sew i l ^ o r J
home L
s ho u l d e r l s
L o n g a n d r e d u c e d form:
goad [2 T/olJ & oat
robe C r 3 :v ^ r°P e C r s v p d
/QVf: B e g i n s at a position a little to the front of E n g l i s h long v o w e l /<*:/ go in g
t o w a r d s the direction of E n g l i s h short v o w e l /If. H o w e v e r for m a n y s p e a k e r s the
first e l e m e n t of /at/ a n d /air/ m a y be identical.

-75 -
E x a m p l e s follow:
house j__ o\orS"3

V">
pound \o 0\ u r* 31
ft \
bow [3 io ov o f 3
cow
loud C . l c^ ‘v * d 3 ^0Ut V— ^
gouge L ^ W .'V c t^ l gt° UCh C c^'r “ 'Vr^ - J

- 76 -
v. S U P K A S E G M E N T A L FEATURES OF ENGLISH
S u p r a s e g m e n t a l features are tho se a s p e c t s of s p e e c h w h i c h m a y e x t e n d
b e y o n d the limits of n s e g m e n t a l p h o n e m e a n d m a y e m b r a c e m u c h higher units
of an utterance. T h e m a i n s u p r a s e g m e n t a l features of E n g l i s h are stress, length
a n d pitch variations.
STRESS; A l t h o u g h it is generally a g r e e d that o n e of the basic p h o n o l o g i c a l
categories available to E n g l i s h s p e a k e r s is the feature of stress^not e v e r y o n e is
a g r e ed o n h o w it is to be defined. M o s t linguists h o w e v e r agree that stress is
s p e a k e r oriented i.e. it is s o m e t h i n g w h i c h the s p e a k e r does, but h o w it is
signalled to the listener is ano t he r matter. G i m s o n defines stress in terms of a
'mental p u l s e or b e a t ’ taking p lace in the n e r v o u s activity of the brain. This
'mental p u l s e or b e a t ’ m a y be the b asis for rhythmic gro uping of ut terances in
E n g l i s h s p e e c h w h i c h e n a b l e s a native s p e a k e r to tap out the beats of s e n t e n c e
e v e n w h e n it is not c om p l e t e d . T h e 'beat’ is m a n i f e s t e d in terms of extra
articulatory effort or greater l o u d n e s s both of w h i c h , a cc or di n g to G i m s o n , h a v e
no linguistic significance w it ho ut the c o m p l e x help of pitch, quantity a n d quality
variations of w h i c h m o r e will be said later.
D a n i e l J o n e s defines stress as the d e g r e e of force with w h i c h a s o u n d or
(o
syllable is uttered. It involves a strong ‘p u s h ’ from the c he s t wall a n d
c o n s e q u e n t l y a strong force of exhalation w h i c h gives the objective i mp r e s s i o n
of l o u d n e s s . It s o m e t i m e s h a p p e n s that a strong stress falls o n a s o u n d i nc a p a b l e
of receiving a n y noticeable in crease of l o ud ne ss , w h e n this h a p p e n s a foreign

learner of the l a n g u a g e m a y not detect the p r e s e n c e of a stress, but a native s p e a k e r
of the l a n g u a g e w o u l d , subjectively from his o w n k n o w l e d g e of the l a n g u a g e a n d
h o w h e w o u l d p r o d u c e the s a m e utterance in similar c i r c u m s t a n c e s ,
it
L a d e f o g e d defines stress s i m p l y as s o m e t h i n g the s p e a k e r does,- but h e gives
hints o n h o w to detect a st r es s e d syllable. A c c o r d i n g to h i m a s t r e s s e d syllable is
often but not a l w a y s louder than a n u n s t r e s s e d one, a n d it is usually o n a higher
pitch, a l th ou g h this m a y not a l w a y s be the case. H e s a y s the m o s t efficient w a y of
detecting a s t re s s e d syllable in E n g l i s h is to n ote the length of the v o w e l , a
s t r e s s e d syllable frequently h a s a longer vo wel.
All the se definitions illustrate that stress in E n g l i s h is by n o m e a n s an e a s y
c o n c e p t a n d that as G i m s o n noted, it is only a c h i e v e d through a c o m p l e x c o m b i n a t i o n
of several ph onological p r o c e s s e s in E n g l i s h w h i c h w e shall s e e later.
Stress h a s sev er al functions in E n gl is h , for instance, there are s o m e w o r d s
w h o s e g r a m m a t i c a l function c a n only b e d e t e r m i n e d by w h e t h e r the stress falls o n the
first or s e c o n d syllable i.e. certain n o u n s are distinguished in this w a y from verbs,
a n d certain c o m p o u n d n o u n s from c o m b i n a t i o n s of adjective plus no u n.
Examples:-
N O U N VERB
însult in*sult
£• im'port
import
încrease in*crease
- 78 -
'rebel re'bel
'export e x port
're'fund re'fund
convict c o lnvict
C O M P O U N D NOUNS ADJECTIVE NOUN
'nightdress 'night 'dress
sweetmeat ' s w e e t 'meat
'greenland 'green 'land
Stress in E n g l i s h is also u s e d to give special e m p h a s i s to a w o r d or to
contrast o n e w o r d with a n other in a s en t e n c e . T h i s is called s e n t e n c e stress
as c o m p a r e d to the a b o v e w h i c h is w o r d stress. In E n g l i s h e a c h w o r d h a s w h a t
is known as a c i t a t i o n form i.e. the form in whi ch i t is pronounced when it is
c o n s i d e r e d in isolation. A t least o n e syllable is fully stres se d in this form, but
in c o n v e n t i o n a l s p e e c h w o r d s rarely m a i n t a i n their citation form. T h e stresses
w h i c h o c c u r b n "them w h e n treated individually, s o m e t i m e s b e c o m e m od if i ed w h e n the
w o r d s are part of a s e n t en ce . T h e modification takes the form of dr opping s o m e of the •
s tresses o n syllables w h i c h w o u l d o t h e r w i s e h a v e b e e n stre s se d s o as to a v o i d h a v i n g
too m a n y str e s s e s c o m i n g too close to e a c h other. E.g. H e r e is a list of w o r d s with
their individual stresses: ' M w a m b a , 'old, *friend, 'wanted, 'five, 'new, 'nets. If w e
string these w o r d s into a s e n t e n c e s o m e of the st resses o n s o m e w o r d s will disappear:
* M w a m b a ’s old 'friend w a n t e d 'five n e w 'nets.
In this s e n t e n c e w e h a v e only four st re s s e d syllables falling o n ' M w a m b a , 'friend,
1
'five a n d 'nets, the syllables o n the other w o r d s h a v e lost theirs. T h i s is by n o m e a n s
the only a cc ep t a b l e w a y of s ay i n g this sentence, the stress c a n b e shifted to a ny
w o r d w e w a n t to place our e m p h a s i s on. F o r in stance w e c a n shift the stress from
'friend^to 'old if w e w a n t to contrast M w a m b a ’s old friend with his n e w friend. We
c a n also shift it to w a n t e d or n o w if w e w a n t to i mp l y a contrast with s omething
else.
In spite of these shifts in stress patterns, the stressed syllables tend to o c c u r
at regular intervals giving p r o m i n e n c e to those parts of the s p e e c h to w h i c h the
s p e a k e r w i s h e s to attach particular importance, the syllables in b e t w e e n the stressed
onesbe in g w e a k l y a n d rapidly articulated. T h i s gives the s p e e c h a certain kind
of rh yt hm the m a i n t e n a n c e of w h i c h involves the following phonolo gi ca l p r o c e s s e s
a) strong a n d w e a k forms
b) variable stressing
c) v o w e l quality a n d quantity/quality of
consonants
Strong a n d W e a k F o r m s : T h e r e are m a n y c o m m o n E n g l i s h w o r d s w h i c h c a n h a v e t w o
or m o r e forms of pronunciation, a strong form a n d o n e or m o r e w e a k ones. Strong
forms o c c u r ma in l y in stressed positions although they m a y o c c u r in u n s t r e s s e d o n e s
too. W e a k forms o cc u r only in u n s t r e s s e d positions. W e a k forms are p r o d u c e d b y
c h a n g i n g the v o w e l s o u n d or by eliding a s o u n d (v ow el or consonant). W h e n the
forms differ in v o w e l quality it is generally the central v o w e l / ^ / w h i c h is found
in the w e a k form w h e n the strong form h a s s o m e other v owel. T h e following is a
list of strong a n d w e a k forms in Eng l i s h as given by Da ni e l J o n e s

- 80 -
WORD STRONG FORM WEAK FORM

a
A x/
hi
am /aev-v/
/ W hf
an âe rvj
/sn/ /^/
and j^zÂ j ,A/
are /<V / hi
/a : r / before [»<-{ before v o w e l s
as • JzezJ A /
at j-zexj ywt /
/t,x/
be
A',;I /k>xn/
been
Z*W1 ;
but
/ k A -t/
by
A at/ A » / Ax/
can /\csc.vyr jK^Î
I
could " jv^xs cAj
[dxr I f d ^ j j AJ
do l<Au>\j
f A 3>*zy^
does / o Ia * ^ /
l-faf
for /P=>; /
/f 3 ir / before before v o w e l s
from Z^r p *^y l^rYvyj
had Z^ s€.^z Z^ôl/ I^ A l {d j
h as Zk* Z ^ -?_/
a j ^ 7- / Z2-/ i
have A * 32>f / Z*VZ i^}

he /u ;.■ / /'•7 /kx/ hi
her
/U i:/ A ^ r / A I /= */
A i :r/ /k W A r/ /W
- 81
WORD STRONG FORM W E A K FORM

, i
him
/k x ^ / A"/
h is /k lx /
is /XT./ hJ h
m&f am w*I
-?>r '^~! / r -' ' W
many I Su fV L /
me /m 11j b %l
v / /G » s /
/ r a l\S - V /
m ust
/m a y / ^ /
/v M a x ^ /
my
h*l
nor /r\o'./
b efore v o w e ls lr\Sfr[ before vo w e ls
/ n 3i r/
not
/r > p + / A*V hi
of / p v;/ M /V
or M H
/v. cj
be fo re v o w e ls H before v o w e ls
per
h*V H y k x n -t;
s a in t
y4«V j^j-
rvt /
s h a ll /f& c L / M N N
she /j,';/ hi
sh ou ld /kd j E j/ /W
s ir A ^ :/ hi
/ / before v o w e ls before vo w e ls
so /C . i ' U ' / hi
some S A
/s /
such ; jS^Sj-
than /^ r^ n J
WORD STRONG FORM W E A K FORM
that
j £ ^ -t/
the y G r l/ /> a / /^ /
A A
A 1"'1/
them jb r t . ^ 1
/hs>/
there feta!
before v o w e l s r / b efore v o w e l
/- fe ll/
till jtx l/
ftu:}
to A V /W
/a'^> D y / a p s*
upon
us [l\^l
/a s ./ /? ./
/ w O2 / /w a a /
was
i
j\jj i ;j / w l/
W6
/lo a /
/w a l/
W6F6 / #
before v o w e l s /u d c» r y before v o w e l s
j\ a> v . r /
who
A A /u s / A v / v /
/ u jx 1/
will A / A V
would / 'jJ a d y ' A > 0' / A /
you 7 / A /
y our / w / W
T h e a b o v e listed w o r d s are s p o k e n fast in b e t w e e n stre ss ed syllables w h e n they
a p p e a r in the w e a k form.
V ariable S t r e s s i n g . t e n d e n c y to a vo i d s t r e s s e d syllables c o m i n g c l o s e to e a c h
other m a y c a u s e the stress o n a poly-syllabic w o r d to b e o n o n e syllable in o n e

se n te n ce , and on a nother in a nother s e n te n c e :-
1) Its a 'p s y c h o lo g ic a l 's tu d y
^ 2) but ~ Its 'g o o d p s y c h o lo g ic a l 'p r a c tic e
3) He is 'te m p e ra 'm e n ta l
but
4) He is 'q u ite te m p e ra 'm e n ta l
V o w e l T e n se n e ss and Q u a n tity : We have a lre a d y seen th a t the v o w e ls o f E n g lis h
can be c la s s ifie d in term s o f te nse ne ss (ten se or la x ) and q u a n tity (s h o rt, lo n g ), and
th a t there is a c o rre la tio n betw een te nse ne ss and le n g th . T hus th e fo llo w in g
E n g lis h v o w e ls and d ip h th o n g s have been c la s s ifie d as tense and lo n g :
Ia:I•I:>■'/, |u/[, /ei/, fav/, jazf, /ia/;/£3

and the fo llo w in g as la x and fa ir ly s h o rt:
1 1 I M , 1 1 I W . 1*1
* , * , ■
We have a ls o seen th a t the so c a lle d lo n g v o w e ls have th e ir le n g th reduced when they
appear in a s y lla b le c lo s e d by a v o ic e le s s co n so n a n t i.e . bead j b i: d / c o n s tra s te d
w ith b ea t Jbi-'-tj and the sh o rt v o w e ls become even s h o rte r in the same c irc u m s ta n c e s
e .g. b id - jb ld j , b it-jb T t^ . In a d d itio n to th is p ro ce ss v o w e l le n g th is a ls o a ffe c te d
by the rhythm o f a se nte nce in co nn ecte d sp ee ch. The te nd en cy to have s tre s s e d
s y lla b le s come a fte r re g u la r in te rv a ls reduces the le n g th o f some v o w e ls w h ic h are
o th e rw is e c o n s id e re d lo n g when th ey are tre a te d as in d iv id u a l phonem es, For
in s ta n c e lo n g v o w e ls and d ip h th o n g s in s tre s s e d s y lla b le s are s h o rte r when an
u n s tre s s e d s y lla b le im m e d ia te ly fo llo w s in the same w ord, m o re ja v e r the g re a te r

the num ber o f fo llo w in g u n s tre s s e d s y lla b le s the s h o rte r becom es the s tre s s e d
v o w e l:
'g re e d y / 3 r i: <J I /
"g re e d ily JU r
L o n g v o w e ls a ls o becom e s h o rte r when th e y appear in u n s tre s s e d s y lla b le s e .g ,
c a rto o n ^ k a :'tu :& i|. A l l these fa c to rs w h ic h we h ave ju s t d is c u s s e d a c t to g e th e r
to m a in ta in re g u la r rhyth m in E n g lis h s p e e c h .
In to n a tio n : In tim a te ly bound up w ith s tre s s and a ll the o th e r fe a tu re s ju s t d is c u s s e d
above is in to n a tio n . In to n a tio n is the lin g u is t ic use o f p itc h v a ria tio n s w h ic h o c c u r
in E n g lis h s p e e c h . T h ro u g h o u t e v e ry s y lla b le in a n orm a l c o n v e rs a tio n a l u tte ra n c e
the p itc h is g o in g up and dow n. In to n a tio n is c lo s e ly c o n n e c te d w ith s tre s s and the
o th e r fe a tu re s w h ic h c o n trib u te to the rhythm o f the la n g u a g e , in th a t the in fo rm a tio n
an u tte ra n c e c o n v e y s to a lis te n e r d e riv e s n o t o n ly from it s c h a n g in g sound p a tte rn s
and the c o n s tr a s tiv e s tre s s a lre a d y re fe rre d to above b u t a ls o from a s s o c ia te d
v a ria tio n s o f p itc h ie In to n a tio n p a tte rn s . In d e e d , so c lo s e is th is c o n n e c tio n , th a t
fu tu re use o f the term ‘ in to n a tio n ’ in th is s tu d y is to be ta k e n as in c lu d in g the
a s s o c ia te d s tre s s s y s te m .
In to n a tio n has s e v e ra l ro le s in E n g lis h . T he m ost o b v io u s ro le is its
s y n ta c tic fu n c tio n . B y means o f p itc h v a ria tio n s , i t is p o s s ib le to d iv id e lo n g
u tte ra n c e s in to c o h e re n t s y n ta c tic s tru c tu re s o r word groups.
1) T h e o ld man d riv in g the c a r yfs a p ris o n g u a r d .^
2) E v e n i f he rea ds the c h a p te r tw ic e /h e w i l l n o t be a b le to
u n d e rsta n d i t *// .
- 85 -
The s y n ta c tic d iv is io n betw een the tw o c la u s e s in each o f the above se nte nce s
w i ll be m arked by in to n a tio n in sp e e c h . The p a tte rn o f p itc h w h ic h accom panies
the f ir s t c la u s e in each se n te n ce w i ll be re co g n ize d as a se pa ra te u n it from the
fo llo w in g c la u s e by means o f in to n a tio n . Som etim es the m eaning o f the w ho le s e n te n c e
is d e te rm in e d by w here we d e cid e to p u t the d iv is io n o f a w ord group, fo r in s ta n c e
in the fo llo w in g se n te n ce :
She w ashed and took the boy fo r a w a lk .
As one w ord group, th is se n te n ce W ould mean “ She w ashed the boy and then took
him fo r a w a lk ” , b u t as tw o w ord groups:
She w ashed, and took the boy fo r a w a lk .
It w ould mean she had a w ash and then took the boy fo r a w a lk . In w ritin g the
d iv is io n is m arked by p u n c tu a tio n b ut in speech i t is m arked by u s in g d iffe r e n t p itc h
p a tte rn s fo r each w ord group.
In to n a tio n is a lso used fo r g ra m m a tic a l p urpo ses, in the fo llo w in g s e n te n ce :
T e a or coffee?
I f s a id w ith a ris e in p itc h on Tea and a f a ll on c o ffe e , i t means th a t o n ly tea and
co ffe e are a v a ila b le , but w ith a ris e in p itc h on both T ea and coffe.e, means th a t
o the r beverages are a v a ila b le , tea and c o ffe e being o n ly e x a m p le s .
In to n a tio n a ls o fu n c tio n s to mark the fo cu s o f in fo rm a tio n in a word g ro u p .
T he w ords in a w ord group do n ot n e c e s s a rily a ll c o n trib u te an e q u a l amount o f
in fo rm a tio n to the lis te n e r , some are more c ru c ia l to the m eaning t h a n o t h e r s } but
th is depends la rg e ly on the c o n te x t or c irc u m s ta n c e s in w h ic h the w ord group is

said, 3 y m e a n s of pitch variations, t hose parts of a n utterance o n w h i c h the s p e a k e r
w i s h e s to co nc en tr a te attention s t a n d out clearly s o that the l i s t e n e r is left in no
doubt. F o r instance in the following s e n t e n c e 1:
!It w a s very useful information J
T h e last three w o r d s w o u l d b e important if the listener w a s hearing this s e n t e n c e
for the first time, but if h e already k n e w s o m e t h i n g ab o u t the 'information’ a nd
p e r h a p s h e o nly w a n t e d to find out w h a t sort of information the s p e a k e r h a d got
then the w o r d 'useful’ w o u l d b e important, but 'information' w o u l d lose its
i m p o r t a n c e b e c a u s e it is already c o m m o n k n o w l e d g e b e t w e e n them. Similarly if
the listener k n e w that the 'information w a s u s e fu l’, but h e just w a n t e d to find out
to w h a t d e g r e e the information w a s useful then the w o r d 'very’ w o u l d b e important
etc. T h e w o r d or w o r d s in a w o r d g roup w h i c h are the focus of information are said
to b e a c c e n t e d .
A n o t h e r very important u s e of - intonation in E n g l i s h but w h i c h is not s o
o b v i o u s to a foreign learner of the la n gu ag e, is its function as o n e of the
indicators of the s p e a k e r s ’ attitude at the m o m e n t of s p e a k i n g to the situation in
w h i c h h e is p l a c e d . M o s t linguists w h o h a v e d o n e s o m e w o r k o n E n g l i s h intonation
are generally in a g r e e m e n t a s to the i m p o r t a n c e of intonation as an.indicator of the
s p e a k e r ’s attitude. It is also generally a g r e e d that intonation b y itself c a n n o t
a d e q u a t e l y e x p r e s s the s p e a k e r ' s attitude without the help of other variables.
‘Whateverjdifference of opinion there m a y b e in this respect a m o n g linguists is o n e
of e m p h a s i s as to w h i c h variable carries m o s t w e i g h t as an indicator of the s p e a k e r ’s

attitude. O ' C o n n o r a n d A r n o l d tend to think that both the intonation a n d the
verbal structure of an utterance are important a sp e c t s in e x p r e s s i n g the s p e a k e r ’s
attitude, a n d that intonation a lone w ithout the verbal content w o u l d only give a v a g u e
Oh
i m p r e s s i o n of the total m e a n i n g . Similarly the verbal structure a lo ne w i t h o u t the
intonation w o u l d lack s o m e additional information w h i c h intonation alone c a n provide,
without w h i c h there w o u l d be m o r e i m p re ci si o ns a n d am biguities in the l a n g u a g e
than there already a r e . ' G i m s o n o n the other h a n d thinks that "attitudinal m e a n i n g
of an utterance m u s t a l w a y s b e interpreted within the context, both of the situation
a nd also of the s p ea ke r' s personality,’' W h i l e Alien a n d C o r d e r s a y "intonation
b y itself d o e s not m e a n an yt h in g in particular, it d o e s not d e n o t e a n y particular
attitude,” O u t a c c o m p a n i e d w ith other variables s u c h as s p e e d a n d l o u d n e s s
h a r s h or breathy voice, a smile, or p u r s e d lips it d o e s d e n o t e attitude.
D r . H a z e l Carter, o n the other h a n d , s u g g e s t s that the intonation pattern o n e
c h o o s e s to u s e is s o inextricably b o u n d u p with attitude in the m i n d of a native
s p e a k e r of E n g l i s h that the influence of the s e m a n t i c co ntent of a n utterance is
s o m e t i m e s mi nimal. O n this point s h e states " A n intonation signal s a y i n g in effect
'I dislike a n d d e s p i s e y o u ’ will override w h a t e v e r the s p e a k e r m a y b e s a y i n g in
terms of s e m a n t i c content.” '^ ( S o m e intonation tune s in E n g l i s h carry very
offensive c o n n o t a t i o n s . / 11 T h i s m e a n s that n o matter h o w friendly the s e m a n t i c
con tent of a n utterance mi g h t b e a n d n o matter w h a t additional paralinguistic
features s u c h as s mile or a lau gh mi g h t a c c o m p a n y it, if the s p e a k e r c h o s e an
offensive tune, then the tune alone is e n o u g h to m a k e a n E n g l i s h m a n angry, a n d
h e m i g h t e v e n r e s p o n d with physical violence. I, for o n e w o u l d tend to a gree with

G im son, 1 fe e l th a t the re la tio n s h ip w h ic h e x is ts betw een the sp e a k e r and the lis te n e r
a t the tim e o f the u tte ra n ce and the c o n te x t o f u tte ra n c e it s e lf m ust have some bea rin g
on the in te rp re ta tio n o f the s p e a k e r’ s a ttitu d e .
T he a n a ly s is o f B r itis h E n g lis h in to n a tio n p atterns w h ic h fo llo w s w i l l be
based on O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld ‘ In to n a tio n o f C o llo q u ia l E n g lis h .’
O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld d is tin g u is h ten b a s ic tone groups in th e ir u ne m p ha tic and em pha
tic form s and th e ir a ttitu d in a l c o n n o ta tio n s in .B r itis h E n g lis h , A tone group is com posed
o f tunes w h ic h share one or more p itc h fe a tu re s , and w hose a ttitu d in a l m eaning is
more or le s s the same on the p a rt o f the sp e a ke r. A tune is d e fin e d by O ’ C onnor
and A rn o ld as a co m p le te p itc h trea tm en t o f a w ord group. On the w h o le , se ven tunes
have been d is tin g u is h e d in B r itis h E n g lis h by O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld ,
lo w - fa ll 1
.AN__
h ig h -fa ll
T
m e
lo w -ris e
^ m .e .
f a ll- r is e
h ig h -ris e ^
r is e - fa ll
m id -le v e l
m e
-89 -
E a c h w o r d g ro up n o matter h o w long or short it m a y be m u s t h a v e o n e of these
s e v e n tunes. T h e structure of the intonation gro up is as follows:
T* j p r e h e a d -L j head -f j nucleus ^ tail
T h e n u c l e u s is a n obligatory feature of the group, the other features m a y or m a y
not be present. T h e n u c l e u s is the stre ss e d syllable of the last a c c e n t e d w o r d in
a w o r d group, a n d it is o n this syllable that the w h o l e tune centres * T h e s e v e n
rising, falling or level tunes w h i c h take p l ac e o n the n u c l e u s or start from it are
k n o w n a s nucl e ar tones. T h e r e are s e v e n of these tones c o r r e s p o n d i n g to the
s e v e n tunes. T h e h e a d starts from the first stressed syllable to the nu cleus,, the
p r e h e a d cons i st s of all u n s t r e s s e d syllables before the h ea d. T h e syllables w h i c h
c o m e after the n u c l e u s are called the tail.
E x a m p l e s ’:
^J O A N
f
NUCLEUS
T-■o
■■ m and j ^J
Joan are i ■in—■■iwhere
nniWimiTr
t
Head
1
Nucleus
?.
Tail
I think that Tom and *J o a n are here.
t t t T
Prehead Head Nucleus Tail
T h e r e are four types of head'|]ow, h i g h , falling a n d rising h e a d a n d t w o types of
pr ehead; l o w and high. T h e last three types of h e a d c a n be found in both
u n e m p h a t i c a n d e m p h a t i c forms.
- 90 -
T he fo llo w in g ta b le s are taken from D r. C a rte r’ s summary o f O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld .
TYPES OF NU CLEU S ( T A IL )
TABLE I
LOW FALL > ' !,No , '•l; she replied.
HIGH FALL Surely it's not!

N
LOW. RISE What did you say? *
z *
+ * .... . ‘
HIGH RISE J Definitely? _ *-
*
FALL-RISE. Come along, slowcoach!
V *
RISE-FALL Do it yourself, then! " ..i'
MID-LEVEL ‘ Finally...(er) —— _• ^ m, #
.................... ........... .....
TYPES OP HEAD
T A 3 L E II
LOW » » » S urely you can t e ll the d iffe re n c e ?
. . • * * *
H IG H _______________________ Why does he have to come now?
E M P H A T IC * ~— « * Why d id you te ll me you c o u ld n ’ t see a nyth ing ?
F A L L IN G _________ * * * * „ No one is g o in g to p ic k you up a g a in .
E M P H A T IC S L ID IN G * . ^ , N o t u n le s s I ’ m there he w o n ’ t.
%
R IS IN G * A b s o lu te ly rig h t !
E M P H A T IC C L IM B IN G ** I have to ld you and to ld you
and to ld you a g a in ,
T Y P E S OF P R E H E A D
T A B L E III
LOW « ♦ * B u t i f I c a tc h you again
* * *
H IG H B u t you w ere p e rfe c tly e n title d to
- 91 -
The ten tone groups re fe rre d to on page qq are com posed o f a c o m b in a tio n o f the
v a rio u s p arts o f a n u c le a r tone as s e t o u t on the above ta b le s , w ith e ve ry o th e r p art.
T h o se tonefe w h ic h share common fe a tu re s in term s o f meaning and p itc h p a tte rn s
have been grouped together to form a tone group. T he fo llo w in g ta b le is D r. C a rte r’ s
summ ary o f the ten tone groups from O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld .
O U T L IN E OF THE TEN TONE GROUPS
TABLE 4
U ** U n e m p h a tic E = E m p h a tic
Group name P re-head Mead N u c le u s

1)
L o w -d ro p : U lo w (h ig h ) lo w - fa li
E h ig h ( h ig h ) lo w - fa ll
2)
H ig h -d ro p : ( Low ) ( h ig h ) h ig h -fa ll
h ig h ( h ig h ) h ig h - fa ll
C ith e r s te p p in g h ig h -fa ll
C ith e r h ig h - f a ll( s ) h ig h - fa ll
3)
T a ke -off: U (lo w ) (lo w ) lo w -ris e
E h ig h lo w lo w -ris e
4)
L o w B o un ce : U (lo w ) h ig h lo w -ris e
high lo w -ris e
E hig h h ig h lo w -ris e
E ith e r s te p p in g lo w -ris e
5)
S w itch b a ck': U (lo w ) ( fa llin g ) f a l l ris e
E hig h ( fa llin g ) f a l l -rise
(© ith e r) s lid in g f a l l -rise
( d ith e r ) h ig h f a ll (s) ^ i l l fis e
-92 -
6)
L o n g Jump': U (lo w ) ris in g h ig h - fa ll
E h ig h ris in g h ig h - fa ll
(E ith e r) c lim b in g h ig h - fa ll
7)
H ig h bounce: U (lo w ) (h ig h ) h ig h -ris e
E hig h (h ig h ) h ig h -ris e
C ith e r s te p p in g h ig h -ris e
8)
ja c k - k n ife : lo w (h ig h ) r is e - fa ll
hig h (h ig h ) r is e - fa ll
C ith e r s te p p in g ris e T a ll
9)
H ig h d ive ': U (lo w ) (h ig h ) h ig h f a l l ( L o w a c c e n ts )
L . ris e
E (h ig h ) (h ig h ) h ig h fa ll ( Low a c c e n ts )
L o w rise
E ith e r S te p p in g h ig h fa ll ( lo w a c c e n ts )
lo w ris e
10)
T e rra c e : U Low (H ig h ) frtid le v e l.
E k ig h ( k ig h ) $t)id -le v e l
((gather) s te p p in g (Vlid le v e l
-93 -
S E C T IO N 2. C H A P T E R 4.
I I . P R O N U N C IA T IO N P E R F O R M A N C E IN E N G L IS H C O N SO N ANTS
With^che fo re g o in g d e s c rip tio n o f the Tonga and E n g lis h sound s y s te m s in m ind,
tw o e x e rc is e s w ere g ive n to tw o groups o f Z a m b ia n s c h o o l c h ild re n . T he fir s t
group c o n s is te d o f c h ild re n from grade 5, the se con d from F o rm '3 a ll s p e a k in g Tonga
as th e ir f ir s t la n g u a g e . T he in fo rm a n ts were chosen as fo llo w s :-
Grade 5 - 1 0 g ir ls
10 b oys.
Form 3 - 10 g ir ls
- 10 b o y s .
T h e s o c io -e c o n o m ic backg ro un d o f the s u b je c ts was not e x p lo re d .
T he f ir s t e x e rc is e c o n s is te d o f tw o p a s s a g e s , The F ir s t F arm ers and T he T hree
F is h e rm e n , ch ose n from tw o grade 5 N ew Z am b ia P rim a ry C ourse E n g lis h Readers,
w h ic h the in fo rm a n ts w ere a sked to read. The second e x e rc is e c o n s is te d o f a s e rie s
o f p ic tu re s w h ic h the in fo rm a n ts were a sked to name w h ile 1 ta p e -re co rd e d th e ir
resp o n se s.
T h e aim o f these e x e rc is e s wasto d ete rm ine the nature o f the E n g lis h sounds
the in fo rm a n ts have so fa r le a rn t, how fa r these d iv e rg e d from sta nd ard E n g lis h
so un ds, and w h e th e r these d ive rg e n ce s can be e x p la in e d in any w ay. The e x e rc is e s
a ls o trie d to a sse ss w h e th e r there are any s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e s betw een the two
groups.
T he w r ite r re c o g n iz e s the lim ita tio n s o f u s in g a rea din g e x e rc is e as a b a s is
fo r d e te rm in in g le a rn e d sounds s in c e re a d in g in v o lv e s re c o g n itio n o f the w ritte n

. -94 - .
s ym b o l, a s s o c ia tin g i t w ith a p a rtic u la r sound, and fin a lly the a c tu a l p h y s ic a l
p ro d u c tio n o f the sound on the p a rt o f the c h ild . T he w rite r w o u ld have p re fe rre d to
use^spontaneous speech as a b a s is , b u t as has been p o in te d o ut a lre a d y in th is w o rk,
the em phasis in the te a ch in g o f the E n g lis h language in Z a m b ia n s c h o o ls is more
on the w ritte n than the sp oke n form o f the language, R esponses to q u e s tio n s tend
to be lim ite d to one w ord per q u e s tio n ,o n ly the few bold ones can produce a few
se nte nce s s p o n ta n e o u s ly a t grade 5 le v e l. T h is n e c e s s ita te d the use o f the one
m ethod through w h ic h s u ffic ie n t d ata c o u ld be o b ta in e d and th a t w as by m aking the
in fo rm a n ts read.
T h e fo llo w in g is a s in g le c o n so n a n t c h a rt fo r both E n g lis h and T onga to w h ic h
re fe ren ce w i l l be made in the c o urse o f the a n a ly s is o f the inform a nts', p ro n u n c ia tio n
p erform ance.
- 95 -
ENGLISH A N D T O N G A SINGLE CONSONANTS/PHONES
o U
<L> fd
o > x
c a> Q)

!
< 'i O
Xl O c3 •H
X a <L)
> X o
• t
cd <D o Tj ai fd
to to < to to to to X O
P lo s iv e
E n g lis h P b t d k 5
Tonga
P t fr
A ffric a te
E n g lis h
tj d3
T onga
J
N asal
E n g lis h m n
b
T on ga
m n
R o ll
E n g lis h
T onga
F la p
E n g lis h
Tonga r
L a te ra l
E n g lis h L
T on ga
1
F r ic a tiv e
E n g lis h -p V E> cT £ Z. I 3 k
T onga
■5 ? 5 *• V Hi ^
C o n tin u a n t s or
Sem i-vow e .s *
E n g lis h w
T on ga to i
- 96 -
PERFORMANCE'IN ENGLISH PLOSIVES GROUP 1
English P h o n e m e Words Informants:
people
A/
perhaps
[p s U S tf
pulled
C p u;^ 1 tipp'd] Qpmd
lhl because H. lc> i o I ic o '
bare
boat
[ > * * 1
time L _ -t c a Lj1c a ' \ l G ^ itv i
hot
ic.li
water
L w o - b c i" ^ C . w o + ^ '3 L uj< d^ \ ]
hi do c ^ i m
hard iR.il l w G L -1 c
sa d l y Csa<U\Q tsa«uv3 LsaoU0 ^sacl
hi
catch
ZwQ D < -^ ] O C l> 0
rock
Er ° KG CcokU C-CoiU] L£°k'.
because [_ lo v \ C . C lG r lo l\C o A | L > lli,O S ^ ] A l ^ 0 '
Cê+H C^-t Ovf+] C^-O’

hi get
big
h k 'j l
ago
D^G L ^ o - j C a 3 o l
- 97 -
ENGLISH PLOSIVES GROUP If
E n g lis h Phoneme Words In fo rm a n ts :
■Lpi'-pQ L p & ' > Q [_p;:poj

V p eople
perhaps
p u lle d p p u U d tL p u ' c*I! b ~j
lbl because |~ k.Voi] Qb.'kosj Cb.'ic«U b k ; i 0sl
bare
b oa t
a » o ^ - • u c t o . ' O c u . ' t ]
tim e
p = « * { ] L ’i ' t r ^ T ) C t c iik T l ( jr n u T ]
h ot
w a te r L w o tO L w otsT j E w o ts 'd g n o + s j
ldl do
L °L S C d u ] C<L~3 LdP]
hard
C U a d C £*d~] c ^ a d LCafl
s a d ly
C* OcUifJ [ ,5o(iry|
ca tch
D < <?+]"] £ica+Q C M + n u <a+n
rock
Cro,0 C r .K lW
because
C t> fk o z 3 C bukos"! C t> o « .o s ] H l ;
get
A £+ l C ^ V ] Cê+U C ^ - J
b ig
£y^ csd Lhi3u
ago
L ^5 °^]
- 98 -
P lo s iv e s
On the w h o le , the in fo rm a n ts had no tro u b le in u sin g a d iffe r e n t phoneme in th is
group o f sounds when i t was re q u ire d , b ut a llo p h o n ic d e ta ils were w rong. For
in s ta n c e , i t w as noted th a t n o t o n ly d id a ll the in fo rm a n ts v o ic e the p lo s iv e s in a ll
p o s itio n s , b u t some o f them a ls o tended to pronounce them w ith a rtic u la to ry
energy than w as re q u ire d fo r the E n g lis h v a rie ty in some ite m s . E xa m p le s fo llo w :
b ig
b o tto m
bare C . h t:0
boat h °
On the o th e r hand th is fo rce o re n e rg y does n o t seem so o b v io u s on some item s
s ta rtin g w ith the same sound even though the sound is fu lly v o ic e d in a ll c a s e s . For
in s ta n c e the v o ic e d p lo s iv e s o u n d /b ^ in the fo llo w in g ite m s does n o t seem to be as
e n e rg e tic a lly a rtic u la te d as in the above ite m s :
because CL b i lc ,o s l
became £ K 'c P 'T ]
buY C
but L W a -v H
S im ila rly in the case o f the v e la r v o ic e d p lo s iv e the sound seem ed to be s tro n g e r
in some ite m s and s o fte r in o th e rs . e .,g 0:
get
big C f e ''a l
g° C a o j
as° H a lo 'd
again
- 9.9 -r
One e x p la n a tio n w h ic h can be advanced fo r th is , b ut w h ich does n ot seem to e x p la in
e v e ry th in g , is perhaps the s tre s s p a tte rn o f some o f the w o rd s. F o r in s ta n c e the
s tre s s on b,Qth be * cause and b e c a m e fa ils on the second s y lla b le w hereas fo r
the m o n o s y lla b ic ite m s :- b ig , boat and bare the s tre s s is on the one s y lla b le , and
fo r cbottom i t is on the f ir s t s y lla b le . S ince the s tre s s e d s y lla b le in E n g lis h n o rm a lly
re c e iv e s e x tra a rtic u la to ry energy as com pared to the u n s tre s s e d s y lla b le w h ic h is
w e a k ly a rtic u la te d th is m ig h t e x p la in w hy the p lo s iv e sound ^b ^ in b e c a u s e and
be*came is n o t as fo rc e fu lly a rtic u la te d as th a t in b ig , b oa t, b are, bottom .
and s im ila r ly in get, go. H ow e ver, th is does n ot e x p la in w hy the p lo s iv e sounds
, in w ords *buy, b ut, *ago and a^gain do not show the same a rtic u la to ry
force as the o the rs s in c e the s tre s s p a tte rn is the same at le a s t fo r buy and but fo r
a*go and a^gain the s tre s s fa lls on the second s y lla b le , so w o rk in g on the same
a na lo gy as the la s t group o f w o rd s, the tw o p lo s iv e sounds jbj and ^ s h o u l d re c e iv e
the same fo rc e o f a rtic u la tio n . P erhaps in the case o f b u ^ a n d but the e x p la n a tio n
m ig h t lie in the nature o f the v o w e l w h ic h fo llo w s the p lo s iv e i.e . w h e th e r i t is a
back or fro n t v o w e l. In the case o f.ago and a g a in , the p o s itio n the p lo s iv e
o ccu p ie s in the w ord m ig h t be a c o n trib u tin g fa c to r.
The p lo s iv e j d j seemed to have been a rtic u la te d e q u a lly fo r c e fu lly in the
fo llo w in g w o rd s:
d id n ’ t L cii'di'nt *]]
do C 4. < 0
A n o th e r fa c to r w h ic h m ig h t be e xp lo re d as a p o s s ib le e x p la n a tio n fo r both the v o ic in g
o f above m en tion ed p lo s iv e sounds in a ll p o s itio n s , and the e xtra a rtic u la to ry e ffo rt

-100 -
put into their production in some words, might .he some influence
from the Tonga plosive sounds working in conjunction with the
other factors already discussed. In the discussion of the Tonga
voiced plosives we found that they have four distinctive
features. Firstly, that the closure for Tonga voiced plosives
lasts for a longer time than in their English counterparts and
consequently these Tonga plosives are classified as 1geminate
consonants *. Secondly the effort put•into producing these
sounds is much great:er than the English plosives, therefore these
consonants are also called ’reinforced.1 Thirdly, the release
of.these plosives seems to.be accompanied with additional breath
or murmur which feature has an effect upon the pitch of the
previous syllable. These plosives are therefore known as
depressors. Fourthly.the Tonga voiced plosives seem to .be voiced
in all’positions, this voicing being the main distinctive feature
between them and their voiceless counterparts. It is also worth
mentioning that the Tonga voiced plosives, like all' other Tonga
consonants, do not come finally in a word since the phonology of
the language allows only open syllables and never closed ones.
It is just possible that the informants, sensing the extra
articulatory energy expended on the English stressed syllables
in.the words already discussed, substituted for the English plosive
sounds, the Tonga ’geminate and reinforced1 ones which proved a
little.too strong for the English ones. It is also possible that
the plosive sounds in the unstressed syllables may have been heard
as lighter than those in the stressed syllables, and therefore
even.though they were fully voiced in a position where English
voiced plosives would normally the partially voiced, they were not
- 101 -
a c c o m p a n i e d w ith the s a m e force in their production as the gr ou p referred to abo v e .
T h e p h e n o m e n o n of voicing the plo sives in initial a n d final positions co ul d also
p robably b e traced to the T o n g a s y s t e m . In T o n g a , voicing is the m a i n distinguishing
feature b e t w e e n the v o i c e d a n d the v o i c e l e s s plosives, whi le in E n g l i s h it is not.
N either g r o u p of informants w o u l d be a w a r e of a n y s u c h requirem e nt s o n the part of
the E n g l i s h l a n g u a ge , infact, I w o u l d g o as far as to s a y that e v e n the m o s t
so phisticated s p e a k e r s of E n g l i s h w h o s e first l a n g u a g e is T o n g a w o u l d not be
a w a r e of it, u n l es s they h a d d o n e s o m e E n g l i s h phonetics. A s far as I k n o w , they
w o u l d b e quite c o n t e n t e d w ith voicing, w h a t w o u l d b e in E n g l i s h the lenis plosives,
in all positions in their E n g l i s h s p e e c h , without realizing that they are br ea k i n g a b a si c
E n g l i s h p h o n o l o g i c a l rule.
W h e r e the plosive s o u n d c o m e s at the e n d of a w o r d I could not a l w a y s b e
certain, w h e t h e r the articulatory force w a s co nc e n t r a t e d o n the plosive s o u n d alone,
or w h e t h e r infact, a n epenthetic v o w e l followed the plosive so u nd . Examples
follows:
le ar ned
w anted Id ^ ^ J
p o in te d
laughed £ |a fr a id C- 1
w a ite d
lo o k e d 1
big P Wicji "d t- h1 J
T h i s s a m e feature s e e m s to o c c u r with s o m e c o n s o n a n t clusters as will be s e e n
later.
- 102 -
As fa r as the E n g lis h fo r tis p lo s iv e s are co nce rn ed , the m ain area o f d iffe re n c e
betw een them and s im ila r sounds produced by the in fo rm a n ts seems to lie in the
re le a se s ta g e . I t has been s ta te d th a t E n g lis h fo rtis p lo s iv e s may o n ly be w e a k ly
a s p ira te d in an u n s tre s s e d s y lla b le and in fin a l p o s itio n s * In the in fo rm a n ts ’
p ro n u n c ia tio n h o w e ve r, the p lo s iv e s have been re le a s e d in a ll p o s itio n s and furtherm ore
the a s p ira tio n in th is p o s itio n tends to be ra th e r s tro n g , p ro d u c in g w h a t appears to be
an e p e n th e tic v o w e l in fin a l p o s itio n in some in fo rm a n ts ’ speech. E x a m p le s fo llo w s
peo ple i o_3
p e rh a p s j_ p w a W Si p S J
hot [1 (d o ' ~d
•w a ite d
m arket ■ C r v ia K . e - t * '; d
One e x p la n a tio n fo r th is m ig h t be found in the pho no lo g y o f the in fo rm a n ts ' fir s t
lan gu ag e . In T on ga the v o ic e le s s p lo s iv e s jpj and jtj are not o n ly f u lly re le a s e d
in the two p o s itio n s In w h ic h th ey o c c u r b u t th ey are a ls o a s p ira te d in these p o s itio n s .
T h is is a lm o s t the o p p o s ite o f w h a t happens in E n g lis h , and someone u n a c q u a in te d
w ith the ru le s o f E n g lis h pho no lo g y is bound to co nfu se m a tte rs .
T he case o f the E n g lis h v e la r fo r tis p lo s i v e / k / c a l l s fo r se pa ra te tre a tm e n t.
In th is p a r tic u la r e x e rc is e it-h a d been found th a t th is sound is a s p ira te d a t the
b e g in n in g o f the w o rd , b ut n o t in the m id dle or f in a lly . F urth erm ore i t has been
noted th a t some o f the in fo rm a n ts used a sound n ea re r to the v e la r f r ic a t iv e ^ Y J in
some in s ta n c e s than to the yte lar p lo s iv e j k j . A g a in I fe e l the e x p la n a tio n for th is
m ig h t be found by lo o k in g at the T on ga so un ds, T onga has three v e la r sounds^the

103
plosive pair and one v o iced fricative. The conditions wh i c h govern the
use of the voiceless plosive and not the fricative have not yet been
established. It looks as if both sounds can appear initially as well
medially. For examples see p. . The plosive pair is b o t h 'reinforced'
and the voiceless of the pa i r is also accompanied by aspiration.
Therefore the two features the latter shares with the E n g l i s h fortis
J and the y a r i e t y the informants used in word initial m e d i a l l y and
finally. The aspiration is absent as has been p o i n t e d o u t above.
The two informants quoted in this chapter as using the velar
bo t h from Group 2. In both instances the velar
fricative has been detected in the wo r d because U i It is not
clear whether there is a connection between this sound and the
unaspirated velar plosive sound wh i c h m o s t of the informants tended
to use m e d i a l l y in the English examples.

- .10.4 -
E n g lis h A ffr ic a te s
Group 1
Phoneme Word In fo rm a n ts : - 1
M l
ca tch
Ckad] LkEULl
much
page
fill L p^ s ] L p£
Group 2
Word In fo rm a n ts :- 1
ca tch [V a ry ] (y a v $ ^ ] [ ksu -Q Q < .a + $ 3
much
Cr -1
page
lh Cp u 3i c p t j 3] C p^ s I
E n g lis h N a s a ls Gr oup 1
Phoneme Word In fo rm a n ts : 1 2 3 4
JjrÂ^ |jÂn] *\J

H money
farm ers [ f a tn s f] [f« |f<a m a -fj jcawiszj
same
P s tw T ] P s s .m ^| C ? J‘ ' ' r }
Group 2
I nf or mant s : - 1 2 3 4
vvv r\ r \
m oney M b
fa rm e rs [ j a ~ ^ } [ f
same S in
- 105
English Nasals (cont'd.)
Group 1
I n f o r ma n t s 1 2 3 1
name j j n <Lv^TJ
m orning
o ^ l j^V%A v | MO r\ \ J ÂQir>\ ^
men
Q v \i pon S -p j
Group 2
In fo rm a n ts :- 1
name [ n £M J 0 > £ . l] [n t- ^ L>v 1 l n I l
m o rning
me n P « a a £ .n p jjo a tv -T j ( j ^ ^ I I |_ v M lv p j
E n g lis h A lv e o la r L a te ra l G roup 1
Phoneme Word In fo rm a n ts ’:- 1
M 'Lakes Oei^
c o ld
L > o : a ] tj<o:jQ l ^ o;cG f a ' Q
fu ll ’
C - f w - 'l Cf u t 3 & w0 L i^ d
o n ly
[ 0 ^ f J [ o — '■ '] [ o n M i]
Group 2
In fo rm a n ts ’: -1
lakes
( Z U ld ] L k k ill Q.
cold
[> ° :< G ( \ o : d J C k c -a J
full
Cf»tJ [fu f] [fw ^ d
only
LC> c a l l ' d [ o f~\ ^ >0 5 rvS *\\P J [_£} *'-» ^ l j
- 106
T h e in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n perform ance in E n g lis h a fric a te s and n a s a ls d id

A
not seem to ra is e any s ig n ific a n t p o in ts .
P e rha ps the tw o co nso na nts w h ic h tended to g iv e the in fo rm a n ts more d if f ic u lt y
than the o th e rs , are the E n g lis h a lv e o la r l a t e r a l ^ / and its a llo p h o n e s and the p o s t-
a lv e o la r fr ic tio n le s s c o n tin u a n t jrj , S ince the tw o have o fte n been co nfu sed w ith
each o the r in the in fo rm a n ts ’ sp e e ch , th e y w i l l be d e a lt w ith to g e th e r here. In the
in fo rm a n ts ’ a tte m p ts to pronounce the tw o above m en tion ed E n g lis h c o n so n a n ts in
the fo llo w in g w o rd s; ro c k , rig h t, la k e s , and f u ll - the fo llo w in g sounds were
p ro d u c e d ':
ro c k L r ° C '
rig h t L r c ''l t l
la k e s D e k s H
m i [ g g
With the f ir s t group o f in fo rm a n ts no c le a r pattern, seem s to em erge, th a t is , there is
no in d ic a tio n as to w h ic h g ets co nfu sed w ith w h a t. T h e y do not seem to be a ble to
make a d is tin c tio n betw een the tw o sounds th e re fo re , jr j is som e tim e s re a liz e d as ,
JlJ or j/ jC j and s im ila r ly w ith J lj , T h e E n g lis h dark [3 0 > an a llo p h o n e o f the
a lv e o la r la te ra M ia s turned o u t to be q u ite d if f ic u lt not o n ly fo r the in fo rm a n ts in
Group 1 b u t a ls o a la rg e num ber from Group 2, M ost o f the in fo rm a n ts who w ere
unable to produce th is sound seemed to have a rriv e d at a com prom ise by le a v in g
out c o m p le te ly the dark jtj sound and le n g th e n in g the p re ced ing v o w e l so th a t the
w ords quoted above are re a liz e d as:
p u ll 4
f u ll L -fm : 3
- 107 -
c o ld p U .O .d 3 \
s o ld
T o some e xte n d th is p ra c tic e is not u n lik e th a t o f some B r itis h E n g lis h s p e a k e rs ,
G im son, in h is d is c u s s io n o f v a ria n ts o f B r itis h E n g lis h ^ ij a t t d j j p > sa y s th is of
the usage o fJ jT jb y some sp e a k e rs ; " I n some sp ee ch, n o ta b ly th a t o f C o c k n e y , the
tongue tip c o n ta c t f o r [ t ] i s o m itte d , th is a llo p h o n e o f / l / b e i n g re a liz e d as a v o w e l
(v o c o id ) in the re g io n w ea k lip rou nd ing or as C .^ 3 n e a tra l or
w e a k ly spread lip s , thus s e ll |_ s e p j o r [s e ir ]? f a ll [ p p j ta b le
p ’IS
He goes on to say th a t th is te nd en cy is by no means c o n fin e d to
C o ckn e y, b u t th a t many R ,P . sp ea kers w i ll use [jd"J f o r p 'J in w ords such as
^ b e a u tifu l, c a re fu l, p e o p le , ta b le . P erhaps the d iffe re n c e betw e en G im s o n ’ s
o b s e rv a tio n and the T on ga in fo rm a n ts ’ perform ance is th a t, the T onga in fo rm a n ts
tended to c a rry th is p ra c tic e even when dark [V] comes a fte r v o w e l before co nso na nt
as in the w o rd s c o ld and s o ld show n above.
A s fa r as the second group of in fo rm a n ts are concerned the m a jo rity o f them
seem to have reached a sta ge where th ey can make a se m a n tic d is tin c tio n betw een
the a lv e o la r la te r a l [ l j and the fr ic tio n le s s c o n tin u a n t j r j , C o n s e q u e n tly m ost
in fo rm a n ts in th is group pronounced ro c k , and rig h t, as [ r o p and p a i t j r e s p e c tiv e ly ,
and la k e s as Q e ks^ . H ow e ver even in th is group, some in fo rm a n ts s t i l l had problem s
w ith jlj and Jrj . I t w as noted th a t o f those who s t i l l e x p e rie n c e d d if f ic u lt y w ith
these tw o co n so n a n ts m ost o f them tended to fin d the fr ic tio n le s s c o n tin u a n t /rj more
d if f ic u lt th an the la te r a l / l / i n its c le a r form . More than h a lf o f th is group tended to

- 108 -
pronounce ro c k , asjjok~^ or jjr o k ^ and la k e , as 'O n ly a fra c tio n o f th em
pronounced la k e s a s jr e k s } orjjrweksT} .
T he d if f ic u lt y the in fo rm a n ts e x p e rie n c e d in pro du cing these tw o E n g lis h
conso na nts may be e x p la in e d by another lo o k a t the T onga s o u n d s , T on ga has one
v o ic e d a lv e o la r la te r a l sound [J j v h i c h o ccurs in free v a ria tio n w ith the fla p p e d
v a rie ty £ jC \^ « T h e p o st a lv e o la r fr ic tio n le s s c o n tin u a n t / r / a s found in E n g lis h and
the sounds re la te d to i t are absent from T o n g a . T h e fa c t th a t th e jY ^ s o u n d is a bse n t
from T o n g a p h o no lo g y does not in i t s e lf e x p la in the d if f ic u lt y ; as we s h a ll see la te r in
th is ch a p te r, there are a number o f sounds in E n g lis h , w h ic h are a bse nt from T on ga ,
but w h ic h , even the y o u n g e st in fo rm a n ts have been able to m aste r fa s te r than the above
so un ds. T he problem as we have o b se rve d , p a rtic u la ry w ith the f ir s t group o f
in fo rm a n ts , is th a t o f co m p le te fa ilu re to d is tin g u is h w h ic h o f the tw o sounds is
re q u ire d fo r w h ic h w ord. A lo o k at the tw o E n g lis h sounds in q u e s tio n , show s th a t
they in fa c t shctrea num ber o f p h o n e tic fe a tu re s . F ir s t ly they are b oth form ed around
the a lv e o la r re g io n , one b eing a lv e o la r and the o th e r p o s t? a lv e o la r. T h e y are both
fr ic tio n le s s c o n tin u a n ts and th e re fo re have v o w e l lik e fe a tu re s . T h e y are both v o ic e d .
We have a lre a d y noted G im son ’ s o b s e rv a tio n th a t some R .P . sp ea kers re p la c e the
fr ic tio n le s s c o n tin u a n t w ith the a lv e o la r fla p or tap, / C -i on Pa8e *n
in te r v o c a lic p o s itio n s . T o the T onga in fo rm a n ts th e re fo re , the three
w ou ld be a u d ito r ily s im ila r , and w o rk in g on the same a na lo gy as w ith the T o n g a / l / and,
/£ / the E n g lis h [r( sound co u ld be m ista ke n for y e t a nother a llo p h o n e o f / if to be
used in free v a ria tio n w ith £ l j | a n d ^ T jf . T h is is w here the problem lie s , in th a t
E n g lis h makes a s e m a n tic d is tin c tio n betw een w ords w ith th e / r /s o u n d and those
- .109 -
w ith j[( , w here as T o n g a as p o in te d o ut before does not make tuny betw een "Jand
If / r /, is ta ken as a free v a ria n t o f the la tte r , then i t w o u ld n ot m atter w h ic h o f the
th re e, one happened to use, they w ou ld a ll se rve the same purpose, and th is seem s to
be the p ro ce ss g oing 011 w ith the in fo rm a n ts .
We have m en tion ed th a t the in fo rm a n ts in Group 2 show ed some aw areness
th a t j r^ and jlj are two d iffe re n t phonemes and n o t m erely a llo p h o n e s o f the same phoneme
to be used in d is c r im in a te ly . We have a ls o p o in te d o ut th a t q u ite a num ber in th is
group too s t i l l have problem s w ith the so un ds. We found th a t o f those who s t i l l have
problem s w ith these two so un ds, h a lf o f them tended to pronounce th e /r e s o u n d as an
or/jij. I t w o u ld seem th a t the same p ro c e s s , as we have ju s t d e s c rib e d fo r Group 1
is c o n tin u in g e ven a t th is s ta g e . T h e fa c t th a t the same in fo rm a n t, w ho pronounces
ro ck, as [ Io k3 or [ r o k j w o u ld pronounce r ig h t, a s J ja it J ru le s o ut the lik e lih o o d
th a t, he is unable to make the^ re s o u n d , and is s im p ly s u b s titu tin g h is Tonga j 1 / fo r
the sound w h ic h he ca n n o t m a ke . On the o th e r hand i t m ig h t be s h ee r h y p e r c o rre c tio n .
P erhaps th ese in fo rm a n ts fe lt th a t i f th ey used the sound ^ lj/ m o r e they w ere bound to
be c o rre c t.
One o th e r fe a tu re , w h ich has been noted in the in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n o f
the above tw o so u n d s, is a te nd en cy to la b ia liz e both sounds , T h is te nd en cy is h o w e ve r,
a lso noted among some R .P . sp ea kers o f E n g lis h , in re s p e c t o f / r / . It is p o s s ib le th a t
s in c e (r / and / l / a r e co nfu sed w ith each o th e r in the in fo rm a n ts ’ speech the features
o f the tw o sounds may e q u a lly be co n fu s e d .

- no -
E n g lis h F r ic a tiv e s Group 1
Phoneme Word In fo rm a n ts ’: - 1
food
~ W ~ ,
laughed L u a l L u < ^ \]Q a ^ lL u* Q

k n ife
[ n a if ] C r ^ l
Group 2
In fo rm a n ts :- 1 2 3 4
fo o d GûcZl
laughed [jo ^ tT j L U ft] Q a ftQ Z ' ^ Z l
k nife j ^ n $ i-Z] l_n ^ ' 1^ Z \
Group 1
Phoneme Word In fo rm a n ts ':- 1
/v / very [y tr] Zy^Zl C y if\ ]
co ve re d Ij^ V a jT ] [ V avJ ^X ] [ k a v ^J
heavy
H > tv 3 L ^ ^ Z l Z ^ X 3 L ^ ^ Z I
Group 2
very
IZv£r] Lv/s.r[] Q ver3 [ l M LrZ
covered
Z ^ A V /d X ] Q ^ ^ c T j [_ ^ a W ^ cJ
heavy
L wtK/3 Cw^sT]
Group 1
Phoneme Word In fo rm a n ts :- 1
think Cs^Xl LfryJ Q)iv^<T)
so m e thin g [Z > 3 y ^ 6 i ^ l ] S ) S ay ^ ' J jZ 3
e a rth
M M &G 1
- Ill -
English. Fricatives (cont'd, )

Group 2
In fo rm a n ts :; - 1 o1 a 4
think
|> y r j L e ty D 0 9 ;^ 1
something
earth
k e l "Li b ] [te ll [ t e l
Group 1
Word In fo rm a n ts : - I o
^ 2
J 4
Phonem e
them
UH™} [ > - 3
th a t
[> a 0 [ > * 0 O a G l 0 * * 1
Group 2
In fo rm a n ts : ■ i1 o
z ^ 4
them
f > ^ ]
that
34~] 13_^5|+] l_^r^+~3
G roup 1
1 ^
z 2 4
soon [> 0 [s«^l [ s««] [sun-]

/ ■/
m ust C r^ As’
yes
C i« l Li*l £ > 3
Group 2
~Z
In fo rm a n ts : - 11 9
^ 5 4
soon
must
yes
Dis>3 L ^ &
1 G ls] D esl
1.12 -
English Fricatives (cont'd.)
G roup 1
Phoneme Word In fo rm a n ts : - 1
w as
N
these
L ^ i- z G L ^ ' , 'zd [> ^ G
w hose
tP u -G C fG J L ^ G C ^ - G
Group 2
In fo rm a n ts : 1
was EG$2~1 I w ^ f ] C w G ] D 1517!
these C ^hG L v 'l] E D G C ^ 'iG
whose L C G J C M tG G
G roup I
Phoneme Word In fo rm a n ts >■ 1
sheep
D r l L i> l D ip l
fish e rm e n [P h ^ e G [ f r j a vêG [ f ;
fis h
l t d ! D 'iJ L f lj C fiJ
Group 2
In fo rm a n ts :^ 1
sheep
[D ] D .> ] C W ] L I; ,]
fishermen
fish .
Lfij] tfij] & J ] &S]
- 113 -
E n g lis h F r i c a t i v e s (c o n t’ d . )
G roup 1
Phoneme Word In fo rm a n ts :- 1 2 3 4
N hot
f r G E h o Q iu-G [>+-]
whose
C ^ -0 CC— 1
perhaps
[pÛapGEp^MpG EpsUSlpGCp^p”
Group 2
In fo rm a n ts :~ 1 2 3 4
hot
C ôv] [ j ^ o-C ]
w hose
Cf-lGl Lcg-g Cf"A-G
perhaps
E psuapG Cp^ ^ pG [ p*ua(GD1'3/
F R IC A T IV E S : q ^ e In fo rm a n ts ’ perform ance in E n g lis h fr ic a tiv e s w as g e n e ra lly
s a tis fa c to r y , w ith no a p p re c ia b le d iffe re n c e in fe a tu re s , betw een the in fo rm a n ts ', and
those fe a tu re s n o rm a lly a s s o c ia te d w ith E n g lis h fr ic a tiv e s , e x c e p t the g lo tta l
fr ic a tiv e / h j , I t is perhaps w orth n o tin g before d is c u s s in g the g lo tta l fr ic a tiv e , th a t
E n g lis h has about fo u r fr ic a tiv e sounds o f w h ic h there is no e q u iv a le n t in T on ga .
There are the la b io -d e n ta l p a n ^ ^ a n d / v / and the d e n ta l p a ir j Q j and j ^ j . T h e se
are sounds w ith w h ic h one w o u ld e x p e c t the in fo rm a n ts to fin d d if f ic u lt y , s in c e they
are m is s in g in th e ir own la n g u a g e . B u t c o n tra ry to e x p e c ta tio n s b oth groups of
in fo rm a n ts produced them e a s ily .
On the q u e s tio n o f the R .P . g lo tta l fr ic a tiv e / l y D some in fo rm a n ts in both
groups tended to produce the v o ic e d v a rie ty ra th e r than the v o ic e le s s one in such
w ords as :
hot £ C o ll
h a rd .
heavy C £ *.vJ 3
- lllf -
English Semi-vowels
Group 1
Phoneme Word Informants:- 1 2 3 ip
£ w fc n t~ ] [ l w e r v l '3 Q o«_v> 0 ]
/w/ went
while
always L o f^ -e /s T ] Q DC 3 e ^ }
Group 2 :
Informants:- 1 2 3 h
went 5 > ^ + ! O ^ t l [ U e n < .q H o tn P ]
while [Ea'.tq ;
always LoliAie.GJ D ^ U5a'’e'Ej EglweG
Group 1
Phoneme Word Informants:- 1 —

/ 1
n i Years C it a G L it :z 3 IS O
you n iO DO M GO
use
L ^ O O ^ O G ^ O
Group 2
Informsnts:- 1
years D « 3 Civzi t« £ ] £ > '< 3
you C i« ] /T a x ] M D “ ]
use [> G 1 C v « n I > 0 G O O

115 -
Frictionless Centinuant
Group 1
Phoneme Word Informants:- 1 2 3 U
/r/ rock
[> .,□ C r.J : r elt] cu\l
i « f “” • mm* r* _ *■—i "n i
right L r< a .t3 Q r ^ it H L C a ltl L X a . 't l]
very L v e rJ C v ltr - j
— 1
" M - |_J "*•
Group 2
Informants:- 1 2 3 **
__ j_ —1 _ — ■» __
rock L r ° * J L j^ M L re k j L r ^ J
right C r ^ .’O t> « .V ]
very * L ^ % rU C > /* .* \] C - V i- r J
SEMIVOWELS: The informants* performance in English semivowels /j/ and
/w/ was very satisfactory, no difference "being found "between the
sounds produced by the informants and the R.P. semivowels.
Generally speaking therefore, the informants* pronunciation
performance in English consonants, was quite satisfactory, even
though there were some minor differences here and there which showed
that English was not their first language. There is no question
of their "being misunderstood on the basis of their pronunciation
of English consonants except in the case of the alveolar lateral /I/,
and the post alveolar frictionless continuant /r/, both of which we
have already discussed at length. It has also been noted that,
the difficulties the informants have, in distinguishing /!/ and /r/ as
separate phonemes at Grade 5 level, are almost overcome by the time
they reach Form 3 level.

- 116. ~
ii. P E R F O R M A N C E IN ENGLISH C O N S O N A N T CLUSTERS
N o t a ll p o s s ib le E n g lis h co n so n a n t c lu s te rs were te s te d . O n ly those w h ic h
appear in the Grade 5 Word L is t B o o k, and the tw o reading passages from T he F ir s t
F arm ers, and T h e T hree F ish e rm e n were s e le c t e d . T he G ra d e 5 W o rd L i s t B o o k
c o n ta in s a l i s t o f le x ic a l ite m s w h ic h the Grade 5 p u p ils are supposed to have
m aste red . T he le x ic a l ite m s are grouped a c c o rd in g to the term s when th ey are supposed
to have been le a rn t, so th a t i t is easy to s e le c t v o c a b u la ry w h ic h has been covered
in each term . T h e w ords c o n ta in in g the c lu s te rs from the word l i s t book w ere
presented to the in fo rm a n ts in p ic tu re form , the in fo rm a n ts were then asked to name
each p ic tu re and ta pe -re corde d. Som etim es the p ic tu re e lic ite d a d iffe r e n t word from
the one hoped fo r, as in the case o f the p ic tu re o f a d rin k in g g la s s , m ost in fo rm a n ts
p re ferred to c a ll i t a tu m b ler. A t othe rs the p ic tu re d id not convey a m eaning fo r
w h ich the in fo rm a n ts c o u ld e a s ily s u p p ly a w ord. T h is a p p lie d e s p e c ia lly to verbs
as in the case o f the word s p la s h . M ost in fo rm a n ts from Group 1 s a id they d id not
know w ha t the p ic tu re rep re se n te d . T he in te rv ie w e r o ffe re d to e x p la in a l i t t l e some

I 1?
o f the p ic tu re s w h ic h caused d if f ic u lt y , and in some cases v is u a l a id s w ere u sed .
W ith the se con d group h ow eve r, there d id n o t seem to be any p roblem s in
nam ing the p ic tu re s , b ut as w ith Group 1, the p ic tu re w ith the d rin k in g g la s s was
som etim es in te rp re te d as tu m b le r.
T he in te rv ie w e r made no atte m p t to c o rre c t when the in fo rm a n t in te rp re te d the
p ic tu re as re p re s e n tin g so m e th in g o th e r than the meaning o f the e xp e cte d w ord. The
fo llo w in g are the w ords w h ic h tended to be in te rp re te d d iffe r e n tly from w ha t the

- 117 *-
in te rv ie w e r had hoped fo r:
p rie s t p re ach er
«* g la s s tu m b le r
smoke fire
square b la c k b o a rd
fr u it food
ta x i car
A lm o s t a ll the in fo rm a n ts in Group 1 in te rp re te d the p ic tu re o f a d rin k in g g la s s as
re p re s e n tin g the w ord tu m b le r. T he m a jo rity o f them in th is group in te rp re te d the
p ic tu re o f a square as re p re s e n tin g the w ord b la c k b o a rd . In Group 2 a bo ut h a lf the
in fo rm a n ts s a id tu m b le r fo r g la s s , three in te rp re te d smoke as fire and one fr u it
as food.
R E S U L T S O F P R O N U N C IA T IO N P E R F O R M A N C E IN E N G L IS H C L U S T E R S :
T h e re w ere some s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e s betw een the in fo rm a n ts ' p ro n u n c ia tio n
and th a t o f re c e iv e d p ro n u n c ia tio n o f E n g lis h co n so n a n t c lu s te rs .

118
P E R F O R M A N C E IN C L U S T E R S INVOLVING PLOSIVES AS FIRST E L E M E N T
GROUP I
Word In fo rm a n ts :- 1 2 3 1
p iD u ] [p - ia T ] p i s
p lough
Pi
p la n t
£p u ra ntsj j^pu ra nb£] fjp u ra n£j £pulanfc[]
p rie s t
Pr r p u r 's0 l ? uy' $ 0
bl b la n k e t [buiaÔK^fJ [b r&t) K&]
br bread
jj^ J fc Q & [b u r£ < f] [b^fzclj
broken & u f0 O t j b ^ o k & i£ [ t>r o jtS w S n J
tr tra in
dr d ress [ c l« r gs 3 [_ c lu T js ] p ’ r g s ^ Q , , T£s^
kl c lo c k { k 'SoK^J [j< j C | k u ro ^
kr cro ss jj< uLoS~^j [T<'r ^ s J ^ V o 5 ^ [7 c ir o S ^ j
gl
g la s s
[> li- 2 G 1 G ~3^
gr g rass
[ A L s ] P 3 u r ‘2 L T 3 [ 3 W r « . T ] [ j r a . s _
G RO UP 2
T fo rm a n ts : - ii ’
In ? z-___ 3,— — q
,— —
Word
plough f l ul & i p p ura-u3 \P u^ 0 J \ P u^ u_j
Pi
p la n t ]p u I a o H a (jiu r a^ p j j 311r ln V ijf r raLftpj
pr p rie s t j p i m t j T j [ ? y ; h J [ p 'rishJjp'W sf- ' J
bl b la n k e t [ w a ^ f ] [ b uY a ^ v j j r i ^ ^ [ p - a ^ i - ’
br bread
{jw rsd jj T u ^ d J & 'r^c0 iL - 1r(J 1^
tr tra in
t u v - ^ n j J J - ' Yi<\ r t l,r s
F rs n
- 119:
G R O U P 2 (C o n tin u e d )
Word In fo rm a n ts ’ :- 1
dr dress
kl c lo c k i
kr cro ss jjCuros"3 & ^ s3 3 Ur°S3C^YD3]

gl g la s s [3'Us3]^r^ [ 9 iÔ L ” 3
gr grass j ^ v a s ^ [ 3 U rd 3 G u r ^ s~i
T he in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n perform ance in E n g lis h co nso na nt c lu s te rs
in v o lv in g p lo s iv e s as fir s t e le m e n t d is p la y e d the same fe a tu re s as those found in
the in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n o f E n g lis h p lo s iv e s as s in g le c o nso na nts ie the
p lo s iv e s w ere f u lly re le a se d in a ll p o s itio n s and in a d d itio n to th is the le n is p lo s iv e s
w ere fu lly v o ic e d in a ll p o s itio n s as w e ll as h a v in g a l i t t l e of the e x tra a rtic u la to ry
force w h ic h we fo un d in some o f the in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n o f p lo s iv e s as s in g le
c o n so n a n ts. I t seems th a t a c o m b in a tio n o f these fe a tu re s in a p lo s iv e as i n i t i a l
e le m e n t in a co n so n a n t c lu s te r g iv e s ris e to w h a t appears to be an e p e n th e tic
v o w e l, T he nature o f th is vo w e l seems to va ry in in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n . In
some ca se s one hears a p lo s iv e sound fo llo w e d by a f u ll v o w e l so th a t the c lu s te r
is broken u p . E x a m p le s : p P U PclG 3 3
p la n ts Li — i
p lough |Tp ^ ^ S-U J
b la n k e t
bread 3
c lo c k |\0 lo K 3
cro ss U ro s "3
g la s s j j j ' ^^ 3
T. 120 T-
In o th e r cases the break Is n ot so d e fin ite , but one hears a p lo s iv e fo llo w e d by
a s h o rt sound w ith a fro n t or back vo w e l reso na nce . E xam ples':
train Itu r& r)
drank [Aurdî<3
c r°ss Yo 5 "3
g rass [ V r a 'p
F ro n t or B a c k V o w e l R esonance* T he q u a lity o f v o w e l resonance to be heard in the
c lu s te rs w ith p lo s iv e s as i n i t i a l sounds seem s to be determ ined in th is p a rtic u la r
sam ple by the q u a lity o f the p lo s iv e it s e lf ie w h e th e r i t is b ila b ia l, a lv e o la r or v e la r,
and the co n so n a n t sound th a t fo llo w s im m e d ia te ly a fte r the p lo s iv e . T he v o w e l sound
w h ich fo llo w s the c lu s te r so fa r does n o t seem to have any in flu e n c e on the q u a lity o f
vo w e l resonance. .
T h u s a b ila b ia l/a lv e o la r p lo s iv e T* / liq u id + front.orback v o w e l tends to trig g e r
a v o w e l sound w ith b ack v o w e l Q u ^ } reso na nce . A v e la r p lo s iv e T liq u id T fron t^ba ck
v o w e l trig g e rs a fro n t v o w e l so un dC P /be fo re /"1^ a n d a back v o w e l sound L 'L l h e f o r ^
T h e re are a ls o cases where one does n o t hear a break as such b ut there is
s u c c e s s iv e a rtic u la tio n o f the com ponents as com pared to the E n g lis h ‘ o v e rla p p e d ’
or d u a l a r tic u la tio n . In fo rm a n t I I in Group 1 d is p la y s more o f th is phenomenon than
the o th e rs w hose p ro n u n c ia tio n is q uoted in th is c h a p te r, but i t has been found in
othe rs as w e ll w hose p ro n u n c ia tio n perform ance can be found in the in d e x : E xa m ples
from In fo rm a n t I o f Group 1 fo llo w :
p rie s t
b la n k e t
- 121 T.
' bread c V r s c O
tra in £ t ' r m ~ ]
So fa r we have a ttrib u te d the phenomena o f e x p lo d in g both le n is and fo rtis p lo s iv e s
and v o ic in g the le n is p lo s iv e in p o s itio n s where they w o u ld n o rm a lly be une xplod e d
or p a r tia lly v o ic e d as w e ll as the e x p e n d itu re o f more energy than is n o rm a lly
produced in the p ro n u n c ia tio n o f the le n is p lo s iv e s as re s p o n s ib le fo r the presence
of an e p e n th e tic v o w e l in co n so n a n t c lu s te rs w ith p lo s iv e s as i n i t i a l s o u n d . In the
c h a p te r on p lo s iv e s as s in g le co nso na nts we a s s o c ia te d the above named fe atures
w ith T o n g a p lo s iv e so u n d s. P erhaps to get a c le a r p ic tu re o f w h e th e r in fa c t these
fe a tu re s a lo n e are re s p o n s ib le fo r the presence o f the e p e n th e tic v o w e l, we s h o u ld
exam ine w ha t k in d o f co nso na nt c lu s te rin g is p e rm itte d in T onga p ho no lo g y.
In the s e c tio n on co n so n a n t c lu s te rs in Tonga we found th a t T o n g a , u n lik e E n g lis h ,
has ve ry s trin g e n t r e s tr ic tio n s as to w hat c o n so n a n t c lu s te rs may o c c u r in the
language. Theste are three m ain types o f co nso na nt c lu s te rin g in T onga as show n
on pages A ’7 - a
T h e se r e s tr ic tio n s to a hom orga nic n a s a l and a co nsonant, or a hom orga nic
n a sa l p lu s c o n so n a n t and s e m iv o w e l mean th a t out o f the w h o le range o f E n g lis h
co nso na nt c lu s te rs we have lo o k e d at in the p re v io u s s e c tio n , the m a jo rity o f them
w i l l n o t o n ly sound stra n g e but m ig ht prove ve ry d if f ic u lt to produce fo r a person who
sp ea ks T on ga as a f ir s t lan gu ag e . T h e n a tu ra l tendency w i l l be, as we have seen,
to try to break the u n u su a l sound in to w h a t w ou ld appear as a fa m ilia r sequence to a
T onga s p e a k e r .
- 122 -
P E R F O R M A N C E IN CL U S T E R S INVOLVING FRICATIVES AS FIRST E L E M E N T
GROUP 1
ft*
Word Informants:- 1
fruit
{fru C ]
fr
-frut'D
(A
three
[e - 3 [6'ri]
sp
sp ea r Is P .a l E p > a3
C S k iQ
St s to o l
h SK&tJ
sk
s k ir t
[a r/p ^
si slee p i n g
pS m oK ]
[ s ro O u K J
sm
sm oke
C s n t K j
sn
sn ake
~ j| [sw)iL?
sw
sw e e t
spl
s p la s h c- 1 £ - 1.
[ spV sc )
[3
spr
sp ra ye r
[s ^ un r> i^J
stream js J - U r i( Y l j f
str
s c re w d riv e r
skr J$ k V u4 1f a iV c l]
skw square [S K u o & 'a T ]
GROUP 2
Word_ Informants:- 1
fr u it j f ruts 3 I l rut j j L u l l f
fr
th re e
jjp w j l& V i'J fh 'K ^
sp ea r
sp g p ia . ] ( s p i'^ lip ia jf
st s to o l Jbentp ^ (j# u‘3 [ b e n t f i j

g K itj
sk
s k ir t
- 123
G R O U P 2 (Continued)
Word In fo rm a n ts : - I
si s le e p in g
[sjj P«j_ J s r ip iji} [sripif)J
sm sm oke [ S r r i o K 'J
sn snake t S A £ lO [ s n £ “ J C s n s K 'J
CSwji-t U r s w ^
sw sw e e t
spl s p la s h
spr s p ra ye r
I ,rva 'J
s tr stream
jsKVJ d 1T<K1U $ J jsK wru d 11r d j t & ] |£RuA r$iv£
sk r s c re w d riv e r
skw square
T h e p ro n u n c ia tio n perform ance on c lu s te rs w ith fr ic a tiv e s as f ir s t e le m e n t gave
a d iffe re n t p ic tu re from th a t w ith p lo s iv e s as f ir s t e le m e n t. In these c lu s te rs
p a r tic u la rly those s ta rtin g w ith a lv e o la r f r ic a t iv e / s J fo llo w e d b y /l J i t w as d if f ic u lt
to d e te c t the p resence o f an e p e n th e tic v o w e l. In the la b io d e n ta l and d e n ta l
fr ic a tiv e s / f j a n d j d j i t w as p o s s ib le to d e te c t the v o w e l in a few o f the in fo rm a n ts ’
p ro n u n c ia tio n . 'P erh ap s th is c o u ld be e x p la in e d by q uo tin g w h a t D a n ie l Jo ne s s a y s of
E n g lis h fr ic a tiv e s .
" T h e p o s itio n s o f the tongue and lip s d u rin g

the a rtic u la tio n o f / f j a p p ro xim a te to those
re q u ire d fo r a d ja c e n t v o w e ls . T o th is e x te n t
th e re fo re i t may be s a id th at there e x is t su b-
s id a ry members o f the phoneme (c o n s id e rin g
the / f / w ith n e u tra l to n g u e -p o s itio n to be the
p rin c ip a l m em ber). T h e se d iffe re n c e s o f tongue
and lip p o s itio n s are, h ow eve r, s lig h t, and th e ir
e ffe c ts on the a c o u s tic q u a lity o f the sound
» 2,0
are n e g lig ib le fo r the ordinary lin g u is t , ”
- 124 -
Jones seems to im p ly th a t these fe a tu re s are not c o n fin e d t o j { y/a lon e but
e xten d to a ll E n g lis h fr ic a tiv e s . T h is , and the fa c t th a t fr ic a tiv e s can be h e ld
c o n tin u o u s ly w ith o u t change in q u a lity , ra is e s the p o s s ib ility th a t even i f there w ere

ft*
a s h o rt vo w e l sound o f the same typ e as th a t d ete cte d in the c lu s te rs b e g in n in g w ith
p lo s iv e s , i t w o u ld n ot be easy to d e te c t its presence b ecause, there w ou ld be no
a u d ib le bre ak betw een the fr ic a tiv e , and the fo llo w in g c o nso na nt sound. The
fr ic a tiv e w o u ld , as i t w ere, a s s im ila te the fe atures o f w h a te v e r v o w e l is in s e rte d ,
fo rm ing a sound, in w h ic h i t w o u ld be d if f ic u lt to d e te c t a c o n s o n a n t-v o w e l
d e m a rca tio n .
Once in a w h ile h ow eve r, I heard p ro n u n c ia tio n s lik e |^ u r u 7 ^ fo r fru it,]/ ) | f t / ] fo r
three a n d j j ^ u f p / fo r th ro w . T he se were n ot num erous and may perhaps be due to
the nature o f th e ^ r^/p ro d u c e d by the in fo rm a n ts w h ich tended to be a fla p , or i t m ig ht
be e x p la in e d by a ssum ing a re la p s e on the p a rt o f the in fo rm a n ts to the fa m ilia r w ay o f
tre a tin g a co m b in a tio n o f such sounds in th e ir own lan gu ag e . T h is m ig h t a c c o u n t
fo r the in c o n s is te n c ie s in one in d iv id u a l’ s p ro n u n c ia tio n . F o r in s ta n c e i t is p o s s ib le
to fin d c lu s te rs tre a te d in the fo llo w in g w ays by the same in fo rm a n t:
pio ug h Qp l& u / l
p la n ts u r& P rtS ]
b la n k e t J p | a *)K g *J
I t is in te re s tin g to note th a t in the case o f la b io -d e n ta l and d e n ta l fr ic a tiv e s ,
th a t when an e p e n th e tic v o w e l is d e te c te d , the q u a lity o f the v o w e l resonance tends
to be d ete rm ine d by the q u a lity o f the v o w e l w h ic h fo llo w s the c lu s te r, fo r in s ta n c e
back v o w e ljju jr e s o n a n c e fo r fr u it and th ro w and fro n t v o w e l[jf} re s o n a n c e fo r three

- 125' -
C lu s te rs In v o lv in g F r ic a tiv e T P lo s iv e -V L iq u id
In these c lu s te rs , there is a c o m b in a tio n o f fe atures a s s o c ia te d w ith fr ic a tiv e s
and p lo s iv e s as f ir s t sounds in a c lu s te r. T h e te nd en cy is fo r the e p e n th e tic v o w e l to
be heard n o t betw een the fr ic a tiv e and p lo s iv e c o nso na nts but betw een the p lo s iv e
and the la te r a l or fr ic tio n le s s c o n tin u a n t.
T h e same q u a lity o f vo w e l-re so n a n c e as found in the p lo s iv e s as f ir s t e le m e n ts
o f a c lu s te r seems to o ccu r here ie b ack v o w e lQ T j resonance a f t e r / p / a n d / t / and
back v o w e l£ \T J resonance a f t e r / k / fo llo w e d by / r j .
In c o n c lu s io n , i t has been found th a t to pronounce two o r three conso na nt so un ds,
each o f w h ic h is produced in a d iffe re n t p a rt o f the m outh, in ra p id s u c c e s s io n , is n o t
easy i f one is used to a s tru c tu re lik e th a t o f T onga w h ic h is m a in ly C V C V . I t was
a lso found th a t co n so n a n t c lu s te rs in v o lv in g p lo s iv e s e ith e r as f ir s t or second
e le m e n t o f a c lu s te r are more lik e ly to have an e p e n th e tic v o w e l betw een the p lo s iv e
and the liq u id sound, than c lu s te rs in v o lv in g a fr ic a tiv e and a ’la te r a l or fr ic tio n le s s
c o n tin u a n t. T he e p e n th e tic v o w e l v a rie s in each in d iv id u a l’ s p ro n u n c ia tio n , som etim es
i t is heard as a f u l l v o w e l, at o the rs as a b rie f v o c o id w ith fro n t or back v o w e l
resonance o r n ot d e te c ta b le . The a c tu a l q u a lity o f the v o w e l resonance depends on
the p h o n e tic c o n te x t as d e scrib e d above. G e n e ra lly , no s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e has
been found betw een the p ro n u n c ia tio n o f the younger and o ld e r in fo rm a n ts . The
re s u lts seem to be s ig n ific a n tly u n ifo rm , the in c o n s is te n c ie s in each in d iv id u a l
in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n are ju s t as e v id e n t in Group 1 as they are in Group 2.

126, -
i i i . P R O N U N C IA T IO N P E R F O R M A N C E IN' E N G L IS H VOW ELS - m G L I S l L m WF.LS

IN R E L A T IO N T O TONGA_VOWEL S
ae
• a;
T h e p ro n u n c ia tio n perform ance in E n g lis h v o w e ls show ed more s ig n ific a n t
d iffe re n c e s b etw e en the inform ants* p ro n u n c ia tio n and th a t o f R .P . E n g lis h than the
p ro n u n c ia tio n p erform ance in E n g lis h s in g le c o n s o n a n ts. P e rh a p s th a t is not
s u rp ris in g c o n s id e rin g th a t m ost o f the c o n s o n a n ta l sounds found in E n g lis h are
a lso found in T o n g a . E ve n though the c o nso na nts are n ot e x a c tly id e n tic a l, i t can
be argued th a t th is at le a s t g iv e s the le a rn e r a s ta rtin g p o in t. The v o w e l c h a rt above
on the o th e r hand show s th a t there is ve ry l i t t l e in common betw een the E n g lis h and
T o n g a v o w e l s y s te m s . T on ga has o n ly fiv e pure v o w e ls a g a in s t the tw e lv e o f
E n g lis h . In a d d itio n to th is , E n g lis h has e ig h t d ip h th o n g s and T on ga has none, so
i t can be assum ed th a t the T on ga le a rn e r o f E n g lis h is lik e ly to fin d the E n g lis h
v o w e l syste m more d if f ic u lt to le a rn than the c o n s o n a n ta l s y s te m . Y e t on the o th e r
hand we have al s o noted th a t c o n s o n a n ta l sounds w h ic h do n ot e x is t in T on ga have
been le a rn t by both groups o f in fo rm a n ts w ith o u t much d if f ic u lt y . I t a n y th in g , i t

- 127 -
seems to be th o se E n g lis h sounds w h ic h are a u d ito r ily s im ila r to some T onga
sounds w h ic h seem to cause d if f ic u lt ie s . From th is p o in t o f v ie w the o p p o s ite o f
w hat has been s a id b efo re cm be assumed, ie th a t s in c e the E n g lis h and T o n g a v o w e l
syste m s are so d iffe re n t i t s h o u ld th erefore be easy fo r a T onga le a rn e r o f E n g lis h
to m aster the new sounds in the same way as the new E n g lis h c o n s o n a n ta l sounds
were le a r n t. T h is h o w eve r is n ot the case as the fo llo w in g a n a ly s is w i l l show 1:
E n g lis h L o n g F ro n t V o w e l / i : /
Group 1
Word In fo rm a n ts :- 1
Pe°Ple C p |PtG H?i p i ] [ p ip e ] pod

need
Cm “0 CnicT] fnicQ QnidJ
sheep
CJ.V pD CfipJ C fipJE/ir]
m eal
L '-ni‘t.3 rvu'T] [jrvu’T j
'Group 2
Informants:- 1 2 3 4
peo ple £ p i p o j £ p i p o 2
need C ^ i d J Q n ic lJ
sheep [ y;pj CT>' P j ifipjCf'Pj

raeal C ^ O - Q m VfcJ Q ^ it j
E n g lis h L o n g F ro n t V o w e l/ i: J The T o n g a in fo rm a n ts got the le n g th o f the E n g lis h
y i ’/ ./w ro n g b o th p h o n e tic a lly and p h o n o lo g ic a lly . The d iffe re n c e b etw een the
- 128 -
E n g lis h j i :j and the v a rie ty o f jV jw h ic h the m a jo rity o f in fo rm a n ts produced is not
so much in q u a lity as in q u a n tity . T h e Q fjth e in fo rm a n t produced tended to be much
s h o rte r than the E n g lis h ^ / i: ^ , but the q u a lity w as about the same,
E n g lis h S hort F ro n t V o w e l / l /
Group I
Word In fo rm a n ts :- 1 2 3 .4
fish C- f ' J J C- f i f J C -f<'f J C -ft/ J

big CT ' 9 l C C bigl L big]
ship L f i p ] L S ir J
C C ^ ; v J
Group 2
Informants:- 1
fis h
C #< 1 3 £ f , f j L - t if J t f i f j
b ig
Q k i,] C tig a H
sh ip
m ill E'G i5:r t H / i p D C J /fU

J C miO [ ^ „ ; n
■T w o in fo rm a n ts from Group 1 p r o d u c e d /T /fo r the
word s h ip but p ro d u c e d 0 1 fo r the o th e r w ords p ic k e d to illu s tr a te th is same v o w e l.
The re s t o f the in fo rm a n ts produced (T^j > the same v o w e l as they used fo r the
E n g lis h jîQ . F rom my e x p e rie n ce the E n g lis h jlj sound is n o to rio u s ly d if f ic u lt fo r a
Tonga s p e a ke r to p ro d u ce , the m ain reason being th a t, w h ile E n g lis h has tw o
d is tin c tiv e sounds in the high fro n t a re a ]j. : ] a n d [ l j , T onga has o n ly onejO^J th e re fo re
to a T onga s p e a ke r a ll the sounds th a t are p roduced in th is area are a u d ito r ily s im ila r
to the T o n g a tf^ a n d in te rp re te d a c c o rd in g ly . I t is th e re fo re not s u rp ris in g to fin d th a t

- 129 r-
both E n g lis h ^ i and jljare in te rp re te d a s£_i"]in the p ro n u n c ia tio n o f a ll my Tonga
in fo rm a n ts . T h e d is tin c tio n E n g lis h peo ple make b e tw e e n £ i ^ and Q ^ is n ot p e rc e iv e d
a u d ito r ily by many T on ga sp e a k e rs . In term s o f the se m a n tic d is tin c tio n s w h ic h the
tw o phonem es s ig n a l, the Tonga sp e a ke r re lie s m a in ly on the c o n te x t o f the u tte ra n c e
ra th e r than the d iffe re n c e in sound.
E n g lis h Short F ro n t V o w e j^ . / . Group 1
Word In fo rm in ts : 1 2 3
men m £ >n9 C rn^ r~ 0
net C net 9 C n e t9 L n e t^]

get E C j£ - t9 c, g e - t j C g £0 C 9 £ ‘I : D
bed C b £ d 9 c b t d j C b t d j L k d 9
v G y°E P 2
In fo rm a n t? : v 1 2 3 4
Q m £ [ W r T ]
men C .m e n j L m c G
n et C 9 C 9J C, n e t Q
get
c qz±3 C getd L<3clJ
L b z d j C^ < T ]
bed
Z b£c,d C
No s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e w as noted b e tw e e n th is sound and th a t produced by the
in fo rm a n ts .
- 130 -
English Short Front Vowel^fog/ Group 1
Word In fo rm a n ts :- I 2 3 4
Catch C.k&'tf3 CfcotJj iKd-tij
back C bate j Q W a l O C ^- ‘-Kd L
sadly £ s-aaiiiU Q 9,zvci; iff [saciitij / y A d i L i
perhaps C P s M p d £ P " d h o l p s ] []p ■shct|^fi>3 K £ f
G noup 2.
r
Word Informants:-. 1 2 3
ca tch £ > a i5 j C ^ d d C ^ I d C Ka^ d l
back c bakl o a k !
s a d iy psaotud Q s a a U Q CsaailQ [ 3 ^ * ^
perhaps Cpskaep^ £. p ^ W p s ] Q > 3 W 9 f S ] £ j > 3 W » P SJ
A lm o s t a ll the in fo rm a n ts w hose p ro n u n c ia tio n is
show n in th is ch a p te r pronounced E n g lis h j^ fi^ lik e the T onga open fro n t v o w e l ( ja ] ,
a s m a lle r number w hose speech is in c lu d e d in the app en dix produced a n j£ ^ sound.
O n ly one in fo rm a n t o f the e ig h t used fo r th is c h a p te r produced th e j^ s o u n d , in one
in s ta n c e , in the w ord p e rh a p s , but he pronounced the same sound a s Q j£ in
c a tc h , back and s a d ly .
The E n g lis h ]# ] sound Is one o f those w h ic h aT onga sp ea ker fin d s ve ry
d if f ic u lt to produce, com ing as i t does betw een the h a lf open and the open area. A
T on ga s p e a ke r is accustom ed to produce a sound e ith e r in the h a lf open area or in the

131 -
open area and n o th in g in b e tw e e n . T h e re fo re the sound a T onga s p e a k e r produces for
the E n g lis h ^ e ^ ,d e p e n d s on w he th er to h im , th ejtg T ] is a u d ito r ily nearer to h is ^ a ^ l or
^ 0 sounds? I t may a ls o depend on who the sound is lea rn e d from , in g e n e ra l m ost
Z am b ia n te a ch e rs tend to use £ t Q f o r ^ ^ a n d among the E n g lis h s p e a k in g p e o p le s ,
the A m e ric a n s usejjr^J w h ile among the B r itis h E n g lis h sp ea kers G im son rep orts th a t
the R .P ^ a n d y a e /a re in c re a s in g ly com ing c lo s e r to each o th e r in q u a lity so
th a t(5 ^ ]is so m e th in g n ea re r t o ^ ^ i n some p e o p le s ’ s p e e ch . In g e n e ra l how eve r m ost
T onga sp e a k e rs , as is illu s tr a te d by our in fo rm a n ts , tend to use the T on ga open fro n t
v o w e l^<3 ^1 fo r E n g lis h j^&j .
E n g lis h L o n g B a ck Vowel/pa,* j : Group 1
Word In fo rm a n ts 1:- 1 2 3 4
farm ers {IT '{*'^ ^ *<=*
p a rts C p a * s 3 C p^ O C p a i s U C p a + s j
la u gh ed C V a f’ d q £ L A -f'/] L IA T < ]C L a f ’c Q
m arket [> ,4 : K at)
Group 2
Word I n f o r m a n t s :- 1 2 3 4
p arts C paV s q p p A -V s 3 \2 p a 4 0 C p a ^ 5d
la u gh ed c t a - f O C . l a 4 uI ' ] £
m arket [_ fn a k « f] C m a .l< e £ ) ( G v ta lc e G
- 132 -
E n g lis h L o n g B a ck V o w e l /&', f \ A l l the in fo rm a n ts quoted in th is s e c tio n used the
T onga open fro n t vo w e l' (0 a j fo r the E n g lis h [Q l:J s o u n d . I t is d if f ic u lt to say
whether m ost sp ea kers o f T on ga as a f ir s t language fin d th is sound d if f ic u lt to
produce or w h e th e r th ey are ju s t unaware o f its b ack q u a lity , E n g lis shares one
q u a lity w ith the T onga£a^J, th ey are both open v o w e ls b ut th a t is a ll they have in
common, is a back v o w e l w h ile £ a "0 is fro n t, and [ 0.0 is much lo n g e r than [[o f] .
B u t perhaps the fa c t th a t th ey have th is one fe ature in common tends to m is le a d the
"Tonga sp e a ke r in to b e lie v in g th a t they are e x a c tly the same and he th e re fo re
reproduces the T o n g a one w ith o u t any m o d ific a tio n to s u it the sound in the ta rg e t
language.
E n g lis h Short V o w e l/p ^ / : Group 1
Word In fo rm a n ts :; - 1 2 3
hot C h o t q (7lnot0 k hoE)
rock C u k d [V o k G C f o k ] CfoxfJ
d°8 L d o e f ] k d -o d ] C d o g l C d o g q
cock E Kokq Q k o k T] C t o f f c i j L K o i f ]
Group 2
Informants:- 1 2 3 4
hot C K o f]] C E k o t j Q h o ij
ro ck O O K 0 E r o K j C * -o k B [> o !< Q
g C d o c j 41 C .e to c jq C d o q j l
E ' < o k d C K o k 0 C k o k J
- 133 -
E n g lish Short V o w e l / t ) / : A l l the in fo rm a n ts produced the sound { / o j fo r the
E n g lis h /D /. T h e d iffe re n c e betw een the E n g l i s h / b / and th e [[o [] sound produced by
the in fo rm a n ts is more in q u a lity than in q u a n tity . The in fo rm a n t s 's o u n d is c lo s e r
and more rounded than the E n g lis h w h ic h is open w ith lip ro u n d in g .
E n g lis h L o n g B a c k V o w e l/ 6 : / G roup 1
because C bi K o O CWkosH £[bikos[]
m orning
CmonigI/ C rvtoni v~] nn 6n iyjj
ca ug ht
w a te r
E w c b 'k c f ] E c o ^ - t 'E l Q u jp t 0 j~ to o k 3 ]
Group 2
Word Informants :■
because L k 1 C b* C & l<osG C h'*°0
m orning [ m o n i j ] j^ m D r v P p £ rv q o n i O r ™ *'$2
ca u g h t
t ^ L KDt 3
w a te r
E n g lis h L o n g B a ck V o w e l \J;hW the in fo rm a n ts produced the same c lo s e d and rounded
[_o[] as th e y produced fo r E n g lis h 7P 7 . T h e same d if f ic u lt y th a t T onga sp e a ke rs
e n co u n te r w ith E n g lis h / it / - a n d / I/ s e e m s to a p p ly here. E n g lis h has three sounds in
the h a lf open and open b a c k area w here as T onga has one betw e en the h a lf c lo s e and
- 134 -
h a lf open area, th e re fo re , any sound in th is b ack area w h ich is a ccom pa nie d by lip
rounding re g a rd le s s o f w h e th e r i t is s lig h t or medium as E n g l i s h / B / and / o / w i l l be
a c o u s tic a lly a s s o c ia te d w ith the T on ga back v o w e l j o /w h ic h is much c lo s e r and
in v o lv e s more lip rou nd ing than the two E n g lis h so un ds. In a d d itio n to th is the T on ga
j o j is much s h o rte r than the E n g l i s h / / : /
E n g lis h Short B a c k V o w e l jiff: Group 1
Word In fo rm a n ts :- 1 ' 2 3
put C pu'/U [I pu.t/1 iZpu.t'3
book C buAO CV>uk] ^ h x \C ] C bu.kU
lo o k
[1 U lV c I 11 L u A C
f u ll L " f u ’ H [ l Jr u ^ J
G ro u p 2
Wor d Informants'
c p ^ O C p^'d c p at:]c p ^ d ]
put
book £ b a k d [ > u k j L k > « - lO
lo o k t u o o C L u K j G u u O E ^ d
f u ll
E n g lis h Short B a ck V o w e l / ' / : A lm o s t a ll the in fo rm a n ts produced [ / j fo r E n g lis h .

-Qrl
One in fo rm a n t in Group Z p ro du ced ^for the w ord fu ll but then he produced the same
sound fo r the w ord fo od . The d iffe re n c e betw een the E n g l i s h / f / and the [ jj/ s o u n d
the in fo rm a n ts produced is th a t the [ u ] is tense and the tongue is in a more re tra c te d

135 -
1 than fo r the E n g lis h ^ w h ic h is produced w ith the m uscles lo o s e ly h e ld and
the tongue p o s itio n betw een the back and the c e n tre .
E n g lis h L o n g B a c k V o w e l/ u ^ G roup 1
whose C.'->u z 21 C w uT] [ T a i E l C ^ WZEI
soon E Su.nE| E L SL*n J
food
E-fad 3 E-faoTj E-fadE Ci “ d3
use
C d u -z T] E i a z E l E i u z / l C l n z ]
Group 2
Wprd IU,formants.:t- l
w hose E W u 2-E J E H u z -d C W uzE I
soon
Eûn J D u n d L s m 2 C s* " J
food
Efudj M C f ^ E f u d J
use
Eju2.j E u u T ] D u z Q e > E ]
E n g lis h L o n g B a ck V o w e l/ u :j A l l the in fo rm a n ts produced the same sound [_u~|
fo r lo n g & G as th ey produced fo tfi/^ T h e jji^ sound is much nearer in q u a lity to
the E n g lis h Q iT ] t h a n jy ^ b ut in le n g th i t is e q u iv a le n t t o jV ji T h e b ack c lo s e
area, lik e the fro n t c lo s e and the back h a lf open areas, is one o f those where T onga
- 136 -
has one v o w e l sound to tw o o f E n g lis h . A s in the la s t two in s ta n c e s both E n g lis h
v o w e l sounds w i l l have a m easure o f a u d ito r iy resem blance to the T o n g a sound,
fo r in s ta n c e 'd h e T o n g a / u / is q u a n tita tiv e ly e q u iv a le n t to the E n g l i s h / l / and
q u a lita tiv e ly nearer to E n g l i s h / u : / . T h e re fo re both E n g l i s h / v / a n d / : / are
a s s o c ia te d w ith the Tonga fxxj in the m inds o f the Tonga in fo rm a n ts and pronounced
as su c h ,
E n g lis h L o n g C e n tra l V o w e l y ^ : / Group 1
Word In fo rm a n ts :- 1 2 3
f ir s t E -fe s T ] E -f£ st ]
earth
□ Ee© j i e e J C ^ l
le a rn e d
L n* d]£ Ctn’ d]J71 ^ dj[r1 n'«p
b ird
E b e d E E b £ d J E j . e d J E b e d J
Word Informant©:^ 1 2 3 4
f ir s t
C f3 :« - tq E ^ ^ d L - f ^ d
earth C s : © 3 [ t e ] C £ © d £ £ & J
lea rn e d
E u ^ 'd ]] C lE n M j E L C n l c f ] [ 1 £A' CQ
b ird
[jps: rdQ C bed. El C bed^] E b e d j
E n g lis h L o n g C e n tra l Vow e A lm o s t a ll in fo rm a n ts pronounced th is v o w e l as
jjkj in b e d . One in fo rm a n t in G ro u ^ I pronounced " f ir s t a s ^ ^ r s t ^ and b ird as fj= 3 tV <T] ; t>^V
pronounced the re s t o f the w ords c o n ta in in g th is v o w e l w ith a n { t]s o u n d . T he
E n g lis h c e n tra l v o w e l / : / is a so urce o f d if f ic u lt y not o n ly to my in fo rm a n ts b ut to
many T o n g a sp e a k e rs . T he m ain reason fo r th is is because in the T o n g a v o w e l syste m

- 137 -
the c e n tra l area is c o m p le te ly b la n k , th a t is there are no sounds produced in th is area,
the T o n g a v o w e ls b e in g e ith e r fro n t or b a c k . T h is does n ot mean h o w eve r th a t i t is
im p o s s ib le fo r a T on ga sp ea ker to produce a c e n tra l v o w e l o f the E n g lis h f~b'-/ ty p e ,
but th a t i t needs a lo t o f e ffo rt and p ra c tic e , to be a b le to produce a sound in an area
th a t is n o rm a lly n o n -fu n c tio n a l. T h e re s u lts o f our in fo rm a n ts ’ p erform ance show th a t
a ll o f them used the s o u n d j/ Q fo r ^3 : j * LsU an^j3 Q ^ ave one êature common
and th a t is th a t th ey are both in the h a lf c lo s e , h a lf open are and th a t g iv e s them an
a c o u s tic resem blance th a t m ig h t have obscured the c e n tra l q u a lity . We have
seen how the E n g lis h open back vo w e l j is e a s ily rep la ce d by the T on ga open
fro n t vo w e l Q a ^ } s im p ly because o f the open q u a lity w hich the tw o v o w e ls sh are, the
same th in g seems to happen w it h [ jt j f : an
E n g lis h Short C e n tra l V o w e l / s / : G roup 1
Word In fo rm a n ts 1
w a te r { QQ o L i /
perhaps
[>* k a Pr] j>s u Pr]
tow ards
L.t l-J
fish erm e n
Group 2
Wor d I n f o r m a n t s :- 1
w a te r
s\\faV'a nS
perhaps
to w a rd s
fish erm e n
- 138 -
E n g lis h Short C e n tra l V o w e l : P erhaps because o f its o ccurre nce in u n s tre s s e d
p o s itio n s i t has been d if f ic u lt to d ete rm ine the e x a c t nature o f the v o w e l produced by
the in fo rm a n ts . H o w e ve r i t d id seen to me th a t the c o rre c t £ 0 sound was produced
by the in fo rm a n ts in the w ords perhaps and to w a rd s , w h ile a sound w ith a much more
open and fro n ta l q u a lity w as heard in the w ords fish erm e n and w a te r.
E n g lis h Open C e n tra l V o w e l / f\j : Group 1
Word In fo rm a n ts : 1 2 3
co ve re d [k a « a < Q [V a x /* !}
b ut Q :|s +"3
m oney a '"0 0 ^ 61 ^ r\ l L -T ^ ^
enough C j [j I\
Ga?cnip 2
W ord iTiforaiiiants-:-- 1
covered [l^ ^ v s .c Q
b ut
0 > * O
money
M 5 n "d C r ,aid
enough [_J tn 9-G J i'-n [j "3
E n g lis h Open C e n tra l V o w e l/^ |: A l l the in fo rm a n ts used open fro n t JjaJ fo r
l
/
^ f O G and L \ ] tiik e E J and L ^ G have one fe ature in common, and th a t is
th a t, th e y are both open v o w e ls .

V 139
E n g lis h D i p h t h o n g s Gr oup 1
j 1 Word In fo rm a n ts :- 1 2 3 4
'e I same L SS- " d G5^ [ s t « ]
la k e s 0 ^ 1 C - C s - '^ C r
name Cn £• Q \ [V s ^ H r f ] Q n, ^
H bare [ b u l N C W ^ ^
there C ^ 61^ 3 ^ ^ C -^ J
I f a / tim e L t ^ X,^ 3 l ^ aXV^
k n ife H t^ ^ O Gd ^ x ^ 3
is la n d Q î ^JQ [ \ ^ < Q [1 3 b ’^ < T ]
s o il b - * 3 C s o i+ 1 0 > 3
/ 61/
p o in te d L ? o m ’h \ \ CP 0 ' ^ ° 1^ t a e f j [_Po i rvfe^J.
3 ^ ^ "+ e r5 J
/W / m ou nta ins <vU n -k <lvn [3 < * v v m ^ ] ^
h° W C K * ^ \ \ * ^ \ \ U oiI ] Q -^ o T ]
° ut n ,a u 'k"3 i Z j ^ ^ + j b u+i 0 *^ *3
f ~ & rV'/ boat L .t> o :-t3 j t b 0 '* ^ fL k ° * 3] I3 ^ 0 ‘^ 3
go
U° 1 [ * * ] [cô 3Q aO
know
n - i iz ^ o 3 c ~3 l ^ ° " 3
/ * * / near [ a i <k 3 3 ^ 3 3 n ' ,S l3 ^ 1* 3 1
sp ea r L Sf ‘ ^ 3 3 Sf 1^ 3 3_S ? l 3 3 a3
/V a / sure L S « a l
1
- 140
English Diphthongs: Group 2
Word In fo rm a n ts : - 1 2 3 4
same
la k e s
C li.ic.s3 tj- w tk ljD iic s ] DeiksC
name L, n £,w T] [>^1 QneAvvTTJ
/£ » / bare cuAl c w iii 0^*1

there
H tim e O x - 3
k n ife
is la n d
hi s o il
C W l^ l ^'-0 C " : f '3 & o l t ]
Q p o ? n+aA] L P ° ‘ L P ° '' " * H ]

p o in te d
H m ou nta ins
how C .U c .^3 p k c u d ■ £ > — 3
out [>«+! |> ^ 1 C°^3 & u+3
A vl b oa t C u.ri c v . - ^ i L k ° * i c w o . - o
go C y l C a O C a O C a » l
know d ^ ® 3 O o3 C r '° " ] C o o l
h] near
(-> ;a "3 e r a ’l l h n ' a’3 C ~ ' 5'~3
sp ea r Ch '*1 O p .* < 1 L s P, a l
/vs/ sure
£ 1 **3 L i “ *3 L W A ] L L * l
141 -
E n g lis h D ip h th o n g s : i t has been noted in the d e s c rip tio n o f E n g lis h v o w e l sounds th at
E n g lis h has e ig h t d ip h th o n g s . O f the e ig h t, tw o o f them seem to have been p a r tic u la rly
d if f ic u lt for«the in fo rm a n ts and these e * r t / < t J ^ ( n d / , the o the rs nd
/vsj seem to have been pronounced w e ll. T he o n ly comm ent to be made is th a t
tended to b e /x c T ] and / W = L ^ j a n d ^ y l r ^ a ] in the in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n . T he
dip h th o n g s ie X and were in m ost ca ses reduced to pure v o w e ls and in some cases
these v o w e ls show ed le n g th e n in g . T h e f ir s t e le m e n t [ V ] o f d ip h th o n g j'^- j "ook the
p la ce o f the w h o le diphthong, w h ile i r f ^ v j a sound seems to take the p la c e o f the
w h o le d ip h th o n g , and i t is th e [o J w h ic h has tended to be le n g th e n e d in the w ord boat
and in w ords lik e s o ld , c o ld , w here the ] _ t3 has been o m itte d . In s p ite o f the fa c t
th at d ip h th o n g so un ds are a b se n t in the in fo rm a n ts ’ f ir s t lan gu ag e , i t lias been
dem on strate d th a t th ey are able to produce s ix out o f the e ig h t E n g lis h d ip h th o n g s
to le ra b ly w e ll; c o n s e q u e n tly th e re a s o n fo r p ro d u cin g pure v o w e l sounds f o / e j t / a n d ^ - v /
may lie e ls e w h e re . The e x p la n a tio n may lie in the nature o f the d ip h th o n g sounds
th e m s e lv e s . In our d e s c rip tio n o f E n g lis h d ip h th o n g sounds we noted th a t th ey c o n s is t
o f tw o e le m e n ts , the f ir s t ele m e n t b eing the s ta rtin g p o in t, and the se c o n d , the p o in t
in the d ire c tio n o f w h ic h the g lid in g m ovem ent is made. I t has a ls o been noted th a t
the f ir s t p a rt is the more p ro m in e n t o f the tw o in terms o f le n g th and the s tre s s p a tte rn
o f the s y lla b le in w h ic h the d ip h th o n g o c c u rs . T he second e le m e n t is d e s c rib e d as
being b rie f and tra n s ito ry in n a tu re . P e rha ps th is la s t p o in t s h o u ld be q u a lifie d to Hke,
e ffe c t th a t the b re v ity and tra n s ito ry nature o f the second e lem ent may va ry a c c o rd in g
to the d is ta n c e betw een the s ta rtin g p o in t and the p o in t tow ards w h ic h the g lid in g
m ovem ent is m ade. In the case o f th e /6 3 ^ d ip h th o n g the s ta rtin g p o in t is in the h a lf

V
c lo s e fro n t area g o in g to w ards the ce n tre o f the c lo s e fro n t area. T h e g lid in g m ovem ent
- 142 -
betw een^jsT] a n d £ _ jfj is in d e e d so b r ie f and tra n s ito ry th a t the le n g th c o n c e n tra te d
on the f ir s t e le m e n t, can e a s ily obscure the second, to some one who is not in tim a te ly
a c q u a in te d ^ w ith the v o w e l syste m o f the la n g u a g e . On the o th e r hand the d is ta n c e
in v o lv e d in g lid in g from open to c lo s e , or open to c lo s e in J c k W j , back to
fro n t in / > x / , and the d iffe re n c e in q u a lity betw een the f ir s t and second e le m e n ts
are so o b v io u s even to. someone w hose f ir s t language may have no such c o m b in a tio n
o f so un ds. In the case o f the three c e n te rin g d ip h th o n g s / , ,/& ay/ ,
and w h ic h b e g in from c lo s e , h a lf c lo s e p o s itio n s m oving in the d ire c tio n o f a
more open v a rie ty o f the c e n tra l v o w e l ^3*3 , the [a Q sound, because o f its more open
n a tu re , has been heard as Col"J by the in fo rm a n ts so th a t the m ovem ent made by the
tongue b etw e en Q 1 andC aj' £sQ and Q T ] and h S and | V ] in the in fo rm a n ts ' L i a l
U -a ] an d& a3 sounds is s t i l l g re a te r than th a t betw een [eT] a n d £ l j i n .
T h e case o f th e /s » *i// d ip h th o n g w h ic h has been re p la c e d by QT| may perhaps
be e x p la in e d by an o b s e rv a tio n made by G im son in w h ic h he s ta te s th a t a' more
c o n s e rv a tiv e v a ria n t o f t h e ^ v / d ip h th o n g has it s s ta rtin g p o in t in a more re tra c te d
re g io n , or and the w h o le g lid e is accom panied by in c re a s in g lip ro u n d in g .
It s h o u ld be o bse rve d here th a t a d ip h th o n g o f th e Q o u j typ e has been note d among
the in fo rm a n ts m a in ly from the se co n d group. T he fa c t th a t t h e \ y ] has been o m itte d
in m ost o f the in fo rm a n ts p ro n u n c ia tio n may be e x p la in e d in the same w ay as the
d ip h th o n g , th a t the m ovem ent o f the tongue from QT^ or Q T ] to j j u Q ls 5 0
b rie f th a t i t may n ot be p e rc e iv e d a c o u s tic a lly by someone who has no in tim a te
kn ow led ge o f the sounds o f the la n g u a g e , G im s o n ’ s o b s e rv a tio n b rin g s up the
q u e s tio n o f from whom the in fo rm a n ts may have le a rn t the sound. I f from th e ir lo c a l
Z a m b ia n te a ch e rs then w h a t s o rt o f sound w as made by those who tra in e d the teachers?

~ 143 t -
In c o n c lu s io n i t has been o b se rve d th a t the Tonga in fo rm a n ts ' e x p e rie n c e d more
d if f ic u lt ie s in p ro n o u n cin g E n g lis h v o w e ls than they had w ith the E n g lis h c o n s o n a n ts .
T he m ain reason seems to be th a t, even though T on ga has fiv e pure v o w e ls a g a in s t
tw e lv e o f E n g lis h , each one T o n g a v o w e l sound shares one or more fe a tu re s w ith tw o
or more E n g lis h v o w e ls . T h is s im ila r ity seem s to o bscure the d iffe re n c e in q u a lity
o f the v o w e l, and le a d s the in fo rm a n ts in to b e lie v in g th a t, the E n g lis h sounds they
have h e a rd -are lik e th e ir own.
T he re is a ls o a p a tte rn th a t seem s to emerge w h ic h d e te rm in e s w ha t E n g lis h
v o w e ls w i l l be re p la c e d by w h ic h T on ga o ne s. T he m ain fa c to r w h ic h seem s to
d ete rm ine th is p a tte rn is the degree to w h ic h the tongue is ra is e d . T hu s i f two or more
E n g lis h v o w e ls share the q u a lity o f being c lo s e or h a lf c lo s e , w ith one T o n g a v o w e l
than th ose E n g lis h vo w e l sounds w i l l be re p la c e d by th a t Tonga v o w e l. F o r in s ta n c e 1:
E n g lis h j •ss'-vcl j r f — - ^ Tonga /if
E n g lis h \t[) 1$; I jsdj ,------ ^ T on ga / e /
E n g lis h txr*of / * [ T o n g a /< 3 j
E n g lis h [ & I , o—d / j Tonga j 0
E n g lis h | if j ■ fuj ^ T onga j Cl j
r e s p e c tiv e ly in the in fo rm a n ts ’ sp e e ch . T h e e x a c t p o in t w here the tongue is ra is e d
w h e th e r fro n t, ce n tre or b a ck, does n ot seem to e x e rt any s ig n ific a n t in flu e n c e on
the in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n as is show n by the fa c t th a t E n g lis h back j C \ j is
rep la ce d by T o n g a /c i/ tnd E n g lis h c e n t r a l / ] ^ / is re p la c e d by the fro n t J c j , E n g lis h
/ l \ j and s o m e t i m e s a r e re p la c e d by f r o n t / a / .
144 -
A s fa r as the E n g lis h d ip h th o n g s are concerned it lias been found that on the
w h o le these have been pronounced to le ra b ly w e ll e x c e p t the J o l j and/y.&'Uj/-diphthongs
w h ic h have been re p la c e d by pure v o w e ls and [o~l •

t%
T h e re is no s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e in the m astery o f E n g lis h v o w e ls betw een
the two gro up s. T he same s tra te g y o f u s in g the degree of tongue ra is in g to d e te rm in e
the T o n g a v o w e l w h ic h is to re p la c e the E n g lis h ones seems to have been em ployed
by both groups and c o n s e q u e n tly th ere has been no d iffe re n c e in the type o f v o w e ls
produced by the in fo rm a n ts in b oth gro up s.

- 145 -
iv, P E R F O R M A N C E IN ENGLISH STRESS A N D INTONATION
W ith the fo re g o in g d is c u s s io n on T o n g a and E n g lis h s u p ra s e g m e n ta l fe a tu re s in
m ind, the srime passages from tw o grade 5 N ew Z am b ia P rim a ry C ourse E n g lis h R eaders
as used in C h a p te r 4 p 5 were g iv e n to the same groups o f in fo rm a n ts w hose d e ta ils
are g iv e n on page . E ach member o f the two groups was asked to read the ,
A
p assages and ta p e -re co rd e d .
The o b je c t o f the e x e rc is e is to dete rm ine how fa r the E n g lis h su p ra se g m e n ta l
fe a tu re s d is p la y e d in the rea din g o f the T on ga c h ild re n d e v ia te from those in Standard
E n g lis h and to see w h e th e r th ese d e v ia tio n s c o u ld be e x p la in e d in any w a y . The
e x e rc is e w i l l a ls o d e te rm in e w h e th e r there are any s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e s betw een the
tw o groups ie w h e th e r some o f the d iv e rg e n c ie s d is a p p e a r as the c h ild re n p ro gress
h ig h e r on the e d u c a tio n a l la d d e r and are in c re a s in g ly exposed to the lite r a tu r e
w ritte n in the E n g lis h language and a ls o to f ir s t language sp e a ke rs o f E n g lis h , T he
c h ild re n in Group 1 have had fo u r f u l l y e a rs o f fo rm a l e d u c a tio n and are in th e ir f if t h ,
those in Group 2 have had e ig h t and are in th e ir n in th .
RESULTS:
GR O U P P : On the w h o le the c h ild re n in th is group tended to read in the same s lo w
w ay p ic k in g o u t each in d iv id u a l w ord a t a tim e , and w ith o u t d is p la y in g any a p p re c ia b le
d iffe re n c e from each o th e r in the w ay o f s tre s s and p itc h v a ria tio n s , C o n s e q u e n tly
o nly a few re p re s e n ta tiv e sam ples w i ll be g iv e n here as exam ple s:

146
M A R K IN G SYSTEM
H IG H T O N E
c ^ i
(OR U N M A R K E D ) LOW T O N E
S L IP P E D H IG H T O N E
L > 1
R ISE A T P A U S E
[ v ~ 1
H IG H -LO W ( F a llin g )
T H E F IR S T FA R M E R S P A SS AG E 1
IN F O R M A N T 1
GROUP 1
/ s
Men le a rn e d i how to fa^rm a lo n g tim e ago. B u t a ve ry lo n g tim e
ago, there w ere no farm s on the e a rth . T here were no farm s on the
e a rth , b e c a u s i there was no s o il on the e a rth . T he earth w a s n ’ t
a lw a y s the same as i t is now.
IN F O R M A N T II
L o n g , lo n g ago, there were no p e o p le or a n im a ls or p la n ts bn the
e"arth. T he earth w as v e ry , ve ry h o t. T h e re w ere n o-pe op le or
a n im a ls o r p la n ts because the earth w as too h&t. B u t a fte r many
ye a rs , the e a rth became c o ld and i t w as co vered w ith bare h a r d i r o tk .
T H E T H R E E F IS H E R M E N IN F O R M A N T I I I
One moaning, three fish erm e n w en t outu in tffe ir b oa t. T h e y w a n te d to c a tc h
a lo t ofu fis h . " I f we c a tc h a lo t o f u f is h ” s a id one o f u the fis h e rm e n -w h o s e
name w a s i M um bi, " w e 11 g e t a lo t ofu money and then we can g et a new n et.
- 147 r-
T h e y o n ly h ^d three n e ts . One o f them w as b roken, "W e w o n 't use the
broken n e t " , s a id Mwamba. ’ Y ou c a n ’ t c a tc h a b i^ g fis h in a broken h e t . "
T H E T H R E E F IS H E R M E N IN F O R M A N T IV
So th ey w e n t n e a r the is la n d a n tii th re w o u t the broken neA .
T h e y w a ite d i andi lo o k e d i a t the is la n d . T h e y ate some
o fu th e ir food a n d i drank some w a te r. B u t th ey d id n ’ t s e e
^ t\ ^ ^ ^ A
any fis h . When i t w as n e a r ly n ig h t i Mumbi s a id , " W e ll, we
m ust p u ll the n et in to the b oa t a g a in now . I t ’ s n e a rly n ig h t,
and we won t c a tc h any fis h n o w ."
G e n e ra lly the p itc h p a tte rn o f in d iv id u a l w ords te n d to be h ig h - fa ll
th ro u g h o u t as the m arking s in the passages illu s tr a te . T h is p a tte rn is by no
means lim ite d to p o ly s y lla b ic w ords o n ly b u t even some m o n o s y lla b le s w h e th e r
s h o rt or lo n g and irre s p e c tiv e o f w h e th e r an e p e n th e tic v o w e l is added or n o t,
d is p la y a h ig h - fa llin g p itc h . The fo llo w in g are some exam ple s o f m o n o s y lla b le s
w ith h ig h - fa llin g p itc h :
A earth Hot rock

PA SS AG E 1: men farm s
A
PASS AG E 2: boat fis h s a id n et
A / s
food see o f (u)
T o u nd ersta nd w hy the in fo rm a n ts adapted th is p a tte rn , i t is perhaps n e ce ssa ry
fir s t to make a q u ic k re v ie w o f the w ays c h ild re n a c q u ire kn o w le d g e o f the
E n g lish language in Zambia. Most Zambian children are introduced to the E nglish language
in the classroom , very few o f them learn the language through spontaneous play w ith
o th e r c h ild re n w ith a s p e a k in g k n ow led ge o f the lan gu ag e . In the cla s s ro o m

-•148 t.
..
a num ber o f re p e titio n d r ills take p la c e . T he m ain aim is to e nable the c h ild to
u n d e rsta n d , read, w rite and sp ea k the la n g u a g e . T he m ain em p ha sis is on the f ir s t
three because these are the m ain s k ills re q u ire d to pass a w ritte n e x a m in a tio n . T he
s c h o o l th e re fo re is the m ain c e n tre where the s tru c tu re o f the language is le a rn t
and new v o c a b u la ry p ic k e d up. T h e m ethods used to teach the language to the
c h ild re n are th e re fo re c r u c ia l in u n d e rs ta n d in g the p a tte rn d e ve lo p e d and used by
them. T h e fo llo w in g is the procedure o f s e v e ra l E n g lis h le s s o n s o bse rve d in the
course o f my fie ld w o rk .
A l i s t o f w ords p ic k e d from a passage w h ic h the te a ch e r in te n d e d to d e a l w ith
was p u t on the b oard. T h e l i s t c o n s is te d o f new v o c a b u la ry to be in tro d u c e d to the
p u p ils . T h e te a c h e r then w e n t through the l i s t p ro no un cing each w ord at a tim e - to
the end, T h e n she d id the same th in g a ga in b ut th is tim e the p u p ils repeated a fte r
h er. A fte r th is the te a c h e r read the passage th ro ug h , then some c h ild re n d id lik e w is e ,
reading a paragraph each from the p assa ge . T h is w as fo llo w e d by some e x e rc is e s
based on the p a ssa g e . S u b s titu tio n d r ills u s in g the new v o c a b u la ry in se n te n c e s were
perform ed. T he te a c h e r w ro te th e s u b s titu tio n ta b le s on the board, read the s e n te n ce s
o u t, w h ile the c h ild re n rep ea te d a fte r h e r. L a s tly , these w ere co p ie d in the c h ild re n ’ s
w o rk b o o k s .
T h e m ain p o in t w h ic h re la te s th is to the d is c u s s io n on the p itc h p a tte rn s o f
in d iv id u a l w ords in the c h ild re n ’ s reading e x e rc is e is the m ethod used to in tro d u c e
new v o c a b u la ry to the c la s s . N ew v o c a b u la ry is in tro d u c e d as a l i s t o f ite m s in
is o la tio n . T h e c h ild th e re fo re le a rn s the language by h ea rin g and re p e a tin g
in d iv id u a l w ords f ir s t b e fo re he le a rn s to use them in a s e n te n c e . B u t as w as

- 149 -
in d ic a te d in the d is c u s s io n on E n g lis h s tre s s , the c ita tio n form o f a w ord, ie the form
in w h ic h i t is pronounced when c o n sid e re d in is o la tio n is ra re ly m a in ta in e d when the
w ord appears in a s e n te n c e . T here are, as we have seen s h ifts in the s tre s s p a tte rn s
in a s e n te n c e , th e re fo re the form in w h ic h the w ord appears w o u ld be la rg e ly d ete rm ine d
by the rh y th m ic re q u ire m e n ts o f the se n te n ce and the im p o rta n ce o f the w ord in it , in
the w ay o f c o n v e y in g in fo rm a tio n . T h e Z am b ia n c h ild le a rn s h is new w ords in th e ir
c ita tio n form and i t is in th is form th a t the w ords become in te rn a lis e d and reproduced
by him in a ll c o n te x ts , b e in g unaware o f the s h ifts o f s tre s s re q u ire d in an E n g lis h
s e n te n ce .
T h e Z a m b ia n c h ild has n o t the adva nta g e o f the n a tiv e s p e a k e r’ s com petence
in the la n g u a g e to guide him . T o c la r ify a l i t t l e more w h a t is m eant by th is , the
w rite r had the chance of o b s e rv in g an e ig h t y e a r o ld n a tiv e s p e a k e r o f E n g lis h read,
T he p roblem s the c h ild had in v o lv e d the tra n s la tio n o f g ra p h ic c o n fig u ra tio n s in to
sounds, once th is w as done the c h ild p re su m a b ly re lie d on her k n o w le d g e o f the
g ra m m a tic a l p a tte rn and se m a n tic c o n te x t o f the s e nte nce to g e t its s tre s s and rhythm
p a tte rn c o rre c t. T he same p ro ce ss w as o bse rve d among Z a m b ia n c h ild re n from
Group 1 rea din g from a T on ga te x t, once th ey w ere able to a s s o c ia te the w ord w ith
the sound, th ey used the same cues to g e t the tone p a tte rn in g o f w o rd s and the o v e r a ll
p itc h o f the se n te n ce rig h t. H o w e ve r, when the Z a m b ia n c h ild is g iv e n an E n g lis h
te x t to read, a pa rt from s tru g g lin g w ith the g ra p h ic s he has no such cues to g uide
h im , u n le s s o f co u rse he tra n s fe rs some o f those he w o u ld use in h is m other tongue
to the new lan gu ag e .

150
T h is b rin g s us to the second p o in t w h ic h m ig h t h elp to e x p la in the h ig h -fa ll
p a tte rn o f in d iv id u a l w ords in the reading e x e rc is e . It has been s ta te d th a t the Z am b ia n
c h ild le a rn g h is new E n g lis h v o c a b u la ry in it s c ita tio n form , the c ita tio n form o f a
1
m o n o s y lla b le in is o la tio n is s tre s s e d , and the p o ly s y lla b ic w ords in is o la tio n w i ll have
a t le a s t one s tre s s e d s y lla b le . T h e re s u lts o f the reading e x e rc is e tend to show th a t
the s tre s s w h ic h o c c u r on these w ords when c o n s id e re d in d iv id u a lly are equated to
h ig h tone w h ile the w eak s tre s s e s come out as lo w tone. In our d is c u s s io n o f s tre s s
in T on ga , i t w as s ta te d th a t s tre s s is bound to tone, and th a t s tre s s is fo un d w he ne ver
a h ig h tone comes before a lo w tone, the s y lla b le on w h ic h the h ig h tone fa lls is
s tre s s e d . We have a ls o illu s tr a te d th a t in c e rta in c o n te x ts s tre s s can re p la c e high
tone in T o n g a . It can th e re fo re be supposed th a t s tre s s and h ig h tone do not o n ly have
a c lo s e re la tio n s h ip o f being bound to g e th e r in one s y lla b le b ut the re la tio n s h ip can
a ls o be an in te rc h a n g e a b le one in the m ind o f a Tonga sp e a ke r. I f th is is the case then
it e x p la in s w hy E n g lis h s tre s s came o ut as h ig h tone in the reading e x e rc is e .
We a ls o s ta te d in our d is c u s s io n on the s ig n ific a n c e o f tone in T on ga the fa c t
th a t each le x ic a l ite m in the language has a b a s ic u n d e rly in g tone p a tte rn o f its own
w h ic h i t m a in ta in s even when in c o rp o ra te d in to a se nte nce and can o n ly change in
c e rta in c o n te x ts . I t is ju s t c o n c e iv a b le th a t the in fo rm a n ts b eing used to th is type o f
p a tte rn in g in th e ir f ir s t lan gu ag e , once th e y adopt a c e rta in p a tte rn fo r the E n g lis h
w o rd s, tend to m a in ta in i t th ro ug h ou t the s e n te n c e . I f it were a T on ga s e n te n c e , w hose
s y n ta c tic a l o rg a n iz a tio n they can m a n ip u la te e a s ily , they w ould know from the c o n te x t
when the b a s ic tone p a tte rn o f an in d iv id u a l word needs c h a n g in g . B u t in th is case
they are g ra p p lin g w ith an u n fa m ilia r syste m and they have n o th in g to a c t as a s ig n a l
as to w h ic h w ord needs s tre s s in g or s a y in g q u ic k ly as the rhythm o f the E n g lis h
se nte nce re q u ire s .

- 151 -
It has been sta te d th a t E n g lis h weak s y lla b le s have been equated w ith low
tone in the reading e x e rc is e s . B u t in the d is c u s s io n on E n g lis h s tre s s we in d ic a te d
th a t u n s tre s s e d s y lla b le s in E n g lis h are s a id fa s te r than the s tre s s e d ones so th a t it
is p o s s ib le as i t w ere fo r the lis te n e r to p ic k o ut the im p orta nt w ords in an u tte ra n c e .
In T on ga on the o th e r hand, the fa c t th a t a s y lla b le is u tte re d on a h ig h or low p itc h
has no s ig n ific a n c e in term s o f the in te rv a l sp en t in u tte rin g i t . A s y lla b le s a id on
a low p itc h w i l l take as much tim e to say as a s y lla b le on h ig h p itc h . T h is is w hy
Tonga is c la s s ifie d as a s y lla b le tim in g lan gu ag e . When th is p a tte rn is tra n s fe rre d
to E n g lis h , w h ich is s tre s s tim in g , as i t has been in th is ca se, it g iv e s the im p re s s io n
of a il s y lla b le s b e in g e v e n ly s tre s s e d , and th is is not in c o n fo rm ity w ith the re q u ire
m ents o f E n g lis h rhythm .
Oneaspect w h ich is ra th e r p u z z lin g in th is e x e rc is e is .the fa c t th a t some m ono
s y lla b le s have come o u t w ith a h ig h -lo w p itc h . One w o u ld have e xp e cte d them to
turn o ut w ith a hig h tone o n ly . P erhaps one e x p la n a tio n to th is anom aly may lie on
the s y lla b ic s tru c tu re o f T o n g a . Tonga has an open s y lla b le s tru c tu re , th a t is no w ord
may be c lo s e d by a co nso na nt sound, E n g lis h on the o the r hand has both open and
c lo s e d s y lla b le s . I t is to be noted th a t, a lm o s t a ll the m o n o s y lla b le s w h ic h came out
w ith a h ig h - fa llin g p itc h in the in fo rm a n ts ’ re a d in g , are c lo s e d by co n s o n a n t sounds
e xcep t the w ord see. I t has a ls o been observed th a t the in fo rm a n ts adopted
a p a rtic u la r p itch p a tte rn h ig h -fa ll fo r the p o ly s y lla b ic words s im ila r to th a t o f the
m o n o s y lla b le s , w h ic h th ey have m a in ta in e d th ro ug h ou t. It is p o s s ib le th a t the T onga
in fo rm a n ts used to the open s y lla b ic s tru c tu re o f th e ir fir s t lan gu ag e , but at the same
tim e aware th a t they are d e a lin g w ith a language w hose syste m is d iffe re n t, trie d
som etim es s u c c e s s fu lly , to tre a t the w ords as m onosyllables as such at the p h o n e tic
- 152 -
le v e l. B ut th a t at p itc h le v e l, they u n c o n s c io u s ly trea te d them as d is s y lla b ic w ords,
w h ich they w o u ld be in T on ga , and a ss ig n e d a p itc h p a tte rn s im ila r to th a t they used
fo r the p o ly s y lla b ic w o rd s. Indeed the fa c t th a t at o th e rtim e s the in fo rm a n ts fa ile d to
tre a t some o f the w ords w ith clo s e d s y lla b le s as su cfue ven at the p h o n e tic le v e l
g iv e s w e ig h t to th is v ie w . In a number o f ca ses a fin a l v o w e l is added, e.g.
f ir s t ( i) learned (i)
hard ( i) hot (i)
o f(u ) „ out(u)
ro c k (i) a n d (i)
w a tte d (i)
I t has a ls o been su g g e ste d th a t s in c e the T on ga c h ild is in th is case rea din g s lo w ly ,
he may be tre a tin g each in d iv id u a l w ord as se nte nce fin a l. It has been o bse rve d
before in the ch a p te r on T one In T on ga th a t g e n e ra lly a T onga s e nte nce ends in
d o w n d rift or 'f in a l crum bling * on a se n te n ce fin a l h ig h tone. E n g lis h s tre s s comes
o ut as T on ga hig h tone and s in c e a m o n o s y lla b le in is o la tio n in E n g lis h is a lw a y s
in s tre s s e d form , i t is u tte re d w ith a h ig h tone by a Tonga sp ea ker, and being fin a l,
i t w i l l be in 'f in a l c ru m b lin g ’ c o n te x t. .
It is p o s s ib le th a t a co m b in a tio n o f these tw o fa c to rs may be at w ork and th a t
to try and u nd ersta nd the p itc h p a tte rn s a s s ig n e d to in d iv id u a l w ords by the
in fo rm a n ts , one w i ll have to ta ke both fa c to rs in to c o n s id e ra tio n .
H ow e ver, i t is w orth lo o k in g at the o ld e r c h ild re n ’ s reading perform ance at
th is stage to see w h e th e r there is any a p p re c ia b le d iffe re n c e in th e ir p itc h tre a tm e n t
o f the w o rd s. T he fo llo w in g are e x tra c ts o f th e ir reading perform ance:

-.153 -
.THE.•-FIRST FARMERS'.• ; PASSAGE 1

■:INFORMANT 1
A S ^ / /■ ^ A ' x / /*
Men learned how- to farm a long time ago, .:But a .very- long time
/\ /* ^ /i / / ^
ago, there, were no farms on the-earth.. There.were, no farms, on
A - ^ ^ ^ A f
the. earth.,because there, was:, no soil on .the. earth.. The earth.
/ \ / . / a S' s a
\ waau'taalwaya the same as: it is.-,now-. : Long, long ago, there, were
>* S S / / /*
no people or animals: or plants? o n :the earth.. The earth, was.
. X A
. very, -very hot.
' •~INFORMANT •FF-■

/ / /* :.'S S s
There;.were..no .people: or •animals>-or plants: because :the earth, was.
A A V y
too hot. . But after many-.years?, .the. earth. became cold, .and it was
* . ■ A S A / A
coyered with bare., hard .rocki..,. There .were mountains, of rocki.
s S S A " s /
There, was.- no .soil on the. rocki.. There were..no plants.-'or ■animals
/ y A / /*
or people, bn this.-, rocki. There..were only.streams,-, and lakes: and
A s a
bare.,.hard rocki,.,
THE,:THREE ■FISHERMEN-• ' :'PASSAGE -2 •-

•fINFORMANT ■•jri;-
^ | s S s A A
..Qne.morning, three, fishermen went:out -in. their .boat. They
** / . A ' S : S S A
wanted ,to.catch, a lot of fish. '-’if we. catch, a lot of f ish.,;,
/* ^ /* V A /*
said one of the. fishermen, whose: name was. .Mumbi, '•'■'wed-ll get a
^ A A ^ S S' A / '
lot of money, and then we. can..buy a .new- n e t . T h e y ,only had
A ^ / s S s
.three: nets-, one. of that was broken. ,;W.e wonI;t use..the. broken
A / / S S V / ^ /
net, **' sa.idMwamba. ,f'-You can't catch, a big fish. ■in a broken
A ^ V ^ ^ V* ' / *''*
net. 'f'- I;All r i g h t , s a i d Sifali, ’-’weill fish with..our ■strong
A /* A > /• / s/
nets-. ,;I- So they went out a long way on the water, and threw-out
s A v" s a
the strong nets-. But they didn ,ft throw-out the. broken .net. They
y ✓ ^ s A y s - s
soon caught a lot of small fish, and. pul led, the .nets:back, into
A
. the. boat. ;
154 -
I N F O R M A N T IV
So th ey w e n t near th e ’is la n d and threw out the broken n e t. T he y
w a ite d and lo o ke d at the is la n d . T h e y ate some o f th e ir food, and
drank some w ater. Bui they d n ln ’ t sec any fis h . When it was n e a rly
n ig h t, Mumbi s a id , " w e ll , we m ust p u ll the net in to the boat again now.
I t ’ s n e a rly n ig h t, and we w o n ’ t c a tc h any fis h n o w .” So they s ta rte d
to p u ll the n et back in to the b oa t. I t was v e ry , very h e a v y . They
p u lle d and p u lle d , and when the n et was n e a rly at the s id e o f the boat
they saw so m e thin g in the n et. A ve ry b ig fis h was c a u g h t in the net,
^ ‘ a. y F . y . A ""
" K i l l i t w k i(i) your k n ife ” , Mwamba to S ita li, S ita li n e a rly fe ll
A ^ < A
in to the la k e w h ile he was k illin g the fis h .
G e n e ra lly th is group read more c o n fid e n tly and fa s te r than the f ir s t . The problem s
of a s s o c ia tin g the w ritte n word w ith sound have been overcom e by now . A ls o at th is
stage the c h ild re n have c o n tro l o f many g ra m m a tic a l s tru c tu re s o f the language w h ic h
they can e a s ily produce in w ritte n form b ut perhaps n ot so much in sp ee ch. D e s p ite a ll
th is h o w e ve r, the p itc h p a tte rn s o f th is group are no d iffe re n t from th o se o f Group 1,
In d iv id u a l w ords s t i l l m a in ta in the h ig h -fa ll p itc h p a tte rn we have obse rve d in the younger
c h ild re n ’ s rea din g perform an ce. T he h ig h - fa llin g p itc h p a tte rn a s s ig n e d to some
m o n o s y lla b le s by Group 1 rem ains unchanged. T h e o n ly o b s e rv a b le d iffe re n c e seem s to be
th a t w ith the more flu e n t re a d e rs, the h ig h -fa ll p itc h o f m o n s y lla b le s tends to come to w ards
a pause or end o f se nte nce n o rm a lly fa llin g on the la s t two or la s t ite m b efore the pause.
F o r exam ple:
" B u t a ve ry long tim e ago, there were no farms
on the e'arth. T here were no farm s on the e ^rth ,
because there w as no s o il on the earth.

- 155 -
T he re were no p eople o r a n im a ls o r p la n ts
because the e arth w as tfJo h o t. B u t a fte r
many ye^trs, the earth became c ^ ld , and i t
w as covered w ith bare hard ro c k i.
T h is m ig h t co n firm the n o tio n th a t the T onga in fo rm a n t Is a p p ly in g the d o w n d rift
fe ature o f the T on ga se nte nce to the E n g lis h one. In Group 1, the in fo rm a n t was rea din g
s lo w ly and th e re fo re tended to tre a t each in d iv id u a l word as se nte nce fin a l ie w ith a
fin a l c ru m b lin g . In th is case h ow eve r, the in fo rm a n t is rea d in g fa s t so the fe a tu re is
s h ifte d to w ards a pause o r end o f the se nte nce as i t w o u ld be in a T o n g a s e n te n c e .
On the o th e r hand m ost in fo rm a n ts in th is group read ve ry much lik e in fo rm a n t N o. IV ,
w ith h ig h -fa llin g p itc h on the fo llo w in g m o n o s y lla b le s :
nehr, net n ig h t, fo'od, d id i n 't , s a id , fis h ,
/G i i a ^ s‘. A
w e ll, b oat, a ga in , now, w ith i ,your
T h is w as re g a rd le s s o f w h e th e r i t was in the m id dle o f a s e n te n c e or before a
pause, and y e t these in fo rm a n ts were rea din g ju s t as fa s t as the o th e rs , and so they
c a n n o t be s a id to be tre a tin g each in d iv id u a l w ord as se nte nce fin a l lik e the s lo w
readers in Group 1. T h is ta kes us back to the n o tio n th a t perhaps the in fo rm a n t is
fa ilin g to tre a t the w ords w ith clo se d s y lla b le s as such a t the p itc h le v e l, and there
is s t i l l some e v id e n ce th a t even at the p h o n e tic le v e l th is p ro ce ss is s t i l l going on in
th is group.
One o th e r p itc h p a tte rn w h ich seemed to be common w ith in fo rm a n t N o. I l l , but
w h ich was n ot ve ry p re v a le n t among the o th e rs , was the fa llin g ris in g p itc h on some
m o n o s y lla b le s . The p a tte rn seemed to be a p re pa usa l one, a lth o u g h the pauses in
th is case are not w here one w ould e xp e ct them to be ie they do n o t c o in c id e w ith the
p u n c tu a tio n in the passage. E xa m p le s fo llo w :

. .. . and th re w , o ut the stro n g n e ts .
^ B u t th ey d id n ’ t throw out the broken net,
y' /\ ^
T he nets were s t i l l , f u ll o f fis h .
T h e se fis h are too s m a ll.
We w o n ’ t get much money fo r these when th ey are s o ld .
On the w hole th e re fo re there seem s to be no im provem ent on the in fo rm a n ts ’ m astery o f
E n g lis h se nte nce s tre s s even a fte r e ig h t ye ars o f form al e d u c a tio n d u rin g w h ic h E n g lis h
is used as a medium o f in s tru c tio n . T he in fo rm a n ts ' betray no s ig n o f u n d e rs ta n d in g or
aw areness o f the fu n c tio n o f s tre s s and rhythm in the E n g lis h s e n te n c e .
So fa r, u s in g the reading e x e rc is e , I have trie d to m easure the in fo rm a n ts ’
p erform ance on E n g lis h s tre s s , b ut as has been s ta te d before s tre s s in E n g lis h speech
is c lo s e ly bound up w ith in to n a tio n . T h o s e p a rts o f an u tte ra n ce to w h ic h the speaker
w an ts to draw the lis te n e r ’ s a tte n tio n , are rendered p rom inent n ot o n ly by stressing^,
. b u t a ls o by use o f s ig n ific a n t p itc h .
In the a n a ly s is o f E n g lis h in to n a tio n we s ta te d th a t a w ord group m ust have a
n u cle u s w h ic h bears the n u c le a r tune o f the w h o le group, and th a t i t may or may n ot
have a head, prehead or t a il. A head is seen as c o n s is tin g o f the f ir s t s tre s s e d
s y lla b le up to the n u c le u s , the prehead, o f a ll u n s tre sse d s y lla b le s up to the head, and
the t a il, o f a ll s y lla b le s a fte r the n u c le u s . A lto g e th e r ten tone groups in both em p ha tic
and unem phatie form s have been d is tin g u is h e d . E ach tone group c o n s is ts o f a c o m b in a tio n
o f the v a rio u s p arts o f a tune sum m arized above. T h is means th a t d iffe re n t tunes can be
em ployed to read a s im p le s to ry lik e The F ir s t Farm ers and b e sid e s th a t, each tune
- 157 -
used w i l l c a rry some s o rt o f a ttitu d in a l m eaning.
H ere is a p a rt o f The F ir s t Farm ers read by an E n g lis h s p e a k e r and a na ly s e d in
in to n a tio n groups u s in g O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld ’ s m ethod:
T H E ' f IR ST v FAR M ER S
a> | T «■
"Men 'le a rn e d 'h o w to ^farm j a 'lo n g "tim e
6> &
$ A
b ut a ^ v e r y * lo n g • tim e ,j there w ere n oV farm s on the • e a r t h . / /
iL ll <3>
T here were 'n o ^farm s on the *e arth / because there was no ' ‘s o il on the ^ e n rih .^
&
&•
T h e ^ e a rth w a sn ’ t A lw a y s the *sa in e as it is ^ now

7T
« * &
<0 * mu //
'L o n g 'lo n g ago j there were *no, ^p e o p le â n im a ls j 1 o r^ p la n ts on the #e arth j j
— ■
(fz)
©
°[
A i
A b o u t fo u r tunes have been used in the s ix se nte nce s above from T he F ir s t F a rm e rs ,
Some tunes have been used s e v e ra l'tim e s . T he tunes used are as fo llo w s a c c o rd in g to the
number o f in to n a tio n groups:
1) lo w drop -high head low f a ll
2) lo w bounce , -high head low ris e
3) lo w drop - hig h head lo w fa ll
4) s w itc h back ; -fa llin g head fa ll ris e
5) s w itc h b a c k -
6) lo w bounce hig h head lo w ris e

- 158 -
7) h ig h drop - high head high fa ll
8) s w itc h back - fa llin g head f a ll ris e
9) lo w bounce - hig h head lo w ris e
10) lo w bounce - high head lo w rise
11) lo w bounce - hig h head low rise
12) hig h drop - h ig h head high f a ll
T he in fo rm a n t’ s rea din g o f the same lin e s is so m e th in g lik e th is :
THE F IR S T FAR M ER S
Men le a rn e d how to farm a lon g tim e ago
But a very lon g tim e " a g o ,^ th e r e were no farm s on the earth
/" N ^ /v / / /
T h e re were no farm s on the earth7 because there was no
s o il on the eaVth
T he earth w a s n ’ t a lw a y s the same as it is now

- 159 -
Long, lon g a g o ,/th e re were no people , or a nim a ls or p la n ts on the earth
N 'j » » ...... _.... ® *. o "X

Group 2 THE F IR S T FAR M ER S
/ /\ S' ■''* / •*
Men le a rn e d how to farm a lo n g tim e ago.
A O _ . T \ .........
/
But a ve ry lo n g tim e a g o ,/th e re were no fa"rms on the e a rth .
' X y
* •
*
There were no fanns on the e ^ rth ,/b e c a u s e there was no s o il on the e arth .
I -
I * • " A a ] / a * a o . S J
S S. . r*<
The earth w a s n 't a lw a y s the same as i t is now.
"N . “ ~
§> * ________ 1
Long, lon g a ^ o ,/th e re were no p e o ple or a n im a ls or p la n ts on the e'arth.
•PM.
•\/ . <s •» ....." b .. _
A p a rt from the h ig h -lo w and h ig h - fa llin g p a tte rn o f in d iv id u a l w ords w h ic h has alrea d y
been o bse rve d , there is an o v e ra ll p itc h p a tte rn supe rim po sed on the le x ic a l one.
T h is p itc h p a tte rn s ta rts on a h ig h le v e l becom ing lo w e r and lo w e r to w ards a pause or
end o f the s e n te n c e . A fte r a pause, the p itc h le v e l ris e s again and then goes lo w e r -
and lo w e r to the end o f the se n te n ce . T h is o v e ra ll p itc h p a tte rn is m a in ta in e d
th ro ug h ou t the passage by a lm o s t a ll the in fo rm a n ts in both groups e x c e p t three in
Group 2 who show ed some e vid e n ce o f more v a rie ty in some parts o f th e ir rea din g o f the
second passage by sh o w in g tra ce s o f r is in g p itc h as opposed to f a llin g . H o w e ve r, these
parts are n ot m any, nor are they lo n g , for the re s t o f the passage even these three
in fo rm a n ts conform ed to the p attern adopted by the r e s t:
1) " w e ll” lo w ris e (as opposed to L - - 1 )
^ i r - '—\
2) ' ’ a lr ig h t” lo w ris e (as opposed to J f, J )
3) "W h a t s h a ll we do now? L i, ^
r is e - fa ll (as opposed to [ “ J)
-- 160 -
I t is o b v io u s th a t in to n a tio n p a tte rn s as understood in Standard E n g lis h and as
o bserved in the e x tra c t read by a f ir s t language s p ea ker o f E n g lis h are fa r from the
in fo rm a n ts ’ grasp.
In term s o f O ’ C onnor and A r n o ld ’ s a n a ly s is the in fo rm a n ts ’ in to n a tio n p attern
a pp ro xim a tes to th a t o f the s lid in g head. T he s lid in g head is an e m p h a tic form of
the fa llin g h ea d. I t is c h a ra c te ris e d by a s e rie s o f fa lls one from each s tre s s e d
s y lla b le , in s te a d o f the one s in g le f a ll o f the une m p ha tic fa llin g head. An exam ple
fo llo w s :
^ H ave a ^ b it o f^ s e n s e
* ~ * (
• V
The h ig h -lo w p a tte rn used by the in fo rm a n ts comes nearer to the above p a tte rn w ith the
E n g lis h s tre s s e d s y lla b le s com ing o u t as h ig h tone and the u n s tre s s e d ones as a low
to n e . What c o u ld be ta ken as the n u cle u s in the in fo rm a n ts 1in to n a tio n p a tte rn s
a p p ro xim a te s to the lo w f a ll n u c le a r tune w ith o u t a t a il in O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld ’ s
a n a ly s is . E xa m ple o f lo w fa ll:
No I can’ t
It has been s ta te d th a t in the in fo rm a n ts ’ rea din g, the o v e ra ll p itc h becom es lo w e r
and lo w e r towardSa pause or end o f se nte nce and the fin a l c ru m b lin g as i t w ere, is
near to the lo w f a l l n u c le a r tune than a n y th in g e ls e in the O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld s y s te m .
The a n a ly s is o f the in fo rm a n ts ’ in to n a tio n p a tte rn s in th is w ay ra is e s a num ber o f
p o in ts . F ir s t ly the fa c t th a t a c c o rd in g to O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld ’ s syste m the
in fo rm a n ts ’ p a tte rn s la c k any segm ents w h ic h c o u ld be a ssig n e d to the t a il, means

- 161 -
th at the la s t ite m before the pause o r end o f se nte nce w h ich c o n ta in s the f a ll is
a u to m a tic a lly in te rp re te d as the a ccen ted one, w ith a fa llin g n u c le u s , in B r itis h
E n g lis h , th ereb y g iv in g a d is to rte d p ic tu re o f the w h o le u tte ra n c e . The in fo rm a n t,
unaware o f such a syste m in o p e ra tio n , does n ot in te n d any p a rtic u la r em phasis on the
s y lla b le w h ic h the B r itis h E n g lis h sp e a ke r in te rp re ts as the focus o f in fo rm a tio n .
S e co n d ly, the fa c t th a t the s lid in g head is e m p ha tic and is used by B r itis h
E n g lis h sp ea kers m a in ly fo r e x p re s s io n s o f e x a s p e ra tio n , means th a t even the m ost
n e u tra l rem ark a T onga sp e a ke r may m ake, i f accom panied by the sitne in to n a tio n p a tte rn
as th a t d is p la y e d in the in fo rm a n ts ’ reading w o u ld g iv e the lis te n e r ( i f he were a
B r itis h E n g lis h sp ea ker) the w rong im p re s s io n o f the s p e a k e rs ’ fe e lin g s . D r. H . C a rte r
in her paper on " In to n a tio n and S tress P a tte rn s in Some C aribbean C re o le s and
B r itis h E n g lis h ” , in w h ic h she m akes re fe ren ce in p a s s in g to the in to n a tio n p a tte rn s
in the E n g lis h speech o f A fr ic a n s ’ w ith a to n a l language backg ro un d, says th is o f
the s lid in g head and s te p p in g head o f the B r itis h E n g lis h s y s te m / B o th these are
’ e m p h a tic p a tte rn s ’ , hence to the E n g lis h sp e a ke r they convey w e ig h t, in te n s ity ,
g ra v ity , fo rc e fu l e m o tio n , so th a t a ca s u a l rem ark such as " I s n ’ t i t a fin e d a y ? ” ta ke s
on the a ir o f a s in is te r c h a lle n g e , a se a rc h in g , te s tin g q u e s tio n charged w ith g re at
s ig n ific a n c e and re q u irin g c a re fu l p on de rin g before r e p ly in g .” It is ,q u ite o b v io u s
from th is th a t a lo t o f m is u n d e rs ta n d in g can o ccu r, w ith the s p ea ker q u ite u n c o n s c io u s
of the e ffe c t h is u tte ra n ce has on the lis te n e r. B ecause o f the use o f w ha t a p p ro xim a te s
to B r itis h E n g lis h e m p h a tic heads by many A fric a n s w hose f ir s t languages arc to n a l,
A fric a n s have been m i s t a k e n l y d e s c r ib e d a s s p e a k in g in a 'h a r s h , fe r o c io u s ,
b a r k in g t o n e o f v o i c e , •' -w h ic h r e m a r k w i l l annoy th e A fr ic a n a s m uch a s h i s
in t o n a tio n a n n o y s t h e E n g l i s h p e o p le .
- 162 -
T h ir d ly , i t m ust a lso be p o in te d o ut th at the s lid in g head in O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld ’ s
syste m is a s s o c ia te d w ith the s w itc h ba ck tone g ro u p . I t is n o rm a lly found in
co m b in a tio n w ith the fa ll- r is e n u c le a r tu ne . In our a n a ly s is o f the in fo rm a n ts p a tte rn s ,
we found th a t th e ir a p p ro x im a tio n to the s lid in g head was in c o n ju n c tio n w ith
the lo w f a ll n u c le a r tune, a co m b in a tio n o f w h ic h does not seem to e x is t in O ’ C onnor
and A rn o ld . I t is a lso o b vio u s from lis te n in g to th e ir reading at both sta ge s th a t th e ir
a p p ro x im a tio n to the s lid in g head and the lo w f a ll n u c le a r tune is n o t a c o n s c io u s
e ffo rt on th e ir s id e to im ita te E n g lis h in to n a tio n , i t seems to be a p a tte rn w h ic h comes
a u to m a tic a lly to them . ^Perhaps to u nd ersta nd th is p a tte rn we s h a ll have to go back
to w hat we s a id abo ut the T onga se n te n c e .
In the a n a ly s is o f the su p ra se g m e n ta l fe atures o f Tonga we m en tion ed th a t one
o f the c h a ra c te ris tic fe a tu re s o f the T o n g a se nte nce w as d o w n -d rift. T h is fe a tu re is
m a n ife ste d by the fa llin g o f the mean p itc h le v e l th ro ug h ou t the se n te n ce so th a t both
the h ig h and lo w tones at the b e g in n in g of the se nte nce are h ig h e r than they are at the
end o f i t .
The T o n g a se nte nce s ta rts on a high p itc h and descends ste p b y s t e p so t h a t t o w a r d s
a pause o r end o f se n te n ce the p itc h has become very lo w even on h i g h t o n e s .
E xa m ples:
/ / * /• ^ y
W akaula c is a n t ca kw e .
She bought h e r a c l o t h
Imwana wakaamba ati , ” ino bwaca l i l i ' C

T h e c h ild s a id , "w h e n d id the day b re a k ” ? ’ ~ ^ \
- 163 -
" T e e u la y a sunu ye b o ” ?
’ 'Y o u are going today aren ’ t you?
T h is is the syste m our in fo rm a n ts are used to and when we com pare i t to the p itc h
a n a ly s is o f th e ir reading p erform ances there is ve ry l i t t l e doubt as to the o rig in s of
the p a tte rn . D r, H, C a rte r in her a n a ly s is o f a s a m p lin g o f recorded te x ts from S t.
V in c e n t and o th e r West In d ia n te rr ito rie s found s im ila r p itc h p a tte rn s in use there and
she has th is to sa y: ... " t h e m ost common p itc h p a tte rn s show ed c lo s e s u rfa c e a ffin itie s
w ith u tte ra n c e s from A fric a n to n a l lan gu ag e s h a v in g two to three tonem es, se nte nce
d o w n d rift w ith o r w ith o u t a s s im ila tio n p ro cesse s g iv in g ris e to dow nstep ( to n e -s lip ),
and 'c ru m b lin g ’ o f fin a l hig h to n e ” .
T h is is p re sum ab ly so , because m ost o f the West In d ia n C re ole s p e a k e rs ’ speech
h a b its come from a n ce sto rs who o rig in a lly spoke to n a l languages and these h a b its
have been passed on from one g e n e ra tio n to the n e xt s in c e th e n . I f the in to n a tio n
p a tte rn s o f p re se n t West In d ia n C re o le sn ea kers who have n o t spoken a to n a l language
fo r c e n tu rie s can s t i l l show stro n g s ig n s o f being in flu e n c e d by a tone la n g u a g e , then
th is in flu e n c e w i ll be even s tro n g e r in the case o f the Tonga in fo rm a n ts who s t i l l speak
a tone lan gu ag e as a f ir s t lan gu ag e .
T h e o n ly d iffe re n c e there is betw een the re s u lts o f my a n a ly s is o f the Tonga
in fo rm a n ts p itc h p a tte rn s and those o f D r. C a rte r’ s C aribbean s u b je c ts is th a t D r . C a rte r’ s
s u b je c ts a p p a re n tly appro xim a ted to the S tepping head, the e m p h a tic v a ria n t o f the
H igh Head in O ’ Connor and A rn o ld ’ s s y s te m , p lu s the lo w fa ll n u c le a r tune, where
as the T o n g a in fo rm a n ts ip p ro x im a te d to the s lid in g head p lu s lo w f a l l n u c le a r tune,

- 164 -
T o co n clu d e th is sectio'n th e re fo re , i t has been found th at there is l i t t l e d iffe re n c e
betw een the in fo rm a n ts in both groups w ith regard to the m astery o f E n g lis h su prase gm en ta l
fe a tu re s . I t j i a s been found th a t even a fte r e ig h t ye ars o f form al e d u c a tio n u s in g E n g lis h
as the m edium o f in s tru c tio n the in fo rm a n ts s t i l l p e rs is t in u s in g the same p a tte rn s as
in fo rm a n ts who are fo ur years b elow them . P e rha ps t lis is not s u rp ris in g when we th in k of
how co m p le x the w hole syste m is . E n g lis h s tre s s has been d e fin e d as a ’ m ental p u lse
or b e a t’ , or as 's o m e th in g the sp ea ker d o e s ’ , w h ic h means th at the a c tu a l pro cess o f
s o rtin g o ut w h ic h s y lla b le should re c e iv e the s tre s s and w h ic h one should n o t, in any
p a rtic u la r u tte ra n ce ta ke s p la ce in the s p e a k e r’ s s u b c o n s c io u s . We have a ls o show n on
the s e c tio n on the E n g lis h su prase gm en ta l fe a tu re s how the w hole rhythm o f the language
is based on the s tre s s s yste m , ie the o ccurence o f the s tre s s e d s y lla b le s a t re g u la r
in te rv a ls form s the b a s is o f the rhythm , and a ls o how the in to n a tio n syste m o f the language
is bound to s tre s s . T h is means that the Z a m b ia n c h ild who le a rn s the language at s c h o o l
w ould have to make a c o n s c io u s e ffo rt to c o -o rd in a te the v a rio u s p ro ce sse s m entioned
above in speech .
W hile a ck n o w le d g in g the im p orta nce o f th is a s p e c t o f the E n g lis h language to
in te rn a tio n a l co m m u n ica tio n , i t is b e lie v e d by those who have d evo ted much th ou gh t to
the s u b je c t th a t fo r the purposes o f co m m u n ica tio n w ith in Z a m b ia , perhaps th is a s p e c t
o f the language can be d isp e n se d w ith s in c e there is no way o f te a c h in g i t e ffe c tiv e ly .
T h is b e lie f is based on the a ssum ptio n th a t Z am b ia n s have no problem in u n d e rsta n d in g
each o th e r through the medium o f th e ir own k in d o f E n g lis h , th a t no Z am b ia n for
in s ta n c e w o u ld in te rp re t the in to n a tio n p a tte rn s o f the T onga in fo rm a n ts w h ic h we have
ju s t lo o ke d a t, in the w ay a B r itis h E n g lis h s p ea ker w o u ld , s in c e the B r itis h E n g lis h
in to n a tio n syste m does not have the same s ig n ific a n c e to the Z a m b ia n . It is a ls o b e lie v e d
- 16.5 -
th a t o n ly a h a n d fu l o f the to ta l in ta k e per ye a r o f Z am b ia n s c h o o l c h ild re n w i l l be
re q uired to use the E n g lis h language a t an in te rn a tio n a l le v e l when th e y f in a lly lea ve
s c h o o l. So fa r no rese arch has been done on the m utu al in t e l l ig i b i l i t y o f Z am b ia n
E n g lis h among Z am b ia n s from d iffe re n t language c o m m u n itie s . H ow e ver, i t s h o u ld be
p o in te d o u t th a t, the w rite r, who is h e rs e lf a T o n g a s p ea ker had no problem in u nd er
s ta n d in g the speech o f the T o n g a in fo rm a n ts from the s tre s s and in to n a tio n p o in t o f
vie w , w h a te ve r problem s she had, were re la te d to p ro n u n c ia tio n o f se g m e n ta l phones
and the fa s t speed at w h ic h some in fo rm a n ts read.

- 166 -
S E C TIO N 3 C H A P T E R C,
D IS C R IM IN A T O R Y P E R C E P T IO N & P E R F O R M A N C E __________
i. V o w els : - 1
l
We have so fa r d e a lt w ith the k in d o f so un ds, s tre s s and in to n a tio n p a tte rn s of
E n g lis h w h ic h the in fo rm a n ts have le a rn t th ro ug h ou t the v a rio u s sta ge s o f th e ir
e d u ca tio n from th e ir te a ch e rs (o r o th e rw is e ), and w ith how fa r these d iv e rg e from
sta n d a rd E n g lis h . We have found th a t on the w h o le the co nso na nt sounds produced by
the in fo rm a n ts w ere ra th e r c lo s e r to those o f sta nd ard E n g lis h than w ere th e ir v o w e l
sounds or p itc h p a tte rn s . We a ttrib u te d th is fa c t to the p resence, in the in fo rm a n ts ’
fir s t lan gu ag e , o f sounds s im ila r to th ose o f E n g lis h , and w h ich can th e re fo re be
s u b s titu te d fo r the E n g lis h ones w ith o u t a lte rin g the se m a n tic c o n te n t o f the w ord in
w hich the so un ds appear.
T he in fo rm a n ts ' p ro n u n c ia tio n perform ance in E n g lis h v o w e ls re v e a le d more
s ig n ific a n t d iffe re n c e s from sta n d a rd E n g lis h p ro n u n c ia tio n . It was found th a t the
in fo rm a n ts re p la ce d two or three E n g lis h v o w e ls by one T onga v o w e l i f th ose E n g lis h
vo w e ls sh ared the q u a lity o f c lo s e n e s s or openness w ith one T on ga v o w e l. The o th e r
fe atures w h ic h d is tin g u is h E n g lis h v o w e ls from the Tonga ones have a p p a re n tly been
ig n o re d by the in fo rm a n ts .
A t the su p ra se g m e n ta l le v e l we found th a t in fo rm a n ts in both groups have tended
to re p la ce E n g lis h s tre s s e d and u n stresse d s y lla b le s by T onga h ig h and lo w tone
r e s p e c tiv e ly . The in fo rm a n ts ’ p itc h p a tte rn s show ed a te nd en cy tow ards down d r ift,
a fe ature w h ic h is c h a ra c te ris tic o f the T onga T o n a l S ystem . T h is fe a tu re , when
a n a lyse d a c c o rd in g to O ’ C onnor and A rn o ld ’ s in to n a tio n sys te m show ed a p p ro x im a tio n to
, af
that of the sliding; head and l o w fall nucleus.
- 167 -
T he n e x t e x e rc is e d ea ls w ith the same a spe cts o f the E n g lis h language as those

j
a lre a d y lo o k e d at in the p re vio u s s e c tio n , but c o n ce n tra te d on those areas w here the
in fo rm a n ts ! p ro n u n c ia tio n perform ance show ed more d iv e rg e n c ie s from sta n d a rd E n g lis h ,
H ence n ot much a tte n tio n has been p aid to the co nso na nts in th is s e c tio n e x c e p t the
l i q u i d s / l / and /r^ /, T he areas w h ic h re c e iv e d em phasis w ere the v o w e ls and the
c lu s te rs .*
T H E E X E R C IS E
A l i s t o f w ords c o n ta in in g m in im a l p a irs and tr ip le t s :- (where e ver p o s s ib le ) i.e .
p a irs or tr ip le ts o f w ords w h ich are d iffe re n t in re s p e c t o f o n ly one sound segm ent, - in
th is case the vo w e l -w e re read o ut by a speaker (w ho s p e a k s a S t a n d a r d
Southern B r itis h v a rie ty o f E n g lis h ) and tape recorded. E ach ite m w as read tw ic e w ith
a pause in b etw e en . The m in im a l p a irs and tr ip le ts were arranged in such a w ay th a t
each p a ir or tr ip le t c o n ta in e d the E n g lis h v o w e l sounds or d ip h th o n g s w h ic h the
in fo rm a n ts tended to re p la ce by one or o th e r o f the T onga v o w e l sounds in the p re v io u s
s e c tio n . T he tape was p la y e d to one in fo rm a n t at a tim e . The in fo rm a n t w as asked
to rep ea t a fte r the reco rd ed m odel and to try and im ita te as c lo s e ly as p o s s ib le w hat
the in fo rm a n t th o u g h t he had heard s a id . T he responses o f each in fo rm a n t were in turn
tape re co rd ed .
AIM OF E X E R C IS E :- T h is e x e rc is e w ts d esigned to te s t two a s p e c ts . F ir s t i t w as
/to d ete rm ine w he th er the Tonga inform a nt can pcpccba^w rw q n s tic a lly , the d is t in c t io n
m n jp b y rhe E n g lis h s p e a ke r betw een the va rio u s E n g lis h vo w e ls and d ip h th o n g s .
Secon d ly i t w a s to d ete rm ine w hethep^ o g jia L T h £ jL n im m a n L -W m L k iJ ie _ ^ l£ jp ^ e firo d u c e
th e jso u n d , m a k in g th e a p p ro p ria te d is t in c tio n s .

- 168 -
RESULTS OF EXERCISE:. -
S o far w e h a v e t e n d e d to u s e four informants from e a c h gr ou p as a representative
s a m p l e , b e c a u s e of the similarity of w h a t they h a v e produc e d, a n d pr e s e n t e d the rest
o £ the results in an a pp en di x . T h e results of this exercise h o w e v e r , d o not s h o w
the s a m e uniformity a n d for this r e a s o n a different m e t h o d of dis playing the results will be
adopted, to take a c c o u n t of e a c h i nformant’s r e s po ns es ,
ENGLISH VOWELS/i;/ ANp/l/:-
T h e following are the m i n i m a l pairs with the a b o v e v o w e l s w h i c h w e r e pre-recorded,
the tape b ei ng s u b s e q u e n t l y p l a y e d to the T o n g a informants for repetition:-
/i:/ A /
le a ve live
sleep slip
heat hit
seat sit
sheep ship
meal mill
peal pill
deep dip
bead bid
169 -
RESPONSES:-
GROUP 1
V o w e l produced Instances
In fo rm a n t 1
i 7
English v o w e l
I 1
I 2
N i 7
In fo rm a n t 2
6
/ V 3
6
/>/ 3
In fo rm a n t 3 8
N 9
l'i
In fo rm a n t 4 9
/ v 8
/V 1
7
In fo rm a n t 5
1*1 i:
i 2
i: 2
N I 2
I - e 5
In fo rm an t 6 2
N 7
3
N 2
4
In fo rm an t 7 6
N 1
2
N 4
1
- 170 -
Vowel produced Instances
In fo rm a n t 8** j i ?j i: 9
/i/ i i
I 6
i 2
In fo rm a n t 9 1*1
/I/ 1 3
1 I: 1
i: 4
i 1
In fo rm a n t 10 ji:l i 9
/V I
1 2
1
1
In fo rm a n t 11 /p j i: 6
1 i 3
I 2
i 6
i: 1
In fo rm a n t 12 j'v.j i: 8
t I . 1
I 2 .
N I 1
i 3
i: 3
In fo rm a n t 13 / i:/ i:
iu
1 7
N i 1.
1
- 171 -
V o w e l produced In s ta n c e s
In fo rm an t 14 jr.j i: 7
i 2
/I/ I 3
i 5
: 1
In fo rm a n t 15 J \'J i 8
m 1 7
i i
In fo rm a n t 16 j\\J i: 2
i 7
jlj I 6
i 2
GROUP 2
V o w e l produced In s ta n c e s
In fo rm a n t 1 6
M 2
4
N 2
3
In fo rm a n t 2
N
In fo rm an t 3
N
N
- 172 -
V o w e l produced In sta n ce s
Informant 4 9
M 2
IY 1
4
In fo rm a n t 5 i :/ F ir s t tim e i 6
M Second time i: 4
i. 2
i 9
IY
In fo rm a n t 6 5
N 4
1
N 7
1
In fo rm a n t 7 6
N 3
6
N 3
In fo rm a n t 8 6
M 3
4
N 2
1
1
el 1
In fo rm a n t 9 /i- / 1
7.
1
3
n i 6
Informant 10 /;:/ l:
8
1
1
A/ I:
1
5
2
173 -
V o w e l produced Instances
Informant II 6
3
3
M 6
In fo rm a n t 12
H
In fo rm a n t 13
H
In fo rm a n t 14
N
In fo rm a n t 1 j j\\J
In fo rm a n t 16
- 174 -
I t has been s ta te d th a t the aim s o f th is e x e rc is e w ere f ir s t ly , to d ete rm ine w h e th e r
the in fo rm a n ts c o u ld p e rc e iv e the a u d i t o r y d if fe r e n c e "b etw e e n t h e v a r i o u s E n g l i s h
v o w e ls in the speech o f a sp e a ke r o f E n g lis h as a fir s t la n gu ag e and s e c o n d ly , to
d ete rm ine w h e th e r they w o u ld be a b le to reproduce the d iffe re n c e . I t seemed the o n ly
way to d eterm ine the in fo rm a n ts ’a u d it o r y p e r c e p t io n o f the v o w e l d is tin c tio n in the
recorded m o d e l’ s speech, in th is e x e rc is e , w as by th e ir a tte m p ts to reproduce the
d is t in c tio n .' T he w rite r is aware th a t i t is p o s s ib le fo r an in fo rm a n t to hear the
d iffe re n c e but at the same tim e be una ble to reproduce i t , F o r the p urposes o f th is w o rk,
those in fo rm a n ts who made an a tte m p t to reproduce the d iffe re n c e , re g a rd le s s o f w h e th e r
they produced sounds d iffe re n t from those o f the recorded m odel w i ll be taken as h a vin g
p e rc e iv e d a d is t in c tio n "betw een t h e v o w e l s . . . F o r i n s t a n c e , if th e ta r g e t
sounds w ere E n g lis h ^ i : / a n d / \ j , and the in fo rm a n t produced a v a rie ty o f sounds such
as a r e a liz a tio n o f them , then th a t in fo rm a n t w o u ld be taken
as h a v in g heard the d is tin c tio n and the v a rio u s sounds produced, as h is a tte m p ts to
pronounce the d iffe re n c e he heard. H o w e ve r, i f fo r the same ta rg e t s o u n d s , the in fo rm a n t
produced e ith e r the E n g l i s h / i : j or the T on ga £ij , fo r both sounds in a ll c a s e s , then
th a t in fo rm a n t w ou ld be ta ken e ith e r as h a v in g heard the d is tin c tio n b ut u nable to
reproduce it , or as not h a v in g heard the d is tin c tio n at a ll. T a k in g th is as a c r ite r io n i t
is p o s s ib le to say th a t on the w h o le , a lm o s t a ll the in fo rm a n ts seem to have heard a
d is tin c tio n o f some s o rt betw een the v a rio u s p a irs and tr ip le ts o f v o w e l sounds.
W hether the in fo rm a n ts co uld pronounce the d is tin c tio n betw een two or three vow el
sounds, o r indeed each in d iv id u a l vo w e l sound e x a c tly as recorded by the E n g lis h
sp e a ke r, is a no the r m atter.
- 175 -
ENGLISH/i:/ and/i/
W h e n / i: / is n ot re a liz e d as D O in the in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n , i t is very
o fte n re a liz e d a s [_ fj , w h ich is the Tonga v a rie ty . T he q u a lity o f both the T onga and
E n g lis h Q i^ is s im ila r , but the T onga v a rie ty is s h o rte r than the E n g lis h . In a few cases
E n g lis h ^ i : / is re a liz e d as Q ^ |, W h e n ^ l/ w as not reproduced as i t was again
re a liz e d as the T o n g a / ij and in some ca ses as a s h o rt v a rie ty o f the T o n g a Q r j. As
in the case o f j i : ^ , there are a few cases w h e n /^ i/is re a liz e d a s^/T j , T here is a
te nd en cy to w ards p ro du cing an open q u a lity o f E n g lis h / l J t Som etim es the sound
produced comes q u ite near to E n g lis h and in one case, even/ 3^ . T h is te nd en cy
is more common w ith in fo rm a n ts in group 1 than those in group 2, a lth o u g h even in th is
group, i t does o c c u r to a le s s e r degree. F o r in s ta n c e , there are 45 in s ta n c e s w here
E n g lis h [\f is re a liz e d as o r |jQ b y in fo rm a n ts in group 1, and o n ly 17 such in s ta n c e s
by those in group 2. P erhaps th is is because more in fo rm a n ts in group 1 than in group 2
made an e ffo rt to produce sounds as near to the q u a lity o f the ta rg e t sound as they
c o u ld . F o r in s ta n c e , in fo rm a n ts in group 1 have produced sounds v a ry in g from to
( j^ jin abo ut 50% o f the in s ta n c e s where the E n g lis h s o u n d o c c u r s , w hereas
in fo rm a n ts in group 2 managed to produce such sounds in o n ly abo ut 20% o f the
in s ta n c e s w h e re [X ^ o c c u rs . T h is means th a t in about 80% o f the in s ta n c e s , in fo rm a n ts
in group 2 produced a sound s im ila r to the T o n g a Q /J o r its s h o rte r v e r s i o n f o r the
E n g lis h v o w e l/ly /, w h ile group 1 d id the same in o n ly 50%. It is in te re s tin g h ow eve r,
to note th a t w ith the E n g lis h Q ? ] , the in fo rm a n ts in group 2 produced a sound s im ila r
both in q u a lity and q u a n tity in about 72% o f the in s ta n c e s , w h ile group 1 d id the same
only in 46% o f the in s ta n c e s , i. e . , in 54% o f the in s ta n c e s in w h ic h E n g lis h J i : / o c c u rs ,
in fo rm a n ts in group 1 produced the T o n g a ]V ], w h ile in fo rm a n ts in group 2 produced

- 176 -
the same sound in 28%. T h is is in te re s tin g because i t seem s to in d ic a te th at,
in fo rm a n ts in group 1 tended to p e rc e iv e the d is tin c tio n betw een th is p a rtic u la r p a ir o f
sounds in term s o f q u a lity , w h ile in fo rm a n ts in group 2, tended to do so in term s o f
q u a n tity . We have in d ic a te d th a t E n g lis h y /ii^ / is e q u iv a le n t in q u a lity to the Tonga / i / ,
but th a t the E n g lis h v a rie ty is lo n g e r. T he E n g lis h / i/ ^ , on the o th e r hand is d iffe re n t
in q u a lity from both E n g lis h ^ i :j and T onga jlj . T he in fo rm a n ts in group 1 equated
E n g lis h Ji:l w ith T o n g a Jij , m ost lik e ly because o f th e ir s im ila r ity in q u a lity , and
c o n s e q u e n tly produced the T on ga v a rie ty in 54% o f the in s ta n c e s in which E n g lis h
E n g l i s h / i : / o c c u rs . W ith /^ h o w e v e r , in fo rm a n ts in group 1 trie d in 50% o f the in s ta n c e s
to produce sounds th a t a pp ro xim a ted to i t in term s o f q u a lity . In fo rm a n ts in group 2, on
the o th e r hand seem to have p e rce ive d the le n g th o f E n g l i s h / i : / a n d made an e ffo rt to
reproduce a lon g sound in 72% o f the in s ta n c e s . E n g l i s h / I ^ , on the o th e r hand, was
p e rc e iv e d to be s h o rte r in le n g th , but the d is tin c tio n in q u a lity d id not seem o b v io u s ,
so a v o w e l s o u n d / jJ , s h o rte r in le n g th than E n g lis h Ji:j was produced in 80% in s ta n c e s .
In term s o f the p h o n e tic e n v iro n m e n t,^ l‘ |te n d sto o c c u r more o fte n in the w ord
s lip and d ip w ith in fo rm a n ts in group 1 than in o th e rs . In the w ord s lip a lo n e , the v o w e l
or o th e r v a rie tie s o f a more open q u a lity o c c u r in 12 in s ta n c e s , and in 10 in s ta n c e s
in the w ord d ip fo r in fo rm a n ts in group 1. F o r group 2, h o w e v e r ,J tj. or s im ila r v o w e l
sound o f an open q u a lity tend to o ccu r more o fte n in the w ords s lip and p i l l than in o th e r
w ords. T he vo w e l o ccurs in 9 in s ta n c e s in the word s lip , and in 8 in s ta n c e s in the
word p il l .
1 have in d ic a te d th a t there w as a tendency to produce an open v a rie ty o f
E n g lis h I among the in fo rm a n ts , and th a t a lth o u g h th is fe ature is more common w ith

- 177 -
in fo rm a n ts in group 1, i t is a ls o to be found to a le s s e r degree w ith in fo rm a n ts in group 2.
T h is fe a tu re seems to lin k w ith w h a t has been d is c u s s e d im m e d ia te ly above. O f the 45
in s ta n c e s w here an open q u a lity o f E n g l i s h / l / o r o the r v o w e ls sounds o f an even more
open q u a lity than [X ^ or o c c u r, 10 in s ta n c e s are in the w ord s lip a lo n e , and 7 in the
word d ip fo r in fo rm a n ts in group 1. In group 2 on the o the r hand, o f the 17 in s ta n c e s
where vo w e l sounds o f a more open q u a lity than E n g lis h / ^ l/ o c c u r, 6 in s ta n c e s are in
the w ord p i l l a lo n e , and 5 in the w ord s lip . I t is d if f ic u lt to see e x a c tly w hy th is is so ,
or ind ee d w hy the in fo rm a n ts managed to produce- the v o w e ljJ jE jin more in s ta n c e s in
these w ords than in o th e rs . One c o u ld perhaps try to e x p la in i t by s a y in g th a t s in c e
Q d ^ a n d f^ p ^ in the w ords d ip and p il l are both p lo s iv e so u n d s, there m ig h t be so m e thin g
in the nature o f p lo s iv e s th a t m akes c o n d itio n s fo r the p ro d u c tio n or v o w e ls o f a
more open q u a lity than it s e lf , more fa vo u ra b le than in w ords w ith a d iffe re n t p h o n e tic
e n viro n m e n t. H ow e ve r th is does n ot e x p la in w hy the w ord b id has the le a s t in s ta n c e s
o f the o ccu rre n ce o f|_ X j, s in c e the p h o n e tic e nviro n m e nt is s im ila r to th a t in the
w ords m en tion ed above. It is o f course lik e ly th a t, s in c e any v o w e l w h ic h appears
in a s y lla b le c lo s e d by a v o ic e d co n so n a n t is bound to be lo n g e r than th a t w h ich
appears in a s y lla b le c lo s e d by a v o ic e le s s one, the d iffe re n c e in le n g th betw een the
v o w e l in the word d ip and th a t in the w ord b id m ig ht have caused c o n fu s io n in the
m inds o f the in fo rm a n ts betw een the E n g lis h L o n g j J ' J and long form o f ( jQ . We have
a lre a d y d is c o v e re d th a t our in fo rm a n ts re a d ily co nfu se tw o vo w e l sounds on the b a sis
o f le n g th - i t is th e re fo re , not in c o n c e iv a b le that the v o w e l sound in the word bid was
taken fo r the E n g lis h /i:j o r T o n g a / i J because o f its le n g th .

- 178 -
W ith E n g lis h v o w e l / i : / , i t w as found th a t the v o w e l is re a liz e d as such in more
in s ta n c e s in the w ords se a t and sheep, 11 and 10 in s ta n c e s re s p e c tiv e ly w ith
in fo rm a n ts in group 1, and in the w ords, s e a t and bead w ith group 2 - 1 5 in s ta n c e s
each.
T h e v o w e l in the word bead w i l l be heard as lo n g anyw ay^ because o f the
p h o n o lo g ic a l e nviro n m e nt w h ich we have ju s t d is c u s s e d a bove. I t is th e re fo re not
s u rp ris in g th a t bead has one o f the h ig h e s t count&of o c c u rre n ce s o f lo n g Q f | .
A s fo r the w ords se a t and sheep, i t is n o t q u ite c le a r w hy they s h o u ld be among those
w ith the h ig h e s t in c id e n c e o f the o ccurre nce ° f Q : J • S ince the v o w e l is o c c u rrin g in
s y lla b le s c lo s e d by fo rd s co nso na nts in both w ords, one w o u ld have e xpected the
T on ga 11 [, w h ich is the s h o rte r o f the two than the E n g l i s h / i : / .
One o th e r p o in t o f o b s e rv a tio n is the w ord s le e p . We noted th a t the w ord s lip
had the h ig h e s t rate o f the o ccurre nce o fjjtQ o r a v o w e l o f an open q u a lity fo r both
groups as a w h o le ; in th is re s p e c t i t is w o rth m e n tio n in g th a t the w ord s le e p w as more
o fte n produced w ith the T on ga v o w e l [*Q than any o th e r w o rd s . P erhaps th is m ig h t
have so m ething to do w ith average p e rm itte d to ta l s y lla b le le n g th , how ever one cannot
be q u ite c e rta in a bo ut th is in the absence o f a u d i t o r y e x p e r im e n t s t o p ro v e i t .

-179 -
ENGLISH /E/and /3 :/
N h-1
bed b ird
head heard
ten turn
B en ' burn
ste ad y s tu rd y
w est w o rs t
debt d ir t
GROUP 1
R ESPONSES:
V o w e l produced N um ber o f in s ta n c e s
In fo rm a n t 1 e 6
K j & i
3: 6.
b[ 1
ae
In fo rm a n t 2 6
£ 1
M
1
3* 6
h ' l
£.
In fo rm a n t 3
' Til
/
A ;/ e
a
In fo rm a n t 4
/& / £ 1
e 2
/sj g: i
t 3.
^ 1
- 180 -
GROUP 1 (C o n tin u e d )
In fo rm a n t 5
ty
A .-/ 3 : 5
£ 1
0 1
In fo rm a n t 6
IV e 1
2
h :! £ 4
P 1
In fo rm a n t 7
7y
M
In fo rm a n t 8
A/ £
3:
A:/
In fo rm a n t 9
,-v £
M £ :
O
In fo rm a n t 10
t 7
c 4
M £: i
i
u: i
In fo rm a n t 11
7y
M
181 -
GROUP 1 (C o n tin u e d )
V o w e l produced Number of instances
Informant 12 7
t
N 6
V
1
fit £
In fo rm a n t 13 6
i
ex 1
N
2
£: 3
o: 1
eo 1
In fo rm a n t 14 7
£
N 2
£
1: 2
M 1
A:
u 1
o 1
4
£
N
£ 3
N £: 1
e 2
£ 7
In fo rm a n t 16
/£ /
3:
Ay £•
GROUP 2
In fo rm a n t 1 e
/if 3 ;r
In fo rm a n t 2
£
N £•
A / u
A
- 182 -
c.
In fo rm a n t 3
iy t
£
:
3
M a 1
In fo rm a n t 4 £ 5
I
/£ /
e 1
3-- 1
4
1
"&0 1
7
In fo rm a n t 5
A/ 3 2
A:/ 5
e
In fo rm a n t^ 7
t
" " TV t 5
2
"7
7
1
T*l y
6
I
2
3
In fo rm a n t 8_ £
ai 1
e 1
A 1
S3 1
3
M 3
0\ 1
1
- 183 -
G R O U P 2 (C ontinued)
JVxLwel p r o d u c e d N u m b e r of
Informant 9
£ . 7
/ V a 1
3:
/V a:
4
1
£. 1
1
Informant 10
/ V
3: 4
M 2: 1
£ 1
1
Informant 11 £ 7
/y 3: 2
N 3:
£:
4
2
2 1
X 1
Informant 12
7
A/ 3:
£
2
/31/ £: 5
/ /
£ 1
Informant 13 7
/y 5
' H £ 1
p 1
Informant 14
M
£ 7
3: 2
M L- 5
Informant 15 7
A/ L- 4
A/ t
a
2
1
- 184 -
Group 2 (Continued)
Vowel produced Number of instances
In fo rm a n t 16 7
e n g l i s h / 6 / an d A 7
On the w h o le the E n g lis h vo w e l f is r e a liz e d a s Q lJ b y m ost in fo rm a n ts in both
groups. F o r in s ta n c e s , in about 83% o f its . o c c u rre n c e s , i t is produced a s [£ ] by
in fo rm a n ts in group 1. I t is re a liz e d as [eQ , w h ich is a c lo s e r v a rie ty in 16% o f
in s ta n c e s by the same in fo rm a n ts , a sj^g ] or jjs iJ in 1%. The percen ta ge o f in s ta n c e s where
i t is re a liz e d a s /J fj is even h ig h e r among in fo rm a n ts in group 2 w ith 88%, 8% as [V jf and
4% as or /s s ] *
T he in fo rm a n ts ’ p ro n u n c ia tio n o f the E n g lis h v o w e l/3 :y p re s e n t a d iffe r e n t p ic tu re .
It is re a liz e d asJjbQ by in fo rm a n ts in group 1 in about 26% o f in s ta n c e s , a s { j j / j in 27%,
/ 3 Q i n 26%: and as cpI , or in 17% in s ta n c e s . In group 2, i t w as produced
as E n g lis h li:j in 38%, as [ I Q *n 34% .K l i n 17% and as Ip ~ 3 t 3 or H u* l 6%.
T h e se fig u re s ra is e a num ber o f o b s e rv a tio n s fo r U Q and as a Pa*r
d is tin c tiv e so u n d s. F ir s t ly , i t seem s th a t the d is tin c tio n in q u a n tity b etw een the two
v o w e l sounds has been p e rc e iv e d by m ost in fo rm a n ts , as is show n by the fa c t th a t
in fo rm a n ts in group 1 produced e ith e r a lo n g | j: ^ | o r jjj. Q in 53% o f the in s ta n c e s where
E n g lis h fi\j o ccu rs, w h ile in fo rm a n ts in group 2 do the same in 72% o f in s ta n c e s . On
the o th e r hand, there are o n ly three in s ta n c e s where E n g lis h /S .^ is re a liz e d as /jtifj or
[> ]• i " terms o f q u a lity , i t seems to be the E n g lis h v o w e ljj$ f] w hose q u a lity the
in fo rm a n ts in both groups fin d d if f ic u lt to d is tin g u is h , as is show n by the fa c t th a t

- 185 -
informants in both groups are able to produce the v o w e l w i t h it s rig h t q u a lity , in 83%
and 88% o f its o ccu rre n ce , re s p e c tiv e ly , w hereas w ith E n g lis h f o j , in 57% and 56%
o f its o ccu rre n ce i t is not d is tin g u is h e d f r o m / / in q u a lity . T h is is n ot at a ll s u rp ris in g .
We have in d ic a te d in the C hapter on ‘ P ro n u n c ia tio n P erform ance in E n g lis h V o w e ls - th a t
there are no c e n tra l v o w e ls in T o n g a , so even i f a T onga s p e a k e r hears a d is tin c tio n in
q u a lity betw een E n g lis h / > / and / s / , i t w o u ld take a g re at d e a l o f p ra c tic e to
h a b itu a te him to ra is in g the c e n tra l p a rt o f h is tongue fo r E n g l i s h / ^ 1/ • It is a p o s itio n
he has no need to use in h is e very day sp ee ch. T he fa c t th a t in fo rm a n ts in both groups
made any a tte m p t at a ll, to d is tin g u is h the tw o , in term s o f q u a lity in about 44% o f the
in s ta n c e s o f E n g lis h j % : j , is in te re s tin g from the p o in t o f v ie w o f the m odel.
On the. w h o le , there is very l i t t l e to be s a id about the p h o n o lo g ic a l e n v iro n m e n t in
w h ic h the sounds appear. V o w e l jzj seems to be re a liz e d as a at an average of 13, and
14 in s ta n c e s per w ord w ith in fo rm a n ts in group 1 and 2 r e s p e c tiv e ly o u t o f a to ta l o f 112
o c c u rre n c ie s , V o w e l j^:j tends to o c c u r more o fte n in the w ord b ird than in o th e r w o rd s,
w ith a c o u n t o f 7 in s ta n c e s in group 1, and 8 in group 2. P erhaps th is is because the
w ord b ird it s e lf happens to be a common one. I f e ver the in fo rm a n ts ' te ach ers d id any
w ork on m in im a l p a irs w ith them , bed and b ird , w ould be a lik e ly p a ir to p ic k , s in c e i t
rep re sen ts ite m s w h ich m ost Z am b ia n c h ild re n are a cq u a in te d w ith . On the o th e r hand
the p h o n o lo g ic a l e n viro n m e n t it s e lf m ig ht be re le v a n t. T he c o m b in a tio n o f p lo s iv e
sounds on e ith e r s id e of the vo w e l c o u ld p o s s ib ly be an in flu e n c e , because the w ord w ith
the second la rg e s t count o f o ccu rre n ce s o f the v o w e l sound j\[^j happens to be d ir t,
w ith 6 co un ts in group 1, and 7 in group 2. In th is w ord, the v o w e l sound is in the
same p h o n o lo g ic a l e n viro n m e n t i.e . p lo sive -* v o w e l+ p lo s iv e . On the o th e r hand, the
occurre nce o f the v o w e l in the e n viro n m e n t p lo s iv e + v o w e k n a s a l tends to be v a ria b le ,

186
w ith 5 in s ta n c e s in the word turn fo r group 1, and 7 fo r group 2, w h ile in the word bum .
we have 3 in s ta n c e s in group 1 and 4 in s ta n c e s in group 2,
E N G LIS H and / e j /
Aj /ax/
le d la id
le t la te
s e ll sa le
t e ll ta le
w et w a it
debt date
pepper paper
GROUP 1
V o w e l produced Num ber o f in s ta n c e s
In fo rm a n t 1
/£/ ex
1
8:
i
In fo rm a n t 2
/£/
Cl
/el/
£:
t
In fo rm a n t 3
£.
/?-/ er,
/et/ £:
6.
- 187 -
I Vowel produced N umber of instances
Informant: 4
a 2
/e lJ el 2
2.: 2
t 3
In fo rm a n t 5 5
M
£: 2
/e x / el 2
e 1
£: 2
£ 2
In fo rm a n t 6
fetj ex 2
£: 1
2
i 2
In fo rm a n t 7 /V *• 7
/e l j fL: 3
£ 3
i 1
In fo rm a n t 8
A/
/e i/ ex
t.
In fo rm a n t 9 M L
t:
D
eu
ex
M L'
£
a ir
eu
- 188 -
V ow el produced Number o f ins:
Informant 10 fa £ 7
/« / £: 4
£ 3
Informant 11
/V t 7
/ei/ ex 1
£ 5
i 1
Informant 12
A/ t 6
i 1
/ex/ el 2
e 2
i 1
£: 1
£ 1
Informant 13
f a
£ 7
H ex
£
2
3
i: 2
Informant 14
fa £ 4
e: 3
H ex 5
2
Informant 15 fa £
7
£
M i 7
Informant 16 /£/ 7
/e x / ex 1
£ 5
i: I
- 189 -
GR O U P 2
V o w e l produced Num ber o f
Informant 1 7
/ * / £
H ex 5
e 1
iz • 1
In fo rm a n t 2 f t / I 7
ex 2
H
£: 3
£ 1
i 1
In fo rm a n t 3 7
A / fe
/ « / ex 1
3
8 3
In fo rm a n t 4 A / 7
§
/e x / er 5
8 2
In fo rm a n t 5 e 3.
A /
i I
8 4
ex 1
/e x / ex 3
2
e: 1
i: I
€ 1
In fo rm a n t 6
H £
e
6
1
/eif ei 2
£: 1
€ 3
e 1
- 190
V o w e l produced N u mber o f in s ta n c e s
Informant 7 **
/ £ 6
/£/ £: 1
jz ij ex 5
S 1
In fo rm a n t 8
M • *
i: 1
'X 2
/ e if ex
e: 1
e: 2
i 1
In fo rm a n t 9 M £
fa / ex I
In fo rm a n t 10
M
S :
a
/« / ei
£: 1
In fo rm a n t 11
/v j
€ . '■
' 7
,
el 1
/e l / ex
i
In fo rm a n t 12 6
N 3
& :
3
fa( ex
1
£ :
3
i 1
191 -
Informant 13 £ 5
N 2
H ei 1
8: 3
3
£
In fo rm a n t 14 t 6
N V 1
ei 5
H
1
L 1
In fo rm a n t 15 7
N I
/ ei/ er 3
5
t
M
V. 2
/e l/ er 7
E N G L IS H f t j and / e t /
E n g lis h / ^ i s re a liz e d a s [ jQ in about 84% o f in s ta n c e s by in fo rm a n ts in group 1, and 85%
o f in s ta n c e s by in fo rm a n ts in group 2. It is re a liz e d as l_e~în 4% o f in s ta n c e s by
in fo rm a n ts in group 1, and in 5% by in fo rm a n ts in group 2; then a s jjL Q in 3% and 11%
o f in s ta n c e s by groups 1 and 2 re s p e c tiv e ly . E n g lis h jetj is re a liz e d a s f e i 3 ‘ n o n ^y
23% o f in s ta n c e s by in fo rm a n ts in group 1, o th e rw is e , i t is produced v a rio u s ly a s Q k ] *n
27% of in s ta n c e s , K l i n 36%, a n d Q j , [e~\ or o the rs in 14% by the same group. With
in fo rm a n ts in group 2, th is d ip h th o n g w as re a liz e d as such in % % in s ta n c e s , but i t was
also produced a s ( j f | in 26%, ££ / ] in 20% and a s (_ ij or D O in 8%.

- 19.2 -
W ith the in fo rm a n ts in group 1, th is means th a t 77% of Lhe in s ta n c e s in w h ich the
E n g lis h d ip h th o n g /e jy o c c u rs , i t is heard as a pure v o w e l , [ V j , [j" 3 and
o th e rs . On the w h o le , i t seem s to be the f ir s t e le m e n t o f the d ip h th o n g w h ich is more
o b vio u s to the in fo rm a n t than the la s t, as is illu s tr a te d by the fa c t th a t jj^ Q and
[V J , appear in 66% o f the in s ta n c e s in w h ic h the d ip htho ng is produced as a pure
v o w e l. O n ly in 9% is i t re a liz e d as|~ i J , w h ic h is s im ila r to the second e le m e n t o f the
d ip h th o n g , and in 2% as o th e r v o w e l so un ds. P erhaps a t tim e s the second e le m e n t o f the
d ip htho ng is heard s im p ly as a c o n tin u a tio n o f the f ir s t e le m e n t, w h ic h m ig h t p ro b a b ly
e x p la in w hy the f ir s t e le m e n t is som e tim e s re a liz e d as a lon^
We have s ta te d th a t in fo rm a n ts in group 2 produced the d ip h th o n g [ e i ] in 96% o f
the in s ta n c e s in w h ic h i t o ccu rre d , but th a t i t was produced as [SjJ, [jE.Q , C e J and Q 1
in 54% in s ta n c e s ; sh o w in g th a t in fo rm a n ts in th is group were no more c e rta in o f th is
sound than those in group 1. What happened in group 2 was th a t, s in c e in fo rm a n ts were
supposed to rep e a t each w ord tw ic e , they tended to pronounce the v o w e l sound in tw o
d iffe re n t w a ys. F o r in s ta n c e , one in fo rm a n t may pronounce the sound a s jjQ o rQ ;:]] d urin g
the f ir s t round but a s |[V ] o r ^ e i[ ] d u rin g the s e co n d . The reason fo r th is change may w e ll
be th a t the in fo rm a n ts th ou gh t th ey heard the sound as an [ l ^ o r [ l Q in one in s ta n c e and
as so m e th in g e ls e in the se con d,
On the o th e r hand, they may have produced th e Q ^ o r Up] sound in one in s ta n c e o ut of
h a b it, because these are the sounds they n o rm a lly use in ste a d o f ih c jT e x js o u n d in
sp on tan e ou s sp ee ch, and th e y may then have c o rre c te d th e m se lve s in a no the r in s ta n c e
and produced []e |;]j.

- 193- -
The v o w e l[V ]w a s produced as such in more in s ta n c e s in the fo llo w in g w ords than
any o th e r:-
GP1 GP2
w et 16 15
d eb t 16 16
pepper 16 16
The d ip h th o n g y /e i/ w as produced as such in more in s ta n c e s in the fo llo w in g w ords than
any o th e r:-
GP1 GP2
w a it 3 10
date 10 12
paper 8 11
The d ip h th o n g j e x j w as re a liz e d as [ e l or [ i ] , o n ly in the fo llo w in g w o rd s :-
G ro u p l G ro u p . 2
la te 13 8
E n g lis h /%:/ a n d / e j /
h '.f /e-i/
w ork wake
firm fame
h urt hate
purse pace
purge page
se rve save
~ 194 -
GR O U P 1
V o w el produced Number of
In fo rm a n t 1 B:
-
M
> t
€
3
3
/ V ex 3
3: 2
e 2
i I
In fo rm a n t 2 3: .1
/ W
4
i 1
/ e I/ ei 3
E.
M £: 1.
D 1
j e f/
£ 6
In fo rm a n t 4 D:
/ 3 =/ 3
Q: 1
A 1
a 1
/e i/ ei 4
£ 1
£ • 1
In fo rm a n t 5 4
N 3:
£ 1
/e l/ € 5
1
M
CL: 2
ex 1
D L
/e f/ ex 3
c 3
- 195 -
Informant 7^ h - 1 e 5
D 1
/e i/ ej 1
6 : 1
2
£
a 1
i 1
In fo rm a n t 8 ji--! D
3
2
C .V. 1
/erf ex 1
£ 3
£: 1.
3: 1
In fo rm a n t 9 /'i’
-l £ 2
1
1
•A> : 1.
o 1
/« / e 1
In fo rm a n t 10
h'-! 3r
£
a
/ e i/ ei 4
2
£
In fo rm a n t 11 k-l e 3
ex 1
As/
- 196. -
VoweL produced Num ber o f in s ta n c e s

In fo rm a n t 12 / o , :/ Z>: 3
a: 1
2
e i/ er 5.
1
In fo rm a n t 13 1
& 1
ei 1
D 2
2
/ er/ £ 1
ex 4
i 1
In fo rm a n t 14 /3: / E-: 1
2
2
1
e i/ ej 5,
1
e
In fo rm a n t 13 /3 7 E: 1
3
&
e 1.
1
/«/ £: 1
& 4
e 1
In fo rm a n t 16 7 :/ 3>': 4.
1
1
£
eV s 4
3: 1
i: 1
- 197 -
GR O U P 2
V o w e l produced Num ber of

Inform ant 1 € 3
3 :r 2
u :r 1
el 2
e. 2
3r 2
In fo rm a n t 2 jy j 3: 1
1
£ 2
A 2
4
£: l’
3: I
M a 2
/e l / e 6
In fo rm a n t 4 3
/3 ;/
a 3
/W eX 2
3
3: 1
In fo rm a n t 5 3: 1
N
& 3
eX 1
1
el 6
In fo rm an t 6 3: 1
M
2
t
I
5a
a 1
ei 1
£
ex 3
3
- 198 -
V o w e l produced N um ber o f
In fo rm a n t 7 1.
M
V 1
a : 2
a 2
ex. 4
M
1
1
£
In fo rm a n t 8 3- 5
N
a 1
/e x / ex 6
M
ae 1
a 1
Pu 1
1
H eX 5.
£ 1
H
a 2
£ 1
A 1
/e r/ ei 3
£ 3
M
1
e 1
a 1
Au 1
a , 1
/ e? / ex 4
£ 1
199 -■
V o w e l produced .Number o f in s ta n c e s
Informant 12
H i
8d
5
1
£: 1
H £
£
In fo rm a n t 13 3:
t:
S
o
ftr
£:
£
V
ex
t:
i:
In fo rm a n t 15 £:
£
el
£
V
H C\U
ex £
1
£
- 200
E N G L IS H A : / and / e i /
E n g lis h 15:/ is re a liz e d as[^3:Jby in fo rm a n ts in group 1 in 20% in s ta n c e s , a s j^ :j| in
5% ,|£]in 39%, and a s j/ a j [p.:J,[pj[,[p]/ o j in 35% o f in s ta n c e s . T he same E n g lis h
v o w e l / 3 :/ is produced as [3:J in 30%, as^£:_J in 13%, L e J in 34% and a s / a / , [of: , [d /
in 31% o f in s ta n c e s by in fo rm a n ts in group 2.
E n g lis h d ip h t h o n g / e i j is p ro d u c e d as [ e x ! in 35% in s ta n c e s by in fo rm a n ts in
g ro u p 1, and a s [c 1 in 46% . [lE fj in 6% and | e / a n d £ V J in 7% by th e sam e in fo rm a n ts .
W ith in fo rm a n ts in group 2, th is d ip h th o n g is produced as feij in 63% in s ta n c e s , as in
38%, [ a : ] in 11%, and [e jla n d [ i j i n 2%.
T h e se fig u re s show th a t, w ith in fo rm a n ts in group 1, both E n g lis h / 3■ / and / e x /
are produced /j [ e j in about 69% o f ca ses and in about 65% o f ca ses by
in fo rm a n ts in group 2, The reason fo r th is m ig h t be th a t the in fo rm a n ts fe lt they
heard j g ] or [jE. : ] in s te a d o f [ 3: ] or [e x ] , or th ey may v e ry w e ll have heard [jH jf or
j/ e r j , b ut produced j j i J o r [ e l j ( o ut o f h a b it, ( j = J , b e in g the u s u a l sound s u b s titu te d
fo r E n g lis h J^' j and j^x.J in the in fo rm a n ts ’ sp ontaneous sp ee ch,
In fo rm a n ts in group 2 show th a t th ey can p e rc e iv e a d i s b i n c b i o n beT w een
the d ip h t h o n g / e l] and the v o w e l j//j, w h ic h n o rm a lly re p la c e s [ex] in the p ro n u n c ia tio n
o f in fo rm a n ts in group 1. H o w e ve r, even in th is group, there is s t i l l an e le m e n t of
u n c e rta in ty about the sound w h ic h re s u lts in the in fo rm a n ts 1 p ro n o u n cin g i t in two
d iffe re n t w a y s . F o r in s ta n c e / e x / is produced as in 63% in s ta n c e s , b ut as
[s -I [f:l Q h i in51%-
- 201 -
T he vo w e l 13*1 o ccurs more o fte n in the fo llo w in g w ords than any o the r:
G roup 1 Group 2
h u rt - 5 serve 5
purge - 4 purge - 6
T he d ip h th o n g j/e t3 o ccurs more o fte n in the fo llo w in g w ords than any o th e r:-
G roup 1 Group 2
Tame - 7 •Tame - 10
sa ve - 7 hate - 8
E N G L IS H /e /, ll:l and / e i /
A /
M M /
h e ll h u rl h a il
w est w o rs t was te
edge urge age
fe lle d fu rle d fa ile d
ste n s te rn s ta in
debt d ir t date
Group 1
N 3: 2
I 1
3: 5
£: 1
i ex 4
e 1
- 202 -
G roup I (Continued)

Informant 2 £ 1
/£ /
e 5
Hi
Ml ■ e:
e
5
1
D 1
Ml ex 2
e: 3
e 1
M e 2
Ml I
£. 3
b
/e x / £
e
In fo rm a n t 4
N £
£ :
e
H t:
£
p:
Mj ex
£:
In fo rm a n t 5
h-l e
&/ 3:
V
i -
/e i/ er 3
£ 1
£= 2
- 203 -
Group 1 (C o n tin u e d )
Informant 6 I 5
e 1
M 0 2
2. 1
t) 1
O: 1
e 1
ex 2
/W
a • 2
e 1.
1 1
In fo rm a n t 7
/y
3:
M
t
O:
/ei/ ei
I
In fo rm an t 8
A/
M 3:
I
3
/« / ei
e
I n forma n I 9
/V
3:
A /
I
I
o\ u
-• 204 -
In fo rm a n t^ (C o n t’ d .)
H er 2
£:
eu
i
In fo rm a n t 10
N i
/3 :/ £:
£
e
o:
Ml er
I:
I
In fo rm a n t 11
ex
u
M
£
D
u
e±
M f
3-
£:
I
In fo rm a n t 12
e£
/ e1/
£
3:
- 205 -
Informant 13 6
/£/ i
3: 3
o 3
ex 3
3
In fo rm a n t ■14
6
N
3: 3.
o: 1
0 1
Ou 1
ex 2
1
3
In fo rm a n t 15 4
£
N e 1
h i 3
2
£
£ 4
1
In fo rm a n t 16 1 5.
N
Oiu 1
ly( 3: 1
£: 3
£ 1
ex 1
A -y ex
£: 1
3: 1
c 1
-.206 -
Group 2
V o w e l produced Number of instances

Informant 1
£
e
<1*
3:r
H
Qu
j e i/ el.
£
£:
In fo rm a n t 2
Ml £
A
j
/
N
o
D
h1/ 8:
ea;
£ 2
D 1
In fo rm a n t 3
Ml E 6
N £ : 2
2
£
o: 1
a: 1
£ 4
£ : 2
In fo rm a n t 4 jr-.f E 5
8 = 1
H 3: 1
2
£ 2
1
H £
3
3
- 207 -
GRO UP 2
In fo rm a n t jq J £
el 2
b-l 3:
P
l.
l
ei 3.
o 1
/ex/ ej 5
e 1
H e-
3: 2
1
s 1
ei 1
au 1
S’ 3
/« /
2
€
e 1
/£ / On 1
h-l 3:
£'•
1
2
ex 1
D 1
o: 1
/e l/ ex 3
f: 1
b ■1
In fo rm an t 8
hi b ex
4
1
e: 1
/*/ 3:
e:
4
1
a 1
- 208 -
Group 2 (Continued)
V owel produced Number of instances
I n form an t % (C o n t’ d .)
’e r f £ ' 3
ex 3
In fo rm a n t 9
/
f c l
t/
tw ^
■,
I ; 1
ex 1
h-l 3: 2
o: 1
o 2
1
/ er/ eX 5
E 1
ex 1
3/ 3;
/«/ 61 )
e 1
eu 1
i: 1
In fo rm a n t ll /^ / ^ ^
e 1
3 :/ 3: 3
E- 2
E 1
Ou 1
/e r / e r- 3
£ 2
E: 1
- 209 -
Group 2 (Continued)
In fo rm a n t 12
“ ■v:» "" h i
6
3: 2
£ : 2
1
o
1
Ietl ex 2
£; : 2
3: 1
£ 1
In fo rm a n t 13 6
h i £
hi 3: 3
£ I
D 1
1
/e x / £: 4
£ 1
e 1
hi £
In fo rm a n t 14 6
3: 1
M £ 1
£: 3
0: 1
ex 3
£ 3
In fo rm a n t 15 A / £ 6
3: 1
£. 3
£: 2
el 2
£ 3
e 1
- 210 -
Group 2 (Continued)

Informant ^16
/ej £
3:
5
1
H 3:
o
5
1
e t/ ex 4
3: 2
E N G L IS H /^ , / , / W and f e s j
Isj is produced as [sj in 76% in s ta n c e s and as jêj in 15% by in fo rm a n ts in group 1.
The same sound is produced a sj^T Jin about 99% and a s [ [ e / in 9% o f in s ta n c e s by
in fo rm a n ts in group 2,
j 3'j is produced as ^3 fJ in 24% o f c a s e s , a s j ^ i j in 24%, H in 16 % |[e J in 16% and as
U M M in 8% by in fo rm a n ts in group 1. W ith in fo rm a n ts in group 2, the re a liz a tio n
is [ 3Q in 38% o f in s ta n c e s , asJjEp] in 29%, [ / J i n 13% and a s / / ) j [ p , ] [ / ’:] in 9%.
j e : / is re a liz e d as [ e i ] in 35% in s ta n c e s , a s [ / . l[f in 1 0 % , [ / } i n 33%, [ e J in 4%, and as
othe rs in 18% o f in s ta n c e s . I t is re a liz e d as [e x ] in 46% o f c a se s by in fo rm a n ts in
group 2, asj& :J in 2 2 % , [ s ] in 32% a n d / e j i n 4% .
The p ercen ta ge o f in s ta n c e s w h e re / 3/ and / e x / are p ro d u ce d 'a sp f ] , [/ p] or
j[e~] is s t i l l ve ry h ig h in both gro up s. In about 56% o f in s ta n c e s w h e r e / 3 : / and J et/
o ccu r, they are re a liz e d a s - .j/J , [Ip :j[ orjjcpj by inform a nts in group and in 49% of
the in s ta n c e s by in fo rm a n ts in Group 2. The d is tin c tio n in le n g th b e tw e e n /E / a n d j y . j
has g e n e ra lly been p e rc e iv e d by both groups w he re ve r the tw o sounds appear in
c o n tra s t w ith each o th e r.

- 211 -
G e n e ra lly s p e a kin g in fo rm a n ts in Group 2 seem to have produced the three sounds
OG and ( e i ] , in more in s ta n c e s than in fo rm a n ts in group 1,
E n g lis h | o cc u rs more o fte n in the fo llo w in g w ords than any o th e r:-
Group 1 Group 2
w est -12 w e s t - 16
d eb t - 12 debt - 14
edge -11 edge , *14
A l l th ese w ords have a fe ature in common and th a t is the presence o f a p lo s iv e o r
a ffr ic a tiv e co n so n a n t in fin a l p o s itio n . One can n o t be c e rta in w h e th e r th is fe a tu re is
re s p o n s ib le fo r the h ig h occurre nce o f E n g lis h ^ tj in th ese w o rd s .
E n g lis h o ccu rs more o fte n in the fo llo w in g w ords than any other:.
Group 1 Group 2
d ir t -6 urge ; *9
urge - 4 s te rn -8
s te rn -4 d ir t - 8
E n g lis h ^ Iy ^ o c c u rs more o fte n in the fo llo w in g w ords than any o th e r:-
G roup 1 Group 2
h a il - 6 h a il - 9
s ta in - 8 s ta in - 8
E N G LIS H /^/ and k [
(&[ H
cat c a rt
p a ck park
hat h e a rt
- 212 -
ban barn
m atch march
*,•*
had hard
la d la rd
harm
GROUP 1

In fo rm a n t 1
&
M
M ' / (X: 7
A 3
In fo rm a n t 2
I e
/ ( * ': / ft'
D -1
In fo rm ! n t 3
5
a 3
/oi:/ D 4
£ 1
a: 1
a 1
0 1
In fo rm a n t 4
/a e / £ 6
c\: 1
C\i 1
/Q / a: 8
Qi 1
213
GR O U P 1 (C o n tin u e d )
In fo rm a n t 5 V o w e l produced N um ber o f in s ta n c e s
CC
In fo rm a n t 6
i
Cl:
a
a:
3:
0
O:
In fo rm a n t 7
H I
jatj a-
D
£
au
a:
In fo rm a n t 8
t
V
p :
5)
t
In fo rm a n t 9
£
a
A
fa-.j P
a
In fo rm a n t 10
<52
H
6
e
0
A /
se.
- 214 -
G ROUP 1 (Con
In fo rm a n t 11 V o w e l produced Number of instances
az 1
*k £ 4
a 3
m o
o:
Q
Clu
In fo rm a n t 12
t
/W
A
a:
H p:
ou
In fo rm a n t 13
£
H a
/« = / o
o:
In fo rm a n t 14 *
M
I
fa-.j Q:
0
0
In fo rm a n t 15
M
e
a;
H J>:
o
In fo rm an t 16
M
£
k -[ C»:
p:
- 215 -
GROUP 2
In fo rm in t 1 V o w e l produced Num ber of in s ta n c e s

/ x / £. 2
a 1
a 2
a: L
2
Q:
In fo rm a n t 2
/•<£/ E
a
a:
ct:
D:
7>:
In fo rm a n t 3
M
D:
H O
a
a:
In fo rm a n t 4
/* / a 6
e 2
/a :/ Q: 2
o 5
a: 1
In fo rm a n t 5
/'& / a: 6
a: 1
1
£ 1
/a :/ D: l'
O 7
- 216. -
GROUP 2 (Continued)
Informant 6 Vowel produced Number of instances
M a
£
6
2
/a :/ a: 1
a I
2
o: 2
u 3
In fo rm a n t 7
M a 8
C\: 1
1*1
a: 3
D 2
o : 2
In fo rm a n t 8
M 7B.
a
1
4
£ 3
a*. 3
N
D 1
0 1
a 3
In fo rm a n t 9
/■ *./ e 8
hi q:
D
I
1
■3: 6
In fo rm a n t 10
M g 3
D: 2
G: 6
- 217 -
GROUP 2 (Continued)
Informant 11 Vo y e l produced N umber of instances

M a:
1
1
cl 1
£ 6
ja-l a: 4
D; 3
O: 1
a 2
Informant 12
M e s
£: 2
a 1
/a/ a: 2
a: 6
Informant 13
M a 3
€ 4
a 1
H D: 5
Du 1
Qu 2
Informant 14
M X
a
1
3
a: 1
£ 2
3: 1
H TE. 3
a: 4
U*: 2
Informant 15
/•s./ £ 2
a 6
/a:/ 0: 2
D: 1
a: 4
o 1
Ciu 1
Informant 16
/• * /
1
Q* 1
218 -
GROUP 2 (Continued)
Informant 16 (Cont'd.) Vowel produced Number of instances
h-\ CU 3
C1U 1
D: 1
O: 4
qu 1
ENGLISH /g>/ AND /Q.:/
English J'Sj is pro d u c e d as (j^jby informants in group 1 in 2% of
i n s t a n c e s , otherwise it is produce d by the same informants as or[e :J m

i
79% instances, as Jê^ in 6%, âj in 7% and , in 2%. Informants in
group 2 p r oduce jjfifjin 5%_, in 56%j~£în 43% and :J in 5%.
We haye already indicated in the previous section on English yowels in
relation to Ton g a -vowels, that Tonga has two vowel sounds between the
half-close and open area. Englis h j'Sif is somewhere b e t w e e n ^half-open
and open area. Since the half open area is blank in Tonga, it means the
nearest Tonga sound to English J'iCj , is the open /a/. It seems difficult
for someone accustomed to the half-close, open area to make the
necessary adjustment to produce This is illustrated by the fact that
of all the English vowel sounds we have dealt with so far in this
chapter, M has the lowest perce n t a g e of occurrences for both groups.
It is however significant that, whereas almost all the informants in both
g r o u p s , pronounced [ ^ ] a s DOin their reading in the previous section,
informants in group 1 pronounce it as feJin 79% instances in this
exercise. Informants in group 2, pronounce it as £ a j in 56%, and as
in 43%. In the first place, the informants who p r o n o u n c e lyfj as [t 1
haye made a little adjustment by m o v i n g from their close type of [V] to
the more open English variety. Secondly, the fact that the informants'-
pronun c i a t i o n of this sound keeps fluctuating between J^^jand £a | may

- 219. ~
in d ic a te th e in f o r m a n t s ' a w a re n e s s o f , t h e p r e s e n c e o f some q u a l i t i e s o f b o th
M and CO in [ K l - and h i s a tte m p ts to s tr ik e a b a la n c e b e tw e e n t h e two
sounds.
E n g lis h / Q : / i s r e a liz e d as £-a : J ^n ^0% in s t a n c e s by in f o r m a n t s in
g ro u p 1 , and as . in 20% as fel [° 3 JjCtu](ou]in 25%, as CO o r

in 7% and o t h e r s in 18% by t h e same in f o r m a n t .
Informants in group 2 produce ^-n ^3% instances, as (jpj
|[p'3 i LDl^] r [pn l 52%, as Qaj or £a f] in 29%.
These f ig u r e s a r e a g a in s ig n ific a n t in th e s en se t h a t i n th e l a s t
s e c t io n in f o r m a n t s in b o th g ro u p s p ro n o u n c e d /Q:/ as in a ll
o c c a s io n s . No in f o r m a n t showed any a w a re n e s s o f t h e b a c k . q u a lity
of / ( \ : / . In t h i.s p a r t i c u l a r e x e r c i s e h o w e v e r, we f i n d t h a t in 75% o f t h e
in s t a n c e s w h e re / Q : / o c c u r s , it is p ro d u c e d as a sound w i t h a back
q u a lity o f some k in d r a n g in g fro m & a Co],
As a p a i r o f d i s t i n c t i v e s o u n d s , we f i n d t h a t /s e / and /Q: / have
b een k e p t s e p a r a t e i n th e m a jo r it y o f cases. In t h e p r e v io u s e x e rc is e
b o th n and / Q : / had b een p ro n o u n c e d as , in th is e x e r c is e , / /
is r e a liz e d as i &~_1 i'n 7% ° f c a s e s b y g ro u p 1 and 56% c a s e s by g ro u p 2 .
/ Ch/ is r e a liz e d as CO in 7% b y g ro u p 1 and 29% by g ro u p 2. T h e re
is n o t as much o v e r la p p in g in t h e p r o n u n c ia t i o n o f t h e s e tw o sounds as
t h e r e was i n th e l a s t s e c tio n .
In group 1, /&&J is mostly realized as^JLj, b u t it is realized
as in 7% of cases, and it occurs more often in the following words:-

~ 220 -
Group■ 1
match —3
ham -3
In group 2 the vowel J J occurs1 as Iej more frequently in the following

^ L- J
words- than any other
had — 10
cat - 9
hat - 8
Vowel 7 Q \] occurs .-more often in the following words than any other
Group 1 Group 2
cart - 6 hard - 5'
har d -■ 5‘
har m - 5
E NGLISH / 9E 7 AND 7 A‘7
7*7 .7 A J
cat cut
hat hut
ban bun
bank' b unk
lack luck
cap cup
drank drunk
GROUP 1
Informant 1 V owel produced Nu m b e r of instances

7 * 7 £ 5
« 2
f\ 1
\
A /
- 221 -
GROUP 1 (Continued)
Informant 2 Vowel p r oduced N u m b e r of instances
/ w e 5
a 1
i 1
I h i a 3
D 3
e 1
Informant 3
/-*/
/ft / a
E
Informant 4
/ft/
I h i
Informant 5
/ft/ € 5
a : 1
a 1
m 3 3
a 2
Cv: l
^ b 1
Informant 6
/ft/ e 7
I M N 7
Informant 7
/*/ 6. 4
D 1
1
h 1
I M N 7
- 22.2. -
GROUP 1 (Continued)

/ee/ e 5
a 1
rtk K 1
IM 5
D 1
I 1
Informant 9
/&/ £ 4
N 4
/A / N 7
Informant 10
A£7 1
3
£ 3
/A / A 5
D 2
Informant 11
/$/ E 4
2
u 1
JK1 K 3
D 1
o 1
u 1
Informant 12
e
/«/ 5
A*
2
/ V /V 5
Ct: 2
Informant 13
/«/ & 5
q : 1
A 1
Jh/ A 1
(3: 6
Informant 14
/«/ €
7
- 223 -
GROUP 1 (Continued)
Informant 14 (Cont1d .) Vowel produced Number of instai
M / t\ 4
O: 1
D 1
Informant 15
/*/ e 6
Q: 1
/ a / A 2
D 5
Informant 16
/a/ 6
K 1
/K / A 4
CN: 2
€ 1
GROUP 2
Informant 1
/X/ a 2
E 5
/A/ 7
K
Informant 2
/*/ £ 5
a 1
A 1
/A/ A 6
D 1
Informant 3
/a?/ £ 3
a: 2
A 2
/ K/ A 5
A: 1
Informant 4
I
2
a 4
/\
- 224 -
GROUP 2 (Continued)
Informant 4 (Cont'd .) Vowel pro d u c e d N umber of instances

M / A 2
D 2
1
a 2
Informant 5
/3e/ oe i
£ 4
a 2
/A/ 2
A
a 1
D 3
£L 1
Informant 6
/<%/ a 1
£. 6
M / a 7
Informant 7
/-£/ a 7
/A / a 7
Informant 8
/&/ 4
£ 3
A 1
/A / A 7
Informant 9
A
/&/ 7
/A/ A 6
D 1
Informant 10
/ * / £ 4
a 3
/A / A 5
a 1
a 1
a 1
GROUP 2 (.Continued)
Informant 11 V owel produced Nu m b e r of
/»/ E 7
a '2
f>
A / a 7
D 1
Informant 12
/a / £ 6
a
1
A ./ a 6
CL 1
Informant 13
/a/ £ 2
6 : 2
a 2
3: 1
/ a / a 2
e 1
2
Du 1
3 1
Informant 14
/■ * / 9? 2
3
£
a 2
D 1
/A / 8 2
a 5
Informant 15
/« / a ■4
B 4
3: 1
/ a / A 2
a 4
o 1
Informant 16
se 2
/« /
e 5
3. 1
/A / a 6
6: 1
- 226 -
ENGLISH /c*£/ and /a /

_ __
Vowel /^q / is realized as £sqj in 3% instances, and as ff. I 67%, as
-v\
£/\] in 15%, as £a"^ in 5% and fjCtQ or [Q'J 4% instances, by informants
in group 1. Informants in group 2 p r o duced /2*2/ as/se~] in 8%, as in
61%, as [V] in 29% and C A 3 in 4%.
Vowel / /\ / is realized as £a j | by informants in group 1 in 50% cases,
' C O / or C 3 C1 in 28% and as j5sTI in 7%. * The same vowel
is realized as \j\\ in 39% instances, as £a~3 in 43% and as [jd'J 'jpj >
or in 13% by informants in group 2.
Accor d i n g to these figures informants in group 1 seem to haye
increased their production of the vowel //£ / by 1%. [3eJ was pro d u c e d in
2% of instances by informant£>in group 1 when it a p p eared as a minimal
pair with / (\ :/ as opposed to 3% when it appears as a p a i r with / A /-
Informants in group 2 increased their p roduction of the same sound by 3%,
i.e. 5% when /g2/ appeared with / C\ :/ as opposed to 8% when it appears
with / A /. This m i g h t indicate that with continued p r a c t i c e the
i n f o r m a n t s ’ p erformance in the produc t i o n of this sound m i g h t improve. One
significant p o i n t to be noted in these figures is the swing b y group 2
producing £a^] for /&&/, to Jji] * When /£&./ appeared as a minimal pair
with / Ct: /, we noticed that /3(2 / is pronounced as M in 56%, and
as [%'} in 43% instances by informants in group 2 . In this set however, the
same informants p r o d u c e [jT\ for /^£>/ in 61% instances. This shift clearly
shows the i n f o r m a n t s ’ p e rception of a distinction in terms of
quality between the two vowels. When /<3Q/ is in a p a i r with / Q : / we find
a high percentage of the occurrence of {âj b u t at the same time we find
that, the back quality of / (\ : / is used as a disting u i s h i n g factor
between the two sounds, as is illustrated by the fact that in 7 5%

- 227 -
instances of / Cl : /■, it is produc e d as a sound with a back quality. In
the p a rticular case we are dealing with, i.e. /t2&/ as a mi n i m a l pair
with //\/, informants in group 2 found that English / A / is nearer to
their / a / in quality than / ^ / , so in the m a j ority of cases / K / is
realized as [a^ . The informants then make the distinction between the
two sounds by prod u c i n g jj£j for /3?/. This is interesting, it seems that
the sounds the informants produce for one of the pairs are conditioned by
the quality of the other, i.e. / $ / — > £_a j w hen / 32 / is a m i nimal pair
with / Q : /, / £0 / f ^ J w h e n /££/ is a minimal pa i r with / A / -
We find that / $ / is prono u n c e d as in 15% instances, and / A /
as [a] in 7% instances by informants in group 1, also / A./ is pro n o u n c e d
variously as M . w . r q by informants in group 2 in 13% of
instances. We have observed the same phenomena with other pairs or
triplets of sounds, although the percentages were not so high. These
m i ght be instances of over generalization. Since the informants are
dealing with a pair of English sounds at a time, sometimes they produce
one sound when they actually mean to produce the other and vi c e versa.
At others, once the informants are us e d to p r o d u c i n g a p a r t i c u l a r sound,
they find dif f icultujin the adjustment involved in tongue p o s ition when
there is a change to another sound, so they produce the same sound for a
while.
ENGLISH /££>/ /Q: / and /A/
/»/ / Q: / /A/
cat cart cut
h at h eart hu t
ban barn bun
match march mu c h
lack lark luck
ham harm hum

228
GROUP 1
Informant 1 Vowel p r o d u c e d N u mber of instances
/»/ 1
e 5
/ a :/ a: 6
K. 1
/ K / Is* 6
Informant
/<&/ a 1
e 5
/ CL:/ a: 1
D 3
e: 1
a 1
/ K/ D 3
a 2
e 1
Informant 3
/& / e 4
a 2
/ <K- / O'- 1
a 1
a: 3
D 1
/ k/ a 5
D 1
Informant 4
/« ? / 6 4
q: 2
/«:/ Ct: ' 5

Qu 1
M / a 1
Q 5
Informant 5
/»/ 6
/ a :/ ? 1
Q: 2
D 4
/ /\ / <3 6
- 229 -
GROUP 1 (Continued)
Information 6 Vowel produced N u mber of instances
/£/ £ 5
9: 1
/a:/'" Q: 1
a 2
D 1
£ 2
/ k / A 4
A 1
a 1
Informant 7
/a/ s s
3: 1
/« :/ q: l
Ou 3
o 1
o: 1
/A/ A 3
au 2
Informant 8
/&/ 1
£ 6
/q:/ a: 1
D: 3
Q.u 1
<E 1
/A / A - 2
A 2
a 1
£ 1
Informant 9
/$ > / ' E- 6
/ a : / D 3
a 1
o 1
u 1
A
D 1
- 230 -
GROUP 1 (Continued)
Informant 10 Vowel produced N u mber of instances
zw £ 5
a 1
/Q :/. D;
O
o
a:
/ K/ N
D
O
Informant '11
/ 3B/
e
a
U
/O :/ o
O:
o
Zt^Z a
D
o
u
Informant 12
/sey
£
CXL.
/ C l : /
D
Z U a
CL
Informant 13
/ a /
/Ct :/ Ou
o
K
ZKZ
qu
o
u
- 2.31 -
GROUP 1 (Continued)
Informant 14 Vowel pro d u c e d N u m b e r of instances
/se/ e 6
/a:/" D: 1
o 2
o: 3
/ KJ K 4
D 1
9 1
Informant 15
/&/ e 5
N 1
'/Cl :/ D: 5
o: 1
/ K/ k 3
D 2
3 1
Informant 16
£
/Sft/ 6
/ Ci : 7 cm: 1
K: 1
D: 3
o 1
I u 6
GROUP 2
Informant 1
/®7 e 5
N 1
/a :/ & 6
/ kJ N 6
Informant 2
E 2
/ae/ K
4
/ a :/ D 4
3) = 1
1
- 232 -
GROUP 2 (Continued)
Informant 2 (Continued) Vowel produced Num b e r of ins.tances
/KJ 2
3
Informant 3
/ $ / se i
a 4-
£ 1
JO:/ D: 1
D 4
a 1
/A/ A 4
a 1
u 1
Informant 4
/$ / S 4
a 2
/ Q :/ e i; 2
D 1
o 3
/ A7 ft 4
o 1
D 1
Informant 5
/ 96 / g 2
a ,4
J^-'J q: 1
D 2
3 3
/A/ 4
Q l
a 1
Informant 6
£ 5
a 1
/ Q :/ a: 2
D 1
A i
a: 2
7 A/ \ 2
a 5
- 233 -
GROUP 2 (Continued)
Informant 7 Vowel pr o d u c e d N umber of instances
/» / a 5
a: 1
/%:/** q: 2
£tu 2
D: 1
a: 1
/h / a 6
I nformant 8
l^J ae 2
A 1
a 2
£ 2
/ G :/ Q: 6
/A/ N 5
Cl 1
Informant 9
/t t / £ 6
/ a :/ 3
0 1
au 1
K 1
/A/ A 4
3 1
D 1
Informant 10
/«/ se 1
a 3
9 2
/ Q :/ a : 2
D: 1
O : 3
/A/ a 4
Qu 1
O 1
Informant 11
/&/ & 5
a 1
/ Q ■/ 1
2
3
- 234 -
GROUP 2 (Continued)
Informant 11 {Continued) Vowel produced N u mber of
/f\/ a 4
o 1
D 1
Informant ^12
/& / 4
£
£.; 1
/Cl:/ C i: 4
a: 2
a 1
/A / ' a 4
a 2
I nformant 13
/*»/ £ 6
/ a:/ D: 6
/ k/ a 6
Informant 14
/a / £ 3
a 3
/ Q:/ Q 1
D 1
a: 3
a 2
/A / a 5
\ 1
I nformant 15
/*$/ a 1
a 1
a 2
a: 1
£ 2
/a :/ a : 5
a: 1
a 2
/ AJ a 4
Q 1
o 1
V . 1
.235 -
':GROUP 2. -(Continued).
'informant'16 ' Vowel 'produced'• '1Number■-off ■:Instance■

■/ & / 2
a 2
4
• 3 1
/ C O / : 1
. u 3
; * 1
a 1
/^/ • a .5
•E n g lis h :' f t £ . / , / K / and ■■f a s / •
/ * / is realized tel
as: in 3%,as Cel* 80% as; [•1 in 5%, 01 in
in 2% and in 2% instances by informants-.in group 1.
Informants, in group 2 produce /'Tffi J .as in 8% instances, as w in
: 61%, as in 43%,M - J is realized.as [a] in 21% instances, as or.
in 33%, as; ô or £o:]} in 20%, as |ja^ or â:"\ in 9% and. as
[ c ^ l - 1 * 1 , and -17% by Infomants ±n group 1.. The same yov/el
/<t :/ was produced as- by informants: in group 2 in 39% instances,
as^j>"\ in 24%, a s h l erl - l in 23% as. [ o ] ±n 3%, as [a] or [a:]
in 28% of. instances^ by-:the.same informants..
h i Was produced as.jÂlih ■43% .instances., .as in 13%, as
14 t°l - tl °r M in 20%, as ^ in -13% and as W or & } in
11% by- informants; in group 1. It was: produced.as:r a i n ,40% instances
and as jâ^ .in -53%,as t » i . a or [uJ in 13% and as in 6% '■
\hy informants in group 2.

1•"*
In the previous chapter ■on vowels- we noted that all three of the
aboye. English, vowels were..replaced by one. Tonga vowel Gd i n .the.
.informantsreading. The. figures.above..however ^ show that this. is.not

- 236 -
the. case here. T h e ’two vowels that still tend to overlap in their
realization by the informants are /<£/ and / f\/. Informants in group 1
tend to keep these two vowels quite separate by pr o d u c i n g for /ge/
in 80% of instances, and or aj for / in 56% instances. The
percentage of ./$?/ being realized as w is high with informants in
group 2 , with 43% instances. The same group also p r o duces for / K /
in 53% instances. This means that both /££/ and / f\/ are undistinguishable
from each other in 48% i n s t a n c e s ■when they are both rea l i z e d as by
informants in group 2 and they are distinguished from each other in 52%
instances when /a? / is realized as. |jLJ and / K / or ["a.J .
Both, the quality and quantity of / Cl:/ are p e r c e i v e d by informants
in both groups. Although, the per c entage of the r e alization as [ = 3
itself is not high, the fact that various sounds w i t h ba c k quality have
been p r o d u c e d by informants in both groups shows that the speakers have
realized the importance of this back quality of / Q : / as a distinguishing
factor from the other two vowels. The quantity of / Q :/ has been
distinguished too, asis shown by the fact that 50% of the sounds
pro d u c e d for / Q :/ by informants in group 1, and 70% of those p r o d u c e d
by informants in group 2, are long o n e s .
The phenomenon, of o v e r - g e n e r a l i z a t i o n , which we have observed elsewhere
in this chapter is still evident here as is shown by the fact that / f\ / is
p r o d u c e d as w w r u^j and in 20% by i nformants in group 1
and as H . W W ■ in 13% by informants, in group 2.

-237'
ENVIRONMENT
English JfeQ/j occurs more, often, as, )3CI in .all the words than
A : / and A / occur more often. in the. following words' than any other:"
'GfOUp ; 1 Ofblip ‘ 2
cart — 5 barn. — 4
barn. — 5 march4
harm — 5' hard -■ 5'
march. — 4 harm — 4
/A /
•Group 1 Group 2.
hum — 7 hut - 4
much. —• 6 .much. — 4
bun. -■ 6. luck! -> 4
cut " 5 hum :i- 4
luck. 5
The phonological environment itself does not seem to provide any clue
as. to why there, is a high incidence of the occurrence of / ^ : / and
/ \ / in the above words. The words which seem to be common in both groups
for the occurrence of EnglishL/X seem to share some features. Two of
them hard and harm have glottal fricative as , whi.le. two harm
and March., have bilabial nasal £m^f as C 2. and C-^ respectively. Similarly
with, those where English. //I / has a high, rate of occurrence, hum and much.,
one has, bilabial nasal £ m£J as C 2 and the. other as Cg respectively. It
is also to be noted that when we dealt with /3Q/ and / G \ i f as. a pai,r
of contrastive sounds, / $ : / occurred more often in the following words.:-
• cart . :
hard -
"harm
- 23B -
ENGLISH /D/ AND / P:/
GROUP 1
Informant 1 Vowel p r o duced N umber of instances
/D/ D 5
u 1
K 1
/ =>:/ P : 3
D 1
u: 1
u 1
: 1
Informant 2
/D/ D 7
/ D :/ D 5
V 1
u 1
Informant 3
/D/ D 1
eg 2
o 2
u 1
/ 3 :/ O: 1
D 1
o 2
0: 1
Q= 1
u 1
- 239 -
GROUP 1 (Continued)
/D/ D 1
0 1
o 4
u 1
o : 2
o 1
U 3
Informant 5
/D/ . D 3
Du 1
o 1
a 2
/=>-,/ u 1
D: 2
Du 1
o: 1
o 1
E 1
Informant 6
/D/ D 6
o 1
/O:/ D: 5
D 1
o 1
Informant 7
/D/ K 2
o 5
/O:/ o 3
u 4
Informant 8
/D/ u 1
o 5
e 1
/ D:/ u 4
T 1
o: 1
o 1
- 240 -
GROUP 2
Informant 1 Vowel p r o d u c e d Number of instances
J dJ D 1
P 6
J 0 '/ D: 6
0 1
Informant 2
/D/ =» 5
a 2
/P :/ O: 2
3
a 2
Informant 3
/D/ o 7
/O:/ o: 4
o 3
Informant 4
/D/ D 7
/ S :/ P : 7
V* 2
informant 5
/D/ D 1
O 6
/D:/ 7
Informant 6
/D/ 0 - 7
/O:/ o: 7
Informant 7
/D /
o
J'Q t/ P: 3
2
U: 2
Informant 8
/ D /1 o 7
/ :>=/ 7
~ -241
ENGLISH /D/ AND / O ; /
/D/ i's p r o d u c e d as- by informants, in group 1 in 41% instances, as Co]
or in 36%, as- jrfj in 20% and as j o a in 6%. Group 2 p r o d u c e d
/© 7 as in 23% instances, as r ° j in 82% and as c°a or To.]
in 2 7 % . Informants in group 1 p r o d u c e d j in 10% instances as jjoJ,
or |*D in 31%, as £oJ , or j^°^J 1° 25% and as Jû'j in 34%. Informants
in group 2 on the other hand prod u c e d /=» =/ as R in 88%, as it 13%
and as M . [-3 in 27% of instances.
It has been noted, in the last chapter on vowels, that all the informants
in both groups p r o d u c e d for both /D/ and / p :/ in the reading. In
this exercise, however, we find that ["o'] is p r o d u c e d for both /D/ and
/?>:/ by both groups only in 26% of instances. A n d besides, w i t h i n these
26% there are instances of long p r o d u c e d for / O : / which indicates
that, even in instances where the informants still p r o d u c e Ô^J for both
phonemes, they have at least learnt to distinguish th e m by means of
quantity, a p r actice w h i c h we have not observed in their reading.
The tendency among the informants in this, p a r t i c u l a r exercise is not
so much to p r o duce T o ] for /D/ o r / D:/ as to pr o d u c e w for / D :/,
and vice versa. For instance, group 1 tend to p r o d u c e more often
than 0=3 , and group 2 the other way round. It is not clear whether this
is simply another instance of over-generalization, or w h ether in fact one
group finds it easier to produce one vowel sound, and the other group,
another.
ENGLISH /D/ / p:/ AND /aY/

7 0/ / D:/ / SFV/
cot caught coat
no t naught note
god gored goad

- 242 -
stock . stork stoke
cod cord code
cock cork coke
ENGLISH /D/, / 3 :/ AND / sty
GROUP 1
Informant 1 Vowel produced Nu m b e r of instances
/D/D D 5
/b:/ to: 6
/ aV/ e 2
3 3
A 1
Informant 2
/D/ D 6
/ D :/ D: 2
D: 4
/^V/ 3: 3
e 2
D 1
Informant 3
/D/ o 3
■ K 3
/ O :/ o: 4
D: 1
N 1
/&W 3: 2
£ 2
A. 1
o: 1
Informant 4
/D/ D 1
Q 1
o 4
/ 3:/ o: 3
0 1
o: 1
u 1
/3^ £ 4
1 2
- 243 -
GROUP 1 (Continued)
Informant 5 Vowel p r o duced N umber <
/D/ D 4
CJ 1
c,v 1
/ =>:/ D: 5
qV 1
£ 5
iV 1
Informant 6
/D/ D 5
olf 1
/ ^:/ O : 4
D: 1
ou 1
e 1
©V 1
ei 1
3
Informant 7
/D/ o 6
/ t>:/ u 4
o: 2
S 6
Informant 8
/D/ o 5
A 1
73:/ o: 2
o 2
a 1
u 1
7 s¥ g 3
£! 1
o 1
- 244 -
GROUP 2
Informant 1 Vowel produced Number 0
/D/ D 2
b 4
/ 3 :/ ». 6
/a V / 3: 4
£ 1
N 1
Informant 2
m o 5
ou 1
/■=>=/ 6
/•aV/. 4
e 2
0
INFORMANT 3
/D/ 0 5
D 1
/*=>:/ O: 4
oi 2
/sV E 6
Informant 4
/D/ D 5
Cl 1
/ *D:/ o: 6
2
4
€
i^T 1
i: 1
Informant 5
/D/ 6
/ O:/ 6
/■ ^ £ 4
3: 2
- 245 -
GROUP 2 (Continued)
In f o r m a n t 6 Vowel p r o d u c e d Nu m b e r of instances
/D / D
o
/O:/ o:
D:
/a V ?
e
3;
T
o:
oV
In f o r m a n t 7
/D /
:/ 3:
/s V ey
e-
3:
In f o r m a n t 8
/D /
/ 3 :/
/s V e
3
ENGLISH /D /, 7 ^ J ;/ AND
/D / is p ro d u c e d as [..Thl in 46% i n s t a n c e s , as T o ! . W t i
or j^VT^ in 38% in s t a n c e s , and as. •]. R . or w 8% and as
W in 8% b y in f o r m a n t s in g ro u p 1 . In f o r m a n t s in g ro u p 2 p ro d u c e R 1
in 42% i n s t a n c e s , in 52% a n d R R , or -*-n 21%.
/ O :/ is p r o d u c e d as- [*3^: by in f o r m a n t s i n g ro u p 1 i n 31% i n s t a n c e s , as
r ° i . i?:] » Cui ' °r r in 44%, as jÊ>J in 25%. G roup 2
m e a n w h ile , p r o d u c e d / t > : / as in 83%, In s t a n c e s , as
or w in 13% , as [ = > ] i n 4%, and as in 4%. T h e d ip h th o n g

~ 246 -
is realized as by informants in group 1 in 2% instances, asjj^J or
[3=] in 13%. as- [D ] / ' [°] or M in 25%, as [ « * ? in 21%
and as or f e1 :'~n ^9%. Informants in group 2 p r o d u c e d / sTT/ in 6%
as ' as L Djl ' ' H ' °r [°U1 ' in 23%/ as in
25% and as E-^j in 60%.
The first p o i n t to make is that there has been an increase in the
p roduction of both [ d j and by informants in bo t h groups. Although
there is still a tendency for one group to produce one vowel more often
than the other, as we observed before when we dealt with /D/ as a pair
with / o:// the pattern has changed slightly now. For instance,
informants in group 1 have p r o d u c e d / t ) :/ as such in c - i in 31%
instances as compared to 10%, and informants in group 2 have p r o d u c e d
/D/ as [ D] in 42% instances as compared to the 23% p r e v i o u s l y observed.
This is prob a b l y because the informants are h e aring the same sounds
repeated for the third and fourth time by now, and the change in
percentages m i g h t reflect the fact that the informants are now accustomed
to hearing the distinction between the two sounds^- h ence their attempts
to produce the difference, are approaching nearer to the target sound each
time.
We have noted that the diphthong /aV/ was one of the two which the
informants reduced to a pure vowel in their reading. We indicated that
it was reduced to the Tonga vowel / 0 j or a long variety of it by
m o s t informants. We also tried to explain why it was felt the
informants p r o d u c e d r hi • or |ôu £°r /a V diphthong.
Perhaps we should add to the explanation already given, a p o i n t which
seems to be quite significant here and that is the fact that the diphthong
/s > V f has as its starting point, the central pa r t of the tongue, an area
which is nonfunctional for a Tonga, since there are no vowel sounds
made in this p a r t of the tongue in the Tonga language. It goes towards
, a Sound which is- normally not distinguished from by a Tonga
speaker. This- p o i n t seems- releva n t here in view of the various sounds
that the informantsproduced for this diphthong. Of all the English
sounds we have dealt wi t h so far, this was perhaps, one of the most difficult
for the informants- to produce if followed by [■ s ] The writer viyidly
recalls that she had to replay each, word with this sound, seyeral times
before an informant p r o d u c e d a sound he felt was a close imitation to
w h a t he felt he had heard from the tape. With. / Qg/, m o s t informants
made a rapid choice between reproducing it as, jâ jj or wi t h o u t any
apparent conscious effort.
A ccording to the figures- above, the. sound has been p r o d u c e d
for / 3 V 7 by both groups in 8% of instances only. This illustrates the
extent of the difficulty. It seems: the informants, were able to produce
the first element of the diphthong in a few cases, b u t not the second.
On the whole however, the diphthong has. been pro d u c e d mo s t l y as an
by both groups. For instance group 1 p r o d u c e d and M in 29% of
instances, while group 2 p r oduced the same sounds in 60% of instances.
This is not surprising, it has been noted before that the E n g l i s h
central vowel /3:/, which differs only in quantity from the first
element [ s i of / b V/ diphthong, has been realized as [ s ] in more than
50% of its occurrence by informants in both, groups.

- 24 8 -
ENVIRONMENT
English /D/ tends to occur more often in the following words than any
other
Group 1 Group 2
cock - 5 cock - 3
stock — 6 cod — 3
not ~ 4
ENGLISH / D :/
cork - 4 cork — 8
cord — 3 cord - 8
caught — 3 stork — 8
/aV/ as [ 3 J or k 'i
coat — 2 coat — 2
goad r- 3 goad — 2
code - 2 code — 4
Perhaps the m o s t interesting feature about the p h o n e t i c e nvironment in
w hich the three sounds appear is the presence of velars and alyeolar
consonants either as consonant initial or final in all the words.
ENGLISH / Vy _________________ /U:/
/V / / U: /
full fool
pull pool
good goose
foot food
hook whom
look loop
- 249 -
group' 1
Informant 1 Vowel realized as Number of instances
n r/ V 5
** D 1
Ah/ U: 6
Informant 2
n r/ V 3
u 2
oT 1
/M*/ U : 4
D 1
e 1
Informant 3
n r/ u 6
Ah/ u: 1
u 4
E 1
Informant 4
n r/ Y 2
u 3
D 1
/ U :/ u 3
£1= 1
V 1
i 1
Informant 5
/r; IT 3
D 3
/H:/ Y 3
£
1
Informant 6
n r/ Y 3
u 3
AW U : 1
U 3
& 1
i 1
- 250
GROUP 1 (Continued)
Informant 7 Vowel realized as N u m b e r of
/V/ V 1
u 4
o 1
/ « / u: 1
u 4
£ 1
Informant 8
/ V / u 5
o 1
/ U: / u 6
GROUP 2
Informant 1
/ v / u 6
/ tt: / U: 6
Informant 2
/ V / U 6
/ tt: 7 'u : 1
n 4
V 1
Informant 3
/V ] V 2
u 6
/ U: / u: 3
V 2
u 1
Informant 4
/ Tf / u 6
/ U: / U : 1
u 5
Informant 5
/ V / u 6
/ th / u : 6
u 1
- 251
GROUP . 2 (Continued)
Informant 6 Vowel realized as Number of instances
/ V / Of 3
u 4
/ \\i / u: 1
V: 2
V 1
u 1
Informant 7
/ V / i
u 5
/ U= / u: 4
3: 1
i: 1
ENGLISH /'U / AND / \\: /
/ / is p r o d u c e d as by informants in group 1 in 35% of instances, as
in 48%, as [ D l , P I , or [o V ] in 17%. Informants in group 2
produce in 10% of instances, and in 94%.
/ t*: / is prod u c e d as 1-1 by informants in group 1 in 29%, as in
42%, as D A in 8% and as I D1 L iul in 14%. Informants
in group 2 produce yty:/ as in 56%, as in 27%, as L A , or
Lv=l in 15% and as or in 4%. The case of AW and AT/

is similar to that of and h ! ■ Tonga has an L U1 sound which
is almost equivalent in quality to the English one, the m a i n difference
being that of quantity. The English one is longer than the Tonga. As
in the case of English /i:/ and /l/, T onga has only the one sound in
this area against the two of English. Hence in the chapter on p r o n u n c i a
tion performance in English vowels, we found that alm o s t all our
informants pr o n o u n c e d both /U:/ and Ml as D l- In this particular
exercise, howeyer, we find that both groups of informants perceive a
difference between the two vowel sounds in different ways. As in the
case of / i : / and /I/, group 1 tend to perceive the d istinction in terms
of quality, as is illustrated by the fact that JVJ is p r o d u c e d as
in 35% instances, while /Cl:/ is realized as only in 29%. Other—

- 252 -
wise it is realized as the Tonga variety which is shorter in
quantity than, the English one. With, informants in group 2 /V/ produced
as f t only in 10% of instances, otherwise it is realized as the Tonga
English 7t|:7 on the other hand is produced as in 56% of
instances, and as Tonga in 27% instances only. This m i g h t mean that
informants in group 2 associated Tonga /l|/ with English /V / , quantitatively
and distinguished it from English long /U:/ on the same basis. On the
other hand; quality seems to have had a stronger significance for
informants in-group 1 in this particular case, so they associated English
long /tj:/ with Tonga /X\/ on that basis and then tried to pro d u c e a sound
that approximated to /V7 in quality.
ENVIRONMENT:- English /V7 and /tj:/ occur more often in the following
words than any other:-
Group 1 Group 2
full - 2 full - 3
pull — 2 pull - 6
/U:7
food - 6 food - 3
wh o m — 6
loop - 5
To conclude this chapter, it has been found that on the whole the
informants have been able to make a distinction b e t w e e n t h e
various vowel sounds. Their ability to hear this d i stinction is
illustrated by the various attempts they have made to p r o d u c e the
difference in their own pronunciation. The two English vowel sounds that
p r oved to be difficult for the informants to p r oduce are / & / and / 3V 7 ,
as is illustrated b y the fact that these two sounds have been p r oduced
as and in 11% and 8% of instances by informants in both groups

2S3 -
respectively.
On the whole no one group did better than the other in this exercise.
There are instances where one group p r o duced the target sound in more
instances than the other, for instance it has been found that group
1 p r oduced English /I/ in more instances than group 2 f bu t the latter
group pro d u c e d / i : / in more instances, than the former. Perhaps the one
area where group 2 could be said to have done better than group 1 is in
the production of English /3/ and /ei/. The figures on these sounds show
group 2 in the lead in being able to pronounce the difference between
English / g / and / 3: / and /el/.

- 254 -
ii) Consonants j•
-
In general m o s t of the consonants, were p r o d u c e d quite well.
Observations will be made only on those where there seem to be some
significant points to make.
Plosives and A f f r i c a t e s : — The only p o i n t to make ab o u t these two groups
of sounds is that, there is a fairly wide spread tendency by informants
in b o t h groups to pronounce the lenis plosives and affricates as fortis
consonants. This, feature seems to occur mainly- when a lenis pl o s i v e or
affricate is in final position, although there are a few cases noted
when the lenis consonant is in an initial position.
E x a m p l e s :-
bead [_Wi;t]
bid Lti+]
bed Lbh]
head
W
hea r d HiV.t]
bank [psjVJ
bird
[>3.4]
goat
edge
[s in
page
hPei J 1
Perhaps this is. not surprising since according to E n glish phonology,
lenis plosives or affricates are not yoiced in both these positions.
They are distinguished from the fortis series in. these positions by other
factors', such as aspiration of the fortis series, in initial position
and length of vowel in a syllable closed by a lenis consonant.

- 255
The phenom e n o n of prod u c i n g the English lenis. plosives with extra
articulatory force which has been observed in the chapter on Pronunciation
Performance in English Consonants was not evident in this exercise. It
was o b served four times in informant 15 and once in inf o r m a n t 16 of
group 2, and in all cases it inyolyed
Fricatives — The one p o i n t to make a bout the p r o nunciation of English
fricatives is the occasional voicing of the glottal fricative /h/
w hich we have already observed in the chapter on Pronunciation
Performance in E n glish Consonants, in which an explanation for it has
been offered:
/ 1 / and / r f distinction
In the chapter on Pronunciation Performance in En g l i s h Consonants,
it was observed that informants in b o t h groups experienced difficulties
relating to the distinction between the above two sounds. We noted too
that even though the informants may not have p r o n o u n c e d the other
consonants in the same way as an English speaker wh o has an intimate
(unconscious), knowledge of the ph o n ology of his own language, they were
pronounced well enough, to be u n de r s t o o d by m o s t pe o p l e in the English
speaking communities,.. The proble m of / 1 / and / r / d i stinction is
crucial precisely because it does pose a threat to u n d e r s t a n d i n g not
only at an international level, b u t among Zambians who themselyes use
English as a lingua Franca. For this reason it was decided that the
p r oblem of / 1 / and / r / distinction should receive further attention
in this work. To this end, a list of words containing these two phonemes
were read out b y the E n glish speaker and tape recorded. The t a p e was
subsequently played to the informants, and t h e y w e r e as k e d to repeat
what the y heard.

- 256
The following is a representative sample of the results of the exercises
Group 1 Informant 1
long wrong
U D5 \ C . ^ 1
lead read [ > ; m l
belly C U K l berry L > s - r'l
light [1 \ 0v'vVT\ right h c<*n 7
Informant 3
long wrong
L rD^3
lead read C ri;d 3

[
belly C k n ] b erry \2 Wi.ci 7
light L u»+ 3 right ^ 7
I nformant 7
long C i wrong
lead read C e a l
b elly C berry C
light L right C i ^ l
GROUP 2 I n f o rmant 1
long wrong C r n ^-!

Cl 0 ^ 1
lead read
c m
belly C 3 berry 5 t i r U)i7
light C 1a >b 3 right Q r o v J
Informant 3
long wrong
C I ^ I L o b l
lead read
belly b erry t W t f il
light Q \ a\*t ~3 r ight c 7

- 257
GROUP 2* (Continued)
Informant 5
long wrong
L > i ]
lead read C i/J v c\

n;:<n
belly Lks,ril berry C, \o£ . r i 3

light right
C W 3
There are still some difficulties experienced by informants in both
groups as far as these two phonemes are concerned. In the last exercise
dealing with / 1 / y / r / distinction, we found that the informants
used [11 , [r] a n d [ l l in free variation.
In this exercise, a kind of p a ttern seems to be emerging. Of the 8
informants in group 1 who took pa r t in this exercise, 5 informants have
m a naged to pronounce the words wi t h the /r/ phoneme correctly, b u t they
still use and L I ] in free variation in words with /l/; 3 of the
informants still experience difficulty both ways, i,e they use r
, and in free variation in words with / 1 / and / r / phonemes
In group 2, of the 8 informants who undertook this exercise, 3 m a naged
to pronounce the distinction between / 1 / and / r /. 2 m a n a g e d to p ronou
nee words with / r / as LrT], bu t they used , and cn in
free variation in words with / 1. /, and 3 used the three phones in free
variation both w a y s . This means that more than half the informants
have either m a naged to pronounce the difference, or have p a r t ially
managed to do so, in the sense that they have managed to keep the / r /
phoneme w h erever it occurs,' distinct from / 1 / in this exercise. The

- 258 -■
reason for this m i ght be that since i.s an unusual sound as far as
the Tonga informants are concerned, extra effort and care m i g h t haye
been made by the informants towards its production. | 1~| on the other
h a n d is a ^familiar sound and would not require as m u c h conscious effort
in its produc t i o n as the other, hence the tendency to o v e r - g e n e r a l i z e .
This observation ties in well wit h w h a t has been no t e d before with other
English sounds, namely, that English sounds that are completely absent
from Tonga are more likely to be learnt and m a s t e r e d as such by a Tonga
speaker, than those which share similarities with sounds p r e s e n t in
Tonga. The case of /l/ and / r / has been complicated b y the fact that
the two phonemes corresponds to the same phoneme in Tonga. There
fore, the pr o b l e m of m istaking one phoneme for the other is inevitable
for a Tonga speaker in the early stages of learning English. But as this
exercise seems to show, when a Tonga speaker repeats after someone who
makes the appropriate distinction b e tween the two phonemes, it seems to b e the
/ 1 / p h oneme which is m i x e d up with / r /, but / r /, seems to be
p ronou n c e d well enough in more than 50% cases.
Dark - In the previous exercise on / 1 / and / r / distinction, we
indicated that m o s t of the informants experienced difficulties with the
pronunciation of Qj-'j , an allophone of the English / 1 /. We noted that
m o s t of them o m itted the sound altogether and p r o d u c e d a long vowel in its
place. No specific exercise was carried out to test M in this section,
b u t a number of words which were used for the exercise on vowels
were analysed. The following is the list of words analysed
sell Cê.lcTJ sale
tell tale
- 259 -
h e ll h a il L . U en \
fe lle d Q f f M l fa ile d
yvn i I 'A " 3 |"~ fYl l I H " 3

m eal m ill
p ! l u ”3
p e ,a l p ill
fu ll C- p m I fo o l
p u ll Cp v ] pool
The above li.st shows that the tendency wh i c h has been obseryed in the
previous section still persists even when the informants repeat after
someone who speaks English as a first language. The ma i n difference is that
in this exercise the practice of replacing e t a with a long vowel is not
common, instead we have w h a t Gimson no t e d among E n glish speakers of
Cockney dialect, that is, replacing C t ] with a vowel. Gimson observed
that the vowel sounds which commonly replace G ] among Cockney speakers
are or A m o n g my informants, however, it sounds like
English [ V ] . Another feature which is common is that of adding an
epenthetic vowel after the , and so converting the t i l into a clear
It m u s t be po i n t e d out that all these observations have been
noted among informants in group 1, m o s t informants in group 2 seem to
have prono u n c e d the [tj well.

- 2 GO -
CONSONANT CLUSTERS
In the previous exercise on consonant clusters it was n oted that, in
generalînformants in both groups, pro n o u n c e d English consonant clusters
with an epenthetic vowel, the nature of which has been o b served to vary
from a full front or back yowel, to a short vowel sound with a front or
back vowel resonance. It has also been noted that sometimes there is no
vowel sound as such to be heard b u t a succession of consonant sounds
w here English wou l d normally have an incomplete p l o s i o n . Because of the
irregularities n o t e d above in the informants p r o n u n c i a t i o n of English
consonant clusters, it was decided that a similar exercise to that on
vowels, / 1 / / r / distinction w hich has just be e n dis c u s s e d in this
section, should be conducted.
This exercise involved reading out a list of words w i t h various
E nglish consonant clusters by t h e En g l i s h speaker w h i c h w e r e t a p e - r ecorded
and subsequently p l a y e d to the informants for repetition.
Dwing is a representative sample of their responses
Group 1 I nformant 1
Pi play L p'A'-ei ^
pr pray C preiq
bl blue L b"ru:l
br brew L ^ l
kl cloud 1 Ic, r ca v ct g
crowd
o ^ . - u a q
kr
gL glass [ K r o l s l
gr grass C y
-261 -
Group 1 Informant 1 (Continued)
tr tree H -v-ur €.\ 3

train
tractor l l t ur eA rTJ
Q-fcc s^v<.-V^"3
dr dry
rcvV
drain
drum QjAu c e .'
Qc-W r /\ v^"3
fl fly
fr fry £ £<•*'' 1
L ^ ' l
Or three
throw [ e - i
through
sp spoon Cfruru"3
sport O f ^
speak
C s f^ -v ^
st s ti ck C.sf
stamp (i> + i K l
store
o + A - ir l
0 + = > :l
sk skirt
.school [> * * •+ 3
scooter ( ^ s K u V ~3
CskvA-v-al
sm smile
smart CiV’t
small £ js w \ c li "3
CS ^vn O’, ^
s.n snow
sneeze [> -ie i ^
snake
S .1 slow
sleep P & U '. 3
slim CMC p - j
L SI.
spl splash
sple&n [ > p ^ a $3
split
C s f ' ;" 3
spr spring Cs.p'i.Vj
spray
spread c sr r ^ ‘i
! z s r r' * ^ i
str strong
strict
[> -y c o ^1
street £3 1~ '
1O V ru f]
skr scratch.
. scream
scrape
- 262 -
Group 1 Informant 1 (Continued)
skw squeak
squirrel LJLK^ 3
t square [2 _ û 5 i.3 > 3
c*
r shrub L i r*A
shrink C5«“i ^ 3
shrine
Li
Group 2 Informant 5
pi play L PU i^
pr pray C P r ed 3
L k \ u m3]
bl blue
br brew CLrtuv/]
kl cloud L \0 CiT/cl 3
kr crowd 3 • £ l<- t ' ^ ; c| "2
gi glass
£ ? ) ' a :s 3
gr grass.
C irces!
tr tree C +•r- e.i
train.
[] t r & i 0 3
tractor
L t r & Vtv-sQ
dr dry
C c l r ^ v ‘3
drain
drum Q d r <2.i n 3
Cdr/\ vvaQ
fl fly
fr fry' C-PUi 1
C£«" i 3
gr three
L e r ,'3
throw
through
L'b't-ru"]
sp spoon
sport t s r o 3
speak L s p o -v ^
n 5 . p i'. M
st stick
s tamp
I^S-V & v ^ ^ 3 \
store
C M -o fj
sk. ski.rt
C & K t+ 1
school
scooter c ^ n
L S K vaVSQ
sm smile I3
smart
\26*^00 ^ 3
small
L> 3
snow
sn. C s»*e.i 3
sneeze
snake C i>^f:^3
C ^ ^ î lO
/
- 26,3 -
Group 2 ' Informant 5 (Continued)
si slow Uu.-i
sleep
slim
C s r/p l
spl splash
C ^53
spleen
split Csp-Knl
spr spring (
spray
spread
str strong
C ^+ro^"]
strict
C S + riw l
street
r v-V”3
skr scratch. g - K r a i+ J ^
scream C,SKCh ^3
scrape Ls>\cc«>v^
skw squeak
squirrel C. S»Vc.vofci'V3
square £ s,ic.'jj£-^3
jr shrub L,\ r rSo "3

shrink C^ r !
shrine
Ci rA « > o 3
Generally speaking there do not seem to be any new trends developing
in this, exercise, as far as. the pronunc i a t i o n of consonant- clusters by
the informants is concerned. Mo s t informants in both groups still add
an epenthetic vowel to separate the consonant cluster. Of the 15 informants
who took p a r t in this exercise, 6 added an epenthetic vowel in clusters
involving plosives as first and second elements of a cluster. 5 of these
are from group 2, 1 from group 1 e.g.
train [\.H c eu nT]
dry L.cA^ re\\ 3
spring
[ r r r,,3 3
scratch.
Q & \ o v-a+^3
strong
- 264
3 of the informants, all from group 1 added an epenthetic yowel not only
in the two posi.tions mentioned above, but even in clusters involving
fricatives as. first elements. We noted in the last exercise on English
consonant clusters that an epenthetic vowel could only be detected in a
few of the i n f o r m a n t s '' p ronunciat i o n of consonant clusters involving
fricatives, as first element, and we sugggested that the r eason for this
lay in the. nature of the fricatives themselves. The fricatives where the
epenthetic vowel tended to be audible most frequently were f O j and ,
although there were a few cases in £f^J and [s~] as well, e.g
three £ ©ijZi' *]
throw
through C e - r *"3
shrub 1r A v\
shrine v" c'1
Six informants., three from group 1 and three from group 2 managed to
produce almost all the consonant clusters wi t h o u t an audible vowel' sound,
b u t all three informants from group 1, experienced d i f f iculty with the
following:
Fricative + p l osive + liquid —
spleen
sput O r 1' * 3
splash J
street L ^
One informant from group 2 h a d d ifficulty wi th the following:-
to y fc t-r« .q
drain C_ cj « r<li t C
drum
-■ 265 -
Inconsistencies in the individual's pronunc i a t i o n are even more m arked
here than in the p r evious exercise. It is; p o s sible to find a consonant
cluster involving a p l osive as first or second element p r o n o u n c e d
with an epenthetic vowel in one w o r d and w i thout in another etc.

- 266. -
CONCLUSION.
To conclude this- study it h a s been, observed that on the whole the
E n glish consonants, except the liquids /l/ and / r* /, haye been pronounced
adequately*hy the informants. Minor observations have b e e n made
concerning the pronunciation of plosives.
It was- noted that there was a tendency among some informants to
produce the voic e d plosives' with extra articulatory force, a feature which
is characteristic of the Tonga v o i c e d plosives.. With /l/ and jr. J , the
situation was rather different. It w a s found that the informants tended
to use not only these two phonemes-, b u t also the alveolar lateral
flap [jCJ , which is- an allophone of the Tonga alveolar lateral J \ J , in free
variation with£l^] . We tried to explain this tendency by m aking three
suggestions.. Firstly, the fact that the two English phonemes J l j and
/ h /, have some features in common.. Secondly, the absence from the
Tonga sound system of the JrJ phoneme which coupled with the first
observation m i ght lead a Tonga speaker into believing that the and Qr^j
s o u n d s •are allophones of one phoneme. Closely ass o c i a t e d with the above
observations, is the fact that in Tonga, the alveolar lateral []lD and
the flapped allophone appear in free variation. This situation in
Tonga, mig h t have led the informants into b e l ieving that [V] is yet
another allophone of [jlT] to be used in free variation wi t h {^l^j undjjl^] .
It was also observed that informants in both groups were able to
produce wi t h o u t any difficulty some English sounds wh i c h do not occur
in their own language. The sounds involved in the p a r t i c u l a r
circumstances were the labiodendal, and dental fricatives.

- -26.7 -
When it came to consonant clusters, it was. o b s erved that generally
informants pro n o u n c e d them with, an epenthetic vowel. The presence of
this vowel was more obvious in clusters involving p l o s i v e s as C-^ or C2
than those-*involving fricatives as followed by a liquid consonant. The
quality of the epenthetic vowel was found to be d e t e rmined by the nature
of the consonants on either side of it, and in some cases by the quality
of the yowel coming immediately after the cluster. Generally speaking,
the bilabia l and alveolar plosives followed by a liquid gave rise to an
epenthetic vowel with a back vowel resonance, while the velar
plosives followed by a liquid tended to give rise to an epenthetic vowel
with a front yowel jî'J resonance in the case of /l/, and a back vowel
m in the case of /r/. In the few occasions when an epenthetic vowel
was audible in a cluster involving a fricative and a liquid, it was
observed that the quality of the epenthetic yowel is det e r m i n e d by that of
the vowel immediately following the cluster. W h e n the informants ma n a g e d

ui 1 ou.V
to produce a clusterân epenthetic vowel, the sounds came in a sequence
whereas in E n glish the cluster wo u l d normally involve an incomplete
plosion.
As far as- the -vowels: are concerned, it was noted that generally, the
informants' pronunciation performance in, these sounds showed more
significant differences from that o f standard En g l i s h than the performance
in English consonants. Informants replaced two or more E n g l i s h vowels with
one Tonga vowel in their reading if the English v owels in question
shared the quality of openness or closeness with that Tonga vowel.
However, it was- also noted that wh e n the informants listened and repeated
after a speaker of English as a first language, they were able in m o s t
cases, to make a distinction of some kind between the various English

• 26.8'
vowels, which they had not been able to make in their first pronunciation
performance.
At the suprasegmental level, it was found that informants in both
groups tended to replace English stressed and unstressed syllables by
Tonga high and low tones respectively. The informants pitch patterns
showed a tendency towards down-drift, a feature which is characteristic
of the Tonga tonal system. This tendency when analysed according to
O'Connor and Arnold's intonation system, showed approximation to the
English sliding head and low-fall nucleus*

\
What has struck me in the course of writing this work is how the
fcnformants' speech habits in the target language seem to correlate not
only to what happens, in the informant,:s first language but also to what
is happening in the target language. For instance, we noted that in the
informants1 pronunciation of English /I/ and /r/ that the informants
were not simply substituting the two English phonemes for the Tonga /l/,
but that there seem to be a complex interaction of factors i.e. the
presence in English and absence from Tonga of the sound, and the
treatment of the /AJ sound in Tonga phonology, which seem to have influe
nced the informants,'- pronunciation of the two sounds. We also noted that
the expenditure of additional articulatory force in the pronunciation of some
plosives is not only connected with the fact that this happens in Tonga,
but also with the fact that the force tended to fall on plosives
appearing in stressed syllables in English. However, our evidence was
not conclusive on this matter.
As far as the vowels were concerned, we noted that there was a
definite rule present both in Tonga and English governing the informants'
choice of the Tonga vowel that would be substituted for the English. We
■ - 269- -
found that the questi.on. of whether a vowel was front, central, or back
d id not seem to influence the informants,1' choice, but if a Tonga vowel
shared the quality of open-or closeness with one, two or m o r e English
vowels, then those Eng l i s h vowels w ould all be replaced by that Tonga
vowel.
A t the suprasegmental leyel, it was observed that Tonga high tone
replaces the English stressed syllables and the low tone, the weak ones all
the time. We speculated that the reason for this m i g h t lie in the
difference in use made of stress in the two languages. E n g l i s h .uses
stress for emphasis- and contrastive purposes, while Tonga uses tone in
both cases. Stress in T o nga seem to haye only a limited function, and
that is that, in certain circumstances it is associated with or replaces
high tone. This- seems to imply that stress and high tone can have the
same function in Tonga. These p oints seem to tie up wi t h w h a t has been
said before in section 2 of this wo r k that it is those areas where the
informants' first language seem to bear some similarity to the target
language where the informants seem to experience most difficulty.
The third section of this work has demonstrated that there is a
differ?-- -o between the p r o n u ncia t i o n of the T onga informants in the first
section where they p r o d u c e d the English sounds they haye learnt at school,
and that of the third section where they repeated after a speaker of
English as first language acting as a model.

- .270 -
''FOOTNOTES
Chapter 2
1.- The bilabial voiced plosive £b~| is represented as in Tonga
^7
orthography to distinguish it from the hilahial fricative
•which is represented as < h
2. It should'he pointed out that in Tonga orthography T yT!, [~j~"| and

M l are represented by one common symhol :
■ 3. an(3-IJCi^riare represented orthographically as <£,.fwP7 and ^ w

/i/» 7e/ and fa/ and as < f a n d £v:7" /of and /u/.
7
k. The Tonga velar fricative is not distinguished orthographically
from the velar plosive /k/. Both of them heing represented
hy the letter . . . . . . .
5. -See Fortune on murmured sounds in Shona - Shona phonology p. 1.6.

(Unpublished).
Fortune - Phonology of Shona - Edited.
6. Pike: Tone Languages p.' 3.
7* See A.E. MEEUSSEN "Morphotonology of the Tonga verb" Journ Af'Lang,

2-1963 p.' 72-93 and H . Carter - Morphotonology of Zambian Tonga:
some developments of Meeussen's system" part I: Af Lang Stud,
xii 1971 P- 1-30; part II: Af Lang Stud, xiii 1972, p. 5287
- .
8. A ’high tone’ verh is one which has a high,tone on the prefix in

.the class 15 (infinitive) form, e.g. Y^-rsiha to whistle.
Conversely a 'low tone' verh has low tone in this position
e.g. ku-sika - to arrive.
Chapter 3
9. Ladefoged - A Course in'Phonetics - p. 69.

10. Article hy A.C. Gimson in Phonetics in Linguistics - a hook
of readings hy W.E. Jones and J. Laver p. 95*
11. Daniel Jones - An Outline of English Phonetics p. 2*4-5*
12. Ladefoged - A Course in Phonet ic s p. -97 ■
•13. Daniel Jones - An Outline of English Phonetics - pp. 131-135.
1*4-. O'Connor and Arnold - intonation of 'Colloquial English p. 5.
15. Gimson - An introduction to the Pronunciation'of English p. .2 7 8 .
16. Allen and Corder - Papers in Applied Linguistics pp. 11^118.
17. Dr. Hazel Carter - Paper on "intonation and Stress patterns in

some Caribbean Creoles and British English". (Unpublished)
18. For full table of intonation times and their connotations

see page .2 7 2 .
•S e c t i o n 2
\
’ C h a p t e g ■4 •
18, G i ms on -' A n I ntroduction to the. pro n u n c i a t i o n ;of English.. p. 2Q3
19., In .the. case, of the. w o r d 'Splashy the interyfewer b r o u g h t a

b u c k e t full of w a t e r into the c l a s s r o o m .arid then asked
. :the. informants from group 1 to organize the m s e l v e s into
a circle with, the b u c k e t i n .the. middle. T h e n the
i n t e r v i e w e r 'dropped a stone in.the b u c k e t causing the
w a t e r to splash, about the floor. However, w h e n asked
w h a t h a d just hap p e n e d to the. water, the informants
d i d . n o t h a v e an answer. T h e interviewer was- m o r e
successful with, the..w o r d 's p r a y : She carried an
insecticide spray in the classroom and s p rayed around
the. r o o m . W h e n she. a sked the. informants w h a t they-
thought she. was doing, they all replied, ’spraying
20. Daniel .Jones - A n Outline- o f - E n g l i s h P h o h e t f e s : pp. V I 0)
'Chapter 5 -■
21. O ’Connor and A r n o l d — Intonation of Colloquial English, p. 3 7 - 3 8
22. It is r e gretted that owing .to lack, of time the. e x e rcise on the
English, suprasegmental featureswas n o t p e r f o r m e d in
t h i s .s e c t i o n ,
- 272 -
(I) 'intonation, 'senten.ce—typeg.-'& meaning

(summary'of 0 ’‘c o n n o r & Ar n o l d 1973, pp.'f'T - 8 8 X
Intonation. Sentence, type •Attitude, conveyed

Pattern
1. Low Drop Statements N o head: detached, cool, d i s p assio
nate, reserved, dull,
possibly grim .
High, head: categoric, w e i g h t y

judi.ci.al, cons i d e r e d .
WH-que s tions No head: detached, flat, u n s y m p a —

thetic, even hostile.
High, head: searching, serious,

Intense, urgent.
Yes;-no questions; No h e a d (tags u s e d as c o m m e n t ) :

uninterested, h o s t i l e
High, head: serious, u r g e n t
Commands N o head: unemotional, calm

controlled, cold.
High, head: v e r y serious, very

strong.
Interjections No head: calm, unsurprised,

reserved, self-possessed..
High, head: v e r y strong.
2. High. Drop Statements Involved, light, airy
WH-questions: Brisk, b u s i n e s s - l i k e considerate,

not unfriendly: lively, interested.
Yes-no questions Willing to discuss, but not

urgently; sometimes sceptical;
(question tags as comment), mildly
surprised acceptance.
Commands Suggesting course.of action, not
wor r y i n g ab o u t not b e i n g ob e y e d
interjections M i l d l y .surprised, n o t reserved/

self-possessed as L o w Drop
3. Take-off Statements: Encouraging further conversation,

guarded, reserving judgment,
appealing to listener to change
his: mind, deprecatory; (contra
dictions) resentful; (.non-final1
deprecatory.
- 273 -
Intonation Sentence type Atti.tnde.'conyeyed
Pattern
3. Take-Off WH-que s.tion s (nuclear tone, o n q u e s t i o n -

(.Continued) wordi. wondering, mildly-
puzzled; (otherwise)! v e r y
calm but disapproving and
resentful.
Yes-no questions D i s a p p r o v i n g ,.sceptical
Commands (."Don’- t . a p p e a l i n g to
l i s tener to change mind;
(some short commands)!
calmly- warning, exhortative.
Interj ectipns S o m e t i m e s r e s e r v i n g judg

ment, s o m e t i m e s calm, casual
acknowledgement.
4. Low Statements Soothing, reassuring, hi n t

Bounce of s e l f -confidence and
self-reliance; (in echoes)!
q u e s t i o n i n g with., surprise
and disbelief; (non-final),
cr e ating e x p e c t a n c y about
w h a t i s to follow".
WH-questipns (nuclear tone o n qu e s t i o n —

word) puzzled; (in echoes),
d i s a p p r o v i n g ; (p therwi.se)
sympathe t i c a l l y Interested.
Y e s —no question s Genuinely interested.
Commands Soothing, encouraging,

ca l m l y p a t r o n i s i n g ,
Interj ections Airy, casual y e t encoura

ging, o f t e n friendly, b r i g h
ter than Take-Off.
5. Switch b a c k Statements G r u dging admission, r e l u ctant

or d e f e n s i v e dissent,
concerned, reproachful, hurt,
reserved, tentatively-
suggesting; (.echoes)
g r e a t l y astonished,
Questions (echoes) gr e a t l y astonished;

(otherwise) interested and
con c e r n e d as well as
surprised.
Commands U r g e n t l y w a r n i n g with, note

o f r e p r o a c h or concern.
Interj ections Scornful,

intonation 'Sentence-'type Attitude'conyeyed
Pattern
6. Long .Jump Statements, Protesting, suffering under
sense of injustice
WH-que s.tions Protestingf unpleasantly

surprised
Y es^n o q u e s t io n s Willing to discuss, but

protesting need for settling
crucial point
Commands Recommending course of

action but with note of
critical surprise
Interj ections Protesting, surprised
7. High Bounce Statements Questioning, trying to

elicit repetition (but no
suggestion of disapproval
or puzzlement; (non-finall
casual, tentative
Wfr—que s ti on s (nuclear tone on question-

wordi calling for repetition
(nuclear tone following
qu-wordl echoing listener's
question before answering it
or tentative, casual
Commands,
Interjections Querying all or paft ..of
listener's command or inters
jections, but no critical
intention
8. Jackkni.fe Statements. Im p r e s s e d , aw ed; c h a lle n g in g

c e n s o r io u s ; d is q la m in g
r e s p o n s ib ility
WH.~questions Challenging, antagonistic;

disclaiming responsibility
Yes—no questions impressed; challenging,

antagonistic
Commands Disclaiming responsibility,

sometimes hostile
Interj ections Impressed, sometimes hint of

accusation.
- 275
intonation 'Sentence~ type at t i t u d e conyeyed
Pattern.
9. High. Diye Statements A p p e a l i n g to listener to

continue; expressing
gladness, regret, surprise
.Questions' ■'Very emotiye, expressing

p l a i n t i y e n e s s , .despair,
gu shing w a r m t h
Commands. Pleading, p e r s u a d i n g
Interj ections int e n s e l y e n c o u r a g i n g ,

protesting
10.. Terrace Al l types (Non-finalI m a r k s ■n o n -

finality, w i t h o u t .«on^.°
y e y i n g se n s e of expectancy
in - * j •
Statements^ &\ s -v " i i v- ” “
Interjections (Pinal g r oups! calling out

as fr o m a distance : ‘
- 276 -•
IT
SELECTED SAMPLE 0£- THE RESULTS OF PRONUNCIATION
PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH CONSONANTS.
ENGLISH PLOSIVES
G ro u p 1 /? / G ro u p 2
p e o p le [ p i ; po] [ p i po ] [ p i : po ] [ p i ; po ]
p e rh a p s [ pehsps ] [ pshaps ] [ pehasps ] [ paU^pAl
p u lle d [ pu^d ] [ put d ] C ] [ p va\ cl ]
/b/
because [ Wiu.o’z. ] [ W\ s ] [ W llc.os^ [ U lf c o i]
b a re [ ] [ W• t' t a - ] [ W ‘ S.3 1 [ k t -3 1
boat [ fe o s t ] [ \> o ;t ] [ \> ft *, t ^ •* \
/ t /
tim e [ fctti rv*t ] [ "t C*» m ] [ tftim ] [ "t C\ t v-v-i]
hot [ Vxot ] [ Pot ] [ K e 1? 1 [ V s o tl 1
w a te r [ U iP tS ] [ U iO td ] [ ] '[ \jJc-fca-3
/a/
day [ <Ui ] [ ok; ] [ dci ] ]
h a rd [ uaa i [ W [ ]
[ K t d»• ] i» ] 1»
s a d ly [ ] [ S'LolalJ] [ ] [ S 3 <Aa\i]
A/
c a tc h [ ] c v ^ a ts ] [ v«.avi ]
[ 1
ro c k [ ] [ cq;k ] [ ro k ] [roic, ]
because [ ] [ U\ [ ^ r\co.s] C ts lK o i!
/g/
get [ ] [ c ^ t-t ] C ^ -fc ]
[ ]
i—i
i—l
0“
b ig [ ] [ v=»a ]
' P ' 3 1
ago [ <>%0 ] [ 330 ]
[ * 3* 3 [ S30 ]
- 277-
AFFRICATES
Group 1 Group 2
/t j/
catch [ ] C w.aetS 1 [ 1
much [rvtoJtj 1 [ W cftS ] C n n S fj ] [ ^
/d ^ /
page [ ps.<JLj
' NASA L S
/ w
money [rv> /\r% ] [ r*> r\ r\ ] C iv\ a ] [ Itva r\ ^ 1
farmers [ f a r v ia - z . ] [-P filâ z 3 [ f ^ a x . 3 [ -pdf
same [ ] [ S im ] [ 1 [ S.Wn ]
/ W
name [ n tm ] [ n YV\ ] [ n ^ wn ] [ rs t m ]
morning [ 1^0n«kj ] [ ] C Aa o .’ m ] £ ^v a © r\i ^3
m en [ xy\ t n ] [ w* n ] [ rv^^v-N ] [ rv» <*_n ]
LATERALS
/l/
lakes C ^2-k^ ] C 'tKs ] C U k s ] t Ifc K s 3
c o ld [ Ko.'di ] [ lAocl ] [ » « > :< * ] [ \<*o;d 1

full [ f u * ] [ A t ; ] [ -Tx*l 3 [ fu l 3
only C O n *i; 1 [ ] [ O P *\I ] [ o ^ » i ; ]
FRICATIVES
/ * /
food [ fu<4 ] [ f ud ] [ -F vA [ f ^ a ^ ]
la u ghed c i ci-A i ] [ \ ] CI t ] [ la-Fcl 3

knife [ r\«if ] [ 3 [ n o ip 3 C netiP 3
278 -
FRICATIVES (2)
Group 1 Group 2
/V/
very [vj^r ] [vf^.r ] [ v£ rt 1 V%. r ]
covered [ k.olvjclJi 1 \l51*31 ] 1! ^1 KSl Vjaol^1]
heavy [ 1 K^\j 1 [ V-N X ] f\^ v)i 1
/ y
think [ ^ 01 ] [ Q-V)U, ] 9.3u. 3
something ES3lV\0%^ 1 [ s clvw© ] - -1
earth [£& ] tQs ] [ £.©1 1 >36 r 3
/V
them [ ] ^ £ no ] [ d5^rvo ] ^£rn ]

1
1_ l
-1
that <^3+ ] [ ^ra-V 1 â-t 3
/S/
soon [ Suv> ] Sun ] [ Suo 1 . Suv^ 1
must C IV* &$+- ] rv*AS+- ] [ (tv**n &+ ] ojSt 1
yes C J£S 3 J S.S ] [ ] Os.s 3
/z /
was [ W cl'Z- ] ! UjD l 1 [ W 0 Z, ] ! w a *z. ]
these [ ^"12.. ] ] [ <k«’z. ]
whose E ^ ! £ M Z. ] t ] Cux 3
/J/
sheep
t Sip i t i.> ] E 5 1p ] S;P ]
fishermen E
fish E fij 1 I f-'J ] e i ■f'S 1
279'. -
FRICATIVES (3)
Group 1 Group 2
A/
hot [ V\ o t ] [ ] [ Kotr 1 EWot» -1
w h ose [ (*\ "Z- ] [ f ' ' 41 ] C n *z_ 1 E 1
pe r haps [ ] [ paVSp] [ E
SEMIVOWELS AND FRICTIONLESS CONTINUANTS
Group 1 /to)/ Group 2
went '[ u itn t ] [ w tn t ] Cw i n t 1 CW in t ]
while [ U3cli( ] E w a it 1 C ]
always [ o l U> 1 L Z ] [ o \v O tZ ] Eo\*x>^.Z^ E © £\o££ ]
/J 3
/
years E \t ! L ] E ] E As-X 1 EA t x 1
y ou E 1 E ] EJu 1 E Ju 1
use E i VA*Z- ] E] Ei u z 1 E]
/ r/
rock [ r o k ] [ rone, ] E co\c 1 E rov. ]
right E tont: ] Ejfa u -t 1 E Cent ] Ec e n t ^
very E U -tr ] E\ J t r ] En c i 1 Ev t r 1
v\
- 280 -
SE L E C T E D SA M P L E 0; PRONUNCIATION PERFORMANCE IN
EN G L I S H V O W E L S /i:/
Group 1 Group 2
people [ pI ; p o ] [ p 1po ] [ p i ; po ] [pi; po]
need [nld] [nid] [nid] [nid]
sheep [ J iP ] C J iP 1 [ Jtp] [ / iP ]
meal [fud] [mil] [mil] [mil]
/ I/
big I 5i g] [big] [B ig] [big]
ship [/ip] [ Jfp] [ bo ; t ] [/ip]
mill [ mi [ mi t ] [> '+ ] lim it]
/ e/
men [men] [men] [ men] [ men ]
net [ ne; t ] [ ns ; t ] [ net ] [ ne ; t ]
get [get] [get ] [ get ] [ get ]
b ed [ bed] [ bed ] [bed] [ bed ]
/©/
catch I ka t / ] [Rat/.] I ket J ] [ k.a t / J

bac k [ Ba k ] [ Eta k ] I bsek] [ ba k ]
sadly [ sad *4 1 1.1 [ sed 1 1 i;] [ s © d 1i ] [ sad i 1 i
p e r haps I p .a h sp s] [pe taps] [ pehasps ] [ p eh a p s
■/a*/
farmers T f.ama z ] I f.amaz ] [ f a me z .] [ f a mz ]
parts [pats] [pats] [ pats] [pats]
l a u ghed [ 1a ; f d 3 [ 1a f u d ] [ 1a f t ] [ l a f ud ]
market [ ma ; k e t ] [ ma; k e t ] [ ma k e t ] [ ma k e t ]
281
Group 1 G r oup 2
/D /
hot Ch o t ] [hot] [ hot ] [ hot I ]
rock [ rok] [ roik] [ rok ] [ rok ]
dog [ dog ] [ dog ; ] [ dog ] [ dog ]

•»
cock [ ko k ] [ kOlfc]
/ o:/
be c a u s e [ b i koz ] [ b i kos ] [ b i kos ] [ b i kos
morning [ mon ] [ mon I ] [ mo; n i ^ ] [ mon
caught [ kot ] [kot] [ kot ] [ kout ]
water [ wot a ] [ wot a ] [ wot a ] [ wot a ]
A f/
put Cp u t ] [ put ] [ put ] [ put ]
book [ buk] [buk] [buk] [buk]
l ook e d [ 1u k u d ] [ 1u k t ] [ 1u k t ] [ 1u kd ]
full [ f urf ] [fu;] [fu+] [to*]
/U :/
whose [ fi'u Z ] [ huz ] [ huz ] [ huz ]
soon [ sun ] [sun] [ sun ] [ s u ;n I ]
food [fud] [ fud ] [ t ud ] [ f udz ]

t~
L Ii ux. ”J1
use Ej u z ] I j uz] . C ^<4 -L.
/3s/ ‘
first [test] [ f est ] [ f es ] [ test ]
earth Eee] [ees] [ e9 i ] [ t : ei]
learned I 1e n fd ] [ 1e n ;d ] [ 1e n fd ] [ ie n ;d ]
bird 1 bed] [ bed ] [ bed ] [ bed ]

- 282 . 'w
m
t
G ro u p 1 Group 2
/s /
water [ wot 3 ] [ wot a ] wot a ] [ wot a ]
perhaps [ pshceps] [ pahaps ] p ahaep s ] [ pahaps ]
towards [taws>;dz][tewadz] t a w-s*; d z ] [ t ewadz ]
fishermen [ f i / ame n ] [ f i J ame n ] f i J ame n ] [ f i J a me n
/ a /
covered [ kavad ] [ ka va d ] kavad ] [ kavad ]
but [ bat ] [ bat ] bat ] [ bat ]
m oney [ ma n 0 ] [man] mAne ] [ ma n ]
enough [ i na f ] [ i na f ] i na f ] [ i na f ]
/e i/
same [ s e m] [ s em ] sem ] [ s em]
lakes [ re ks ] [ 1ek s ] ' 1e ks ] [ i e ks ]
name [ n em ] [ n em ] ! nem ] [ n e m]
/ea/
bare [ bea ] [ b ' ea ] . b ea ] [ b ea ]
there [Sea] [ Sea ] ’ Sea ] [Sea]
/ oX/
tim e [ t a i m] [ t a i m] " t a i m] [ t a i m]
knife [naif] [naif] ’naif] [naif]
island [ a i land] [ i z 1a n d ] .a i land] [a ; l a n d ]
/o i/
soil [ so i ^ ] [ so i i ] [ soat ] [ so i ' t ]
pointed [pointad][pointad][pointd] [pointad]

- 283't
Group 1 Group 2
/Qv/
mountains [mauntenz] [maunteniz] [mauntenz] [ maunt eni z ]
how [ hau] [ 8au ] [ hau] [ fiau ]
out [ aut ] u?] [ au t ] [ aut u ]
/s'tr/
b oa t [ bo;t ] [ bo;t ] [ bo;t ] [ b"b ; t ]
go [ go ] [ go ] [ go] [go]
know [ no ] [ no ] [ no ] [no]
/Is/
near [nia] [nia] [nia] [ n i a ]
spear [spia] [spia] [spia] [spia]
/ * v
sure [ Jus ] [ Jua] [ J*ua ] [fua]

PROMJHCIATION PEERQRriAACE IN ENGLISH GLUSTERS
-r. 284
- 285.
I
I
-s 286‘
4 5*
- 287 -
BIBLIOGRAPHY ■
1, Abercrombie, D. - Studies in phonetics and Linguistics, OUP 1965.
2, Abercrombie, D; - 'Elements, of general phonetics. Edinburgh

University Press. 1967.
3,' Allen, J,p,B., and Corder, S.P. Papers: in Applied Linguistics

Vol. Ii; OUP. 1975.
4* .Carter, H.. - Outline of; Tonga Grammar .(chapter for Language'in

Zaiflbia^■-in press!
• 5, Carter, H. - Notes on-the Tonal'system-of.Northern Rhodesia platea

. H-.M.S.O., London '1962.
• 6. Carter, H,. - Intonation and stress patterns in' some ’Caribbean

1Creoles.■■and British. English.: Implications, for community'
for community relations, in Britain, ■• A paper submitted
to the.Department of Africa, Creole, and Comparative Bantu
Seminar 1978/79, at S.O.A.S., University of London.
■ 7.'Corder, S.P. - introducing Applied Linguistics: (Penguin, Education

1973 f.
8. .Heript, P. (e.d.l Essential psychology-, -ffiethuen and Co. Ltd,, 1975.
9. Gimson, A.c. - An ~introduction■:to the pronunciation of 'English^ ■

2nd Ed. Edward & Arnold Ltd. 1972.
IQ, Jones:, D. - An outline of English, phonetics:, 9th. edition,
CUP 1976.
11. Jones, W,E.. and Layer , J. - Phonetics, in ‘Linguistics.; • A book, of

feadi.nga, Longmans , 1973.
12, Ladefoged, P. - A c ou rs ei n■phonetics> ;Harcourt Brace Joyanoylch.

International Edition, 1975.
■13,'Ladefoged, p; - ~A ’phonetic :study■'of West ••Afrloan ~Languages.•■cup

1964.
•14,. O'Connor, J.D. and Arnold, G.F.' Intonation of '''Colloquial •

English., 2nd Ed. Longmans. 1973.
15 . Pike., K.L. - Tone. Languages. * University- of -Michigan, press., 1961,

I
16, Sirarpi. and .Mubanga E. Kashoki, Language, in Zambia, l.A,i, 1978,
■17. Weinreich., U. ’-Languages;ih ■'contact:■■ Findings, and problems.-- —

Mouton 1974.
18. .w.estermann & ward - practical ■phonetics.-. for 'Students,---of -African •

* ’ 0U^ i-^33
1. Chapters giving language sketches were not included in Language.

in Zambia after all.

Of Spoken

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Of Spoken

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A C O N T R A S T I V E STUDY of THE T O N G A AND EN G L I S H

A THESIS SUBMITTED FOR THE DEGREE. OF M. PHIL.

S C H O O L OF O R I E N T A L AND A F R ICAN STUDIES--

ALICE K A T H L E E N MALILW.E MUDZI;.

All rights reserved

INFORMATION TO ALL USERS

In the unlikely e v e n t that the a u thor did not send a c o m p le te m anuscript

Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). C opyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.

All rights reserved.

To m y brothers- for sacrifices

±±±. - List of phohetio symbols; and signs;

Chapter .2 - A description ■of Tonga Sounds 6

ii.i. ■Syl 1abl e..Struc tu-re ■-26

'Chapter ■■ 3 '■ A description of English-Sounds;

ii. Syllable. Structure. ■.52

iii.. Consonant Clusters; , 54

.iy. Vowels & Diphthongs ;.62

ii. English. Consonant Clusters; H 6

iy. English Suprasegmental.features: ‘ 145

''Chapter --5-;- Discriminatory-.Perception & Performance.' '

ii. Consonants' .255

A number of books on Engli s h phonetics for foreign students haye

been written, equally a number of studies on the sound systems of the

Bantu Languages of Zambia haye been undertaken, bu t so far no systematic

pl a y such an important role in the lives of the people. Of particular

importance is the u s e made of E n g l i s h as a med i u m of instruction in

in his p erformance in the Engl i s h language both in the w r itten and

spoken aspect of it.

This wo r k is an attempt to study the spoken p e r f o rmance in the

English language o,f Tonga speaking children at two d i f ferent stages of

their education using a constrastiye study of the sound systems of the

standard English, and whether the divergencies can be e x p l a i n e d in any

way by wha t happens in the two languages.

been attempted so far by anyone, is an analysis of To n g a children's

performance in E n glish stress and intonation.

My sincere thanks* are due to m y supervisor Dr. Hazel Carter

both at a professional and personal leyel.

M y thanks are also due to Professor Carnoclian, and Dr. H a yward

of the D e partment of Phonetics- and Linguistics, also, Dr. R. Serpell

of the Depar t m e n t of Psychology, Dr. D. Lehmann of the D e p a r t m e n t

of Education, Univer s i t y of Zambia, and Dr. J.M. Wil d i n g of the

Department of Psychology, Be dford College, for helping m e with

various aspects of this work.

I am also grateful to the teachers and H e admasters of Choma

Secondary School, and Nahumb a P r i m a r y School for allowing me to

work with their pupils and in so doing, u p s e t t i n g their normal

routine. M y thanks are no less due to the pupils themselves'

without whose co-operation, this study would not have b e e n possible.

i - Tonga y a r i e t y of cardinal vowel 1

i. - short ver s i o n of Tonga y a r i e t y of cardinal yowel 1

I - English, short front y owel

£ - English, y a r i e t y of cardinal vowel 3

e - Tonga yariety of cardinal yowel 2

c( - Tonga y a r i e t y of cardinal yowel 4

^ - English, short front yow.el

Cl ; - English, -yariety of cardinal y o w e l n o . 5

D - English, short back, yow.el

D ; - English, y a r i e t y of cardinal yow.el 6

0 - T o nga y a r i e t y of cardinal vowel 7

n - Ton g a ya r i e t y of cardinal yowel 8

^ : - English, long central yowel

^ - English, short central yowel

A - English, ope n central yow.el