#03 Introduction to LInguistics

SUMMARY OF LECTURE: Phonology: encoding words

This lecture was all about the acoustic (phonemes) and visual (graphemes) encoding of words.

My notes are almost indecipherable: a page full of pictures and scribbles. However, still recognisable is a diagram of a tongue moving upwards and underneath that there are several lines of the same sentence spelt forwards, backwards and upside down. In a broad sense these two elements of my notes represent the main themes of the lecture: Pronunciation and Spelling! The tongue represents the acoustic/pronunciation (phonemes) and the sentences the visual/written (graphemes).

For more detailed information check the slides:

http://wwwhomes.uni-bielefeld.de/gibbon/Classes/Classes2007WS/ITL/03-IntroPhonology.pdf

HOMEWORK

Tasks

● Define:

– syllable = a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or part of a word; for example, there are two syllables in wa|ter and three in in|fer|no.

– phoneme = any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another, for example p, b, d, and t in English words pad, pat, bad, and bat.

● Find examples of 5 not-too-short words

– transcribe them (don’t worry about accuracy - maybe check in a

web dictionary)

1. miscellaneous

2. noxious

3. erinaceous

4. synecdochically

5. onomasiological

– divide them into syllables

1. mis|cel|lan|eous

2. no|xious

3. er|in|a|ceaus

4. syn|ec|doch|ic|ally

5. on|o|ma|sio|lo|gi|cal

Task:

· make a list of 5 spelling rules

1) How to handle a final e when adding a suffix or verb ending.

2) How to add a suffix or verb ending when a word ends in y.

· If the word has a consonant before the y, change the y to i.

Example: mercy + less = merciless

· If the word has a vowel before the y, keep the y.

Example: employ + ed = employed

3) How to make nouns plural.

· Words that end in ss, sh, ch or x add es.

Example: switch = switches

· Words that have a consonant before a final y, change the y to i before adding es.

Example: summary = summaries

· Most nouns ending in f or fe add s. However, some change the f to v and add s or es. There is no rule to follow here.

Examples:	belief = beliefs
	half = halves

· Most nouns ending in o add s. However, some add es. There is no rule to follow here.

Examples:	studio = studios
	cargo = cargoes

4) Remember this poem to decide if a word should be spelled ie or ei.

Put i before e

Except after c

Or when it sounds like a

As in neighbor or neigh.

5) Sometimes words have silent letters. These follow patterns that can be memorized.

Examples: gn, pn, kn= n
gnome	pneumonia	knife

Examples: rh, wr = r
rhyme	wrestle

Examples: pt, ght = t
ptomaine	height

Examples: ps, sc = s
psalm	science

Example: wh = h
whole

http://www.mc3.edu/aa/lal/workshops/wksp_spelling/spellingrules.html

· make a list of 5 main spelling problems = see above

English and German: comparison

● Pronunciation:

– List

● the consonants of German which do not occur in English

tzt, pf, ch (as in ich), st/sp

● the consonants of English which do not occur in German

th as in the

● the vowels of German which do not occur in English

ä, ü, ö,

● the vowels of English which do not occur in German

● Spelling:

– List

● the characters of German which do not occur in English

no e on end for example ‚positiv’ und ‚negativ’

● the characters of English which do not occur in German

ough, ious,

● 5 English graphemes containing more than one character

● 5 German graphemes containing more than one character

GLOSSARY

Phonemes: acoustic encoding

Graphemes: visual encoding

LINKS

TRIVIA

Ghoti = fish: Pronounce the gh as in tough, the o as in women and the ti as in nation.
Blend these sounds and you get fish - George Bernard Shaw