The System of Language

Although many languages sound very different from each other, there are many similarities that all languages share. This is because languages are systems. Every language has written and spoken forms that work together to form the system of language. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the domains that all languages share are:

• Phonology
• Morphology
• Syntax
• Semantics
• Pragmatics

These domains can be grouped into (ASHA, n.d.):

• Form (phonology, morphology, and syntax)
• Content (semantics)
• Use (Pragmatics)

Every language has rules and conventions for each of these categories, they simply differ from language to language.

Phonological Awareness

Phonological awareness refers to the “ability to identify, think about, and mentally manipulate the building blocks of language” (Moats, 2020, 66). Phonemes are the smallest speech sounds that form a word and there is a finite set for each language system (Moats, 2020, 5). Being able to recognize and use these sounds or phonemes is a required skill for using any language.

Since the phonemes used within a language system varies between languages, discriminating between sounds when learning a second language can be difficult if the phonemes vary drastically from that person’s first language. This is important to remember for ELL learners because, looking back at how we acquire language, we learn to recognize and make the sounds used in our first language from infancy. Over time, we tune out the differences between sounds that are not part of the language system we use.

Phonemic awareness is a skill that is developed in the early grades. In the school district I work in, CMSD82, UFLI is the program the district promotes for teaching students phonological awareness. Since this is a skill that is developed at the word level, it isn’t as commonly taught in the intermediate grades. However, knowledge of it still matters for working with ELL students and students that struggle with spelling. Understanding which sounds are similar in terms of articulation can provide insight into spelling mistakes.

Most problems with pronunciation in a second language are the result of interference from the first language. Interference refers to a learner’s transfer of features of the sound system of her or his first language to the new language. This occurs because the sounds of the first language are imprinted very early in a child’s development.

Elizabeth Coelho, 2016, p. 60

Articulators

Articulation refers to how speech sounds are made in the mouth, throat, and nasal cavity. Air flow is also required from the lungs to make sounds in the larynx. Some sounds require air to flow through the mouth or nasal cavity while others require air to be stopped by the vocal folds or mouth. There are also voiced sounds, which vibrate the vocal folds, and unvoiced sounds, which don’t use the vocal folds (Essentials of Linguistics, 2018). The image below shows the many different areas of the mouth, throat, and nasal cavity that contribute to the articulation of phonemes. Not all languages use all articulators.

This video series by Essentials of Linguistics provides an in-depth description of how sounds are made with our bodies.

How Humans Produce Speech Sounds

Articulators

Sonority, Consonants and Vowels

Classifying Consonants

Diphthongs

These articulators work together to form the sounds shown in the chart above. This chart is based on sounds used in America English. A chart showing sounds for another language may have differences, depending on how the language varies from English.

Vowels are a different type of speech sound because they are a open and unobstructed (Moats, 2020, 41). Every syllable has to have a vowel. There are front vowels, that are made with the mouth in a smile position, and back vowels, which involve the tongue going up towards the roof of the mouth, and in-between those there are low vowels that are made with the mouth in an O position with the jaw dropped (Moats, 2020, 43). Additionally, there are diphthongs that involve gliding in the middle to change the sound, r-controlled vowels (er, ar, or), and schwas, which occur in unstressed syllables and sound similar to a short i even though the letter in the word is not an i (Moats, 2020, 44-45).

Classifying Vowels

Understanding what part of the mouth is used for a sound that a student is struggling with can help with giving instruction by making them aware of their own mouth when talking. Teaching phonological awareness directly improves reading abilities because it builds the connection between sounds and letters, also known and phonemes and graphemes.

Applying Phonological Awareness in the Classroom

Check out these two documents I created for ways to apply this information in the classroom:

Ready to Learn More?

Check out this podcast with Dr. Susan Brady on the Triple R Teaching Podcast.

My Reflection on this podcast:

“Another new idea to me was from the podcast, What We Know About Phoneme Awareness – With Dr. Susan Brady, when Dr. Susan Brady explained why it’s only useful to focus solely on phonemic awareness in the early grades and that it needs to be tied to spelling by grade 2 or 3. It makes a lot of sense when thinking about it. Identifying the sounds is important but if the letter correspondence isn’t understood, it won’t serve the purpose of developing reading and writing abilities.”

References

ASHA. (n.d.). Language in brief. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association Making effective communication, a human right, accessible and achievable for all. https://www.asha.org/practice-portal/clinical-topics/spoken-language-disorders/language-in-brief/

Coelho, E. (2016). “Chapter 8: Understanding Second Language Acquisition” in Adding English: A Guide to Teaching in Multilingual Classrooms. University of Toronto Press.

Essentials of Linguistics. (2018, January 25). 1.2 Mental Grammar. YouTube. https://youtu.be/kLf0ZIkbUxE

Moats, Louisa Cook. (2020). Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.