1. 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?

2. 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?

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

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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