Segmental Versus Suprasegmental:Which One Weighs More Heavily in Teaching?

Abstract

Language is composed of three elements:phonetics,vocabulary and grammar.Phonetics study is the primary and fundamental step in the attempt to master the target language as vocabulary and grammar are expressed through the medium of pronunciation.So,pronunciation is the basis of learning a language well and improving language skills for which any language learning will be inseparable from the learning of pronunciation.However,pronunciation can influence these two aspects.Researchers usually identify these features as segmental or suprasegmental.A long-standing debate in pronunciation teaching is whether segmental or suprasegmental is more important in facilitating intelligibility and comprehensibility.On the one side of the dispute,many authors argue that the priority should be given to suprasegmental features in pronunciation teaching because they are more useful than segmental features in understandable speeches.On the other side,some scholars believe that segmental features are more functional for promoting intelligibility,so they should be taught first in pronunciation teaching.However,based on the existing researches- ,although we have not attained an assertive conclusion of which one is more important in teaching,we can now regard segmental and suprasegmental features as an integrated system rather than separated entities(Zielinski,2015).Accordingly,it has an influence on the future decision-making as a teacher of English pronunciation which is the lesson design will include both segmental and suprasegmental parts in different but pertinent teaching order corresponding with the various teaching objectives or the learning preference of students.