myfatherslily Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I've been using Word Mastery with my DD, along with A Beka. I was looking through it this morning and found something I thought was strange. Either I'm not getting what they're saying, or maybe time has just slightly altered the pronunciation of these words??? It's on page 56 http://books.google.com/books?id=ht4AAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA117&dq=complete%2Bcourse%2Bin%2Bphonics#PPA56,M1 It says that in these words, "y=short i": cherry merry windy kitty penny chilly sorry sunny And so on. Umm... I would say the "y" makes a long "e" sound... wouldn't you? Short "i"??? "cherrih" "merrih" "windih" Word Mastery was written in 1913. I thought it was kind of funny. Or Funn-ih???:) Does anyone here say them with a short "i"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Yes, that is correct. Spalding and its lookalikes do the same thing. In fact, in older dictionaries, /i/ was the correct pronunciation given for y, not /ee/. Many English-speaking folks do say /i/, not /ee/. This is what Spalding Education International says about it: Q. Why are baby and other words pronounced with the first (short) sound of i when most people say the second (long) sound of e? A. The Spalding Method teaches children to analyze the written spelling of words. Spelling has remained relatively constant over the years while pronunciations vary among geographical regions and countries. In the English spelling system y and i are used interchangeably, but y and e are not. For example, in the words gym, rhythm, system, we use y to represent the first sound of i. When teaching children to spell, pronouncing the word ba by (short i), helps them to write y, not e. [Emphasis mine.] Note that the accent is on the first syllable. When reading the word for speaking, you have a choice: have children pronounce the word as spoken in your region or maintain the original pronunciation which is consistent with the spelling. Children have no problem with the difference. They understand that pronouncing words two ways helps them spell and read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnllj7 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Thank you that made me laugh (funn-ih) that reminds me of the southern civil war movie i was watching yesterday, I am extremely southern being in FLa, but I dont pronounce my words like that. Thank you again, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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