Abstract

This study is an attempt to compare and contrast the sound systems of Kurdish and English for pedagogical aims. The consonants, vowels, stress and intonation of the two languages are described using the same model-taxonomic phonology- and then compared and contrasted to find the similarities and differences between the two systems and hence the potential areas of difficulty in teaching English to students whose native language is Kurdish. Forty four phonemes of BBC English have been described and compared with the thirty eight phonemes of Sorani Kurdish. The nature and function of stress and intonation in the two languages have also been compared and contrasted.

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