how to compare two sound system

CHAPTER HOW TO COMPARE TWO SOUND SYSTEMS GROUP 1: NGUYỄN THỊ HỒNG LIÊN VŨ PHƯƠNG THẢO NGUYỄN ANH THƯ CONTENT Introduction Problem Analysis Problem Analysis: Stress and Rhythm Problem Analysis: Intonation INTRODUCTION 1.1 Phoneme •  Phoneme, in linguistics, smallest unit of speech distinguishing one word (or word element) from another, • as the element p in “tap”, which separates that word from “tab,” “tag,” and “tan.” 1.2 Phonemes are not letters - A letter of the alphabet may represent a phoneme - A phoneme is never a letter - It is a unit of sound  Phonemes are units of sound that exist in all the languages we know, whether or not they have ever been written 1.3 Phonemic versus non-phonemic differences Phonemic differences Non-phonemic/ non- significant differences - Constantly used to distinguish - Never used to distinguish words words - Represented by phonemes - Represented by the difference b/w the exploded or unexploded, aspirated -Change the words - Remain the same words - A relatively small number of - Hundreds or thousands of nonphonemic distinctions phonemic differences 1.4 A sound system A system of habits Great strength of the system - The use of the sound system of a language operates as a system of automatic and semiautomatic habits It is extremely difficult to change anything in that system There is a strong force binding the units-the phonemes- of any language in their complex of contrasts 1.5 Transfer of native sound system Production distortions Perception blind spots • Production distortions: - the pronunciation of a German speaker learning English is quite different from that of a Spanish speaker learning English - the distortions in the English pronunciation of a German speaker will bear great similarity to the distortions of other German speakers • Perception blind spots: - Phonemic differences in the foreign language will be consistently missed if there is no similar phonemic difference in the native language E.g Speakers may not produce final consonants since there are fewer final consonants in Vietnamese in contrast with English 1.6 Comparison applications of sound systems and A means of predicting and describing the pronunciation problems of the speakers of a given language learning another The results obtained from the process of comparing sound systems are great practical use for the preparation of textbooks, tests, evaluation of materials, diagnosis of student problems ... phonemic differences 1.4 A sound system A system of habits Great strength of the system - The use of the sound system of a language operates as a system of automatic and semiautomatic habits It is... them is more persistent 2.2 Analysis of sound systems The object here is to find or prepare a linguistic analysis of the sound system of the language to be learned and a similar description... difficult to change anything in that system There is a strong force binding the units-the phonemes- of any language in their complex of contrasts 1.5 Transfer of native sound system Production distortions