Pronunciation Problems Caused by: The differences in the Phonemic Systems between English and Bahasa Indonesia & The Non-existence of Consonant Clusters in Bahasa Indonesia

Background

Language has been defined as a system of arbitrary vocal symbols by which a group of (culturally similar) people communicate. In language learning, there are 4 skills that we should learn about; Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. Basically, learning language is learning to speak because the 3 other skills like Writing is the representative of the language. English, as one of the language varieties, has become an international language which is used widely all over the world. No wonder, to master English language is now becomes one of the most important thing to do. To be able to speak English well and make an understandable communication, it is important to learn the Pronunciation. Phonetics as a branch of linguistics is the science of how to produce the correct pronunciation. It deals with sound features or qualities and their organization into speech sounds, or phones. Phonemes are originated from speech sounds. It is a speech sound which does not have meaning but it can distinguish the meaning. The science of phonemes called Phonology. In learning Phonology, spelling or the way to write words cannot be completely left out because words consist of phonemes. Thus, spelling is a way to write phonemes. English language has 25 consonants and 12 vowels. Those 37 phonemic symbols are the ways to write pronunciation by using them.

Each spoken language has its own phonemic system that is different from many other languages and so does Bahasa Indonesia. In fact, many of Indonesians learning English face difficulties pronouncing some English words. On the other hand, as a consequence, a Bahasa Indonesia learner (a foreigner who learns Bahasa Indonesia) could have problems pronouncing some words in Bahasa Indonesia, as well. It might happen because of two major problems; the differences in the phonemic systems between English and Bahasa Indonesia, and the non-existence of consonant clusters in Bahasa Indonesia.

1. The Differences in the Phonemic Systems between English and Bahasa Indonesia

            To find out the differences in the phonemic systems between English and Bahasa Indonesia, let’s take a look on a chart below.

·         Chart of English and Indonesian Consonants

Place Manner	Bilabial Eng.   Ind.	Labio- dental Eng.  Ind.	Inter-dental Eng. Ind.	Alve- olar Eng.     Ind.	Alveo-palatal Eng.     Ind.	Velar Eng.  Ind.	Glottal Eng.   Ind.
vcl. Stops vcd.	p        p b        b		t           -	t            - d           -	d	k         k g         g	?          ,
vcl. Affri. vcd.				c              j	t∫ dʒ
vcl. Fric. vcd.		f         f v        -	θ       - ð       -	s           s, sj z           z	∫           - ʒ           -		h         h
vcl. Nasal vcd.	m       m			n          n	ny	ŋ         ŋ
vcl. Later. vcd.				l            l
vcl. Vibr. vcd.				r	r
Semi- vowels	w	w			j             j

From the chart above, we obviously know that English has a total of 25 consonants while Bahasa Indonesia has 22 consonants. There are sounds in the same place and manner of articulation in English phonemic systems which also happen in Bahasa Indonesia. Some others however, do not ever exist in Bahasa Indonesia.

o   Sounds in English existing in Bahasa Indonesia in the same place and manner of articulation

1.      /p/

•   English: pageant, prosperity, prosecute, paradigm

•   Bahasa Indonesia: pakan, permadani, partai, pembibitan

2.      /b/

•   English: bandage, bureaucracy, bungalow, bronze

•   Bahasa Indonesia: bangkai, bingkai, birokrasi, biomolekul

3.      /k/

•   English: keen, kidnap, kindle, kindergarten

•   Bahasa Indonesia: kualifikasi, kaidah, karakteristik, kuantitas

4.      /g/

•   English: gallant, gauge, gazelle, gasp

•   Bahasa Indonesia: gabungan, gegana, gurita, gerimis

5.      /[?]/ or /,/

•   English: don’t /dɔ[?]/, that / ðæ[?]/, not /nɔ[?]/, would /wʊ[?]/

•   Bahasa Indonesia: mangkok, sendok, kok, bengkok, mogok

6.      /f/

•   English: fake, farewell, fatigue, fatten

•   Bahasa Indonesia: formasi, farmasi, fauna, fatamorgana

7.      /s/

•   English: saturate, savior, skyscraper, sludge

•   Bahasa Indonesia: swasembada, satuan, siaga, semarak

8.      /z/

•   English: zoology, zealot, zeal, zest

•   Bahasa Indonesia: zaitun, takziah, ziarah, zona

9.      /h/

•   English: hasty, hatred, hemisphere, hesitant

•   Bahasa Indonesia: homogen, hikayat, himbauan, hidangan

10.  /m/

•   English: maiden, magnificent, meticulous, misfortune

•   Bahasa Indonesia: modernisasi, mimbar, mufakat, memberkati

11.  /n/

•   English: nurture, nourish, nerve, nausea

•   Bahasa Indonesia: naturalisasi, nisan, nasionalisme, nuansa

12.  /ŋ/

•   English: synthesizing, icing, humiliating, weighing

•   Bahasa Indonesia: enggan, senggang, panggung, cangkul

13.  /l/

•   English: landlord, luminous, lounge, lullaby

•   Bahasa Indonesia: lantunan, leleh, larik, lekuk

14.  /j/

•   English: yank, yarn, yeast, yield

•   Bahasa Indonesia: iya, yakin, yang, yaitu

o   Sounds in English existing in Bahasa Indonesia in the different place and the same manner of articulation

1.      /t/

•   English: tadpole, toddler, tourniquet, tweak

The /t/ sounds in English belong to Voiceless Alveolar Stops.

•   Bahasa Indonesia: tatkala, tirani, topografi, turnamen

The /t/ sounds in Bahasa Indonesia are Voiceless Interdental Stops.

2.      /d/

•   English: deadlock, dignity, disguise, decline

The /d/ sounds in English belong to Voiced Alveolar Stops.

•   Bahasa Indonesia: identik, paradigma, dinasti, diorama

The /d/ sounds in Bahasa Indonesia are Voiced Alveopalatal Stops.

3.      /t∫/

•   English: chador, chain, chamber, chuckle

The /t∫/ sounds in English belong to Voiceless Alveopalatal Affricate.

•   Bahasa Indonesia: cobek, cemas, cambuk, cadel

The /t∫/ sounds in Bahasa Indonesia are /c/ and called Voiceless Alveolar Affricate.

4.      /dʒ/

•   English: gentry, germination, ginger, gibberish

The /dʒ/ sounds in English belong to Voiced Alveopalatal Affricate.

•   Bahasa Indonesia: jelita, jemari, berjumpa, jalanan

The /dʒ/ sounds in Bahasa Indonesia are /j/ and are called Voiced Alveolar Affricate.

5.      /∫/

•   English: shattered, sheer, shimmering, shortage

The /∫/ sounds in English belong to Voiceless Alveopalatal Fricative.

•   Bahasa Indonesia: syair, syahdu, syal, syahadat

The /∫/ sounds in Bahasa Indonesia are /sj/ and are called Voiceless Alveolar Fricative.

6.      /r/

•   English: rampage, rendezvous, reservoir, repercussion

The /r/ sounds in English belong to Voiced Alveolar Vibration.

•   Bahasa Indonesia: reboisasi, rujukan, reinkarnasi, revitalisasi

The /r/ sounds in Bahasa Indonesia are Voiced Alveopalatal Vibration.

7.      /w/

•   English: witch, watch, wit, work

The /w/ sounds in English belong to Bilabial Semivowels.

•   Bahasa Indonesia: wahana, wisata, wayang, wacana

The /w/ sounds in Bahasa Indonesia are Labiodental Semivowels.

o   Sounds in English which do not exist in Bahasa Indonesia and sound in Bahasa Indonesia which does not exist in English

1.      /v/

•   English: vigorously, vivid, veterinarian, vestige

•   Bahasa Indonesia: -

The /v/ sounds are Voiced Labiodental Fricative and do not exist in Bahasa Indonesia.

2.      /θ/

•   English: theology, thermal, thump, thug

•   Bahasa Indonesia: -

The /θ/ sounds are Voiceless Interdental Fricative and do not exist in Bahasa Indonesia.

3.      /ð/

•   English: thereabouts, thereby, thereupon, thence

•   Bahasa Indonesia: -

The /ð/ sounds are Voiced Interdental Fricative and do not exist in Bahasa Indonesia.

4.      /ʒ/

•   English: visionary, visually, genre, measurement

•   Bahasa Indonesia: -

The /ʒ/ sounds are Voiced Alveoopalatal Fricative and do not exist in Bahasa Indonesia.

5.      /ny/

•   English: -

•   Bahasa Indonesia: menyapa, menyuarakan, menyajikan, nyonya

The /ny/ sounds are Voiced Nasal Alveopalatal and do not exist in English.

2. The Non-existence of Consonant Clusters in Bahasa Indonesia

            A consonant cluster is a combination of two or more consonants. Such clusters may occur in initial, medial, of final positions. A few examples are given here:

a)      Initial clusters with two consonants

§  English: /sk/ scar, /tw/ twilight, /pl/ pleriminary, /kr/ cry

§  Bahasa Indonesia: /sk/ skuad, /kl/ klarinet, /pl/ plagiat, /sw/ swadana

b)      Initial clusters with three consonants

§  English: /spr/ sprout, /str/ streak, /skw/ squadron, /skr/ scrabble

§  Bahasa Indonesia: /spr/ sprei

c)      Medial clusters with two consonants

§  English: /lk/ walking, /kr/ ludicrous, /dl/ loudly, /gm/ stigma

§  Bahasa Indonesia: /mb/ jambu, /gm/ dogma, /nd/ gandum, /rs/ universitas

d)     Medial clusters with three consonants

§  English: /ntr/ centrifugal, /tlm/ battlement, /ŋgl/ angler, /mpr/ compromise

§  Bahasa Indonesia: /nsp/ konspirasi, /ntr/ kontribusi, /mpl/ komplikasi

e)      Medial clusters with four consonants

§  /nsnt/ concentration, /kspr/ express, /kstr/ extract, /kskw/ exquisite, /mptn/ promptness

§  Bahasa Indonesia: /kstr/ ekstrak

f)       Final clusters with two consonants

§  English: /nd/ wound, /st/ thirst, /sl/ thistle, /ns/ thence

§  Bahasa Indonesia: /st/ malkist, /lt/ malt

g)      Final clusters with three consonants

§  English: /kst/ text, /sks/ asks, /lkt/ talked, /kts/ refracts

§  Bahasa Indonesia: -

h)      Final clusters with four consonants

§  English: /mpts/ contempts, /ŋktl/ distinctly

§  Bahasa Indonesia: -

Conclusion

Language is systematic. Any language can be represented by a limited number of symbols. The number of letters of any alphabet is always limited. It is also true that the number of phonetic symbols is limited, yet it can be used to represent the phonological aspects of any language. Also, each language has its own phonemic system that is different from many other languages and so do Bahasa Indonesia and English. That is why, many of Indonesians learning English face difficulties pronouncing some English words like thump or thereupon and genre since /θ/, /ð/, and /ʒ/ do not ever exist in Bahasa Indonesia. In addition, they might also find it difficult to pronounce asks and tasks or contempts for final clusters with three and four consonants do not exist in Bahasa Indonesia.

. On the other hand, as a consequence, a Bahasa Indonesia learner (a foreigner who learns Bahasa Indonesia) could have problems pronouncing some words in Bahasa Indonesia like nyonya or menyapa as /ny/ do not ever exist in English. In conclusion, those difficulties appear because of two major problems; the differences in the phonemic systems between English and Bahasa Indonesia, and the non-existence of consonant clusters in Bahasa Indonesia.