Pronouncing Names, Places and Things

a) [l] = voiced, alveolar, liquid
[i] = high front
[s] = voiceless, alveolar, fricative
[e] = mid front
[t] = voiceless, alveolar, stop

b) Widely, I think my name is one of the easiest names to pronounce because the pronunciation consists of the same spellings. The only difficult part of my name is knowing whether the pronunciation is in Spanish [liset] or in French [lizet]. My name is originally pronounced in Spanish, but in school, I have been known as lizet. I believe it has been easier for them because Lissette is a very common name and the pronunciation in English is pronounced with a [z]. Therefore, I believe that lizet was their first guess in pronouncing my name.

c) There are a couple of things that I have trouble pronouncing, but at the time, they really don’t come to mind. I mostly have trouble pronouncing words when I hear a word for the first time ever, but other then that my pronunciation is fine.

Yule's Chapter 5

In Yule’s, chapter 5, we learn about the sound patterns of language. For example, one thing I learned about was phonology. Phonology is what describes the patterns of speech sounds in a language. It helps us differentiate the meaning in sounds that we say and hear.

Also, in Chapter 5, we learn about phonemes and how by substituting one phoneme for another changes pronunciation and meaning. But if we substitute one allophone for another changes only the pronunciation. In addition to this, Yule’s also teaches us about aspirated sounds. He says that an aspirated sound is the sound that is pronounced with a stronger puff of air.

Lastly but not least, we learn in chapter 5 about phonotactics and open and closed syllables. The phonotactics are the permitted arrangements of sounds which obey constraints on the sequence and ordering of phonemes in a language. On the other hand, an open syllable ends with a vowel, as nucleus, and a closed syllable ends with an consonant, as coda.

Another thing we learned about in chapter 5, that I am still having a bit of trouble differentiation, is minimal pairs and sets. A minimal pair is when two words are identical in form except for a contrast in one phoneme, occurring in the same positions, such as pat and bat. While a minimal set is when a group of words can’t be differentiated, each one from the others, by changing one phoneme, such as feat, fit, fat and fate.

Amy Tan "Yes or No"

In her story “Yes or No,” Amy Tan talks about her experience with English and how many things change when a person grows up bilingual. In her story, she talks about an occasion where she came across in a New York Times Magazine article. In the article, there were many things said about Chinese people and their language. For example, she read that “Chinese people are so discreet and modest, that there aren’t even words for yes or no” (26). They are very polite and indirect people and that is why when they come here to America, they are obligated to do everything they are told to do because they just can’t simply say no. I believe they do all of this out of courtesy.

Also, aside from this article, Tan also talks about her mothers experience to language. Tan’s story is very similar to my “Relationship to Language” story in many ways. The reason why is because in my story I talk about how hard it was for my mother to speak English when she first came to this country and even now, because her brain is just not capable of learning the language. As well as Tan’s mother, my mother has a very hard time distinguishing the difference between plural and singular words in English. She has a very hard time with her pronunciation and she just gets frustrated to the point where she just gives up. In any event, I believe this is the part I found most interesting in the story. The fact that both Tan and I could make a connection with our mothers.

Another part I found interesting in the story, was when Tan said that “English speakers point out that Chinese is extremely difficult because it relies on variations in tone barely discernible to the human ear” (31). The reason why I found this part so interesting was because I believe this is the same way my mother feels about learning the English language. She believes it’s just extremely too hard for her to learn the different variations of tone, sound and articulations.

My Relationship to Language

To me, language is the ability to use speech the way we were taught by our ancestors and family members. I believe it varies upon our race and it has a lot to do with the place where we were born. I also believe it is a way to express ourselves and show our emotions. It's a tool that builds up who we are. I for one was taught to speak Spanish by my mother and learned English in school; and that is why I believe education also has a major influence in learning the use of language.
As a child, I remember learning English very quickly. I went to daycare and preschool and by kindergarten, I was already talking English non-stop. While I was learning, I would always speak English and Spanish all mixed up together. For example, I would say “mommy quiero milk” or “mommy give me agua.” I remember finding this really “cool,” because I was speaking two languages. But as time passed, I learned how to not combine both languages and focus only on one. Little by little I learned how to make complete sentences in English and complete sentences in Spanish without combining the two. I believe that for me it was easier to learn a different language because as a child I was able to adapt to anything new. As we all know, little children always try to pick up something, such as a word or a habit, no matter what it is. And I believe that is what happened to me as a child. I was so excited about learning English, because everyone in school would speak it and I really wanted to learn the language, in order to fit in and communicate with my peers.
On the other hand, I believe learning a new language is really hard as an adult. From my family’s experience, I think as we grow older our ability to learn a new language decreases. For example, I remember a couple of years ago trying to teach my mom to speak English. Every time she came from work I would have a notebook ready for her with some work to do. As much as she tried, she never could pronounce the word and this made her more and more frustrated, to the point in where she would just give up. I would always try teaching her English by making the activities fun, such as using games and flash cards, but she just couldn’t do it. She would always tell me her brain was just not capable of adapting to the new language. We didn’t know how she was able to understand the language but not speak or write it.
In any case, my two experiences have left me with many unsolved questions. For example, why is it easier for children to learn a language, rather than an adult? Also, where does language really come from? How can we adapt to a language as an adult? How do children ACQUIRE a language, while we as adults LEARN a language? And in my mother’s case, why is it that some people have an easier time understanding a language, rather than speaking or writing it? My hypothesis is that children automatically adapt to the language. They copy everything they hear and I have proven my hypothesis correct with my niece. She is four years-old and at times, I have really observed her and the way she talks. Every time she hears a new word, she asks what it means, and then starts running around the house saying the word over and over, until she learns it for good. I believe that similar to me she is excited about learning something new as a child.
In conclusion, I believe I haven’t had many personal experiences on my own with language, but I can relate to the many experiences my family members have had acquiring a new language. My first experience was combining both English and Spanish and my second experience was when I was teaching my mom English. I didn’t have a hard time learning it as a child, but I personally saw how difficult it was for my mom to learn.