Vol. 3(11), pp.

296-300, December 2015

DOI: 10.14662/IJELC2015.100 International Journal of English
Copy right 2015 Literature and Culture
Author(s) retain the copyright of this article
ISSN: 2360-7831
http://www.academicresearchjournals.org/IJELC/Index.htm

Review

A STUDY ON MOTHER TONGUE INFLUENCE IN

ENGLISH COMMUNICATION
M.Sriprabha
Assistant Professor, Department of English, SVS College of Engineering, Ciombatore-India-642 109.
[email protected]

Accepted 30 December 2015

English is an international ,global and an Universal language. When we begin speaking in the second
language (i.e. English), we initially use sounds from our mother tongue Thus, everyone has mother
tongue influence (MTI) to begin with. With more and more listening to those fluent in the second
language, practicing speaking yourself and correcting mistakes, you slowly learn to replace your
mother tongue sounds with the original sounds of English. It acts as a commercial language.

Key words: English communication ,Universal, Mother Tongue , Global ,Corporate culture .

Cite This Article As: Sriprabha M (2015). A STUDY ON MOTHER TONGUE INFLUENCE IN ENGLISH
COMMUNICATION. Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult. 3(11): 296-300

INTRODUCTION

Language is a method of communicating ideas, thoughts, English. An example is the z sound, which is a common
and desires by means of sounds for psychological and end to words in English but is not often found at the
physiological survival. English acts as a second beginning of words.
language. Eventhough it is not our mother tongue it has
become a Global language. The aim of teaching English
is not to imitate the native speakers or to develop the Without English it is very tough to manage in this
British or American accents. The aim of this article is to ultra-modern world.
discuss the mother tongue influence in speaking English
amongst students community and how one can English is without a doubt the actual universal language.
overcome some of the problems encountered by an It is the world's second largest native language, the
Indian learner of English. official language in 70 countries, and English-speaking
When we begin speaking in the second language (i.e. countries are responsible for about 40% of world's total
English), we initially use sounds from our mother tongue GNP. English is very important in this modern world.
Thus, everyone has mother tongue influence (MTI) to Apart from our mother tongue we need to have a
begin with. With more and more listening to those fluent common language which makes us able to communicate
in the second language, practicing speaking yourself and with other part of the world. English is the common
correcting mistakes, you slowly learn to replace your language which is known to most of the people in the
mother tongue sounds with the original sounds of world. It is very important to have good English because
 Sriprabha 297

an effective communication can reach people better. If we want to really excel in language of your
English words used must be simple so that it can be choice you must make it habit to choose it as a target
reached to people easily as well as easily understood by language .We must learn in each given opportunity.
everyone. Nowadays English is being taught to children
at primary level itself. Students are strictly made to speak Learning English language doesnt require you to
in English when they are in college premises. have high IQ, but a high interest in it.
Communicating in English has quite a big role in day to
day life. English is used in banks, railway stations, bus Most L-2 learners subconsciously transfer
stations, airways, educational sector, medical, private language rules of L-1 to L-2, sound system or word order.
sector, etc. English is a trade language with other Thus, heavy mother tongue influence happens because
countries. Many students fly aboard for education and your native language sounds have not yet been replaced
jobs. If their mode of communication is English they can with the second language sounds.
manage their communication with the local people. And He worst part of mother tongue influence (MTI) is
students are prime learners of English because if they that it kills our confidence. You as a speaker know you
want to build up a good career, they have to have good sound wrong and even funny. It makes you self
English speaking skills and confidence to face many conscious and requires hard work for a long time to get
people in interviews. over.
Mother tongue disrupts the smoothness of Just as each language has different words,
communication. Students with lack of confidence tends to letters and script so does each have different sounds.
use mother tongue instead of proper English. Thus there are some sounds which are found in Hindi but
not in English and some sounds may be found in English
Many students from different native cannot but not in Tamil.
pronounce many words correctly. Some are measure, For example: in the word Treasure, the second
pleasure, treasure, support, develop, college , bus, syllable is a sound not found in Hindi. Its not Trezar and
school, zero Pleasure, treasure, smart etc. its not Treshar it is the mix of sounds of z and sh.
English is an evolving Language. We can also speak Thus, for native Hindi speakers with insufficient English
English without the influence of mother tongue slowly. It speaking exposure, pronouncing pleasure (or measure or
cannot be done in overnight. leisure) correctly takes time and practice.
Practising speaking is one of the most fun and
For example North Indians have the accent of rewarding parts of learning English. Once you can speak
pronouncing Sh as Is .This is called Mother tongue even a little English, there are loads of ways to improve
influence. While pronouncing S it is as J.For example your skills quickly while having tons of fun. Here are ten
the word Position as Bojision top tips for improving your spoken English and having a
If a south Indian and a north Indian suffer from great time while you do it!
this and are talking about making things simple, you Speak, Speak, Speak
might hear it as either simbl or simpal. Or you could Be confident and speak as often as possible to
hear konstrukson (construction), bhaat (what), aadio as many people as you possibly can! Do not be shy to
(audio), brekphast (breakfast). These are the few make mistakes! The more you practice the better and
symptoms of this disease. So, beware of the disease. more confident you will become in your pronunciation and
vocabulary. Remember, speaking is a skill like learning a
In learning second language students must musical instrument or new sport the only way you can
concentrate in pronunciation. As English has been an get good is to actually do it!
accepted as the language of Travel.
Use technology
English is the language of commerce and higher
learning .It helps the students to incur some social status. A smartphone can be a powerful tool for learning
So they have to speak continuously and regularly. languages. Use it to record yourself speaking then listen
back to see how your English sounds to other people.
Many students feel shy to communicate with Make the most of all your favourite productivity apps to
others. They endeavor to speak very rarely hence mother organise your practice time and make a note of all the
tongue influences. new words you learn.

It is always good to think in ENGLISH leaving our Listen

mother tongue. The best way to control mother tongue
influence. Tone and clarity will also be augmented. Listen to news bulletins and songs in English to listen to
298 Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult.

the pronunciation of words. You can also learn new can check your pronunciation and there are lots of great
words and expressions this way. The more you listen, the dictionary apps that you can take everywhere with you on
more you learn! Try copying what you hear to practice your Smartphone. Make sure not to become too reliant
your pronunciation and learn which words in a sentence on these tools, though. Have a go at saying the words
are stressed. first then check afterwards to see if you were right!
So, with all these practice tips to choose from, which
one are you going to try first?
Read out loud

Read the newspaper or a magazine out to yourself. You HOW TO OVERCOME MOTHER TONGUE INFLUENCE
could even find a script for your favourite TV show and
act it out! This is a great way to practice pronunciation 1. Communicating with our associates and peers in
because you only need to concentrate on making sure English makes the other end people to point out the
you English sounds great and dont need to worry about errors.
sentence structure or grammar.
2. Listening to the English channels principally news
will definitely make us to trounce MTI. Pay
Learn a new word every day attention English news and note down the un
familiar word or the word which is influencing
Choose a word you would like to work on and use you. Then try with correct English pronunciation.
practice it in different sentences. Use the word until you
have learnt it and keep using it regularly. 3. Constant practice by uttering the words/
sentences in front of the mirror will not only
enhances our pronunciation but also improves
Watch films the confidence level of speaking without MTI.

Watch movies in English and pay attention to new 4. Reading books can also gradually increases to
vocabulary and pronunciation. Imitate the actors and surmount MTI.
have fun with it.
5. Put into practice of using few tongue twisters
regularly.
Make friends
6. Make a list of frequently used words and ask the
Make friends with English speakers or others learning to one who speaks good to pronounce and record it
speak English and compare notes. Talk about things that and listen leisurely.
you have learnt and exchange ideas.
7. Recording ones own voice can zenith our
pronunciation and makes to overcome MTI.
Do interesting activities in English
8. Have spontaneity while speaking, dont use the
Take a cooking course in English or join a book club! fillers like ummm, ohhh, ahhh, etc.
Anything you enjoy doing, make sure you do it and
communicate it in English. Using English to talk about
things you enjoy will make practicing a positive MOTHER TONGUE INFLUENCE AND ITS IMPACT ON
experience. SPOKEN ENGLISH

Have a debate English is valued highly in the Indian society with a lot of
prestige being attached to the language. A lot of time and
Debate all the topics that interest you with friends in energy is dedicated to teach or learn English in the Indian
English. Try to use as much vocabulary as you can to get schools. Despite this, not much attention is given to
your point across and listen to the other arguments enhance the speaking skill in the average Indian
carefully so you can argue against them effectively. classroom. That the learner will pick up the skill from
general classroom activities and instructions over a
Use a dictionary period of time is a false assumption made. As a result,
the learners are not able to develop this skill and hence
Online dictionaries often have audio examples so you lack confidence while conversing in English.
 Sriprabha 299

To further this, though articulation of individual sounds target language. Digital language labs equipped with this
while teaching this language is addressed, teaching of facility allow learners to listen to correct pronunciation of
pronunciation is not given much importance either. In a word and the check their own learning during the
regular Indian classrooms, the importance of native-like practice session.
accent is not given due stress. One strong reason that
could be attributed to this could be that number of Identifying Mother Tongue Influence
dialects found is so large that it is practically impossible
to address all the accents in a classroom. This is serious Every language affects English learners differently, so we
challenge in the Indian classrooms. The areas of sound can't simply list out all the common mistakes, this post
relating to spoken English and to pronunciation in the would be too long!.If you're a complete newcomer to the
Indian context needs to be consciously addressed to country you're in, then it can be hard to identify at first.
counter this challenge and to make native-like accent in The longer you stay, the more often you'll notice the
Indian learners more plausible. same mistakes occurring, which likely a sign of the
The importance of pronunciation in communication mother tongue is interfering. Pay attention to mistakes
cannot be denied. In fact it is as important as grammar your students make, and when you come across the
and vocabulary. Yet, the evidence of mother tongue same ones over and over again, ask somebody who
influence on English is very obvious. This manifests in speaks the local language if it might be caused by that
the form of incorrect pronunciation. language.
Pronunciation error may be due to many issues. It's definitely worth doing this, because letting students
Guesswork or vagueness of the correct form of a word or know when they're being influenced by their mother
sentence, or a general ineptness of the language could tongue is a good way of stopping it happening again.
be the reason of mispronunciation. The most common Equally, if you start learning the local language, you'll
reason is transfer or interference from the mother tongue. find yourself understanding mother tongue influence a lot
Generally, errors made in pronunciation are due to more, and will be able to correct it far more easily. This is
difference in the sound system and spelling symbols an added bonus of taking the plunge and learning the
between the mother tongue and English. language. You can also use other people's research.
As a regular practice the teacher is seen as a model for There are plenty of "How [language] affects English
correct speaking in class. The learners are expected to learning" articles online and many books have been
be introduced to the pronunciation of words in English by written on the subject too. All you need to do is find one
their teacher during the day-to-day interaction. It is when that applies to the language(s) of the country you're in,
the teacher her/himself has coloured pronunciation that and you'll be set.
the learners are unable to acquire correct skills in spoken Also, be aware that words have different connections in
English. The pronunciation samples they are exposed to different languages, or words that have multiple
in their classroom environment being inappropriate, the meanings in English might not have the same (or any)
learners are most likely to adopt a similar pronunciation alternate meanings for other languages. This means that
skill. you should take extra care when presenting new
Added to this is the challenge of the fossilised sound vocabulary, as sometimes there are ambiguities that you
system of the mother tongue of the learners that inhibits wouldn't have thought of.
the acquisition of the pronunciation and sound system of
the second language. It is understood that if the second
language is introduced to the learners before puberty, the What Kind Of Things Are Influenced By Mother
chances of attaining a native-like pronunciation skill is Tongue?
easier. This challenge can surely be met by using the
mother tongue removal tool offered in good digital As mentioned earlier, different languages affect English
language lab. Words Worth English Language Lab has learning in a different way. For some, sentence word
an inbuilt facility to meet this requirement. order can be a problem. You might hear sentences like "I
To help reduce this problem in Indian schools, it is vital for breakfast eat toast" or "I tomorrow will go to Japan".
that while on one hand spoken English be encouraged This is usually easy to rectify, you just need to remind
and promoted, on the other hand, such sound patterns as students of the correct word order, and practice, practice,
which are likely to be confused and faltered be identified practice. In fact, most errors are fixed by just practicing
and drilled. The learners should be able to practise these more.In other languages, pronunciation might be a
sound patterns over and over again using a model voice problem. The classic example is Germans pronouncing
to emulate. "W" as "V" and saying sentences like "Welcome to my
It has been realised that such activities when done in home". French people not pronouncing the letter "H" is
digital language labs, not only help eliminate the mother another well-known mother tongue influence.
tongue influence, but also hasten the acquisition of the In many languages, speakers will have a "schwa". This
300 Inter. J. Eng. Lit. Cult.

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