Week 6: My phonemic inventory
This activity invites you to think about your own pronunciation of English, with reference to the two main reference accents, RP (Received Pronunciation – UK) and GenAM (General American). Take a look at the phonemes listed in the attached file – consonants and vowels – and add the symbol that you think you use – or that you want to use – when you are speaking English. If you haven’t got a particular phoneme in your repertoire, leave it blank.
Pay particular attention to contrasts like PULL and POOL: have you got different or identical vowels in these words? Identify those consonants and phonemes that cause you some difficulty in perception and/or production – can you hear them, and can you say them?
Note that we are talking about phonemes here. We are not concerned at the moment with the differences in pronunciation of /r/, for example, or different allophones of /l/ or /t/. Phonemes are used in the contrast of meaning.
There is no single set of ‘right’ answers to this activity though there are wrong ones! Print out the attached file, add your own phonemes, and scan/photograph and upload it as a pdf or jpeg file to moodle. You will get credit for completing this exercise.
- 12. Februar 2019, 14:09