ipl-logo

Phonological Elements In The Book Thief

738 Words3 Pages

Given that phonological characteristics could vary from different languages,speakers are likely to carry over the phonemic habits of their mother tongue into their second language,resulting in a particular and distinctive accent.This essay would give justifications to such proclivity by evaluating 'German Mother' in 'The Book Thief' who is a L1 speaker of German yet L2 speaker of English through contrastive analysis.
There are three phonological elements that are presented throughout the excerpt of the movie.The first one is the deliberate pronunciation of /ɹ /in English as /r/ in German before vowels ,as marked in 'dragging' (00:01:03), 'true'(00:01:12) and 'dressed'(00:03:21) .In fact ,such phenomenon results from the /ɹ / sound which is absent in the phonological system of German .By comparison of the IPA charts of English and German,it is the former one which possesses the alveolar approximant /ɹ /whereas the latter one only have the alveolar trill /r/ which is consonantal.Of interest to note,their mechanism of pronunciation is different in a way that/ɹ / is pronounced with the tongue …show more content…

With the above 3 different phonological elements mimicked by the German mother in her conversation,it is utterly explicit that mother tongue has posed great influence,if not interference,on the delivery and pronunciation of the second language,ultimately creating an accent.This usually results from the discrepancy of phonological system,such as an absent phoneme in mother language,close vowels and influence of spelling .Because of this,speakers are likely to utilise language transfer in which they apply former linguistic knowledge into their second language in bilingual condition out of habit in order to pronounce a word.Such tendency always comes in form of mispronunciation by using the wrong or non-existed phonemes in a language.In conclusion,mother language carries much importance to the acquisition of second language and affects how an individual speak the second

Show More
Related
977 Words | 4 Pages

Try to keep our own accent from a new language, keep speaking own language, and remember the way your speech of the own language, even we outside the world, we learning new language and the way we communication each other in new world, don’t forget your own speech, accent and pronunciation. As part of the comprehensive argument, Lederer try to support and understanding the speech in different regions and make a connection with his experience and share to the world to know the language is not going but

Read More
854 Words | 4 Pages

Stand Up Throughout Europe, during World War II, fear abided in many people causing closed mouths and the idea of individuality and absurdity. Opinions were kept silent and the dictatorship in Germany persevered and became prosperous. Though many people were hushed by the fear of what could happen, few did stand out for their beliefs. Although many people did not voice their opinions, people like Raoul Wallenberg and Irena Sendler bravely hid and saved many Jewish people. Similar to Hans in The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, he too helped harbor a Jewish man named Max in their basement.

Read More
113 Words | 1 Pages

This quote from Jodi Picoult shows how words have the ability to completely change the way someone thinks or feel when they are used negatively or positively towards someone or a big amount of people. When words are used in a negative way towards someone, they are like eggs, described by Picoult, they make a “mess” because they leave someone feeling incomplete and sad. Words, when used positively, have also the power to make someone feel better about themselves. In the Book Thief, this quote shows that Hitler’s use words have the power to persuade people to believe in his political views which leaves them to go against an entire group of

Read More
1037 Words | 5 Pages

“So many words were still unknown that when the butcher and the lady at the drugstore said something to me, exotic polysyllabic sounds would bloom in the midst of their sentences. Often, the speech of people in public seemed to be very loud, booming with confidence. The man behind the counter would literally ask, ‘What can I do for you?’ But by being firm and so clear, the sound of his voice said that he was a gringo; he belonged in the public society”(12). Rodriguez describes the way English sounds to him creating an image that the language was very complex to in his perspective.

Read More
1244 Words | 5 Pages

In this essay, “Mother Tongue” is referring to how Tan’s mother’s unique way of speaking English has influenced Tan’s English. So much so, that Tan’s English is usually similar as her mother’s and has become a form of speaking she has become accustomed to. 5. For Tan, it is a terrible line because it is creating a facade of being literary superior by using extravagant words. In reality, however, her writing is easy for non fluent English speakers to understand.

Read More
1208 Words | 5 Pages

Based on the circumstances that they are developed in, humans are capable of both good and evil. Markus Zusak's The Book Thief explores the complexities of human nature through his use of setting, symbols and characters. Different characters possess different qualities based on their experiences. Symbols are used to illustrate both the beauty and the ugliness in humanity. Also, in the novel, the setting in which the character is raised has either a negative or positive effect on the characters actions.

Read More
1886 Words | 8 Pages

On the other hand, Sally, who is a native born British Speaker, omits the “r” and extends the open-mid, back vowel (line 12). The same goes for the word “what” in which Sally omitted the letter “t” in the word “what” (line 8), which compared to American English speakers, there is no omitting of the “t.” That is why I sounded weird trying to imitate her pronunciation of the word (on the recording my intonation was slightly higher than Sally’s). This is interesting because similar results – the omitting of t’s within British English – has been observed in other research papers such as “Drilling Down to the Grain in Superdiveristy” from Ben Rampton (2015). Witnessing that evidence that has been pointed out in other articles was intriguing.

Read More
840 Words | 4 Pages

Growing as a Character Every event in our lives happens for a reason, whether it is to learn from our mistakes or to gain experience from them. In Markus Zusak's novel “The Book Thief,” Liesel Meminger uses her experiences with living in the 1940s to learn life lessons and experience first hand the many terrible things Hitler is doing to people around her. She learns how to deal with the many obstacles that are thrown at her. Liesel grows as a character by following her step-father’s footsteps in being a kind and generous person, going through childhood with her best friend Rudy, and being aware of what is going on around her by learning from Max.

Read More
711 Words | 3 Pages

Summary of "Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan In "Mother Tongue, Amy Tan writes about how her mother 's broken English affects her life. She begins this narrative essay by talking about the day she became aware of the different forms of English that she was using at home and during formal events. Amy says, "The talk was going along well enough, until I remembered one major difference that made the whole talk sound wrong. My mother was in the room. And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech, using the kind of English I have never used with her" (Tan 1).

Read More
734 Words | 3 Pages

Michelle Nkansah. The Book Thief Part A: Movie Title: • The Book thief Movie Director: • Brian Percival Studio • Miramax Year film was released: • 2013 Movie Characters: Liesel: Liesel was the main character/ protagonist of the movie. Throughout her life she goes through a lot.

Read More
1081 Words | 5 Pages

The article 'Mother Tongue ' by author Amy Tan is about the variations in the English language the author uses in her life. She describes her English when giving a speech to a other people, English she uses when speaking to her mother, and English she uses in her writing. She tells of difficulties faced by both her mother and herself from these many differences. Amy 's goal in this article is to show that a person does not have to speak proper English to be seen as smart or intelligent.

Read More
596 Words | 3 Pages

Therefore, Dr. Giselle is able to provide an adequate analysis of the research data. Stephanie L. Hensel is a researcher in the Department of Education at the University of Michigan with an expertise in phonology, morphology, and sociolinguistics. The audience of the article is likely people who are interested in the field of sociolinguistics, particularly AAE. Overall, the article is more informative that

Read More
978 Words | 4 Pages

To Heal and to Hurt: The Importance of Words in The Book Thief by Markus Zusak “Words do two major things. They provide food for the mind and create light for understanding and awareness.” This quote by Jim Rohn highlights the two major things words do, indicating they have a power, an important role in everyday lives. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is an outstanding representation of many topics including the most crucial one, the importance of words. It is the late 1930s to early 1940s in Germany during the World War II, and the main character, Death, cannot help himself but to be intrigued by Liesel Meminger’s story, a girl that lives in Munich, Germany on Himmel Street.

Read More
943 Words | 4 Pages

Language skills Language skill is one of the milestone achievements of the first two years of life. Children are born with innate schema of communication, such as body language or facial expression to communicate with parents or caregiver. The acquisition of language starts from phonology, which is an important skill for a child to master where he or she is to absorb the sound and identify the sounds form one language to another. This was nurtured both at home and in school where Alexander has to absorb sounds from native (Cantonese) and foreign languages (English).

Read More
529 Words | 3 Pages

Words in The Book Thief demonstrates that words and language have immense power. Words can be used in a negative or positive ways. Hitler used words to spread propaganda in a fallacious way which led to deleterious human beings. The people (Germans) that lived during the war were credulous about what Hitler said therefore their life turned out to be debacle. Hitler used words to deceive and outsmart the others, he implanted words and images into the Jews heads to think a certain way(Zusak, Markus Frank.

Read More

More about Phonological Elements In The Book Thief

Related Topics

Open Document