Saturday, October 18, 2008

Sound probabilities.

Language learning snags and speech imperfections due to unawareness of sound probabilities and rhythm match counts for a major percentage of the total unease and apprehensions to speak in a language other than your native language. Social and habitual factors most of the times impede the language learning abilities and attainable prowess. Moreover, socio-habitual factors clubbed with sub-scripting styles, and habitual imitation in different regions is a disaster for a language. So is the propensity of reducing your world to the people who speak likewise.
You can easily attain a degree of fluency by modifying your speech habits, and by making it in line with the rhythm of your native language, but your morpho-phonological sense would be jeopardized if you pay no heed to the most important component of a universally understandable speech. Right sounds. So is the case with most of the South-Asians.
Your speech is affected by the knowledge of the word sounds; which in-turn is affected by perceptual factors, whatever you have learned from the people you interact with.
Auditory cues are needed to identify the structure of a word and to help you spell it; and also the structural cues to identify the sound or the sequence of sounds with prevalent scripting styles.
Speech sound and frequency predictability is very helpful to identify spoken words. Moreover, until the time you are not aware of the close sound variables and the differences, how would you remember and differentiate it from what has been ingrained in your speech?
The same is true with structural understanding of words for the right utterance of a word.
If I were to give you auditory cues to spell a new word, of which you've never seen the script form before. All those factors will come in to play to help to recognize the structure of the word; and that form may or may not be acceptable to the rest of the world.
As opposed to the native speakers, it is easy to remember words as spellings than as sounds for someone beginning to learn a new language. A native speaker speaks more words than she writes, which is inversely so with someone from region who speaks comparatively less of English and also understands quite well the sub-scripting style to write their native language words with English alphabetic script.
Speech theories, which defined you as Tongue-tight/ nerve-tight were formulated in ignorance on the speech organ movement or articulatory saga alone. To some extent, seems quite true when illustrated with so many nicely elaborated examples. Though I m surrounded with sorts who dotes on these renowned philosophies, but I always doubted the effectiveness of the so-called articulatory phonetics.
I recently had a chance to share the popular sub-scripting style prevailing in India with Trainers; who by birth are from regions other than the native English-speaking region and learn of there Mexican and German styles. Why do I call it sub-scripting style?
Because it is not suggestive of the actual sound. It’s not that difficult to twig and memorize words from different languages if we don't let the sub-scripting styles intervene the whole process. They struggled real hard to say foreign words when I showed the script form and shared the actual sounds simultaneously. Nevertheless, there was a higher degree of coherence when I shared the sounds only. They would simply decipher word sounds in script they can easily relate to, sub-scripting style they followed..
It has been observed that we always tend to confused ourselves with the sub-scripting styles. We can learn any language if we have a good nerve coordination and well developed nerve centers, which can serve as a reliable repository to recall information. Both had difficulties to remember new language words; which is obvious and still acceptable till the time they are peculiar of the sounds.
I'll make it little easy for you to relate to it: Just pick any favorite song from your native language, and try to decipher all of the words in that song in English alphabetic script. You may not be able to write an understandable peace of work for a native speaker suggesting closest possible alternate sounds, just because of the effect of popular sub-scripting style in your area on your life; you know of the sounds but are doubtful of the morph-phonological aspect. If possible, share it with different speakers around the world. You'll realize how good the sub-scripting style you follow is; if is suggestive of the actual sound of the word; and the morpho-phonological compatibility of the script.
Such a script is everywhere around you, and is really getting over you to make your speech imperfect. The fact is that you are not even aware of the impact on your speech habits. This habitual resort to the sub-scripting style and the morpho-phonological understanding always intervene and addles you to learn the language to the core.
There is a higher degree of transparency in usage and popularization of foreign language words in academic disciplines, and is inversely so in non-academic profession.
It’s all written on your speech notes. Your speech reflects your morpho-phonological understanding .The sub-script is a creation of non-professional populace, and its popularity to creep into your daily speech is kindled by the media.
The moment you hear a new word, you'll take time to analyze the sound patterns; and try to differentiate new sounds from close variable you already know.
The moment you are not sure of the actual pronunciation; you’ll; Yes! You’ll take time to decide from the different variables you know of.
The transposition of the popular scripting style to form English replica of different language words gained grounds with the popularity of English itself; which is sometimes unfairly expected to be understood and accepted by everybody. Nevertheless, the ignorance of the structural compatibility to form new English versions, which are suggestive of the actual sounds world-over created the big gap. As they had to find English replica of their native sound so badly as had always been in vogue, but did not know of the structural sequences suggesting the phono-perfect spellings. Phono-morpho did not cohere well, as were backed by the perceptual factors only; which is what they somehow managed to support it with.
All this can be altered to attain a degree of coherence and systematic phonemics to captured sounds with the help of generalizations about the morphological factors. And that is in fact possible by something which has offered a substantial support to the expansion of so called sub-scripting style: Mobile telephony, as is one of the biggest channels to fan out the much dreaded scripting style.

Moreover, if you choose to be carefree of the correctness of the utterance you might attain fluency, but that would always be at the cost of the sounds.
The idea is that many words of foreign origin have lost their identity; both in sound and appearance that we sometimes find different regions jostle brains hard to consciously recognize the actual sound, the actual pronunciation.
What do we expect?
Do we expect every body, from someone who does not speak that much (beginning to learn to speak English), to someone who does more than just speak, to know the origin of every other word, and their contrasting applications of English alphabetic script?
The idea is, that it would be far fetching; way too much. Then why should we let egregious follies to act as an impediment in communication. Ain’t is possible to educate every body to save them from being ignoramus enough to damage words from so many different languages.
The real need for a base accent emerged with the increasing interaction of different communities having different phonetic perceptions. Not everybody understands it the way it should be understood. The idea is to minimize the regional perceptual differences in phonetic applications and habits.
The contribution of countries like India & China, had been little less hitherto, but there is every possibility that they'll turn out to be one of the major contributors as they are making their presence felt worldwide; and also if we consider the increasing population of English speakers in these countries. Odds on, we’ll all witness the unprecedented spate of entries from these regions. But we can not let their free-floating habit of spelling their native language words with English alphabetic script to jeopardize languages just like that.
There is a real need for a base paradigm to clear up the maze they are floating in.