Phonology and Orthography: Fundamentals of the Sound & Spelling Systems of English
Dale D. Gates, Ph.D. The English Program in Guanajuato May 2010
What You Will Learn I. Phonology, or the sound system of English
A. Background Information B. Vowel Code C. Some Tricky Sounds II. Orthography, or the spelling system of English A. Background Information
B. Vowel-Consonant Interaction C. Spelling “Rules” 1. The Doubling Rule 2. Silent e Rule 3. The y Rule
The Sound System of English: Background Information English (like Spanish) is an alphabetic language. Symbols (phonograms) reflect sounds. phono = sound gram = written or drawn Continued
Phonological Background Information, cont'd. Correspondence between letters and sounds is not one-to-one in English. 26 letters but 24 consonant sounds and 14 – 20 vowel sounds. Continued
Phonological Background Information, cont'd. To represent all the sounds, ● Letters have multiple sounds: s = /s/, /z/ i = /ĭ/, /ī/ ●
Some sounds are spelled with multiple letters which often have multiple sounds: ng = /ŋ/ ed = /ed/, /d/, /t/
The Vowel Code
Using symbols reminds us of pronunciation. Ex.: school skรถl There are various systems of marking sounds.
Some Vowel Sounds
a e i o u ǝ
= = = = = =
ă ā ä ĕ ē ĭ ī ŏ ō ö ŭ ū ű ŭ (in unaccented syllables)
Influence of e, i, and y
Center City had a cyclone. (always) There's a gentle giant in the gym. (usually)
Challenging Sounds
Her first nurse works early. /Ä/ /s/ - /z/ /f/ - /v/ /th/ - /th/
The Spelling System of English: Background Information Vocabulary comprises about 250-300,000 words. Germanic language, but strongly influenced by Latin and other languages. Often has more than one word/concept. Composition = 1% Anglo-Saxon, 10% Greek, 50% Latin Continued
Orthographic Background Information, cont'd. Spelling ≠ Pronunciation English is morphophonemic. The meaning connection between words is often preserved at the expense of letter-to-sound correspondence. Ex.: sīgn/sĭgnal; nā'tion/nătional'ity
An Important Spelling Concept
A vowel will be short unless influenced by another vowel (or its location in a word). cvc - dăd cvvc - bōat cvcv - līfe
Useful Spelling “Rules�
The Doubling Rule When adding a suffix that begins with a vowel to a one syllable word containing one short vowel, double the final consonant. (whew!)
The Doubling Rule, Story Form
Kĭ d -ing -ed -y Castle kid + ing = kīding! Add a moat!
The Doubling Rule
kid + s = kids kid + ed = kidded (added d is the moat) kid + ing = kidding send + ing = sending (2 consonants separate vowels) sleep + y = sleepy (no need to guard the long vowel)
The Silent “e� Rule
In words ending with a silent e, drop the e when adding a suffix that begins with a vowel. Ex.: smile + s = smiles smile + ing = smiling smile + ed = smiled
but,
The “Y� Rule When the letter before the y is a consonant, change the y to i before adding a suffix other than -ing. Ex.: study + ed = studied + s = studies + ing= studying Continued
The “Y� Rule, cont'd. When the letter before the y is a vowel, just add the suffix. Ex.: play + s = plays play + ed = played play + ing = playing play + full = playful
Exceptions to the “Y” Rule
pay = paid say = said lay = laid day = daily
Other Rules Fizzle Rule: Double l, f, s, and z after a short vowel. Ex.: well, stuff, mass, fizz i before e: Use i before e except after c or when sounded as ā as in “neighbor” or “weigh.” Ex.: niece, receive, sleigh
Dale D. Gates, Ph.D. dale.gates1@gmail.com www.dalegates.com The English Program in Guanajuato May 2010