Speakers
Description
This paper examines difficulties faced by native Bengali speakers learning English as a second language in applying the English consonant-doubling rule. Focusing on stress-conditioned spelling in disyllabic words, it highlights the roles of limited stress awareness and orthographic interference from Bengali. The study proposes explicit instruction in English stress patterns and the use of pronunciation dictionaries to reduce spelling errors, with implications for other ESL contexts lacking lexical stress.
Short summary
This paper examines difficulties faced by native Bengali speakers learning English as a second language in applying the English consonant-doubling rule. Focusing on stress-conditioned spelling in disyllabic words, it highlights the roles of limited stress awareness and orthographic interference from Bengali. The study proposes explicit instruction in English stress patterns and the use of pronunciation dictionaries to reduce spelling errors, with implications for other ESL contexts lacking lexical stress.
Keywords
English spelling, consonant doubling, ESL learners, Bengali language interference
Abstract
Both native (L1) and second language (L2) users of English make spelling errors, particularly in handwritten contexts where electronic autocorrection is unavailable. However, L2 learners face additional difficulties due to the influence of their first language. This paper examines a recurring spelling problem among native Bengali speakers learning English as a second language, focusing on the English consonant-doubling rule in inflectional morphology.
In English, the final consonant of a disyllabic word is doubled when suffixes such as -ed or -ing are added, provided three conditions are met: the final syllable carries primary stress, the word ends in a single consonant, and the consonant is immediately preceded by a single vowel. For instance, admit becomes admitted due to final-syllable stress, whereas visit becomes visited without consonant doubling because stress falls on the initial syllable.
Based on classroom observations and learner experiences, this study identifies three major causes of error: 1. limited awareness of English lexical stress, 2. difficulty in internalizing stress-based spelling rules, and 3. orthographic and phonological interference from Bengali. In Bengali, stress patterns are predictable and typically unmarked in dictionaries, and doubled consonants are pronounced distinctly through juktakkhor (conjunct consonants). This contrasts with English, where doubled consonants usually represent a single phonetic unit.
The paper proposes explicit instruction in English stress patterns and regular use of pronunciation dictionaries as pedagogical remedies. Although focused on Bengali learners, the findings are relevant to other ESL contexts where lexical stress plays a limited role.
References
1.Hayes, B., & Lahiri, A. (1991). Bengali intonational phonology. Natural Language and Linguistic Theory, 9, 47-96.
| Scheduling preference | Anytime on Saturday |
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| Title | Consonant Doubling in English: Challenges for Bengali ESL Learners |