The Problem Two major problems have generally been recognized in relation to the pronunciation of English, particularly the pronunciation of English as a Second, as a foreign or as an alternate language.'These problems are those of the segments and those of the nonsegments. Segmental problems may arise because a speaker may be heard to say Noss, let, pat for instance, when in fact his target was nurse, late, part. It is clear from the above that this confusion will have arisen from the replacement of
/3:/by/b/,/el/by/e/and/a:/by/æ/:(1) nurse/noss;(2) late/let;(3) part/pat.
The segmental problems can also be traced to the tyranny of the sounds of the speaker's first language, to specific intralingual issues or other matters explicable in terms of inadequate learning/mastery. With regard to words in association with each other, the confusion can be enormous. For instance inappropriate choice of sound