Foundations of Phonemic Awareness - Chapter 2

Foundations of Phonemic Awareness

• Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate the individual sounds, or phonemes, in spoken words.
• It is crucial for reading development, enabling learners to decode words and comprehend text.

Definition of Phoneme

• Phoneme: the smallest unit of speech that distinguishes one word from another.
• Example: “dog” consists of three phonemes (/d/, /o/, /g/); “chain” has three phonemes (/ch/, /ai/, /n/) despite having five letters.

Kinds of Phonemes

• English contains 44 phonemes divided into various categories:
  • Consonant Phonemes: 19 unique sounds, excluding x, q, and c.
  • Vowel Phonemes:
    • Short Vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/
    • Long Vowels: /ā/, /ē/, /ī/, /ō/, /ū/
  • Digraph Phonemes:
    • Consonant Digraphs: /ch/, /sh/, /ng/, /th/ (voiced and voiceless), /zh/, /wh/
    • Vowel Digraphs: /ai/, /ay/, /ee/, /ea/, /oa/, /oe/
  • R-Controlled Phonemes: /a(r)/, /ā(r)/, /i(r)/, /u(r)/
  • ‘oo’ Vowel Phonemes: /oo/, /ōō/
  • Diphthongs: /ow/, /oy/

Articulatory Phonetics

• Focuses on how speech sounds are produced by the movements and positions of the vocal organs (articulators).
• Voiced Sounds: Produced with vocal cord vibration; includes voiced vowels and consonants.
• Voiceless Sounds: Made with airflow, without vocal cord vibration; includes various voiceless consonants.

Manner of Articulation

• Stops: Complete closure of articulators; e.g., /p/, /t/, /k/.
• Fricatives: Close approximation of articulators allowing friction; e.g., /f/, /v/, /s/.
• Affricates: Sequence of stop followed by fricative; e.g., /ʧ/ (ch), /ʤ/ (j).
• Nasal Sounds: Flow of air through the nose due to obstruction; e.g., /m/, /n/, /ŋ/ (ng).
• Glides: Little obstruction in airflow; also known as semivowels; e.g., /y/, /w/.
• Liquids: Some obstruction in the oral cavity without friction; e.g., /l/, /r/.

Place of Articulation

• Bilabial Sounds: Produced by bringing both lips together; e.g., /p/, /b/, /m/.
• Labio-Dental Sounds: Made by touching the bottom lip to the upper teeth; e.g., /f/, /v/.
• Interdental Sounds: Produced with the tongue between teeth; e.g., /θ/, /ð/.
• Alveolar Sounds: Tongue raises to the alveolar ridge; e.g., /t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /r/.