Sunday, October 03, 2004, 13:39 GMT
I've just had a look at Tom's phonemic alphabet and there are a few problems with it,
This is the chart
http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-ascii.htm
The phonemes it lists
^ cup, luck Amer
a: arm, father Amer / Brit
@ cat, black Amer
e met, bed Amer
.. away, cinema Amer
e:(r) turn, learn Amer / Brit
i hit, sitting Amer
i: see, heat Amer
o hot, rock Amer / Brit
o: call, four Amer / Brit
u put, could Amer
u: blue, food Amer
ai five, eye Amer
au now, out Amer
Ou go, home Amer
e..(r) where, air Amer / Brit
ei say, eight Amer
i..(r) near, here Amer / Brit
oi boy, join Amer
u..(r) pure, tourist Amer / Brit
b bad, lab Amer
d did, lady Amer
f find, if Amer
g give, flag Amer
h how, hello Amer
j yes, yellow Amer
k cat, back Amer
l leg, little Amer
m man, lemon Amer
n no, ten Amer
N sing, finger Amer
p pet, map Amer
r red, try Amer
s sun, miss Amer
S she, crash Amer
t tea, getting Amer
tS check, church Amer
th think, both Amer
TH this, mother Amer
v voice, five Amer
w wet, window Amer
z zoo, lazy Amer
Z pleasure, vision Amer
dZ just, large Amer
i(:) happy, ready, merry, carry
.l little, uncle
.n written, listen
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
The problem is that there are phonemes missing.
Tom includes [i(:)] in as in ''happy'', ''buddy'', and ''merry'' but doesn't include the [ju(:)] in calculator, occupy, evacuate, ambulance etc. Where's the logic in that?
Tom's chart does not include the voiceless velar fricative in ''loch''. Tom could use [K].
Tom's chart does not include the voiceless [w] that some Scots use in ''wh'' words like ''when'', ''which'', ''where'', ''wheel'', ''why'', ''what'', ''whiskey'' etc. Tom could use [W].
Tom's chart includes [e..(r)], [i..(r)] and [u..(r)] but does not include the [o..(r)] that some Britons use in words like ''four'', ''core'', ''wore'' and ''hoarse'' to distinguish them from ''for'', ''corps'', ''war'' and ''horse''. What sense does it make to overlook [o..(r)]?
Also,
Tom, Why does your chart use diagraphs for the ''th'' sound in ''think'' and the ''th'' sound in ''then''. Wouldn't [T] for ''think'' and [D] for ''then'' be better? How can I write the pronunciation of ''lighthouse'' if I have to use [th] for the ''th'' in ''think''?
Why does your chart use [j] for the ''y'' sound in ''yes'' rather than [y]. [y] would be a better choice because [j] could confuse foreigners and other people because it looks like [dZ].
''''''''''''''
Tom, your chart is missing a few phonemes. It's not complete. If your chart included the four phonemes mentioned by me above it would better fit more accents.
''''''''''''''''''''''
P.S., I wonder how many people agree with my objections to Tom's phonemic chart?
This is the chart
http://www.antimoon.com/how/pronunc-ascii.htm
The phonemes it lists
^ cup, luck Amer
a: arm, father Amer / Brit
@ cat, black Amer
e met, bed Amer
.. away, cinema Amer
e:(r) turn, learn Amer / Brit
i hit, sitting Amer
i: see, heat Amer
o hot, rock Amer / Brit
o: call, four Amer / Brit
u put, could Amer
u: blue, food Amer
ai five, eye Amer
au now, out Amer
Ou go, home Amer
e..(r) where, air Amer / Brit
ei say, eight Amer
i..(r) near, here Amer / Brit
oi boy, join Amer
u..(r) pure, tourist Amer / Brit
b bad, lab Amer
d did, lady Amer
f find, if Amer
g give, flag Amer
h how, hello Amer
j yes, yellow Amer
k cat, back Amer
l leg, little Amer
m man, lemon Amer
n no, ten Amer
N sing, finger Amer
p pet, map Amer
r red, try Amer
s sun, miss Amer
S she, crash Amer
t tea, getting Amer
tS check, church Amer
th think, both Amer
TH this, mother Amer
v voice, five Amer
w wet, window Amer
z zoo, lazy Amer
Z pleasure, vision Amer
dZ just, large Amer
i(:) happy, ready, merry, carry
.l little, uncle
.n written, listen
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
The problem is that there are phonemes missing.
Tom includes [i(:)] in as in ''happy'', ''buddy'', and ''merry'' but doesn't include the [ju(:)] in calculator, occupy, evacuate, ambulance etc. Where's the logic in that?
Tom's chart does not include the voiceless velar fricative in ''loch''. Tom could use [K].
Tom's chart does not include the voiceless [w] that some Scots use in ''wh'' words like ''when'', ''which'', ''where'', ''wheel'', ''why'', ''what'', ''whiskey'' etc. Tom could use [W].
Tom's chart includes [e..(r)], [i..(r)] and [u..(r)] but does not include the [o..(r)] that some Britons use in words like ''four'', ''core'', ''wore'' and ''hoarse'' to distinguish them from ''for'', ''corps'', ''war'' and ''horse''. What sense does it make to overlook [o..(r)]?
Also,
Tom, Why does your chart use diagraphs for the ''th'' sound in ''think'' and the ''th'' sound in ''then''. Wouldn't [T] for ''think'' and [D] for ''then'' be better? How can I write the pronunciation of ''lighthouse'' if I have to use [th] for the ''th'' in ''think''?
Why does your chart use [j] for the ''y'' sound in ''yes'' rather than [y]. [y] would be a better choice because [j] could confuse foreigners and other people because it looks like [dZ].
''''''''''''''
Tom, your chart is missing a few phonemes. It's not complete. If your chart included the four phonemes mentioned by me above it would better fit more accents.
''''''''''''''''''''''
P.S., I wonder how many people agree with my objections to Tom's phonemic chart?