LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 11 : 7 July 2011
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.

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Learning English: Phonological Problems for
Assamese Medium Learners

Anima Baishya, M.A., Ph.D. Scholar

Abstract

Assamese is the medium of instruction in the Assamese medium schools of Assam. The learners’ first language is basically Assamese. They learn the English language from their primary level stage of their formal education. However, a very little exposure of English in almost all the skills of the language has been clearly noticed at this level. Hence, a good number of errors have been sustained by Assamese medium learners as a result of interference from their mother tongue while speaking English.

Both English and Assamese belong to the common Indo-European language family. This makes us feel that some features are bound to be common to both the languages. Yet, because of the fact that there is a gap of thousands of years after the separation of Sanskrit (from which Assamese descended) and primitive Germanic (from which English descended), some features of differences are also bound to happen.

Though both the languages belong to the same Indo-European family, they developed differently at two distant places over the centuries. The phonological aspects of both English and Assamese are different from each other. This paper is limited to the phonological problems faced by Assamese medium learners of English while learning to speak English.

Introduction

English occupies the unique position being the language used by the largest number of people in the world. David Crystal (1985: 7-9) provides an optimistic estimated figure of 2 billion users of English. English in India enjoys nearly a dominant place in our educational system as well as in our national life as it did in the pre-1947 era. The pride of place it enjoyed at that point of time stemmed from official patronage; today it is due to globalization, market forces and democratic aspirations of the common people. In addition English is now a language of opportunity and the language of upward social mobility.

The phenomenon has resulted in millions of pupils learning English in primary and secondary schools in the country and this situation prevails also among the Assamese medium learners of English.

 

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Anima Baishya, M.A. (English), Ph.D. Scholar
Department of Linguistics
Assam University
Silchar 788011
Assam
India
momibsh543@gmail.com

 


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