Preliminary Data on the Use of Juncture as Marker for Phonetic Recall in an EFL Context

Abstract

The study of juncture in the perspective of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context is limited, particularly to the one associated with the recalling process. This research aims to describe a glimpse of the juncture phenomenon by indicating the phonetic recalling process. An experimental method was applied to conduct the research. An experiment involving stimuli to phonetic knowledge was given to participants in the EFL context. There were twenty students involved in this experimental study. Analysed acoustically, the result of the preliminary data shows that junctures may occur during speech production of the stimuli with the indication of the phonetic recalling process at the syllabic level. This indication might refer to the participants’ attempt to re-access the phonetic knowledge stored in the brain. The pause duration might mark the occurrence of junctures, indicating phonetic recalling. It was also revealed that the participants’ attitudes towards the English might influence the occurrence of junctures. The study showed that junctures happened before pronouncing the words in monosyllabic words. In contrast, juncture might occur in the first, middle, and last syllable in multisyllabic words. The locations of junctures might relate to the most unfamiliar syllable of the words from the participants’ perspective. From this perspective, juncture may also occur in other speakers, not only Sundanese but also other foreign languages, not only English. This preliminary research may serve as a foundation to conduct a relevant study on the other local or regional languages in Indonesia.