It is argued that a more comprehensive, systematic understanding of the nature of the alphabet, its three identities (letters/graphemes, letters/nomenemes, sounds/phonemes), and their specific functions in the teaching of various language skills and subskills should be an integral part of the language arts curriculum and instructional plan,…

This paper reviews recent research on English spelling and the alphabet, and examines the alphabet in terms of symbols, letter-names, and sounds. English is considerably less phonetic than most Western languages, with many symbols having more than one sound. This factor makes spelling difficult for learners of English as a Second Language (ESL) or…

A study examined the phonological status of laminal sibilants in Chamicuro, a Maipuran Arawakan language spoken in the Amazonian lowlands of eastern Peru. The phonemic inventory of these sibilants shows a very strong symmetry of three affricates and three corresponding fricatives. However, when the laminal alveolar fricative is considered, the…

BECAUSE THE INTERFERENCE FROM HIS NATIVE LANGUAGE CAUSES A LINGUIST TO HEAR AND IDENTIFY THE SOUNDS OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN TERMS OF HIS OWN, THE AUTHOR HAS PROPOSED A PROCEDURE DESIGNED TO (1) MAKE THE TASK OF PHONEMICIZING A LANGUAGE SHORT AND OBJECTIVE, (2) EQUATE THE PHONEMES OF A LANGUAGE WITH THE PERCEPTION OF THE USERS OF THAT LANGUAGE,…

THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY SPEAKERS OF AMERICAN ENGLISH IN ATTEMPTING TO MASTER THE PRONUNCIATION OF EGYPTIAN ARABIC WERE ANALYZED DURING THE REPORTED RESEARCH. THE LANGUAGE UNDER CONSIDERATION WAS THE URBAN COLLOQUIAL ARABIC OF THE EGYPTIAN DELTA. THIS STUDY DEALT WITH THE SEGMENTAL PHONEMES ONLY, WITH SOME REFERENCE TO STRESS AND…

To measure the symmetry of adult categorical phoneme perception, 10 adult male undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology class were the subjects for this study as part of their course requirements. The stimuli used in this study were prepared at Haskins Laboratories by means of a parallel resonance synthesizer and computer. The…

Clarifies the analysis of the phoneme /s/ in the book "Spanish Phonology" by James W. Harris. (NCR)

Discusses phonic shifting or sound shifts through an examination of Grimm's Law, or the Germanic Consonant Shift. The discussion includes comments on why the phonic shift developed and its pattern. (10 references) (GLR)

Reviews and comments on the major points made in Albert Gessman's paper, "Grimm's Law: Fact or Myth?" Through the evaluation of the paper's 13 points, several ideas are pointed out that are believed to be crucial to Gessman's arguments. (29 references) (GLR)

This paper demonstrates the qualitative differences between the long and short vowels of Navaho from spectrum analysis of the language made by the Kay Electric Sona-Graph. (CK)

The natural phonology theory, related to European structuralism, makes two fundamental assumptions: (1) phonemes are mental images of the sounds of language, and (2) phonological processes represent subconscious mental substitutions of one sound or class of sounds for another that are the natural response to the relative difficulties of sound…

Challenges three of Chomsky and Halle's basic phonological assumptions that their vowel shift rule is valid, that the underlying phonological representations are the only sound representation to be listed in the lexicon, and that derived words do not appear as wholes in the lexicon. Reprint requests should be addressed to Danny D. Steinberg,…

The present study is a pilot phonemic analysis which attempts primarily to establish an inventory of phonemic contrasts in Bemba. Also referred to as Chibemba, the term Bemba is used to cover several regional variants of the language. (The variant examined in this study is known as "Central Bemba," spoken in the Kasama District and contiguous…

Research supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Early Education Research Center of the University of Chicago. (DD)

Research supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. (DD)