English Pronunciation Errors of Pashto-Speaking Intermediate Students in District Buner, Pakistan: A Qualitative Error Analysis

Abstract

Introduction: English is a compulsory subject at every level of schooling in Pakistan, but in rural government schools it is taught mainly through reading, writing and translation, and pronunciation is seldom addressed. Pashto-speaking students in such settings bring first-language habits into English, with consequences for how well they are understood.

Objective: The study set out to identify the English pronunciation problems of Pashto-speaking intermediate students in District Buner, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to explain their likely causes, and to suggest how they might be addressed in teaching.

Method: A qualitative descriptive design was used. Ten male intermediate students from government boys’ schools in Buner, all native speakers of Pashto studying in Urdu-medium schools, read aloud selected English words, sentences and a short passage while the researcher observed and transcribed their pronunciation. A 15-item questionnaire collected information on their exposure to spoken English. Deviations from British reference pronunciation were grouped by sound class and explained through contrastive comparison with Pashto and with English spelling.

Results: The clearest problems were the replacement of /w/ with [v], which affected every participant; dental stops in place of /θ/ and /ð/; unaspirated /p t k/; [e] for /ɪ/; unrounded [ɑː] for /ɒ/ and /ɔː/; and difficulty with /ɜː/, which most learners did not produce accurately. All participants pronounced /r/ after vowels, and spelling led to further errors such as a sounded /b/ in climb and full vowels in unstressed syllables. The affricates /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ and initial /l/ caused no difficulty. Questionnaire responses showed very limited contact with spoken English outside the classroom and a general habit of pronouncing new words from their spelling.

Conclusion: The errors follow two predictable sources, Pashto phonology and English spelling. A short list of high-impact targets, notably the /v/–/w/ distinction, aspiration, vowel length and the vowel /ɜː/, together with explicit teaching of spelling–sound patterns and better-trained teachers, would make the most difference for learners in Buner.