Due by 5pm on Sunday, February 18: Discussion Post #4 on the Ning
What is the difference between sound and spelling? Why is this distinction significant for your language-learning efforts? Describe the phonetic inventory of your target language. Are there sounds in your language that don’t exist in American English? If so, provide several words and their phonetic transcriptions of words as examples to support your argument. What do you need to know about the sound system of your target language? How will you acquire the ability to discriminate differentiated segments in your listening, and to produce these sounds in your speech?
Replies
The sound differs from the spelling as something can sound the same but be spelled differently. For instance, flour and flower sound identical, but their spelling differs. Also, in Korean, the L and R sounds are pronounced similarly, but if it is written in English, it is a whole lot different. This distinction is significant for my language-learning efforts as the pronunciation I hear is the same and might differ from the natives and my goal is to pronounce as much as like the natives. The phonetic inventory of Korean is combining what is called 자음 and 모음 to change how they are written and sounded. Combining ㅇ and ㅏ differs from combining ㅇ with ㅑ; the first one is pronounced as "Ah" and the second one is pronounced as "ya." Some sounds in Korean don't exist in English, like ㅢ that can be used for 의사 (ɰisʰa̠). I need to know that there are components that I can not pronounce using Enlish pronounciation chart. Therefore, I am going to utilize reousrces such as natives and Youtube videos to practice my listening and speaking skills.
Sound and spelling represent two different aspects of language. while sounds refer to the actual pronunciation of words, spelling refers to the words written down. I must understand the phonetics of my target language Korean. Some examples of how the Korean language differs from American English is Korean has several sounds that don't exist in American English such as aspirated consonants and tense vowels. As I continue on my langauge learning journey i should know that the that Korean sound system has a larger set of consonant sounds compared to English. For example, Korean distinguishes between aspirated and unaspirated consonants, which are not contrastive in English. Aspirated consonants are pronounced with a burst of air, while unaspirated consonants are not. Additionally, Korean has sounds like ㄱ (g/k) and ㄲ (gg/kk) which are produced further back in the mouth compared to their English counterparts.ㄲ (gg/kk): This is a tense version of the previous sound, produced with more tension in the articulation. It's similar to the "k" sound in "sky" but with more tension. An example is "떡" (tteok) meaning "rice cake. ㅢ (UI): This is a diphthong sound that doesn't have an exact equivalent in English. It's a combination of "ㅣ" (i) and "ㅡ" (eu). An example is "의사" (ui-sa) meaning "doctor." My strategy to to acquire the ability to produce these sounds accurately is by listening to Korean speakers through podcasts, videos, or conversations with my language-learning partner. distinguishing between similar sounds through exercises and drills. Trying to mimic the pronunciation of native speakers to improve my accuracy and seek feedback from my lanague learning partner or language to correct any pronunciation errors. Incorporating these strategies into my language-learning routine, can enhance my ability to discriminate between sounds and improve my overall pronunciation and communication skills in Korean
When one refers to the sound we are talking about the auditory part of a language. Sound can change depending on what language you speak, what region you are from, and also what accent you may have. Spelling in a language refers to the written aspects of a language. We may use letters of symbols to help create words that have meaning. Although there is normally a correlation between the two, languages such as English have words like "knight" where the "k" starts with the "n" sound. In Korean the sound "ㅇ" or "ng" doesn't exist in the English language. I've learned that it is one of the harder sounds to replicate as a native English speaker since we don't use our throat to create more guttural sounds.
Sound refers to refers to the vibrations created when we speak or make noise, as they travel through the air and into the environment. Spelling refers to a specific sequence of written characters that conform a word in a specific language or dialect. Sound uses listening and speaking, while spelling is more about writing and reading. The sounds (or phonetics) of Korean (my target language) are very particular in the way that they are usually divided and created by King Sejong. In short, most some of the Korean alphabet, or hangeul, can be divided by the amount of air one puts into it; for example, there 3 different sounds and characters for sounds we in English would associate with the letters C or K. Depending if the sounds is tense and short, airy and aspirated, or plain, will affect the meaning of words and phrases. This type of rule is valid for about half of consonants in hangeul. In terms Korean sounds that are not in American English, one that comes to mind is the letter 'ㄹ' which could be seen as a combination of sounds of r and l. An example of this is the Korean word for Ramen: 라면 (transcribed as "ramyeon"). While the transcription signifies the use of an r at the beginning when hearing native Korean speakers say this word, it almost resembles more an l than an r, pronounced very closely to "lamyeon." Something that I need to know about the Korean sound system are the slight differences in the double consonants that often need to be more tense than their counterparts, as well as others that need more air. As a novice, it will be hard at first to notice these differences in speech, especially at a regular speed and by speakers who cannot really tell the difference in words for me to understand, as for them it comes as second nature. However, by constant listening, drill exercises, and talking with Korean speakers at a reasonable pace, the ability to recognize these differences should come to me gradually, and that is exactly what I plan to do.
One thing we don't think about a lot in English is the amount of words that are spelled weirdly. Again for example a word like fish can be produced by making the letters Ghoti; To an English native speaker, it obviously looks out of line because we know the correct spelling of the word fish although if you teach the English language you slowly realize that letters and spelling can have completely different meanings and pronunciations based on the selected word. This distinction is important because it's one thing to understand the individual letters in the alphabet but it's also another to understand where those change depending on which words you're talking about. Korean utilizes plosive forms for many sounds, There are many sounds in Korean that to a native English speaker are very hard to distinguish and pronounce. A good example of this is the letter ㄹ, which produces a mix between R/L. In English, we do not have this exact sound so producing it and hearing it is extremely difficult to know. By working with Isaac he is helping me in order to form these sounds, because this is so new it is hard for me to understand the intricate difference with these letters.
Beyond the obvious, that sound is spoken and spelled words are written, there is a huge diversity in sounds that people are capable of making which can’t truly be captured in a universal way through spelling. It is significant because it lets me know that I can’t always just rely on what I am seeing. Portuguese has a lot of phonology that differs from what I would expect based on the letters involved in words. For example ‘de’ is often pronounced like the letter ‘G’ in English. O is pronounced ‘u,’ depending on where it is in a word. Z, ç, s, and ss can all sound fairly similar to my ear (although they do sometimes change within the word), with differences in intensity and length of the phone. The latter is an example where very similar sounds are represented by a lot of different letters which has been confusing for me at times. The double rr sound, familiar from Spanish, is also different in Brazilian Portuguese, where they rarely pronounce Rs, instead replacing them with an ‘h’ sound. The rolled h in carro, for example, has been a new sound for me. Differentiating between spelling and phonology has been the focus of most of my work so far, but I do feel like I am getting close to a solid base in Brazilian Portuguese phonology.