More on Linguistics
Linguists study their own language and other ones too. Since
they need to describe the pronunciations of words so that
any linguist around the world can understand them, they
developed an international phonetic system made up of
symbols to represent sounds.
So, whether you speak Chinese, Arabic, or Swahili you would
know how to pronounce an "e" rotated 180 degrees:
(also called a shwa) in this word represented phonetically:
as, well, "bird"!
Check out any dictionary—you'll see that they all have
some kind of phonetic system to help you know how to
pronounce unfamiliar words.
Do you recognize these common words when they are spelled
phonetically?
-
-
-
-
Give me a hint!
I'm ready to check my answers.
But what if you can't hear? Or see? Can you think of other
ways to communicate thoughts and ideas?
Check these out!
Takla Makan Mummies
|
Mummies 101
|
Digging into Language
Resources |
Transcript
| Mummies Home
Editor's Picks
|
Previous Sites
|
Join Us/E-mail
|
TV/Web Schedule
About NOVA |
Teachers |
Site Map |
Shop |
Jobs |
Search |
To print
PBS Online |
NOVA Online |
WGBH
©
| Updated October 2000
|