Forewarned is forearmed - Very Italian problems

If you think you are the only one who gets confused with the present perfect or has trouble understanding fast speech then reassure yourself that this is not the case by reading these observations adapted from the very interesting  by Learner English Michael Swan and Bernard Smith. I will be posting about a different aspect of language each, today’s subject is pronunciation.

Italian speakers

The fact that many English words and phrases have Latin origins can help Italian speakers but can cause them to sound more formal. Old English aspects of English common in basic, everyday conversation can be more difficult than more formal ways of expression.

( For an exercise to practice changing latinate verbs to less formal phrasal verbs see here - http://www.btinternet.com/~ted.power/phrasal.html )

Phonology

Watch this video of the stereotypical Italian accent

To avoid sounding like this read on. 

General

The main difficulties for Italian learners are stress and rhythm and it is here that learners have most problems in understanding and in making themselves understood.

Vowels

1.       /I/ is frequently used or perceived as /i:/: leave for live

2.       /ae/ is frequently used or perceived /e/: met for mat

3.       / ᴧ / is also sometimes pronounced /ae/: bat for but

Confusion is common between / ᵊᶹ/ and /ᴐ:/ or /ᶛ/ which are all /o/ in Italian; so the words coat, caught and cot sound the same. In the same way /e/and /eI/ as in get and gate sound like /e/.

In Italian vowel sounds do not change for sentence or word stress and this can make understanding of fast speech difficult. Unstressed vowels are often pronounced as they are written eg /’fotograefer/ instead of /fᵊtᶛgrᵊfᵊ/ for photographer and weak forms of verbs like can, have, are and must may not be recognized.

Consonants

/ᶿ/ and /ᶞ/ are often pronounced as /t/ and /d/: tin for thin and udder or other.

/ᵑ/ in Italian is like /n/. English ng ( as in singer ) is often pronounced /ᵑg/ by learners: /sᶛᵑg/ for /sᶛᵑ/.

There is no /h/ in Italian, and students either don’t pronounce it or use it more than necessary. ‘Hi ‘ope ‘e is’ – ‘I hope he is’.

In Italian final consonants are rare and are usually found only in foreign words eg bar, sport etc. S final consonants in English may be followed by a vowel – I wentᵊ to schoolᵊ onᵊ the busᵊ

 

Italian is less consonant heavy than English. Words with more than cluster (like understandable) are particularly difficult. Final clusters often cause problems, especially those containing / ᶿ/ or /ᶞ/ eg sixths, clothes.

Influence of spelling on pronunciation

Learners may expect every letter to be pronounced (eg /kni:/ for knee because of the close relationship between spelling and pronunciation in Italian.

1.       The letter is always pronounced in Italian and this is carried over into English, leading to mistakes in words like farmer.

2.       Double consonants are written as in Italian in words like summer, accurate, sitting, opposite.

3.       As in Italian c is pronounced /tᶴ/ before i and e but as /k/ before other vowels; g is /dᶾ/ before i or e but as /g/ elsewhere; sc is /ᶴ/ before e or I, but as /sk/ elsewhere. Typical errors are

‘achent’ for accent

‘sinjer’ for singer

‘sheen’ for scene

4.       A w in foreign words is often pronounced as /v/: vat for watt.

5.       Learners sometimes pronounce initial silent letters as in pneumonia and psychology, where such initial letters are pronounced in Italian.

Rhythm and stress

Italian learners often say that English people eat their words. The stress timed patterns of English cause great difficulty to Italian learners, particularly in terms of perception and comprehension. The characteristics of stress timing need to be pointed out. Special attention needs to be paid to the presentation and production of weak forms , since learners will expect full attention to be given to all syllables.

Intonation

Contrasts in Italian are usually signaled by reordering the components of the sentence, so that the element under focus comes at the end, which coincides with the primary stress:

Il treno arriva alle nove (the rain arrives at nine.)

Alle nove il treno arriva (the rain arrives at nine.)

In English different emphasis cand be indicated by changes in the primary stress and the intonation pattern, without necessarily changing the order of the various elements. Italian learners need these distinctions to be pointed out.

If you don’t know phonetic symbols you can learn them here - http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/activities/phonemic-chart

Go to English club for some excellent information on word and sentence stress - http://www.englishclub.com/pronunciation/

Check back tomorrow for another post on grammar.

Come esprimersi in modo chiaro ed efficace in inglese

English and Italian are very different languages and the way you express yourself is different too.
The following exercises can help you to understand the main differences in style. They refer to written language but I think it also applies to speaking.

Read these four possible versions of  a text manual for computer programmers. They describe EDIT MENU, a programme that creates and maintains file menus.

Put the versions in order from the easiest to understand to the most difficult to understand. Think about which version is closest to your style of writing.

A The operation of EDIT MENU takes place on a dedicated work file. Therefore during the maintenance of a Menu file, no changes to the original file are effected until such time as the session comes to an end or the operator accesses another Menu file. The implication of this is the original file will remain without alteration if, for some unforeseen reason, the operating session does not come to a normal termination.

B EDIT MENU works on a work file of its own. So, when you are maintaining a menu file, your original is not changed until either you finish your session or you access another Menu file. In this way, you keep your original file safe, even if your session does not terminate normally for any reason.

C EDIT MENU works on its own work file. Accordingly, when you are maintaining a Menu file, none of your changes is made until either you finish your session or you access another Menu file. So the original files remain safe if, for some reason, your session does not end normally.

D EDIT MENU operation is on a dedicated work file. Thus, during Menu file maintenance, no change in the original is performed until session termination alternative Menu file access. Original file safety in the event of abnormal session termination is thereby ensured.

The four versions of the text were part of a survey done in the UK. Groups of technical and non technical people were asked to judge the best way to write scientific and technical documents. The results were almost identical for both groups, version B was considered best by around 40% of those surveyed, version C 20%, version D 5%, version A 3% ( in the original survey there were 6 versions ).

1.      

       Why do you think version B was considered the best? Think in terms of

-          Passive vs active structures                           - technical vs non-technical vocabulary

-          Impersonal vs personal structures                 - short  vs long sentences / words

2.      

           What are the advantages and disadvantages of using you rather than an impersonal structure, such as the user or the operator?

3.        

      Version B contains more verb-centered phrases than noun centred phrases ( eg when you are maintaining a menu file rather than during Menu file maintenance )What  are the advantages of this?

The other versions use words or phrases such as therefore, hence, consequently, accordingly, thereby, the implication of this is – what alternative words does version B use? 

Should it make any difference to the style of a manual if the user of the manual  is an expert or non-expert?

Look at these guidelines for writing clearly and effectively.

1.       

      Put yourself in the reader’s shoes

What does he / she already know about the subject? Then decide exactly what message you are trying to get across and why.  Is it to inform, sell,  persuade or explain?

2.       Use short sentences

The shorter the sentence, the stronger the message and the less room for ambiguity and confusion.  This is why most advertisers use short sentences even when they are aiming at a highly educated market. The New York Times has a reputation for good writing, yet it is written so that it can be read easily by a seventeen year old.

3.       Use active verb forms

One way to shorten sentences is to use active verb forms rather than passive forms. Another good idea is to use personal pronouns wherever it is appropriate.

4.       Introduce one main idea per sentence

This avoids the possibility of confusion and ambiguity, particularly when the subject matter is complex.

5.       Remove all unnecessary words or phrases.

This will not only help to shorten sentences but also makes the language more forceful and direct.

Do you agree with the deadlines? Can you think of any other ideas to add to the list?

Look at these extracts and decide what kind of document each one comes from e.g. a report, a formal letter, a technical manual etc. Rewrite each extract, implementing the guidelines above.

 

It is hoped that all reports will have been returned to us by the end of this financial year or at least by the start of the next financial year at the very latest. 

In an attempt to make things more professional in relation to the overall efficiency of the department, staff are requested to answer enquiries, reply to letters from customers, and deal with all correspondence within a total of 5 days of receipt of such items. 

If your payment was in the form of a check, it will be necessary for me to seek confirmation from the bank that the check has been cleared before we can investigate this matter further.

If EDIT MENU updating is being performed on a file that is also the file currently under utilization by STARTSYSTEM, no change is effected in STARTSYSTEM until termination and subsequent restart of STARTSYSTEM.

Send me your versions through the comments section or to my email address - myskypeenglishteacher@yahoo.co.uk