Pronunciation and sounds Vowel sounds (Short, long and gliding)

Transcription

1 LESSON 1: Pronunciation and sounds Vowel sounds (Short, long and gliding) Teacher Background Information Before students learn to say new words, it is very important that they learn the sounds represented by the letters. There are some sounds in Aboriginal Languages that aren t in the English language. In many cases Communities only have written documents like dictionaries to go by and the dictionaries usually have a description of the sounds at the start. Check your Local Community Resources to see if there is a Sound Chart for the Local Language. Lesson Overview This lesson introduces students to the sounds and pronunciations of the Local Language/s, focusing on short and long vowel sounds. Encourage students to practice the correct sounds. Key Learning/Purpose Students will: Learn how sounds are made in the Local Language; Learn how sounds are pronounced; Begin by looking, listening and saying new sounds; Transfer their knowledge by filling in the activities in their Language Workbook. Resources A Sound Chart for your language may be available in the Local Community Resources Students Language Workbook Become familiar with the document from RNLD called LO2 Sounds of Language 1

2 Information to assist with teaching this lesson Before students start learning words, they will need to learn the correct pronunciation of the sounds. You will need to let students know that a slight change in sounds can often change a word to mean something completely different. For example, in English, if we have the word pit and change the p to a b, the word then becomes something completely different. There are many stories of people being very embarrassed by saying a word slightly wrong. They key thing to remember is to teach pronunciation very carefully and students must learn respectfully. The information below is a guide only and can be used to teach students. Consult with the language expert in your community if you have any questions about your language and the sounds. Vowels Explain to students that sounds are similar in most Aboriginal Languages. Aboriginal Languages usually have 3 or 5 short vowels. All languages have at least the following 3 vowels. Get students to practice saying the words. Where possible, include examples of words in your language: 1. i - the sound made in the words pin, tin, bin etc 2. a - the sound made in the words car, far, star 3. u - the sound made in the words foot, put, could Some languages also have another two short vowel sounds. Again get students to practice making the sounds: 4. e - the sound made in the word head, bed, said 5. o - the sound made in the word hot, shop, drop 2

3 Some Aboriginal languages also have three long vowel sounds. Again get students to practice making the sounds: 1. ii or ee - the sound made in the word heat, meet, seat 2. aa - the sound made in the word cart, start, march 3. uu or oo - the sound made in the word food, shoe, who, room, kangaroo Some Aboriginal languages also have sounds which are made with two vowels together, they start with one vowel sound and slide into another. These are known as diphthongs or glides. Some examples are: ai - hide, like, my, life, high, shine ei - make, lake, eight, weight oi - boil, noise, oil, join, toy, annoy, boy au - shout, flower, mouth, pound, house ou - own, bone, alone Vowels are sounds that you can say without stopping the flow of air from your lungs as it comes out of your mouth, and sounds you can say with very little friction that you can hear. To help students get a better idea of how vowels and consonants work, get them to say aloud the vowels (A, E, I, O,U). Then get them to say a few consonants. Ask them if they feel the way your mouth has to close when you say the letters M or Z but not the letters I or U? Think about the flow of air more air flows freely out of your mouth when you say vowels than when you say consonants. Remember to have a look at the RNLD document in the Digital Resources as it will give you more information and help understand more about pronouncing the sounds. Your language advisor will also be able to provide information specific to your language. 3

4 Lesson Steps 1. Start with greeting the class and talk about what the students will be learning about. Discuss the importance of correct pronunciation of sounds. Students will need to listen carefully and practice making the sounds. Hand out copies of the Sound Chart. 2. Explain that sounds are similar in most Aboriginal Languages. Aboriginal Languages usually have 3 or 5 short vowels. Write the vowels on the board for your language and write examples of words with the sounds. Have students practice making the sounds. Do the same thing for the long vowels. Give examples of some words from your language where possible. Then talk about the diphthongs (2 vowels together) and show examples in English and in your language. 3. Students fill in activities in the Worksheet 4

5 Answers to the activity that students are asked to do. The following are well known Australian words that originally come from Aboriginal Languages. 1. Underline the short vowel sounds in these words. bilby 2 short vowels /i/ billabong 3 short vowels /i, a, o/ brolga 2 short vowels /o, a/ dingo 2 short vowels /i, o/ wallaby 3 short vowels /o a, i/ wombat 2 short vowels /o, a/ 2. Underline the long vowel sounds in these words: boomerang coolamon coolibah corroboree galah kangaroo 1 long vowel /uu/ 1 long vowel /uu/ 2 long vowels /uu/ and /aa/ 1 long vowel /ii/ 1 long vowel /aa/ 1 long vowel /uu/ 3. Underline the gliding vowel sound (diphthong) in this word: Taipan 5

6 Worksheet L1.1 Pronunciation and sounds Vowel sounds Name:...Date:...Class: How many vowels does the local language use? Are there any long vowel sounds? Yes / No 3. If yes, what are the long vowels?... The following are well known Australian words that originally come from Aboriginal Languages. 4. Underline the short vowel sounds in these words: Underline the short vowel sounds Do you know what the vowel sounds are? bilby 2 short vowels /i/ billabong brolga dingo wallaby wombat 5. Underline the long vowel sounds in these words: Underline the long vowel sounds Do you know what the vowel sounds are? boomerang 1 long vowel /uu/ coolamon coolibah corroboree galah galah 6. Underline the gliding vowel sound (diphthong) in this word: Taipan 6

7 Worksheet L Write 3 examples of words with sounds for each of the short vowels: i - a - u - e - o - 8. Now write 3 examples words that have the sounds of the long vowels. If there are no long vowels in the language, move on to the next question. ii or ee - aa - uu or oo - 9. Finish each sentence with the word that uses the correct gliding vowels (diphthongs). a) Where did you the keys? (hide / hire) b) I that dress! (life / like) c) Can you see the boat on the? (lake / leak) d) The feather doesn t _ very much. (weigh / eight) e) My Mum is going to some water to make a cup of tea. (join / boil) f) What was that loud _? (noise / nose) g) The ball is _. (shout / round) h) The in the garden is very pretty. (flower / flour) i) Do you like my new _ car? (annoy / toy) j) We had to tie our boat up to the.(buoy / boy) 7

8 LESSON 2: Pronunciation and sounds Consonants Teacher Background Information This lesson continues on from the previous lessons and looks at different sounds in Aboriginal languages focusing on consonants. Lesson Overview This lesson introduces students to the sounds and pronunciations of the local language, focusing on consonants including sounds with ng, as well as retroflex sounds N, L and D or T. You will need to encourage students to practice the correct sounds. Key Learning/Purpose Students will: Learn how certain sounds are made in the local language; Learn how sounds are pronounced; Begin by looking, listening and saying new sounds and words; Transfer their knowledge by filling in the activities in their Language Workbook. Resources A Sound Chart for your language may be available in the Local Community Resources Students Language Workbook Become familiar with the document from RNLD called LO2 Sounds of Language 8

9 Information to assist with teaching this lesson Stops or plosive sounds Stops or plosives are sounds that are produced by stopping the airflow in the vocal tract. In most Aboriginal languages, there isn t a difference between b and p, t and d, k and g. You can say b or p, d or t and g or k with no difference to the meaning of the word. Some people use b, d and g while others prefer p, t and k. Where dh or th is written, this indicates a sound like d or t but with the tongue touching the back of the teeth. Nasal sounds Aboriginal languages commonly have several different nasal sounds, including some which we also have in English, like m and n. Aboriginal languages also have the sound ny, as in new or canyon. The ny sound can also occur at the end of words. It s important to remember not to pronounce the y as in words like many, penny. It s pronounced as an n sound, with the middle part of the tongue pushed up against the top of the palate. The ng sound is common in Aboriginal languages. In English, this occurs in the middle or end of words but not at the beginning. Many Aboriginal languages have words that start with ng. This can be hard for English speakers to master. The sound you make is the same sound as in words like song, thing, ring. The back of the tongue should touch the roof of the mouth. Get students to practice saying the word singer a couple of times, then inger, then nger. They should be getting pretty close to pronouncing the ng sound. 9

10 Where possible, include examples of words in your language. If students only speak English it can be quite difficult at first to learn to say words that start with ng. The ng in singer is different to the sound of ng in finger. In Aboriginal languages, the ng sound in finger would be written as ngg, because it first has the ng sound and that is followed by a g sound. This is a general guide, check the correct spelling and pronunciation in your local language though. Another sound made with the tongue back is k and g. Get students to practice making these sounds too. Retroflex sounds Retroflex sounds are pronounced with the tip of the tongue turned back. Get the students to feel in their mouth where the hard palate curves upwards. To make a retroflex sound, curl the tip of the backwards to the point just where the hard palate starts to curve back. Retroflex sounds are common in Aboriginal languages, but not in the English language. Tell the students that N, L and D or T are common retroflex sounds in Aboriginal languages. Encourage them to say the sounds. Tell them to put the tip of their tongue against the roof of their mouth, and say L. Try the same for N, D and T. If the words have been written, these sounds are often spelt with an r in front of the letter e.g. - rn, rl, rd and rt. The r is a sign to help you remember that it is a retroflex sound. It s important to remember not to say the r, it s just there to let people know it s a retroflex sound. After all of that, there is a separate r sound that is usually rolled. Where possible, give students examples of words in your language to practice saying. Remember to have a look at the RNLD document in the resources as it will give you more information and help understand more about pronouncing the sounds. Your language advisor will also be able to provide information specific to you language. 10

11 Lesson Steps 1. Recap on the previous lesson then talk about what the students will be learning about. Discuss again the importance of correct pronunciation of sounds. Students will need to listen carefully and practice making the sounds. 2. Talk to students about the ng sound. Start with the singer example, then drop the s, then i and have students practice saying nger. Then introduce examples of words in your language if possible. Talk to students about Retroflex sounds and have them practice saying the words and sounds mentioned in the Teacher Background information. Go through the other sounds. 3. Direct students to fill in the activity on the Worksheet 11

12 Worksheet L2.2 Pronunciation and Sounds Name:...Date:...Class:... This is a generic sound chart to help with pronunciation of Aboriginal languages. It can be used as a guide, however check with your language teacher for the correct pronunciations in the local language. In the column on the right, circle yes or no for what sounds are used in the local language. Sound English sound Is this sound used in the local language? a as in a in above Yes / no aa as in a in father Yes / no ay as in ay in play Yes / no b as in b in book Yes / no d as in d in dog Yes / no dh Yes / no dj/dy as in j in judge, jump, dune Yes / no g as in g in good Yes / no i as in i in bit Yes / no ii as in ea in beat Yes / no l as in l in look Yes / no ly as in li in million Yes / no m as in m in many Yes / no n as in n in no Yes / no ng as in ng in sing Yes / no nh as in r in run Yes / no ny as in ne in new Yes / no r Yes / no rr rolled rr Yes / no th Yes / no tj, ty as in ch in chair Yes / no u as in u in put Yes / no uu as in oo in food Yes / no w as in w in well Yes / no y as in y in yell Yes / no 12

13 LESSON 3: Pronunciation and sounds Language Map Teacher Background Information Students will be required to log in to their Sharing Culture Online accounts and find Language groups that have the sounds they have just learnt. Lesson Overview This lesson puts into practice some of what students have just learnt by directing them to find Language Groups that have the sounds in their name. Key Learning/Purpose Students will: Learn that there are many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages in Australia; Learn to identify the sounds in text; Transfer their knowledge by filling in the activities in the Worksheet. Resources Students Language Workbook Sharing Culture Online Account Student Worksheet L3 or Student Workbook. Lesson Steps Direct students to log onto their Sharing Culture Online site. Then go to Other Cultures. Click on Languages and a list of Language Groups will appear. Students are required to go through the list and find the Language Groups that have aspects of what they have just learnt e.g. short vowels, long vowels, Language Groups that start with Ng, Ny etc... Students will need to record answers in the table and find what State the Language Groups are in. Enhancing the learning Students could research one of the language groups and find out information i.e. the state of language, how widely spoken the language is etc.. 13

14 Pronunciation and Sounds Name:...Date:...Class:... Log into Sharing Culture Online then go to Other Cultures. Click on Languages and a list of Language Groups will appear. Go through the list and find the sounds. To find out what State the Language Group is in, click on the word from the list and the Language group will appear on the map. Zoom in or out to help locate the State. Task Language Group State Groups with short vowel sounds. Groups with long vowel sounds. Groups with gliding vowel sounds. Groups that start with Ng. Groups that have ng in the middle. Groups that have rr in them. Groups that start with Ny Groups that have retroflex sounds 14