The Pronunciation of English by Somali L1 students in Sweden. Testing indications of phonetic transfer through Error Analysis and Contrastive Analysis

Abstract

This study was based on a mixed method, being both quantitative and qualitative. Contrastive Analysis and Error Analysis was used to predict and identify errors. Contrastive Analysis was mainly used to create a pronunciation test on typical Swedish and Somali difficulties. The extent and the occurrence of transfer are investigated in relation to interview findings and the students’ background. The material consists of 10 Somali L1 students’ results on a pronunciation test and their answers to some interview questions. Four of the students were born in Sweden and six of them were born abroad. The results show that the average Somali L1 student born outside of Sweden made approximately three times as many errors as the average Somali L1 student born in Sweden. The errors made by all students are shown to be related to both Somali, Swedish and the Somali-Swedish interlanguage. The results also show that the Somali L1 students born outside of Sweden were the only ones who made errors that could not be linked to typical difficulties, so called non-typical errors. The syllabi in English and the curricula for both the compulsory and the upper secondary school, mention the importance of adapting teaching to the student’s needs and circumstances. This suggests that the students’ mother tongue or native language being important factors to take into consideration when organizing and planning for a class. It is also mentioned that teachers should help the students to become aware of how languages are learned. Therefore, knowledge about transfer could be useful for both teachers and students. The errors made by students raise the questions of why the errors occur. It is therefore important for teachers to observe and evaluate the errors.