Stumbling blocks of Dutch pronunciation for Czech students Cover Image

De struikelblokken van de uitspraak van het Nederlands bij Tsjechische studenten
Stumbling blocks of Dutch pronunciation for Czech students

Author(s): Marta Kostelecká
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies, Foreign languages learning
Published by: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL & Katolicki Uniwersytet Lubelski Jana Pawła II
Keywords: pronunciation; Dutch; comparative description; stumbling blocks; vowels; consonants; diphthongs; Czech speaker

Summary/Abstract: In the Ph.D.-thesis De contrastieve beschrijving van de verzorgde uitspraak van het Nederlands en het Tsjechisch vanuit het perspectief van de Tsjechische spreker van het Nederlands (A Contrastive Description of the Standard Pronunciation of Dutch and Czech from the Perspective of the Czech Learners of Dutch), a comparative description is given of the sound systems of Dutch and Czech. In two separate chapters sound inventories of the analyzed languages are examined with the aim to show differences and similarities. First, the vocalic inventory is discussed and then the consonantal inventory. On the basis of the theory a detailed overview is given of the potential stumbling blocks, i.e. difficult sounds for the Czech speakers. In this article I analyze recordings of twenty speakers, all students of Dutch of the BA first year to the fifth year MA, and I look at the pronunciation of vowels and diphthongs based on the recorded example sentences.

  • Issue Year: 64/2016
  • Issue No: 5S
  • Page Range: 83-93
  • Page Count: 11
  • Language: Dutch