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Book review:
Guide to learn English
Title: English
Pronunciation Made Simple
Compiled by
Fr. Merl S. Mendis OMI Author
publication
M.G.Printers(Pvt)Ltd.,
110 pages.
Rs.130/-
We are proud to be Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims and all of us put
together we are proud to be Sri Lankans, and we highly esteem the
language of each ethnic group, its customs, rites and traditions. But
the fact remains that if we want to be in contact and in communication
with the peoples of the rest of the world, knowing well a common
language, a language internationally spoken and recognized, it is a
must.
Thus English, in all countries across the globe, stands as one of the
world recognized languages, spoken by the peoples of different
countries. Sri Lanka, on her part, underscores the importance of
learning English, as a language for communication with the other while
giving the pride of place to the Swabhashas, the different languages
spoken by the local ethnic communities.
It is a known fact that learning a language could not be reduced to a
class-room-subject where the students spend about 45 minutes daily or
weekly. If one wants to master a language it has to be studied
continuously and use it well in communicating with others. To do that we
need to have some understanding of the pronunciation of words we come
across in the language.
English language is a useful tool in the hands of those seeking
foreign employment.
The graduates passing out from the Universities fail to obtain
employment with some status, due to the lack of working knowledge in
English language.
This is why Rev. Fr. Merl S. Mendis OMI has come out with a book
making the pronunciation of English words simple. This book has been
compiled based on the International English Pronunciation Dictionary by
Daniel Jones.
Fr. Mendis with a few decades of experience in teaching English to
students who have completed their GCE (O/L and A/L) has been compelled
to come out with book of this nature, to assist learning English as a
foreign language. In the very recent past, during the elections campaign
period, the electronic media carried advertisements that stressed the
importance of leaning English language. The personalities chosen to
carry that message learn the language our own way to pass the message to
the other. They placed less-weight to pronunciation. There is some
element of truth in what they said.
But we need to worry about the pronunciation of words to some extent
that we need be blind followers of the British accent. But we need to
make ourselves clear to those with whom we communicate. Hence we need to
know the correct pronunciation of words.
Thumbing through the pages of this book, what I noted was that the
book being a helping hand to both student and the teacher, accompanying
an explanatory note in Sinhala in each chapter would have helped a great
deal to the learner, learning to pronounce words away from the
classroom. This becomes very necessary as most of our students and
teachers, for that matter, lack the critical aspect of the Sinhala
grammar.
The explanatory note in Sinhala would enlighten the students to know
that we, the Sinhalese are a blessed community.
- Wiruma |
