Presentation

The Pronunciation of <-ED> in Coda Clusters in Somali-Accented English

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Abstract

Clements and Keyser (1985, p. 28) note that the most prevalent syllabic structure found in world languages is the CV pattern, that is, a single Consonant followed by a single Vowel. English far exceeds this minimal requirement by allowing up to four consonants in the coda. This heavy coda structure clashes with the simple Somali CV (C) syllable structure. This paper investigates aspects of the pronunciation difficulties experienced by Somali speakers when the past tense suffix /d/ is added to English verbs whose roots end in CVC. The heavy coda cluster that results from such an affixation leads to frequent instances of phonological interference. Phonological and acoustic data are presented to account for why Somali speakers have a hard time with verbs whose codas ends with /p/, /t/, and /k/.

How to Cite:

Koffi, E., (2009) “The Pronunciation of <-ED> in Coda Clusters in Somali-Accented English”, Pronunciation in Second Language Learning and Teaching Proceedings 1(1).