Chapter 4: The Sounds of American English Speech and Writing Confusion – Synesthesia (confusion of the senses) affects people beliefs of language Sound comes out of mouth Writing are marks made with hand Did anyone teach you to speak?

The Problem with Letters Writing is a passive medium – Affects what we say in a subtle way – Example: “cat” English spelling does not accurately reflect English speech sounds – Speech is dynamic, personal, and transitory – Writing is static, institutionalized, and permanent How many English languages are there?

IPA International Phonetic Alphabet – Designed 100 years ago – Writing down sounds of a language – International; phonetic; an alphabet

The Phoneme Each IPA symbol represents one phoneme of American English. The Allophone – An allophone is a variation of a phoneme – “I can open a can of beans.” – Say it again and listen to the two utterances of can

Phonetics and Phonemics Difference is like the difference between a musical performance and its underlying musical score. Sounds we utter (phonetics) are realizations of underlying sound categories (phonemics) that exist in the minds of speakers and listeners who share a common language.

Dialects and Standard Speech A dialect is a variation of language, spoken by a subgroup of speakers – Group differs geographically, socially, or ethnically Regional Dialects – Eastern New York Metropolitan – Southern – New England – General American

Standard and Non-Standard Speech & Foreign Accents Standard speech describes the language of the majority of the educated people in the region. Non-standard speech is considered to be significantly different from the speech generally accepted as “standard.” Foreign Accents – There are phonemic differences in language.

Classification of Sounds Consonants – Produced when the articulators obstruct the breath stream either completely or partially. Three Factors: Voicing, Place of Articulation, Method of Articulation Vowels – What are the vowels of spoken English? Speech sounds produced without obstruction of the breath stream by the articulators. – Example: “ahhh” Classification – Height of the tongue, place of production, muscle tension

Classification of Sounds Diphthongs – A diphthong is a vowel bend Two vowels are bended together and said in such a way that the sound begins with one vowel and ends with the other. Smooth, gliding motion is used Although two vowels are used, the diphthong is perceived as one sound

The IPA Consonants

The IPA Vowels

IPA Diphthongs aUex: house aIex: height ɔ Iex: coil eIex: rain oUex: home