| Forward to the Current ENGLISH Forum |
| GoranBcn | Sunday 30th of January 2005 07:32:56 PM |
| Phonemas in English - How many phonemes are there in English? Does anybody know? | |
| gmbroome | Sunday 30th of January 2005 08:40:05 PM |
| Tough question... - That really depends on who you ask... most estimates fall between 25-30. I personally usually go for 26 consonants, and those are as follows:
t, p, ch, k, d, b, j, g, th, f, sh, qu(?), dh, v, zh, n, m, ng, nge, r, y , w, s, z, l, and h. "hw" / "wh" could possibly be counted as independant as well. Vowels are another matter, as they vary greatly from dialect to dialect (i.e. I can think of about five distinct regions in the U.S. alone). Personally I like to say about 12 vowels (a, flat a, e, long e, i, long i, o, long o, flat o, u, long u, and the schwa). So, if you want one estimate, 26 consonants and 12 vowels... if this estimate offends or enrages anybody, my apologies- it's just my opinion. In any case, I hope I've been helpful. | |
| jass | Monday 31st of January 2005 05:27:37 AM |
| - Hi,
As I know there are 24 sounds for consonants and 20 for vowels | |