Teaching phonics and different pronunciation features

"... despite a far from perfect letter-to-sound correlation, English spelling nonetheless is reasonably systematic" Phonetics is the study of the physical nature of speech sounds and speech production: 1. How sounds are produced by the human body, 2. What they are like as sound waves, and 3. How the human ear processes speech. Phonology is the study of how sound is structured in languages -- for instance, Which of all possible speech sounds a language uses to build its words, How syllables are built in a particular language, and Other phenomena. How are sounds produced? VOCAL TRACT Sounds are all produced in the vocal tract. The vocal tract refers to the parts of the body that contribute to the production of vocal sounds: the lungs, larynx, mouth, lips and nose.

The phonological system of English can be divided into five main areas: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The individual sounds Word stress Sentence stress Rhythm Intonation

INDIVIDUAL SOUNDS Each language has its own set of sounds or phonemes. There are 44 English phonemes.

PHONEME A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound that has meaning in a language. For example, the s in books in English shows that something is plural, so the sound /s/ has meaning. PHONEMIC SYMBOL The phoneme of a language can be represented by phonemic symbols. Each phonemic symbol represents only one phoneme (unlike the letters of the alphabet). Phonemic symbols help the reader know exactly what the correct pronunciation is. International Phonemic Alphabet (IPA) There are several phonemic scripts and some small differences in the symbol they use, being the most commonly used system is the International Phonemic Alphabet (IPA). It is a system of phonetic notation devised by linguists. It is intended to provide a standardized, accurate and unique way of representing the sounds of any spoken language, and is used, often on a day-to-day basis, by linguists, speech pathologists and therapists, foreign language teachers, lexicographers, and translators. In its unextended form (as of 2005) it has approximately 107 base symbols and 55 modifiers. The symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet are divided into three categories: Letters (which indicate basic sounds), diacritics (which further specify those sounds), and suprasegmentals (which indicate such qualities as speed, tone, and stress).

These categories are then divided into smaller sections: letters are divided into vowels and consonants, and diacritics and suprasegmentals are divided according to whether they indicate articulation, phonation, tone, intonation, or stress. From time to time, symbols are added, removed, and modified by the International Phonetic Association.

MINIMAL PAIRS Minimal pairs are pairs of words or phrases which differ in only one phoneme and have a distinct meaning. To facilitate the learning of the phonemes of standard English, we need to know: If the consonant is voiced or unvoiced How each sound is produced within the vocal tract (manner of articulation) Where in the vocal tract each sound is produced ( place of articulation) VOICED AND UNVOICED A sound is described as voiceless when the vocal cords do not vibrate during its articulation. If the vocal cords do vibrate, the sound is called voiced. The vocal cords are folds of muscle located at the level of the glottis. The manner of articulation can be divided in: Plosive Fricative Affricate Nasal Liquid Glide PLACE OF ARTICULATION According to the place of articulation, consonant sounds can be: Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Palatal Velar Glottal The place of articulation is the point where the airstream is obstructed. In general, the place of articulation is simply that point on the palate where the tongue is placed to block the stream of air.

WORD STRESS A stressed syllable in a word is usually noticeable by being slightly louder, slightly longer and slightly higher in pitch than the syllable next to it.

SENTENCE STRESS Stress also influences how sentences and incomplete sentences are pronounced with more or less stress. One word in the sentence has main stress (the word which the speaker thinks is the most important to the meaning of the sentence). Main stress is usually on content words(nouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives) rather than structural words (prepositions, articles, pronouns). RHYTHM It refers to the pattern of stress of speech. English rhythm is stress timing: Regular pauses, and between the pauses we pack as many words as we can. Spanish rhythm is syllable timing: Each syllable is stressed. The time relationships among syllables make up the rhythm of language. INTONATION Movement of the level of the voice, i.e. the tune of a sentence or a group of words. We use intonation to express emotions and attitudes. To emphasize or make less important particular things we are saying. To signal to others the function of what we are saying. To show whether we are asking a question or making a statement.