The Nexus between Spelling and Pronunciation (TOP-IG)
12/3/2021 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Event Description
Program Description
The English spelling system is an alphabetic system, that is, the letters in the spelling represent vowel and consonant sounds in the pronunciation. However, it is the least regular example of an alphabetic system among languages of the world. So, it is not totally regular, nor is it totally irregular. This has several implications for English language learners:
Some learners, especially those from a logographic writing system, may bypass the alphabetic principle and learn the spelling of English words by rote, as indivisible units, ignoring the regularities that do exist.
Some learners rely on the letter-to-sound correspondences, which are often unreliable, i.e., they over-treat spelling as regular.
English has many homophones and homographs, which mostly need to be learned by rote.
Some learners are unaware of letter-to-sound correspondences that are reliable.
Workshop exercises are conducted which deal with the above factors. Attendees will gain an appreciation of:
the regularity and irregularity of English spelling
some spelling patterns that are regular, and some that are irregular
how this accounts for some of the mispronunciations by English learners
how the exercises help learners appreciate these factors, and improve their pronunciation
Presenter
Adam Brown retired as Research Director of the Auckland Institute of Studies, New Zealand, and is author of Understanding and Teaching English Spelling; Activities andExercises for Teaching English Pronunciation; Pronunciation and Phonetics; and Teaching English Pronunciation: A Book of Readings (all Routledge).
