English Weak Forms – a Challenge for Bulgarian Learners of English? A Pedagogical Perspective

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine whether it is problematic for Bulgarian language learners of English to acquire and produce the reduced forms of English function words correctly. What I also note is how Bulgarian learners incorporate weak forms in relation to the distribution of stresses in the flow of their Bulgarian English speech compared to the distribution of stresses and weak forms in the speech of a native English speaker. The study relies on empirical evidence collected in a class environment from a homogenous group of 20 Bulgarian learners of English, who are first-year university students in English and American Studies at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. I investigate their production of weak forms in a very well-known connected speech diagnostic passage which contains a sufficient number of common weak form words. All of the participants have been studying English as a foreign language for 4 or more years. The acquisition and the production of English weak forms is a problematic area for native speakers of Bulgarian and their perception and production need further investigation.