Phonological Variations in the Pronunciation of Inflectional [-ed] in Regular Verbs: A Study at the Elementary Level in Public Schools

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate how grammarians pronounce ‘the Suffix–ed’ with its allomorph’s /t/, /d/, and /id/, and how is it pronounced in the Pakistani context. Grammarians claim three parameters of Suffix–ed in regular verbs: If the preceding consonant is unvoiced, the suffix–ed sound is changed to /t/ as in stopped |stɒpt|; If the preceding consonant is voiced, the suffix -ed is pronounced as /d/ as in slammed |slæmd|; and If the preceding consonant is /t/ or /d/, the suffix -ed is pronounced as /id/ as seen in wanted |ˈwɒnt.ɪd|.  These three allomorphs are affected by the voicing of the preceding consonants, causing difficulties for Pakistani English language learners. Selinker and Gas’s model of Error Analysis was implemented to measure the competence level of the students. The study included 200 participants in grade 5 based on a purposive sampling technique from Government Primary School Nehang. An achievement test was conducted to collect data from the participants. SPSS was used to evaluate the data. The findings of the study revealed that if desired better performance from the students, well-versed teachers should be appointed in phonetics and phonology at the elementary level. This study will help policymakers to design such policies that help students and teachers improve pronunciation in the English language.

Keywords: Achievement Test, Allomorphs, English Language Learners, English Pronunciation, Phonological Change, the Suffix–ed.