Mod5_Orahood (1)

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EDU 341 Module 5: Homework 4 Phonology Instructions:  Before proceeding any further, please save this document to your hard drive or USB drive.  Name the file: Mod5_YourLastName (example: Mod5_Applegate)  Respond to all the activities by inserting your work directly into this document.  When you have finished, save your work and upload it to the by Sunday 11:59 PM EST/EDT of Module 5 – Week 2 1.1 Phonetics and Phonology Go to the 44 Phonemes handout at the following link: http://www.dyslexia-reading-well.com/support- files/the-44-phonemes-of-english.pdf Answer the following questions based on your readings from this week: 1. Why are there more phonemes in English than letters? The main reason why there are more phonemes (distinct sound units) in English than letters is that the writing system has changed over time and does not accurately capture all the language's sounds. The English alphabet contains only 26 letters, but there are about 44 phonemes in the language. This discrepancy can be attributed to several factors, including historical evolution, borrowed words, dialects and variations, temporal variations in sound, diphthongs, and consonant clusters. 2. What is the difference between a phoneme and a letter? The smallest unit of sound in a language that can alter a word's meaning is called a phoneme. It's a unique sound that speakers recognize as distinct and significant. Languages and dialects can differ in their use of phonemes, which are abstract representations of sounds. For instance, although they may sound similar, the "p" sound in English and the "b" sound in Spanish represent different phonemes. A letter is a visual symbol that is used in writing to symbolize a language's sounds. Every letter in alphabetic writing systems, such as English, usually corresponds to one or more phonemes. The building blocks of written language are letters, which are joined to create words. There are 26 letters in the English alphabet, and each has a unique name and phoneme. Page 1

1. Speakers of languages like Spanish, which lack these phonemes, frequently find it difficult to learn English. For example, the "th" sound in Spanish is usually substituted with "s" or "t," so words like "think" could be pronounced as "sink" or "tink." Studies on language acquisition and interference as well as linguistic research on Spanish phonology provide evidence for this. 2. It may be difficult for speakers of languages like Japanese or Korean to distinguish between these phonemes because their languages do not distinguish between the English /p/ and /b/ sounds. In cases where words like "pat" and "bat" are pronounced similarly, this could result in minimal pair confusion. Language learning resources designed for speakers of these languages and phonetic studies comparing the phonologies of English and Japanese/Korean can be used to obtain this information. 3. Mandarin Chinese speakers may find it challenging to differentiate between the English /v/ and /w/ sounds because Mandarin does not have these sounds. As a result, words like "voice" and "wise" may sound the same. Studies on Mandarin phonology and language acquisition, along with resources for language learning intended for Mandarin speakers, provide evidence for this. 4. Because Japanese and Korean are languages that typically lack a distinct /l/ sound, speakers of these languages may find it difficult to distinguish between the English /l/ and /r/ sounds. This might make it harder to pronounce words like "light" and "right" correctly. This assertion is supported by observations made by language teachers and learners, as well as research on phonetics and language acquisition in Japanese and Korean. 5. Vowel length in Arabic and other languages is not phonemic, so speakers of those languages may find it difficult to distinguish between English's short and long vowels, like /ɪ/ and /iː/. This might cause problems in minimal pairs such as "sheep" and "ship." Studies on Arabic phonetics and resources for language learning intended for Arabic speakers lend credence to this. 3. What are 5 examples of phonemes that are problematic for ELLs. Please list the languages and the specific phonemic differences. You can use the table on the following page which shows how ELLs from a variety of native language backgrounds pronounce common English phonemes. Explain why the differences exist and where you found the information to support your reason. Page 2

CHINESE SPANISH /r/ becomes /l/ red sounds like led /z/ becomes /s/ razor sounds like racer /v/ becomes /w/ very sounds like wary /v/ becomes /b/ vote sounds like boat /ð/ becomes /d/ bathe sounds like bade initial /s/ + consonant becomes / ɛ s/ special sounds like especial /θ/ becomes /t/ three sounds like tree / ɪ / becomes /i/ pick sounds like peek all consonants are voiceless (except for nasals) dog sounds like dock jello sounds like cello initial / ʤ / becomes /y/ initial /y/ becomes / ʤ / jail sounds like Yale you sounds like Jew /s/ becomes / ʃ / shoe sounds like chew / ʃ / becomes / ʧ / ship sounds like chip /tr/ becomes / ʧ / train sounds like chain final /m/ becomes /ŋ/ or /n/ beam sounds llike bing or bean /r/ not pronounced except before a vowel cart sounds like cot pore sounds like paw final /k/ dropped before /ŋ/ sink sounds like seen final /l/ becomes /w/ or final /l/ becomes /o/ feel sounds like few mail sounds like mayo final consonant clusters reduced pact sounds like pack past sounds like pass /æ/ becomes / ɛ / mass sounds like mess /æ/ and / ə / become /α/ cat sounds like cot final double consonants reduced ramp sounds like ram addict sounds like attic / ʊ / becomes /u/ pull sounds like pool KOREAN HAITIAN CREOLE / FRENCH confusion with /l/ vs. /r/ play sounds like pray /θ/ becomes /t/ or /s/ or /f/ thought sounds like taught or sought or fought /v/ becomes /b/ dove sounds like dub /ð/ becomes /d/ or /z/ then sounds like den or Zen /f/ becomes /p/ fine sounds like pine / ʧ / becomes / ʃ / cheat sounds like sheet confusion with /z/ vs. / ʤ / frizz sounds like fridge / ʤ / becomes / ӡ / adjure sounds like azure / ǝ / added to final consonant tune sounds like tuna /h/ dropped before vowels hate sounds like ate /æ/ becomes / ɛ / sad sounds like said /h/ inserted before vowels own sounds like hone confusion with /r/ vs. /w/ ring sounds like wing VIETNAMESE ARABIC final consonants dropped sheep sounds like she / ɪ / becomes / ɛ / bit sounds like bet final /f/ can become /p/ whiff sounds like whip /ej/ becomes / ɛ / late sounds like let final /v/ can become / b/ or /p/ rove sounds like robe or rope /h/ becomes /ħ/ hat sounds like khat final /s/ can become / ʃ / plus sounds like plush confusion with /b/ and /p/ park sounds like bark baste sounds like pase final / ʧ / can become / ʃ / much sounds like mush confusion with /f/ and /v/ very sounds like fairy Page 3

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