A Phonological Contrastive Analysis of Philippine Ethnic Kinamayo and English Segmental

Abstract

This study explored the contrastive analysis of the sound system (vowels and consonants) of Philippine Ethnic Kinamayo and English. Using a qualitative research design and purposive sampling of 48 informants, data were gathered through in-depth interviews and analysed by sorting and classifying words according to phonological structures. Results revealed that English has twenty four consonant phonemes whereas Kinamayo has only fifteen. The consonant phonemes in English which are absent in Kinamayo are /f, v, ð, Ɵ, s, h, z, Ʒ, ʃ, ʤ, tʃ/. English has fourteen basic vowels whereas Kinamayo has only five. The vowel phonemes which are absent in Kinamayo are /e, ӕ, ↄ, ۸, /ɝ ǝ, ɝ/. These differences ascertain some areas of difficulty which challenge the Kamayo learners of English. The results of this study should primarily be used to devise pedagogic strategies and instructional materials to resolve pronunciation and learning difficulties thereby enhancing international intelligibility.