Pronunciation and its role

This week's subject was pronunciation and how it can help in successful communication. And here are my notes:
First of all when we hear someone talk, we can understand where they are from, most of the times. Some people even change their accents in order to get ahead in their social status.
The way we talk can show:

• how educated we are
• how trustworthy we are
• how attractive we are
• and even how competent we are.

For example, the sound of some languages can attract us or the opposite. Some people even believe that we are judged by our pronunciation and choice of vocabulary. 

I have been reading about Germany and their dialects lately and it seems that people who move to other cities or try to have good jobs,  tend to avoid to speak in their dialect or with the pronunciation of their origin, because they are afraid that they might seem uneducated. 

Since the English language has become an international language (EIL), a Lingua Franca (ELF) and the English Non Native Speakers have outnumbered the Native speakers, it is a fact that nobody owns the language. The way I understand this, is that no accent should be judged when it is understandable. 

One of the tasks in the course were to express how we feel in various situations that had to do with pronunciation.

For example:

• How would I feel if a foreigner has difficulty understanding me - since they don't speak my language well. 

In these situations we tend to slow our pace of speaking, but I don't believe this is the correct way. No matter how slowly we speak, the person might still not understand. Maybe they don't know the exact word or maybe they don't understand at all! So talking with our hands (showing items maybe) could be a solution. In no way would I feel bad, a bit anxious though if I can't help them.

• How would you feel if a foreigner apologises for their poor accent?

I'd tell them not to apologise since speaking a foreign language is hard enough and they should be proud of themselves for trying to communicate.

• How do you feel when a foreigner pronounces your name wrong?

This is always the case, especially with German speakers who cannot pronounce "Th" ( as in theatre) and "δ" ( as in that). But I don't really mind, because my name is really difficult to pronounce, so I am happy that they have even tried. 

• How do you feel when you meet a foreigner who speaks your language with a near perfect accent?

This makes me very happy. This person has probably a talent in languages and maybe they have tried a lot to achieve this level. 

Native language or not, people often change they way they speak in particular situations, for example politicians, teachers, even when talking on the phone.

Have you noticed that when we talk to strangers we change the tone of our voice? Or in various situations we change our vocabulary?

As teachers, we don't only have to teach the structure of a language, but also the way we speak / write in different situations.

Closing with a a link from bbc with advice about successful speaking. Click here.