BELARUSIAN LEARNERS OF FARSI: PRONUNCIATION PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

 

JALAL RAHIMIAN^*

 

        

Summary

 

Learning a foreign language with an acceptable pronunciation forms an important part of learning processes. The more unrelated the native language of the learner to the foreign language to be learned, the more difficult the procedure of language learning would be. This paper aims at scrutinizing pronunciation problems Belarusian learners of Farsi (BLF) may face in learning this language. Since Russian and Farsi belong to two different language families, the learners are expected to have serious pronunciation problems due to differences of the two languages in the realms sounds, letters, alphabet, writing system, supra-segmental features, syllable patterns and structures. These domains are proved to be most important sources of errors and difficulties for BLF. Based on his observations and practical evidence, the writer, as a teacher of Farsi to Belarusian university students, identifies, discusses and analyzes all pronunciation problems the students face during learning Farsi. Finally, he proposes feasible solutions to the problems.

 

Key Words: Belarussian learners of Farsi (BLF), pronunciation, Russian, Farsi.    

 

Introduction

 

Learning a new language could be an interesting experience for any learner, depending different factors. One would proceed to learn a new language in order to gain listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. It seems that speaking skill is the most obvious measure identifying how successful a learner has been in learning a new language. The more native like a person speaks the more successful s/he has been in learning a language. Having an acceptable accent in a new language depends on a number of factors. Age, talent, motivation, attitude towards target language, complexity of the language in terms of its phonology and syntax, historical relations between source and target languages, learning and teaching environment and atmosphere.

Any learner would like to have a native like accent. However, having an overview of different of learners of new languages shows that, in practice, a very limited percentage of learners manage to gain a native like accent in learning a new language. Failure to gain a native like accent is obviously seen in cases where a learner learns a language belonging to a different family from that of the source language. A main part the problem lies behind the fact that the source and target languages have vowels, consonants and supra-segmental features very much different from each other.  

With regards to vowel differences between languages, two types of differences can be seen. First, some vowels of one language are not found in the others. For instance, neither Persian nor Russian contains such a vowel as /ᴧ/. Similarly, Russian lacks neither Persian ɒ nor English ɑ. Second, a number of seemingly similar vowels among languages show some differences in terms of phonological qualities. These two are among most significant interfering factors influencing accent of non-native speakers of a language. In the following charts, one can compare vowels of Farsi, Russian and English.^[1]  

                                                      Chart 1. Persian vowels          Chart 2. Russian and English vowels                          

 

A third set of factors associated with differences between consonants of source and target languages is associated with the fact that Russian, for instance, lacks consonants like /q/ and the glottal stop /ء/ and even /x/.^[2] Moreover, even seemingly, similar consonants of the two languages differ in phonological features and qualities. A forth interfering factor concerned with supra-segmental patterns of the two languages which behave differently. This paper aims at analyzing pronunciation and supra-segmental errors committed by about fifty undergraduate Belarusian (with Russian native language) learners of Farsi at three Belarus universities: Minsk State Linguistic University, Belarus State Economic University and Belarusian State University.

 

Literature Review

 

Rohany Rahbar (2012:2), referring to Odden (2011), holds that it is not always clear whether the nature of contrasts between vowel systems is quantitative or qualitative. As Alderete and Kochetov (2009), Babel and Johnson (2010), Johnson and Babel (2010), Kawahara (2011), Cohn, Fougeron, and Huffman (2011) discuss in their research works, searching in the realm of experimental phonology is a common practice in modern linguistics. Using hyper-articulation, Barnes (2007) also investigates into how phonetic duration relates to reduction in Russian. He concludes that the two patterns of reduction differ both in degree, and representation level at which they are applied.

Farsi research works on pronunciation and supra-segmental errors committed by foreign speakers of Farsi are quite scarce. However, there are a large number of sources used in teaching Farsi to the speakers of other languages. Rahimian (2007) discusses problems of Brazilian learners of Farsi. He also proposes practical suggestions to facilitate Farsi learning. Zia Hosseini (2002) and (2006) touches upon methodology of teaching a language to foreigners focusing on Farsi as a target language. Saffar Moghaddam (2007) is a four-volume course book for leaners of Farsi as a foreign language. These volumes are useful and practical material from introductory to advanced levels, though they are not without their drawbacks. Saffar Moghaddam (2010) is also a very learner friendly course book with a variety of appealing exercises. Amiri Khorasani and Alinezhad (2003) prepared a book for Ukrainian leaners of Farsi. It is composed of 30 lessons focusing on basic phonological and structural dimensions learners must learn. One of the most comprehensive and popular Farsi teaching sources for foreigners is Samareh (2005), composed of 5 volumes. Pazargadi (2006) also wrote a 5 volume Farsi course book for foreigners which is quite abridged and English is the language of instruction. Galledari (2008) is also a course book full of very useful exercises. Zarghamian (2005) is a three-volume course book for three levels: introductory, intermediate and advanced. The writer recommends teachers that they use a direct method avoiding an interlanguage. Zhirkov (2015) is a precise Farsi grammar written in Russian and is a useful source for Farsi leaners whose native language is Russian.

 

Farsi sounds and letters

 

Historically Farsi is divided into three periods: old, middle and morden Farsi. It is among Indo-Iranian family which is in turn a branch of Indo-European languages. Modern Farsi is extremely simplified in terms of phonology, morphology and syntax compared to Old and Middle Farsi. It contains 23 consonants, p, b, m, f, v, t, d, s, z, n, l, r, y, š, ž, č, ĵ, k, g, x, q, h, ء. 6 vowels: /æ/, /ɒ/, /e/, /u/, /o/, /i/, and 2 diphthongs /ei/ and /ɒi/. Farsi alphabet is composed of 32 letters: Alef, be, pe, te, se, jim, če, he, xe, dɒl, zɒl, re,  ze, že, sin, šin, sɒd, zɒd, tɒ, zɒ, ein, qein, fe, qɒf, kɒf, gɒf, lɒm, mim, nun, vɒv, he, ye. The letters correspond to the above are as follows respectively:

ا/آ، ب، پ، ت، ث، ج، چ، ح، خ، د، ذ، ر، ز، ژ، س، ش، ص، ض، ط، ظ، ع، غ، ف، ق، ک، ک، ل، م، ن، و، ه، ی.

There are also four more signs: ــَ, ــِ, ــُ and ــّ which are used to show /æ/, /o/, /e/ and geminated words respectively. ــَ as in /dær/ دَر 'door'; ــِ as in /mehr/ مهر 'seven Iranian month'; ــُ as in /hol/ هُل 'jostle'; and ــّ as double /pp/ in /tæppe/ تپّه 'hill'. There is also the sign ء which is used to show a Farsi consonant glottal stop, as in /mæءruf/ معروف 'famous'. Farsi orthography system is from right to left. Many of the above letters have up to four different versions depending on their position in the word. For instance, /ه، هـ، ـهـ ، ـه/ are four versions of the same letter. /هـ/, /ـهـ/, and /ـه/ appear in word initial, medial and final position respectively while /ه/ appears separately. Except four letters /پ/, /چ/, /ژ/ and /گ/, the rest are common with Arabic. Unlike Arabic, /ث/, /س/, /ص/ represent the same single phoneme. Similarly, /ذ/, /ز/, /ض/ and /ظ/ represent the same single phoneme. /ت/ and /ط/ also show the same single phoneme. /غ/ and /ق/ correspond to the same single phoneme too. The last pair which symbolize the same single phoneme are /ح/ and /ه/. All these complexities in writing system may make learning how to write Farsi a little bit difficult.

 

Farsi vowels: qualities and distributions

 

Among 6 Farsi vowels, three are short: /æ/, /e/ and /o/, and three are long: /ɒ/, /u/ and /i/. Their phonemic features are as follows:

Short vowels                                             Long vowels

/æ/: half front, half low, unrounded             /ɒ/: back, low, round

/e/: front, mid, unrounded                          /u/: back, high, round

/o/: back, mid, round                                 /i/: front, high, unrounded

 

All Persian possible syllable patterns are: CV; CVC and CVCC. According to these three patterns, one can say no Persian vowel appears in word/syllable initial position. In other words, all vowels are preceded by a consonant, including /ء/ in initial word/syllable position. For instance, in all the following words each vowel is preceded by the glottal stop /ء/ which appears in word initial position: /ءɒb/ 'water', /ءud/ 'a;\aloes', /ءirɒn/ 'Iran', /ءemruz/ 'today', /ءæbr/ 'cloud', and /ءostɒd/ 'professor'. /ɒ/, /u/, /i/ and /e/ frequently appear in word final position: /pɒ/ 'foot', /bu/ 'smell' and /hæme/ 'all'. However, /æ/ and /o/ appear rarely appear in word final position: /dæ/ 'ten' and /do/ 'two'.

    

 

Table 1. Farsi vowel distribution

 

The three short vowels are normally shorter than long ones in different positions. However, based on laboratory tests, when they appear in syllables followed by a consonant, they appear longer than normal; If the following consonant is voiced the vowels becomes even longer. Accordingly, in the followings, the vowel of the first example is longer than that of the second, and the vowel of the second is longer than that of the third: /ræz/, /ræs/ and /ræ/. In addition, in words with two or more syllables, a short vowel, under the influence of a long vowel of immediately adjacent syllable may assimilate to a long one. For instance, /o/ in /forušgɒ/ 'shop/ assimilates into /u/ of the second syllable, so it is pronounced /furušgɒ/. Similarly, /begir/ /take/ is commonly pronounced as bigir/.

 

Farsi sounds which have no Russian equivalents

 

Russian lacks the vowel /ɒ/ which is of a fairly high frequency in Farsi. Russian speakers of Farsi normally replace this vowel with /a/ the details of which will be discussed next in this paper. It should also be noted that all other Russian Vowels are normally shorter than their apparently similar Persian vowels. 

At least two Farsi consonants have no equivalents in Russian; thus they may be difficult for them to pronounce correctly, especially at first stages of learning. These sounds are: first, a glottal stop /ء/ which is pronounced by sudden opening of vocal cords. This sound in shown by letters /ء/, /ع/, /عـ/, /ـعـ/ and /ـع/ in written Farsi. Second, a fricative, velar, voiced sound /q/. It is shown by letters /ق/, /قـ/, /غ/, /غـ/, /ـغـ/ and /ـغ/. Yet, there are a few sounds that demand some clarifications which will be presented in discussion section of the paper.

 

Russian sounds and letters

 

According to a hypothesis proposed by a number of historical linguists, the vast majority of languages of Europe and India have their roots in a hypothetical family called Indo-European which probably dates back to 3000-2500 BC. One of the branches of this family is Proto-Slavonic branch. This branch is composed of at least three languages: southern, western and eastern Slavonic. As Kiparsky (1979) holds, the origin of the information regarding East Slavs goes back to 9^th century. Eastern Slavonic language is in fact what we know as Old Russian. Ukrainian, Belarussian and Modern Russian were first three dialects belonging to Old Russian. According to Kiparsky (17-18), although the advent of Ukrainian was sometime after 950 AD, its recognition as an official language did not happen before 1906. How people of Belarus declared Belarussian as their independent language is quite clear. As Kiparsky (18-19) says, before 1917 Revolution, Belarussian was not spoken as an independent language. However, after the revolution not only did they declare political independence but also 'created a literary language based on south-western dialects of the Minsk area'.

Modern Russian alphabet is composed of 33 letters which are originally from Cyrillic script:

a,   б,     в,     г,     д,    е,      ё,    ж,    з,     и,   й,             к,     л,    м,      н,    о, п,

ah, beh, veh, geh, deh, yeh, yo, zheh, zeh, ee, ee (brief), kah, ehl, ehm, ehn, o, peh,

р,    с,    т,     у,  ф,    х,      ц,      ч,         ш,     щ,           Ъ,            ы,  ь,            э,

ehr, ehs, teh, oo, ehf, khah, tseh, chYah, shah, shchyah, hard sign, i,  soft sing, eh,

ю,   я

yoo yah

The above letters represent 6 simple vowels, 4 syllabic sounds, 21 consonants and 2 signs.    

 

Russian simple vowels: qualities and distribuations

 

All Russians agree on their language having at least five vowels: /a/, /ɛ/, /o/, /u/ and /i/. However, according to the school of Saint-Petersburg (Leningrad) phonology there is a sixth vowel shown as /ɨ/. Yet, Moscow school holds that it is an allophone of /i/. The features of the vowels are as follows:

/i/: high, front                /ɨ/: high, half-back         /u/: high, back

/ɛ/: low-mid, front         /a/: low, central,             /o/: low-mid, back

While all Russian vowels appear in stressed syllables, /i/ and /u/ appear after both hard and soft consonants, but /a/ appear only after hard consonants. Stressed vowels differ from unstressed ones in that the latter are laxer. As shown in the following chart, some Russian sounds such as ю and я appear as a non-vowel and vowel combination by nature which can be called 'syllabic vowels'. Stress and the palatalization of neighboring consonants are two factors determining vowel phonetic features of allophones of each vowel in Russian. A short index of Russian vowels is shown in the following:^[3]  

 

Table 2. Index of vowel pronunciation

 

Russian syllable structure

 

In different languages, syllable elements are onset, nucleus and coda. Onset is a consonant or consonants before the vowel; nucleus is normally a vowel, and coda refers to a consonant or consonants following the nucleus. How words in different languages are divided into syllables is not necessarily the same. In a language like Russian, syllable patterns are considerably complex because it carries 16 different syllable patterns. In this language, both onset and coda can be one to four consonants, though a word with four onset and four coda is impossible in Russian. All possible syllabic patterns are shown in the following table:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 3. Russian syllable patterns

 

That Russian leaners of Farsi are already familiar with Farsi syllable patterns seems to be an advantage at first glance. However, my experience of teaching Farsi to Russian university students for two years show that, in practice, they are usually under the influence of their native patterns carrying consonant clusters and much of the time they even pronounce a number of Farsi CVC patterns as CCVC or even CCCVC, especially with new Farsi words.

        

Discussion

 

Learning a new language, especially for adults, regardless of learners' characteristics, similarities and differences between the source and target languages can be source of positive and/or negative transference. Learning French, for instance, by a native speaker of Spanish seems much easier than learning Russian, because French and Spanish are historically belong to the same family and have many features in common.        

Farsi and Russian belong to two different families, namely, Indo-European and Slavonic families respectively. Accordingly, learning Farsi for Russians and learning Russian for Iranians are expected to be challenging tasks. This paper focuses on pronunciation and supra-segmental problems Russian leaners of Farsi may face during learning Farsi.

The discussion presented here is based on my observations during about two years of teaching Farsi to undergraduate students of Belarus state universities. Errors are mainly associated with pronunciation and supra-segmental features.  

        

Problems with vowels

 

As shown in charts (1) and (2), Three Farsi vowels /i/, /u/ and /o/ are fairly similar to their Russian counterparts in terms of their place of articulation, but different in length. In fact, the above Farsi vowels are longer by nature. The nearest Russian vowel to Farsi /e/ is /ɛ/ which is a little lower than Farsi /e/; both of them are short vowels. Russian lacks vowels similar to Farsi /æ/ and /ɒ/. Instead, Russian includes the vowel /a/. In spite of parcial similarities among vowels of the two languages, Belarusian speakers of Farsi frequently face certain difficulties in pronouncing these sounds in words. Many of the problems have their roots in interference of phonological features of the two languages which are obviously different from each other. The most noticeable errors committed by Russian learners of Farsi (BLF) are as follows:

1. BLF normally pronounce long Farsi vowels with a short duration. For instance, the way they pronounce /i/, /u/ and /ɒ/ in /did/ 'saw', /dud/ 'smoke' and /bɒd/ 'wind' are shorter than the way native speakers of Farsi pronounce. 

2. BLF automatically and unknowingly perceive Farsi /e/ as /ɛ/ which is non-existent in Farsi.

3. In unstressed syllables, even in many stressed syllables, BLF replace Farsi /e/ by a reduced substitutes of Russian /ɛ/ which would by either [ɪ] or [ɨ̞] depending on neighboring sounds.

4. Since Russian lacks /æ/ and /ɒ/, these sounds are replaced by Russian /a/ which is the closest vowel to the above. Accordingly, words such as /bærf/ 'snow' and /yɒr/ 'friend' are pronounced /barf/ and /yar/ by BLF.

5. In stressed syllables, especially towards closed final syllables, Farsi /ɒ/ is normally replaced by Russian /o/. Accordingly, in a word like /zæbɒn/ 'language' /ɒ/ is replaced by Russian /o/, so it is pronounced as /zæbon/.

6. Since Russian stress patterns are different from those in Farsi, BLF, under the influence of their native language, put the stress on wrong syllables of Farsi words frequently. As a general rule, in Farsi, final syllable of the root of nouns and adjectives normally take the stress while in Russian stress patterns are dynamic and different syllables may take the stress, depending on different factors. Such differences may cause BLF to put the stress on an improper syllable. For instance, while the last syllable of  /ءɒnɒhi'tɒ/ 'آناهیتا' takes the stress, BLF pronounce it as */əna'hitə/.

7. In Farsi words with three or more syllables, BLF assimilate the vowel of the second syllable to the vowel of the first syllable. Accordingly, they pronounce words such as /ءɒmɒde/ 'ready' and /ءɒmæde/ 'come (pp)' exactly the same as */amadɛ/. Similarly, /tæmɒšɒ/ 'watch' is pronounced as */tamaša/.

8. BLF are normally inclined to replace /æ/ of the first syllable of Farsi multi-syllable words by /ə/ or delete it. For instance, /bærɒye/ 'for' is pronounced as either */bərayə/ or */brayə/.

9. As a general phonological rule, the vast majority of unstressed Russian vowels are reduced into their unstressed counterparts. BLF automatically and unknowingly apply this rule to Farsi and pronounce a word like /bærɒdærɒn/ 'brothrs' as */bəradərɛn/ or */bradərɛn/.

10.In words with two or more syllables, BLF replace /e/ of the first syllable by /i/ and pronounce /mellat/ 'nation' as */millat/.

11.BLF frequently replace Farsi /i/ in open syllables Russian /ɛ/. Accordingly, they change /tɒrixi/ into /tarixɛ/.

12.A modified element normally relates to its modifier by the linker /e/. This linker is frequently dropped learners. For instance /ketɒb-e jædid/ 'new book' is pronounced as */ketab jadid/.

13.Adding indefinite marker /i/ to Farsi words which end in a vowel is a difficult task for BLF. /xorɒk-e xošmæze-i/ 'some tasty food' is pronounced as */xorak-e xošmaze-ye/  

        

Problems with consonants

 

1. Since there is no /q/ 'ق' sound in Russian, learners of Farsi replace it by the nearest Russian sounds: /г/. Accordingly, they pronounce /qænd/ as*/gand/.

2. For Russians the glottal stop /ء/ is totally a new sound. At first stages they drop it and pronounce a word like /fءel/ as /fɛl/ but little by little they learn how to pronounce it in an acceptable way.

3. Making a distinction between Farsi phonemes /x/ خ and /h/ ح is much of the time an agonizing task for Russians learners of Farsi, because the difference between the two in Russian, unlike Farsi, is not phonemically but phonetically conditioned. Words such as /mi-xɒn-æm/ 'I read' is pronounced as */mi-han-am/.

4. Sometimes, written Farsi written forms cause learners to commit forced errors. For instance, a word like /xɒbgɒ/ خوابگاه 'dormitory' which ends in /ه/ in written farsi, is pronounced as */xabgahe/ by learners.

5. The place articulation of Russian /k/ is further back in the mouth, so it is different from that of Farsi.

6. Since Russian syllabic patterns include a considerable number of consonant clusters as onsets and codas, Russian speakers of Farsi tend frequently to delete one of the vowels of two adjacent syllables to make a consonant cluster. For instance, /bærɒdæræt/ is pronounced either as  */beradart/ or */bradart which follow the Russian patterns cvcvcvcc and ccvcvcc.

7. In words like mi-xɒh-æm 'want' where we have both /x/ and /h/, Russians pronounce /x/ very much similar to /h/: /mi-hah-am/.

        

Stress patterns

 

Mohammadi and Dad (2010) investigate into the problems Farsi learners of Russian face in pronouncing Russian words with correct stress patterns. They look into the impacts of negative transference and overlapping features on learning Russian in order to find solutions that facilitate learning processes.

By reference to different Iranian and Russian Scholars including Farshidvard (2003), Saamei (2005), Kasatkin (2004) and Le Count (2001), they have an overview of Stress patterns in Farsi and Russians. However, in spite of what is promised at the beginning of the paper, no significant solutions are proposed to overcome problems.

Because of considerable differences between Russian and Fars in terms of stress patterns, learning correct stress patterns demands special attention from the teacher in choosing teaching material, especially at first stages of learning. The most significant stress problems BLF face are as follows:

1. In cases where a word has two readings with two different interpretations, BLF has much difficulty. For instance, a word like /mehmɒni/ has two different readings, depending on which syllable takes the stress. /mehmɒ'ni/ with the stress on final syllable means 'party' while /meh'mɒni/ with the stress on penultimate syllable means 'a guest'. In such cases BLF frequently pronounce both of the above the same and put the stress on penultimate syllable.

2. The verb prefix mi- which is a stress taking element in positive verbs, would another problematic category for BLF. Much of the time they put the stress on a syllable other than mi-, especially on the last syllable of the verb root.

3. As we know the plural marker /hɒ/ takes the stress of the word. BLF frequently fail to put the stress properly on /hɒ/. Accordingly, a word like /mehmɒn'hɒ/ is pronounced as */mɛh'manha/ by BLF.

4. Pre-relative /i/ does not take stress in Farsi. However, BLF frequently pronounce it with stress.   

        

Recommended Solutions

 

Overcoming all difficulties discussed in this paper demands a coherent planning in preparing pedagogical material that best fits Belarusian leaners of Farsi. To achieve this goal an expert group of skilled linguists, phonologists, teachers and curriculum specialists are needed. It will be ideal if this group of experts have a good knowledge of both Farsi and Russian, because it will help the project develop quite effectively. In preparing material one must consider phonological differences between the two languages to facilitate learning them. Special attention must be paid to the following facts:

1. Russian lacks /æ/ and /ɒ/ so pedagogical material must facilitate the learning of such sounds. Belarusians frequently replace Farsi /æ/ and /ɒ/ by Russian vowel /a/ and this makes their pronunciation very much different from a native accent.

2. Both short and long Farsi vowels are longer compared to those in Russian.

3. Russian /ɛ/, which is the nearest sound to Farsi /e/, is lower than that in Farsi.

4. In the vast majority of unstressed Farsi syllables, Belarusians replace Farsi vowels by Russian reduced versions of vowels. This phenomenon has a negative impact on the pronunciation.

5. Russian stress patterns are considerably different from Farsi ones. So a considerable part of the material must be devoted to teaching correct Farsi stress patterns.

6. /q/ and /ء/ are non-existent in Russian. The material must facilitate teaching such sounds.

7. Farsi syllable templates are only CV, CVC and CVCC while those in Russian include many consonant clusters. Accordingly, leaners frequently tend to change Farsi CVC clusters into CCV or even CCC clusters. Such differences demand special care.

8. Since Farsi /x/ is basically a tense sound, its production seems a difficult task for Belarusian and much of the time they replace is by /h/.

9. There is no letter in Farsi to represent short vowels /æ/, /e/ and /o/ though there are three symbols to show them which are not used in advanced Farsi texts. This makes dictation a challenging task to learners. Teaching material and teachers have very crucial roles in this regard

10. For a number of Farsi sounds there are two, three or four letters to represent. This makes dictation even a more difficult job. Carefully designed material can facilitate learning processes.

11. Preparing appealing material in terms of form and content would by extremely helpful for learners: modern books, and audio and video CDs which have been prepared based on latest findings in the domain of language teaching.

12. Skilled, experienced, interested bilingual teachers make the chance of success double.

13. Regular active participation of learners along with enough practice and preparation before the class makes a successful leaners.           

        

Conculsion

 

Learning how to pronounce words correctly in a foreign language is not easy at all. Identifying differences and similarities associated with pronunciation including, sounds, letters, alphabet, writing system, supra-segmental features and syllable structures and patterns are among factors quite important in this regard. Since Farsi and Russian belong to two different families, differences are much more than similarities and BLF are expected to face certain predictable difficulties related to the above issues. All these problems are discussed and analyzed in details in this paper. Finally, Feasible and practical solutions to the problems are proposed in the last section of the paper.  

 

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