Phonology
The phoneme is the smallest distinctive unit of sound within a language. Each letter in the English alphabet represents a specific sound (phoneme). For example, the phoneme for the letter b is
and the phoneme for the letter t is
.
These tiny units of sound are where communication begins. As we are taught how to read and write, we learn to associate certain sounds with the letter that represents it. English is based on the Roman alphabet, which derives from the ancient Latin alphabet, the most widely used alphabet in the world. Today’s Romance languages that share this common alphabet include English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish. So a person that recognizes letters in one of these Romance languages will, at the very least, recognize those same letters in another Romance language. Learning a language that comes from a completely different alphabet like Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, and Thai, requires the learning of a new set of letters and sounds. The assumption then might be that a person from one Romance language background would have a relatively easy transition to make when learning English. Oh, if it was only that easy. There are many factors to consider regarding the development of a new language, whether it be from the same alphabet system or not. Let’s begin by examining one of the many challenges that English presents for all English learners.
Let’s look at the words: nap, knight, and gnat. These are three examples of English words that can cause phonetic confusion for English learners. Can you guess why?
The confusion comes from the fact that they represent three different ways to produce the same sound: /n/.
When Samuel Johnson, one of the first American lexicographers (a person who compiles dictionaries), compiled his first edition of the Dictionary of American English, he included the fictitious word ghoti in the introduction, and asked his readers to attempt to pronounce the word. He was doing this to prove a point. Johnson argued that there was not a consistent correspondence between spelling and sound within English words. When no other linguist was able to figure out Johnson’s nonsense word, he explained that the combination of the sound
from enough, /I/ from women, and / ʃ / from attention, was intended to say:
Since then, lexicographers, have added phonemic transcriptions to each entry to help readers decipher the pronunciation of each word. For example, if you look up the word “telephone” in an English dictionary, you will also find its phonetic transcription: tel' ə fon’.
These transcriptions are phonetic spellings that come from the International Phonetic Alphabet or I.P.A. These I.P.A symbols are recognized internationally and have been used historically for Romance language development, including ELD (English Language Development), in order to help language learners decipher the exact phonology of a set of words. While in English, more than one letter or combination of letters can form the same sound (as in the example above), the I.P.A. assigns only one symbol to each sound. Here’s an example of how the IPA demystifies the inconsistencies found in the spelling of some English words:
ph = f phone I.P.A: f f = f funny
To add to the confusion, the reverse situation can also occur. In some English words, the same combination of letters will produce different sounds. Let’s look at the following list of words that are examples of the same letter combination producing different sounds. As you listen to the following words, focus on the different pronunciations assigned to the vowel combination “ou”. They are accompanied by their I.P.A. transcription:
The combination of the letters o and u here are responsible for five different sounds!
The accompanying I.P.A transcription indicates the appropriate sound to designate to each of those words. Transcription is the process of matching the spelling and pronunciation of words through resources such as the I.P.A. This process can be useful for the study of linguists to determine the standard pronunciation of different words. Although it may be impractical to have students regularly transcribe words through the I.P.A., it is useful to point out the function and strategies for using this tool. In most dictionaries you can find the I.P.A. in the introductory pages. You can also find an interactive, aural version online.
Access the I.P.A. online. Then click each phoneme to hear its standard pronunciation.
A Pronouncing Dictionary of American English was first published in 1944 by John Samuel Kenyon and Thomas A. Knott is commonly used for English Language Development. It provides a phonemic transcription of General American pronunciations of words, using symbols that largely correspond with those in the I.P.A. One principal application of Kenyon and Knott's system is to teach American English pronunciation to non-native speakers of English (or ELL), and it is commonly used for this purpose.
