ENS101GEðli tungumálsins

How Language Works

Pétur Knútsson

Matthew Whelpton

ENS101GEðli tungumálsins

How Language Works

Matthew Whelpton

First 6 weeks of the course: SOUNDS

Pétur Knútsson

http://www.hi.is/~peturk/KENNSLA/HLW/index.html

Support page for this part of the course:

J.C. Wells, Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd Edition, 2008

What type of English?

RP – Received Pronunciation

BE – British English

GA – General American

• RP• most accents in

England and Wales

• Australia• New Zealand• South Africa

American typeBritish type• GA• most American

and Canadian accents

• Scotland• Ireland• Some accents

in SW England

American typeBritish type

Various vowel differenceslaugh, half, palm laugh, half, palm

Various consonantal differencescar park car park

car park

water

rhoticAmerican typenon-rhoticBritish type

American

type

British

typeInternational

type

material

International English:

1 Spelling pronunciationmaterialprovidepicture

2 Non-English phoneticsbutterviolent

L1 L2

preliterate: before learning to read

postliterate: after learning to read

“Home” Englishes International English

1Over the past 500 – 600 years, English spelling has not kept up with the changes in pronunciation

write – rightsun – sonboot book blood

2Over the past 300 years, English spelling has been mistakenly “corrected”

important- evidentdoubtPeter’s asking – Peter’s question