in touch with real speech
In touch with real speech

Listening Cherry 16: Sex education and phonology in ELT – Jane Austen

Jane Austen

In my previous posting I explained that phonologists/phoneticians (in their publications aimed at the ELT profession) mention the facts of everyday speech in ways that  (a) downplay its true nature and (b) ignore the goal of listening. Their emphasis is on the genteel route to acceptable pronunciation. Unfortunately this genteel route is followed with an earnest thoroughness which blinds us (deafens us) to the existence of the listening goal – that of being able to listen to the speech that arrives at speeds and in states of messiness over which the we have no control.

It is as if, in life, we are being advised that the correct way to create babies is (sorry, but this is deliberately old-fashioned and is therefore necessarily gender biassed)

  1. identify a family of appropriate social standing with a daughter of marriageable age
  2. arrange an introduction and start courting, politely keeping rivals at bay
  3. after asking the father for permission, propose marriage 
  4. announce engagement
  5. get married, and after nine months, walk to the gooseberry bush and pick up your baby!

It is the Jane Austen approach to life: good mannered, proper. And this is the phonology we in ELT want. We prefer romantic tales of handholding, courtship and strolling down garden paths, gentle movements towards the gooseberry bush. Above all, we want tales of monogamous relationships: one partner for life  – ‘a declarative sentence has a falling tone on the last lexical item’.

  • Mr Rizzington marries Miss More-de-Combe, and the bride’s younger sister Hezzitensia becomes their housekeeper
  • Sir Tainty marries Miss Fallington, and her sister Sentencendia becomes their housekeeper.

The trouble is, everyday speech is polygamous and promiscuous, and we in ELT cannot cope with this. Clause types are as randy as hell, and will couple with any stress pattern or intonation. Tones are equally randy and will couple with any clause type. We in ELT – the devoted fans of Jane Austen, the fans of what is proper, correct, genteel cannot cope with this promiscuity.

We desire, and we create and perpetuate Jane Austen romances between sentences and prosody. The first sentence of her Pride and Prejudice goes –

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

An equivalent for ELT is –

It is a belief, universally acknowledged, that a declarative clause in possession of a good structure must have falling tone on the last lexical item.

As a profession, we need to grow up if we are to improve the teaching and learning of listening. And part of what we need to do is to encourage, and welcome tales of reality – not romance – from the experts who write for us.

One Response to Listening Cherry 16: Sex education and phonology in ELT – Jane Austen

  • Right on the money again Richard. I love that bit about promiscuous sentences. For ages I’ve been wanting to write about REAL GRAMMAR – the sort that couples and uncouples itself repeatedly in mid conversation. Without confusing listeners , without blurring the speaker’s intention.
    YET there are discernible “agreements” in any language that keep the grammar in the flow. In particular melody plays a big role in keeping different clauses separate and understandable. Even when they’re restarts.
    Anyway lovely posting thanks. Though I’m not sure Jane Austen would be happy.

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Richard can be contacted at richardcauldwell@me.com

Tel: 07790 629859