Category: Sound

Introduction

Surround sound was used in movies since the 1950s, so as to give a more practical cinema occurrence. Later, the fame of surround sound led to its advancement from movie halls to home theatre. It was designed with a medium having many channels for producing sound for example the Dolby ProLogic. This was a result of much advancement in sound technology (Adams & Wolenik 56). Up to the 1990s, many surround sound formats were founded on matrix implying that, details from the entire channel were programmed as a two-channel hi-fi. In the mid-1990s, distinct programming that had independent channels of audio was initiated by Dolby Laboratories and Digital Theatre Systems.

One of the main purposes of using surround sound is to improve the hearing episode. Surround sound improves the quality of the sound produced and incorporates the listeners more. In addition, surround sound improves live concerts done on CD/DVD by positioning the listener in the hall, while the show is on stage the listeners and hall sounds are heard in the surrounds. Surround sound function because of how people recognize the sound. One way people perceive sound is by audible periphery where each ear works as a single recipient. In binaural perception, people acknowledge the similar sound using both ears. Finally, in spatial perception, people recognize sounds in space and around them (Rumsey 35).

What is surround sound?

There are various methods of producing a sound recording. One of the easiest ways used in the past movies was known as mono. This implied that all the sound was made into a single channel and was listened to busing one speaker. On the other hand, if the sound is heard using two speakers then the system is known as a stereo. When sound is heard from a stereo it forms an experience of a live performance (Newell 49).

Surround sound systems use this technology and advance it further. This is done by incorporating more soundtracks so that the sounds come from many directions. The phrase surround sound means precise multi-channel system made by Dolby Laboratories; it was applied as a common phrase for theatre and home theatre multi-channel sound systems (Holma 75).

There are unique microphones that will copy surround sound, though this is not a suitable method to create a surround sound track. The majority of the films incorporate surround sound channels and are made in an integration studio. The sound technicians use various audio recordings to determine which audio tracks to use.

Historical background

In the early 1950s, the first money-making multichannel sound design was made for film use. Many Hollywood films were recorded with multichannel designs. A variety of theatre designs were formed during this period, comprising the popular Cinerama and Cinemascope, however many of them applied similar knowledge of sound technology. In general, these technologies were called stereophonic sound. Quad was the first design made in the 1970s. However, as a result of incompatibility matters in the transmission process, the Quad failed to function properly. In the 1970s, Dolby made plans of solving the incompatibility problems by establishing a new design known as the Dolby stereo, a unique encoding system that later became very famous.

With the design of CDs in the early 1980s, stereo devices became popular. With the advent of DVDs in 1995 people began to spread multichannel sound in digital design. In 1992, Dolby labs formed a system known as Dolby Digital that provided good quality multichannel surround occurrence. The Dolby Digital was selected as the main audio coding design for DVDs and for digital audio broadcasting (Collins 77).

Working of surround sound

Surround sound systems are formed through a precise combination of mono and stereo soundtrack. Recordings are done straight to the separate design at the supply. For example, recording a live show to a 5.1 design produces a soundtrack that gets the initial sound of the live performance (Collins 70).

There are two savors of surround sound: matrix and discrete. The matrix method utilizes a unique programming style that incorporates the multichannel recordings to the stereo. Decoders in the audience reform the incident. But, the design is associated with a number of challenges. Some devices may be fixed in the incorrect systems. This may result in the failure of the whole system.

THX Surround

The surround systems use a 5.1 channel pattern that gives a multi-dimensional sound occurrence. The sound is written using five major controls: left, center, right, left surround, and right surround. Moreover, an extra control known as the low-frequency effects is created for the subwoofer. The first movie was made in 1976 and utilized the Dolby Stereo encoding for total sound effects. Nevertheless, George Lucas acknowledged he was not satisfied with the sounds produced by the surround speakers. Therefore he made plans of enhancing it. As a result THX system was designed (Newell & Holland 99).

Lucasfilm initiated the Home THX certification program in 1990 for those who required theatre incidents in their homes. Tomlin discovered there was a difference between movies watched at the movie theatre compared to those watching at home The explanation was that in the movie theatres, the room is big with an array of surround speakers, while the home atmosphere is small with only two surround speakers. THX formed created engineering ideas and innovative advancements that would create a true movie experience in the home environment (Rumsey & McCormick 30).

In 1999 the THX Surround EX was introduced. It was managed by Dolby Labs and Lucasfilm THX. Surround THX provided a more realistic and flexible technique especially when forming films. Surround EX forms a real 360-degree surround sound incident incorporating a rear channel. This channel is formed by matrix programming the surround back into the surround left and surrounds right controls (Gilbert & Haeberl 112).

Matrixed surround sound systems

Systems that are matrixed imply that information can be transferred using fewer tracks compared to the original supply. This has some challenges and therefore requires proper demixing; however, this method has been applied broadly for several years, due to the lack of multichannel media in many places (Adams & Wolenik 60).

The Dolby labs were responsible for the creation of cinema surround sound systems, and then for the field of home theatre. The initial Dolby double speaker system had various designs of movie sound with three to six tracks. Dolby surround was initiated in 1982 as a way of copying the impacts of Dolby stereo in a home environment. Basically, the same approach of matrix programming was applied; therefore movies transmitted to television design could be programmed at home like in the cinemas (Newell & Holland 115).

Digital surround sound formats

The matrix surround methods are making people be innovative and think of new ideas like digital designs. The digital designs allow many channels to be carried discretely, by allowing a two-channel control. Though it is required that surround sound signals are transported and kept in a distinct, full-resolution design this can result in usage of many volumes, which is expensive for normal broadcasting or home applications (Rumsey 40). As a result, many methods have been designed so that data is digitally recorded as a small bit compared to the supply, with reduced loss of sound appeal.

The Dolby AC-3 codec is used to create 5.1 surround sounds. It was created in 1992 to support multichannel systems on a 35mm layer. Later, it was used to DTV, HDTV, and DVD. The design uses both stereo and discrete multichannel equipment. The encoding system is used to condense audio recordings with less effect on the resultant sound value (Rumsey & McCormick 35).

The method works by sorting the audio recording into discrete groupings. The encoder checks the major frequencies at a particular position within a given time period. The encoder assigns bits to what is very important. As a result, the sorting procedure minimizes the file capacity significantly. The AC-3 also handles metadata that is found in the data track. The metadata instructs the AC-3 on how to utilize the surround sound. The Dolby encoder device was initially hardware equipment and was later swapped with software devices. Dolby presently authorizes its AC-3 encoder to many software traders so that they can program their surround sound systems (Gilbert & Haberl 118).

Future prospects

In the future engineers are planning to create a wireless surround sound speakers. This new technology which has built-in decoders has been used in many famous companies especially in China. Wireless surround sound systems are aimed at giving advanced equipment to people, especially for home use. This new technology has many benefits: speakers can be positioned anywhere and no wires are used to transmit information.

References

Adams John, Wolenik Robert. Build your own home theater. USA: Butterworth- Heinemann, 2002.

Collins, Karen. Game sound: an introduction to the history, theory and practice of sound design. USA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2008.

Gilbert Pupa, Haeberl Willy. Physics in the arts. USA: Elsevier Academic Press, 2008.

Holma, Tomlinson. Surround sound: up and running. USA: Focal Press, 2008.

Newell Richard, Holland Keith. Loudspeakers: for music recording and reproduction. USA: Elsevier Academic Press, 2007.

Newell, Philip. Recording Studio Design. USA: Elseveir Ltd, 2008.

Rumsey Francis, McCormick Tim. Sound and Recording.. UK: Focal Press, 2009.

Rumsey, Francis. Spatial audio. UK: Focal Press, 2001.

Sound

Introduction

A sound wave is a mechanical wave through which we listen. We can hear only a part of the mechanical wave spectrum with a frequency of 20 Hz to 20 kHz and not beyond this range. Amplitude, frequency, wavelength, and speed are some of the important attributes of a sound wave. The amplitude of sound wave determines its intensity while the frequency and wavelength multiply to give the speed of the sound wave. However, the amplitude of a sound wave in no way affects the speed of the sound wave. A simple experiment can be designed to investigate some of the attributes of a sound wave and their interrelations.

Design of Experiment

A source of sound wave capable of producing different frequencies and different amplitudes, a detector of a sound wave at a particular frequency, a measuring tape, and a stopwatch are required for this experiment. A sound wave can be then produced at different frequencies and amplitudes and the same can be detected by the detector kept at a known distance from the source. A stopwatch will be used to measure the time taken by the sound wave for traveling from the source to the detector.

Data and Results

A virtual experiment was carried out to investigate different attributes of a sound wave. The experimental data and the calculated attributes of the sound wave are presented in table 1. All the data was recorded on MS OFFICE Excel spreadsheet and all the calculations were also done using Excel only.

Table 1: Experimental data and calculated attributes of sound wave motion.

Discussion & Conclusion

Speed of sound wave using v =λ*f shows a lot of scattering. This is because what was measured is the number of complete waves and this number is small, therefore, this led to erroneous value for wavelength and finally caused a lot of scattering. However, the average value is reasonably close to the speed of sound in the air.

The value of the speed of sound calculated by the d/t method is more consistent. In this case, the error is on the account of variability in stopping the watch when the sound wave reaches the 5 m line and therefore, variability in time required to travel a fixed distance of 5 m. However, in this case, the scatter is much less. In this case, also the average is very close to the well-accepted value for the speed of sound in air.

It can be thus concluded that air is traveling in the air in this virtual experiment.

It should not be concluded that sound is traveling at different speeds. It is so that the scatter is nothing but experimental error and therefore, the average value should be taken.

Converging Lens

Introduction

A converging lens is one that converges all the light falling onto it from far away places to a point known as a focal point. Therefore, this lens is used to focus a light beam. This is essentially a convex (either biconvex or plano-convex) lens. Imaging by a converging lens can be explained using the principles of geometric optics and the lens formula, which is given below:

Lens formula ; q is the object distance, p is the image distance and f is the focal length of the lens.

Using this formula one finds that an object kept at twice the focal distance is imaged inverted and of the same size and at equal distance from the lens but on the opposite side. The image is real. All the objects placed farther than the focal points are imaged as an inverted real image. Similarly, a virtual, straight, and magnified image is made of an object place between the lens and its focal point. No image is produced for an object placed at the focal point itself.

A simple experiment as described below can be designed to investigate the relationship between the object distance, image distance, and magnification.

Design of Experiment

A convex lens, a lens stand, an optics rail, a small pencil as an object for imaging, a measuring scale, and a screen will be required to carry out this experiment. The pencil (object) will be placed at different distances and the image will be formed. All real images will be taken on the screen and the distance of the screen from the lens will be measure. The size of the image will also be measured. All these values will be recorded and then the lens formula will be used to calculate the focal length of the lens and the magnifications produced by the lens will also be calculated.

Data and Results

A virtual experiment was carried out to investigate imaging by a converging lens the experimental data is presented in table 1 below. Table 2 presents the relevant calculated values.

Table 1: Experimental data for imaging by a converging lens.

Table 2: Calculated values for the converging lens experiment.

Discussion & Conclusion

It can be seen that some of the reciprocals of object distance (q) and image distance (p) are the same in all the trials except that there is an error in the last trial. This is because this is nothing but the inverse of the focal length of the lens which is a constant. This value is ~ 75.50 cm.

The quantity expressed by hi/ho is nothing but magnification. This physical quantity can also be calculated by p/q. As both the ratios represent the same physical quantity, therefore, the value of these ratios is always equal to each – other.

Thus it can be claimed that the experimental finding supports the hypothesis regarding the relationship between object distance, image distance, and focal length.

Electrostatics

Introduction

Electrostatics is about the electrical charges and their interaction. Electric charges are of two types – positive and negative. Like charges repel each other and unlike charges attract each other. Therefore, a positive charge repels another positive charge and attracts a negative charge and vice versa. Also, an object is normally neutral as it contains positive and negative charges in equal proportion. However, it can be made as a charged body by various processes.

One such process is charging by a battery or power source. In this case, the object acts as a capacitor. Another simple method can be the simple rubbing of two insulating bodies. In this process, one of the objects becomes electrically positive and another electrically negative. The negative charge is due to a fundamental light particle electron. During rubbing this particle is transferred to another object thus leaving behind a positively charged body. A simple experiment can be designed to study the interaction between the different kinds f charges.

Design of Experiment

A woolen cloth, two balloons one blue and another yellow, and a positively charged plate are required. The balloons will be made to interact with each other and with the woolen cloth and the positively charged plate in a variety of manners and their response will be recorded. The same will be examined to understand and make logical inferences.

Data and Results

The experiment was done in the virtual setting; following the instructions. The response was recorded against the action in a table. The experimental observation is presented in table 1 below.

Table 1: Observation table in the electrostatics experiment.

Discussion & Conclusion

Based on the observations the following charges were present on the different objects in this experiment.

That there were opposing charges on the blue balloon and the sweater can be inferred from the observation that the blue balloon got attracted towards the sweater when it was released after rubbing the sweater. Therefore, it can be concluded that after touching the blue balloon with the sweater negative charge was on the blue balloon. This is because it is easy for the negative charge to migrate from one object to another.

There is no charge on the balloon as there is no interaction between the balloon and the wall after they are brought near the wall after touching the wall.

Based on the observations of the experiment there are two kinds of charges. As the like charges repel and unlike charges attract each other and only these two interactions were observed.

The balloon sticks to the wall because of the induction effect.

The Bull-headed harp from tomb 789 (also known as Bull-headed lyre and sound box) is currently contained at the Pennsylvania University Museum. The Bull-headed harp and sound box is a significant archeological find that relates to Sumerian art. The harp was found in the “Kings Grave at the Royal Cemetery of Ur” (Zettler 12). The instrument was found with all its fragmented parts, including the harp and its accompanying sound box.

According to archeologists, the harp was created around 2600 BC. When the harp was found, it consisted of a wooden harp, a sound box that is covered with bearded bullhead, and the sound box itself which was adorned with gold and other precious stones. The adornments in the sound box depict scenes that feature various types of bearded animals and people.

In total, four scenes are depicted in the sound box, and scholars think that they are depicting a party in the spirit world, or the land of the dead (Pollock 99). The scene depicting the scorpion man indicates the passage through which animals and human beings have to go through before they reach the world of the dead.

It is also thought that all the bearded animals are from the land of spirits. The creator of the harp and the sound box is unknown, but it is clear that he/she used the beards to represent continuity and a sense of belonging in all his/her characters.

Instruments such as the Bull-headed harp were commonly found in the gravesites of the rich people. It was common practice to play harps such as this one in funerals during the Sumerian period. Also, the depictions of the men in the sound box are by the Sumerian art of this era. For example, the “men in the sound box are depicted in a composite view while the animals are depicted in profile, a common characteristic of Sumerian art” (Kleiner 76).

The scenes’ arrangements indicate that the creator of the harp was emphasizing on the religious beliefs of the time where it was believed that man dominates beast. Hence, the heraldic bulls surround a more dominant force of nature (the man). Furthermore, the use of humanlike beasts was a common feature in the Eastern artworks.

One of the most significant aspects of this archeological find is that it represents one of the earliest instances of animal personification. The animals in the art scenes are attending a party as human beings would. Furthermore, the Bull-headed lyre depicts one of the earliest instances of narrated scenes. From this piece of archeology, it is also revealed that music was of great importance to Sumerians whether they were living or dead.

The elaborate artwork in the harp is evidence of how important music was to the Sumerians. Cultures that hold music in high regard also tend to be spiritual (Cheng 165). The Sumerians also had strong beliefs in the spirituality of human beings. An example of another archeological find that has artwork depicting different scenes is the Warka Vase. However, the scenes in the Warka Vase depict people offering sacrifices to Inanna a Sumerian goddess.

The idea of hierarchy is upheld through the scenes in the Warka Vase although instead of just animals, the vase’s scenes depict other hierarchical elements such as water, earth, and gods. The Warka Vase also features bearded animals, and this shows religion and music were important factors of the Sumerian culture.

Works Cited

Cheng, Jack. “A Review of Early Dynastic III Music: Man’s Animal Call.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 68.3 (2009): 163-178. Print.

Kleiner, Fred. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective, New York, NY: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.

Pollock, Susan. Representations of Political Power: Case Histories from Times of Change and Dissolving Order in the Ancient Near East, New York, NY: Cengage Learning, 2007. Print.

Zettler, Richard. Treasures from the royal tombs of Ur, Philadelphia, PA: UPenn Museum of Archaeology, 1998. Print.

Objectives of the Original Research Article

The original article focused on investigating the role of sound in response to a slot machine plan. The researchers were interested in investigating the relationship between the slot machine sounds and the reactions of the players. They suspected that the sound was programmed deliberately to manipulate players so that they can continue playing the game even if they are not winning any gamble. The following were the specific objectives of the researchers in this article.

• To determine the psychological impact of slot machine sounds on the players.
• To determine the psychophysical impact of the slot machine sounds on the players.
• To develop an understanding of the programming used in developing the slot machines.

The researchers were interested in understanding the reasons why the machines had jubilant songs of victory even in cases when the gambler had made an overall loss. The above objectives could only be achieved by conducting primary research.

Design of the Original Research Article and Its Limitations

The researchers had to develop a research design that would enable them to gather the relevant data from the respondents that would adequately inform the findings of the study. The researcher started by identifying 96 players who were interested in participating in this game. The selection of the participants was done using two approaches. The first approach involved the use of online classified ads known as kijiji.com which helped in selecting 13 males and 9 female participants (Dixon et al. 216). The second approach involved a simple random selection of the participants at the entrance to one of the most popular slots venues in Ontario. Both samples were tested to ensure that they were a true representative of the entire population that can be used to generalize. In total, 52 males and 44 females were selected to take part in the study.

The researchers used several apparatus to collect data from the respondents in the process of and after completion of the game. A Power-lab system was used to detect changes in heart rate and skin temperature during the game, especially at the time the slot machine makes the sound. The system helped to amplify the ECG signals that were detected using electrodes that were attached above the left hip and below the armpits of the participants.

Using these instruments, the researchers could monitor closely changes in each participant’s heart rates in cases of wins and losses. Changes in the levels of skin conductance were also determined using this instrument. The researchers also used a slot machine simulator to determine the patterns of the slot machines. This was necessary to understand how the machines were programmed to determine if there was any form of manipulation that could be detected.

After collecting data using the instruments mentioned above, the researchers engaged the respondents in an oral interview immediately after the end of the games. The first question that was posed to them soon after the end of the game was whether they thought they had won or lost the game. The idea was to capture the events in the mind of the player as influenced by the sounds made by the slot machine.

That is why the question was posed soon after the end of the sound or when the slot was still making the sound. The researchers also asked the respondents their rates of excitement that were directly related to the sounds made by the machine slot and how this related to their perception about having won or lost the game. Of interest was to determine if the respondents also believed that the sounds made by the machine influenced their ability to continue with the game even after making a long losing streak.

The two-dimensional approach of collecting data from the respondent was very effective. First, the researchers obtained results from the scientific instruments that could not be manipulated by the participants. Sometimes participants can lie when asked specific questions, but they cannot lie to themselves hence the machines were able to collect near-accurate data. The data collected scientifically was then supported by the responses they gave to determine if they had a close relationship.

The study had some limitations that are worth noting at this stage. According to Schull, conducting social science research may sometimes be a little more challenging than conducting pure science research (75). When investigating people, they can easily manipulate their responses in a given way that may lead to a collection of data. In this study, the respondents could easily give misleading information to the researchers either intentionally or unintentionally when they are not sure about the response that is needed. The researchers could also not rely on the scientific instruments used to be 100% accurate. The nervousness of the respondents given that they are aware that they are being investigated may sometimes be the cause of the changes detected in the instruments.

Findings of the Original Research Article

The researchers were able to collect heart rate deceleration, which they screened before computing the data into mixed-model ANOVA. The researchers were able to establish that in case the participants lost the dame, then heart rate deceleration was absent. However, heart rate deceleration was significantly seen in all the win cases. It was also found that the greater the wins the greater the rates of deceleration.

The researcher also conducted Skin Conductance Response Amplitudes to determine the level of excitement of the players in this game. They found out that the excitement rates were high when the slots machine sounds were used than when the game used no sound. The amplitude increased even further when the sound was accompanied by any win, even in cases where the wins were not significant.

The researchers also analyzed the responses obtained from the questionnaires used in the study. First, they determined the rates of pleasantness in the game, as stated by the players. The majority of the respondents stated that they found great arousal and pleasantness when playing with the slot machine sounds on than when they were off. This outcome closely resonates with the findings made using the scientific instruments that also confirmed that sounds elicited greater arousal among the players.

Finally, the researchers obtained the outcome of the perception of the players on whether they had an overall win or loss by the end of the game based on two scenarios that were presented to them. The majority of them overestimated their win when they played with the sounds on. However, there was close accuracy about the win or loss when they played without the sounds. This was a clear demonstration that the players were manipulated by the slot machine sounds every time they played the game.

First, it made them develop a wrong impression about their wins. The sound also made them believe that they were just about to win a jackpot if they continued playing. They did not realize that the narrow losses and the accompanying sounds were programmed to do just that, make them lose the jackpots by a very narrow margin. The respondents stated that the narrow losses and the encouraging sounds would always motivate them to continue playing, hoping that they will make a huge breakthrough.

How the Research Informs Public Policy

The findings of this research may have a serious bearing on the policy regarding betting in this country. Gambling is one of the oldest games in various parts of the world (Belanger and Williams 563). In modern society, governments have come up with various policy measures to ensure that the game is treated just like any other business where fairness is one of the guiding principles in the game. This research demonstrates that betting companies have been unfair in rewarding their customers.

The slot machines have been designed to ensure that players lose the game very narrowly, making them believe that they have the opportunity of coming out with a win. This way, they continue playing as they lose their money to these companies. When they make insignificant wins, the sounds are designed to give them a massive cheer, creating a false psychological impression that they have achieved something.

The policymakers will have to review laws and regulations guiding the betting industry because it has lost its original purpose (Quinn 139). The firms in this industry have created a new system where players have completely lost their true aim in the game. These gamblers continue losing, and they seem not bothered by this loss. This is so because the companies have created a new goal for the players.

When they get to the machines, then the best they come out with is psychological wins accompanied by financial losses. Using this new design of the game, these companies continue amassing wealth from the unsuspecting public only making a few rewards that are widely published in social media to market their products (Clark 327). The industry may need to be redefined to take two possible approaches.

The first approach may be to take the psychological win strategy for the clients and financial gains for the companies, which is actually what is currently taking place. In this case, the betting companies will have to come out clean and inform their clients about this truth. The second approach will be to embrace traditional gambling, where winning or losing is purely based on chance without any unfair manipulations. Using a hybrid version that harms clients is unfair and unacceptable.

Accuracy and Objectivity of the Media Coverage

The findings of this research were reported by Meeri of Washington Post (1). The reporter gave a detailed review of the findings of the report with some degree of accuracy. First, the reporter informs his audience that the story is directly based on a scientific study, not a piece of unfounded rumor going around within the society. The reporter also accurately defines the individuals who took part in the research, especially the behavioral neuroscientist who was the lead researcher.

This gives his report some credibility. It assures the audience that the findings of the study were backed by a strong scientific study done by highly qualified professionals. The accuracy of this media coverage also comes when defining the participants in the study. As a reporter, he may not have the space to write a detailed methodology of the findings. As such, he tries to be as objective as possible in providing all the important information about the study that readers may find relevant.

The report does not delve much into the scientific methodologies used in collecting data and how each of the instruments used aided in confirming the other findings. However, reading the report gives a clear overview of how the researchers conducted their study and some of their major findings. The fact that the reporter used direct quotes from the study further improves the accuracy and objectivity of the media coverage.

A critical analysis of the media coverage reveals that although the reporter made a great effort to remain as objective as possible in his report, some elements of personal opinion could still be detected. Meeri says “A recent study shows that some of those noises can easily fool our brains into thinking that we have won” (1). The choice of words of the reporter betrays his feelings towards this issue. He uses the phrase fool our brains to express disgust towards the manipulation by the betting companies. He personalizes the report when he uses the word ‘our’ instead of ‘players’ to describe the people who end up losing money.

Works Cited

Belanger, Yale, and Robert Williams. “The First Nations’ Contribution to Alberta’s Charitable Gaming Model: Assessing the Impacts”. Canadian Public Policy 38.4 (2012): 551–572. Print.

Clark, Luke. “Decision-making during Gambling: An Integration of Cognitive and Psychobiological Approaches.”.Philosophical Transactions: Biological Sciences 365.8 (2010): 319–330. Print.

Dixon, Mike, Kevin Harrigan, Diane Santesso, Candice Graydon, Jonathan Fugelsang, and Karen Collins. “The Impact of Sound in Modern Multiline Video Slot Machine Play.” J Gambl Stud 30.1 (2014): 913–929. Print.

Meeri Kim. “Sounds of slot machines can manipulate players, researchers say.” The Washington Post. 2013: Web.

Quinn, Frank. “First Do No Harm: What Could Be Done by Casinos to Limit Pathological Gambling”. Managerial and Decision Economics 22.3 (2001): 133–142. Print.

Schull, Natasha. “Digital Gambling: The Coincidence of Desire and Design”. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 597.4 (2005): 65–81. Print.

William Faulkner is certainly one of the best American writers of the 20^th century. His ability to capture the zeitgeist of the American South contributes substantially to the cultural understanding of that specific time and place.

However, his narrative style has always been characterized as notoriously difficult, and for that reason, most readers can enjoy his splendid language and cultural imagery but remain unable to grasp the key messages of his texts. In this paper, I will try to present Sartre’s view that Faulkner’s narrative technique illustrates his idea about time and Doreen Fowler’s Lacanian interpretation of the character of Caddy in Sound and Fury.

To grasp the significance of Faulkner’s work for the 20^th-century literature, one only needs to consider the fact that one of the best-known philosophers of that century, Jean-Paul Sartre, was profoundly interested in the novel Sound and Fury and wrote a very influential piece of criticism on it. Sartre’s thesis is in that essay is that the non-chronological narrative in the Sound and Fury is not merely a matter of style or aesthetic preferences but the fundamental elements of the novel’s content (Sartre 229).

The broken chronology is not how Faulkner delivers his vision of the world – it is his vision of the world. In other words, according to Sartre, Faulkner is trying to break out of the artificially created the illusion of linearity of time (Sartre 229). The existence of clocks and other forms of measuring time perpetuate this illusion. The following quote from the novel illustrates this quite well, “time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels, only when the clock stops does time come to life” (Faulkner 104).

Faulkner tries to dismantle the distinction between the past, the present, and the future. He disturbs this temporal structure by removing the future completely and blurring the boundary between the past and the present. The events of the future fly into the characters in a completely deterministic fashion. Even events like suicide that often seem well-contemplated are completely fixed.

Sartre (230) writes, “all Faulkner’s art aims to suggest to us that Quentin’s soliloquy and his last walk are already his suicide” (Sartre 230). By removing the possibility of the future from the novel, the present itself becomes completely confusing as the events of the present keep the protagonist in a state of surprise. Ironically, the past is the only domain in which the character has any freedom as he or she can recreate it and reinterpret it. A person only lives in their memory.

Sartre’s view of the novel is very profound and useful as a tool for interpreting, sometimes very confusing, narrative in the text. For instance, the first part in which the reader is presented with the thoughts of Benji becomes truly clear and effective once one takes this perspective advocated by Sartre. In this part of the book, the events from the present are narrated in such a way that they resemble purely sensory experience, something that does not truly enter Benji’s mind.

In parallel, Benji’s thoughts about some of his memories appear, and Beni seems to be living through his past rather than the present events. Again, this idea of the present merely falling upon us while the past remains open for our reappraisal and reinterpretation plays the key role.

Next, different theoretical perspectives that inform literary critics have also produced very interesting interpretative insights about Faulkner’s writing. Coming from a Lacanian perspective, Fowler (34) argues that the character of Caddy is the key to understanding the novel Sound and Fury. Even though there is no separate section that is devoted to presenting her thoughts and her perspective on the events in the family, Caddy is certainly the thread that ties the other narratives together.

According to Fowler (35), Caddy slips through these different stories and is constantly on the move. There is no way for other characters to take hold of her even though Jason attempts to do so quite aggressively. In this poststructuralist theoretical strand, Caddy would be the perfect example of an entity whose presence is crucial to give meaning to the text, and yet, it is absent.

In much the same way as Lacan thinks that alienation from the mother is crucial for the child’s identity formation, mother’s presence is also necessary as a reference point for the child to know about what is his or her identity defined. In other words, to understand the meaning of anything, we need something that is at the same time present in the defined thing and absents from it. Fowler (35) argues that Caddy’s simultaneous presence and absence in the novel defines its meaning.

Caddy’s is also the central figure of all three individual narratives as she is the object of this presence/absence ambivalence that defines the lives of all three male figures. Caddy plays the role of the displaced biological mother of all three characters – the mother that is both intrusively present with her demanding character and completely absent in her emotional alienation. Caddy, on the other hand, is the desired mother-like figure to all three characters. Fowler (40) illustrates this quite well about Quentin.

Quentin’s desire for Caddy is the defining tension of his identity; however, the consummation of that desire negates his identity, and he ends up committing suicide. Fowler (40) writes, “This equation of sex and death is extended to include Caddy because for Quentin sex with Caddy, a displaced mother figure, images a return to an imaginary unity before the onset of alienation and identity.” In other words, the moment Caddy becomes radically present in his life, he, paradoxically, loses her and, consequently, loses himself as well.

The analysis offered by Fowler is very interesting and elegant one. In particular, the explanation for, seemingly unmotivated, Quentin’s suicide is truly enlightening. Also, the reader does have the sense that Caddy is somehow the key to the understanding of the novel as the image of her is constantly in the background of the story, and only rarely does it come to the forefront.

However, without these theoretical insights from Lacanian psychoanalysis, one cannot have a framework within which to try to explain her status. Fowler’s success is in unifying the Lacanian theory and Faulkner’s mysterious style and thereby showing the brilliance of both.

In conclusion, Faulkner’s narrative technique is in the service of portraying his philosophical view about the nature of time. The complete disregard for the future and focus on the past is the reflection of Faulkner’s belief that the events of the present and the future are completely fixed, and we can only experience the past.

Next, the character of Caddy is the key to understanding many events in the novel if it is analyzed from the Lacanian perspective. Caddy’s absence is necessary as a reference point for the identity formation of each character. The negation of that absence, as is illustrated by the case of Quentin, results in the character’s self-annihilation.

Works Cited

Faulkner, William. The sound and the fury: the corrected text, New York: Vintage Books, 1990. Print.

Fowler, Doreen. Faulkner: the return of the repressed, Charlottesville, Va.: University Press of Virginia, 1997. Print.

Sartre, Jean-Paul. “Time in Faulkner: the sound and the fury.” William Faulkner: Three Decades of Criticism. Ed. Frederick Hoffman and Olga Vickery. Harcourt: Brace & World, inc., 1939, 225-32. Print.

People become dependent on verbal communication and cannot imagine a world without words and speech. Many great novels and short stories represent utopias or dystopias in which characters have to live. Compared to long narratives with much space for details, short tales require high-level professionalism and attention to plot, settings, and characters. At the end of the 20th century, Octavia E. Butler published her Hugo-Awarded science fiction short story, “Speech Sounds.” A mysterious disease made many people speechless and unable to talk or exchange information using their language. The author’s mood changes the plot, and the choice of characters and setting contribute to a better understanding of the message. The alternative universe of “Speech Sounds” is Butler’s attempt to predict the existing threats and neglect of communication by developing a strong theme, using interesting characters within the same settings, and maintaining the same tone and multiple emotions.

One of the strongest aspects of the “Speech Sounds” plot is its unique description of a dystopia where people are deprived of verbal language and free communication. In pursuit of wealth, health, and success, individuals lose the main element of their existence – the ability to speak. Society faces a disease that is difficult to control and understand. For example, Rey, the protagonist, is “no longer certain of the degree of her own impairment” (Butler, 2014, p. 4). Butler neither explains nor describes how the virus penetrated society. Still, the reader learns that the characters have not been talking to each for a long period, which makes them forget how their speech might sound. Communication difficulties result in increased regular fights and wearing firearms for protection. The offered theme reveals the worth of language in human life and proves the author’s professionalism in delivering urgent topics in a compressed context.

Secondly, the choice of characters and the setting show how people develop in a utopian society. There are several critical figures in the story, but most observe each other with “at least as much curiosity as fear” (Butler, 2014, p. 12). Despite their disabilities, men and women must continue living and adapting to new conditions. The author irradicates gender and racial inequality in society and underlines the individual’s ability to control a situation. In the bus, Rye demonstrates her high-level prudence; Obsidian, the bus driver, searches for justice and understanding, and children cannot deal with their emotions. The bus becomes a meaningful setting for the characters to protect themselves and keep living. The combination of settings and characters strengthens the author’s message about the distribution of roles and responsibilities.

Finally, Butler never loses hope to change a sorrowful and depressive tone into something positive, making her style and mood attractive to the reader. In the end, Rye offers the children support: “It’s all right for you to talk to me” (Butler, 2014, p. 12). People get used to living with the idea that they cannot use their language because of biological changes. The author uses inevitable disease that provokes depression and sorrow. She rejects the inevitability of a negative mood and adds the possibility of a better future. The story’s tone proves that human strength address inborn qualities and readiness to resist the negative environment.

The major question posed in the chosen short story, “Speech Sounds,” is how to live in a dystopia where people cannot use verbal language for communication. Butler introduces a powerful explanation of the damage to interpersonal relationships and life quality decrease. The author chooses a simple but clear plot, several strongly developed characters, and a restricted writing tone to answer the offered question. She provokes a better understanding of communication worth through the relationships between Rye and the other characters on the bus. The story shows how the depressive and unconfident mood disappears, giving way to a new beginning full of trust and hope.

Reference

Butler, O. E. (2014). Speech sounds. Web.

Shakespeare’s “Sonnet 129” is referred to earlier as a poem of disgust or revulsion. The poem is full of expressively ugly sounds.

129

The expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action; and, till action, lust?
Is perjured, murderous, bloody, full of blame.
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust;
Enjoyed no sooner but despised straight;
Past reason hunted, and no sooner had,
Past reason hated as a swallowed bait
On purpose laid to make the taker mad;
Mad in pursuit, and in possession so;
Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme;
A bliss in proof, and proved, a very woe.
Before, a joy proposed; behind, a dream.
All this the world well knows, yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.

Composition of a poem in which the lines end with the words listed in the order shown below: These words made me think of an old cowboy movie. Of course they never put this one on TV.

She was a maid demure and saintly quiet
The cowboy could not help but steal a kiss
The days were warm and Spring was all a riot
They dared to cross the dangerous abyss
He led her to the quaking aspen trees
Greened up anticipating sunny June
Intoxication swelled from blooming Peas
As he gently stroked the flower he would Prune
The wine was served in pewter, lacking Crystal
The service was on Sunday in the Bar
The preacher held a bible and a Pistol
The father of the cowboy played Guitar
And so sweet Macy May was finely Brooded
At summer’s end this story was concluded

One line of perfectly regular iambic pentameter.

I wish I had a place of mine alone

A line of iambic pentameter that uses a pyrrhic foot, a line of iambic pentameter that uses a spondee, a line of iambic pentameter that uses a trochaic foot, and a line of iambic pentameter that uses an anapestic foot.

With his bottle in his wobbly shaking hand (anapest)
The poet swayed and stood his last bad stand (spondee)
His stanzas showed his melancholic mindset (trochee)
That as he drowned in alcohol he did forget, (Phyrric)

The Peculiarities of the Phrase’s Transcription

The phrase for transcribing and the further analysis:

Don’t you want to whisk her off to Barbados to get married?

The transcription for this phrase according to the Standard Southern English/NRP should be presented as the following one:

[doʊntʃə wɒnʔ (t)ə wɪsk (h)ə rɔf tə bɑbeɪdəs tə geʔ meri:d]

The cases of the phonemic alternations appeared in pronouncing the phrase

[doʊntʃə] – Fusion/Reciprocal Assimilation. Assimilation as a phonological process can be observed in a connected speech when one sound is influenced by another sound which can precede it or be located after this sound (Davenport & Hannahs 2010). When there is the mutual influence between these two phonemes it is possible to speak about the fact of reciprocal assimilation (McMahon 2001). It also can be discussed as the double assimilation because the both sounds undergo certain changes (Odden 2005).

In this case, sounds [t] and [j] can be considered as the assimilated sounds which influence each other and contribute to the emergence of the definite changes in the pronunciation of these two sounds. Moreover, in this word the plosive sound [d] is aspirated at the begging of the word and can be analyzed as the example of the aspiration of plosives (McMahon 2001).

[wɒnʔ], [geʔ] – Glottal Reinforcement. Glottalization is the process which is typical both for vowels and consonants. There are several types of glottalization. According to the degree of glottalization it can be full or partial (Davenport & Hannahs 2010). Glottal reinforcement is characterized by adding the sound [ʔ] to the definite sound (in this case this sound is [t]).

This process is generally characteristic for the voiceless plosives which are located at the end of syllables (Odden 2005). In these cases it is the sound [t] which is changed under the influence of the process of glottalization caused by closure of the gottis in the flow of the speech (McMahon 2001).

[(t)ə], [(h)ə] – Deletion/Elision. The phonological process of deletion is typical for the speech and should be characterized as the omission of a sound in a speech (Davenport & Hannahs 2010). In these cases the omission of the consonants [t] and [h] are observed. These two consonants are elided in the flow of the speech under the influence of the sounds which are next to them (McMahon 2001). These cases are the examples of the initial consonant deletion which is influenced by the preceded sounds in the speech (Odden 2005).

[(h)ə rɔf] – Insertion. Insertion can be considered as the process which is opposite to the process of deletion. Thus, insertion is the addition of the sound between the other sounds where there were not these sounds in the words. This process occurs only in the speech (Odden 2005). The kind of the insertion in this case can be discussed as the insertion to link the different words with the help of adding generally unpronounced sound [r]. Insertion makes the flow of the speech more fluent and understandable (Davenport & Hannahs 2010).

[doʊntʃə], [(t)ə], [(h)ə], [bɑbeɪdəs] – Reduction. The unstressed vowels in the flow of the speech are generally reduced to the sound [ə] (Odden 2005). This process which results in emerging this definite sound accentuates the partial pronunciation of the sound which is influenced by the unstressed position of the sound in the word (Davenport & Hannahs 2010).

References

Davenport, M & Hannahs, S J 2010, Introducing phonetics and phonology, Hodder Education, USA.

McMahon, A M S 2001, An introduction to English phonology, Edinburgh University Press, USA.

Odden, D 2005, Introducing phonology, Cambridge University Press, USA.

Oral tradition, also called orality, is the first and still most widespread mode of human communication. Far more than “just talking,” oral tradition refers to a dynamic and highly diverse oral-aural medium for evolving, storing, and transmitting knowledge, art, and ideas. (Britannica, 2022) It is hard to imagine a world where writing and reading are not a thing. I am interested in examining the history of communication and language by investigating the orality era in Walter Ong’s book, Orality and Literacy. I believe that any form of communication is a powerful skill our Creator has granted us. Orality in its earliest forms, with the power of sounds and memory, is a subject worthy of study.

The first period, known as the oral tradition, covers the period from when humans first learned to speak until the beginnings of literacy around 5,000 years ago. Ong described this period of pure oral traditions as orality (2002). This tradition is one of the lasting in human history, and it can be seen today as, among numerous existing languages, only a handful have writing and literal representations (Sterne, 2011). Innumerable languages have perished during the course of human history. However, the principality of orality still passes on even now and remains an invaluable part of human culture and history.

Orality led to the emergence of common textual representations of words or written literacy; it is an extension of oral traditions. All written texts must somehow, either directly or indirectly, link to the world of sound, which serves as language’s native environment, in order to convey their intended meaning. Reading a text involves rendering it into sound, either verbally or mentally. Oral communication cannot be replaced by writing. Writing has never existed without orality, but verbal expression may and frequently has. Writing from the start did not diminish spoken communication but instead strengthened it. The components of oratory might now be categorized as scientific art. This art is a body of explanation that is progressively organized and demonstrates how and why oratory is accomplished and might be created to achieve its many distinct impacts. In other words, grammar and literally traditions are the embodiment of oral diversity that was able to progress into the documented state.

Therefore, Ong makes a distinction between orality and secondary orality. A culture is untouched by any knowledge of writing or print, which is the primary orality (Ong, 2002). The secondary orality refers to oral traditions that became permanent with the introduction of technology, such as video and audio recorders (Ong, 2002). Secondary orality emerged in pursuit of the preservation of oral tradition. They improved the availability of data and allowed to storage abysmal amount of records that can be shared and spread quickly (Oral history, 2022). Today primary oral culture in the strict sense hardly exists since every culture knows of writing and has some experience of its effects. Still, to varying degrees, many cultures and subcultures, even in a high-technology ambiance, preserve much of the mindset of primary orality (Sterne, 2011). Therefore, genuine oral traditions remain relevant for research in linguistic history.

Ong is convinced of the perception of sounded words as power and action. According to Ong (2002), oral cultures cannot comprehend complex concepts like geometry, classification, logical reasoning, and definitions. He contends that in order to engage in the kinds of cognitive processes, reading and writing texts are necessary (Ong, 2002). Ong emphasizes the importance of memory in oral cultures. The absence of visual aids like text forces verbal thinking to take place in the form of patterns and mnemonic words in oral cultures (Ong, 2002). Systematic repetition and language embellishments are utilized to make sure that knowledge is transmitted to the following generation. The benefits of the era include the emergence of rhetoric from constant verbalizations and engagement in oral debates that developed all modern theories of thought. Nevertheless, the limitations of the era were severe, as verbal memorization was the primary way to withhold any information. Therefore, in a way the orality was an exclusive society where one’s capability to retain information determined the level of intellectual ability in contrast to the modern appreciation of critical thinking.

According to Ong’s (2002) Great Divide Theory, oral and literate cultures process information in different ways. It implies a profound psychological divide between the worldviews of the uneducated and the learned. However, both verbal and written cultures can learn, and their methods of learning are comparable since they are founded on the same learning theories (Ong, 2002). Ong’s modes of language and cognition are consistent with constructivism and cognitivism. Thus, the understanding of orality led to the emergence of new linguistic theories.

Oral societies, in contrast to literate societies, can be described as homeostatic. The oral mind only uses the higher modes of understanding and is disinterested in definitions. Words can only derive their meaning from their persistently present physical environment (Ong, 2002). Meanings are derived from every aspect of the vocal reproductions of terms. The homeostatic nature of the orality allows to appreciate the evolutional process to written speech. It was an essential step that allowed transgression from rhetoric to current scientific subjects of math, physics, chemistry and much more.

The orality should inspire current Christian communicators to take on a mission of memorizing sacred texts. In Genesis 1:26 it is written, “let us make man in our image, after our likeness.” This indirectly implies that any form of communication could be considered a gift from God as it was made possible because humans were made to resemble the creator. God has given humans the ability to communicate and this should have the inspirational value for those that follow his will. The role of the Christian worldview allows us to appreciate and contemplate the role of communication in human lives. Consequently, the importance of orality becomes more transparent with this approach.

In conclusion, orality is one of the most important eras of human communication. Although a significant portion of the primary traditions was long forgotten, the current predicament does not diminish its importance. The study of orality may help to inspire Christian communicators and young minds to explore the depth behind the sacred text. The tradition conveys numerous fascinating points and the ability of carriers that were able to preserve significant portions of practices to this day through verbal memorization. Although the nature of orality is homeostatic, it carries a considerable way and research relevance to this day.

Bibliography

Sterne, J. (2011). The theology of sound: A critique of orality. Canadian Journal of Communication. Web.

Ong, W. (2002). Orality and literacy. Routledge.

Oral history. (2022). Science Direct. Web.

Oral tradition. (2022). Britannica. Web.

The alphabetic spelling structure employed by the English language is known as English orthography. Similar to other r alphabetic orthographies, English employs a set of customs to symbolize language sounds in characters. Other languages have regular customs, also known as norms. Nevertheless, in English spelling, almost all sounds are spelt in different manners.

Also, all letters and nearly all spellings may be articulated in many, diverse manners. Hence, English spelling is said to be irregular because it lacks a one-one-correspondence among letters and sounds (Brengelman, 1970). This is partially as a result of the compound account of the English language, also, as no methodical spelling restructuring has been executed in English, different to circumstances in nearly all other speeches.

This paper shall first trace the history of English language, and then show how English lacks a one-one-correspondence among letters and sounds. The paper will end with a conclusion that highlights the key items discussed.

Historical Reasons for the Difference between Spelling and Sound

The English alphabetic writing structure has its roots in the Roman alphabet, which was initiated by church officials and Christian missionaries to the Anglo-Saxon England (Venezky, 1977). The standard of representing verbal sound fragments, particularly those at the height of vowels and consonants, through written characters, preferably one for every sound fragment form the origin of the Alphabetic writing structure.

Vital constituents of the sound flow of a letter are, therefore, arrested by a linear progression of symbols that are capable of being vocalized to evoke the message through its sounds. The whole, sound flow may not be arrested, although a sufficient amount of it offers a stimulus for identification.

Being planned for a speech with an extremely dissimilar phonological structure, the Roman alphabet was not precisely tailored for writing English, although it was initially set to symbolize Anglo-Saxon (Rollings, 1998).

The initial monks who wrote English by means of Roman letters shortly added other characters to cater for the additional sounds. For instance, the vowel /æ/ of Anglo-Saxon was made to symbolize a, and e, creating a written character known as ash.

They too supplemented some runic characters to the alphabet, in order to symbolize consonant sounds lacking in Romance descendents, for instance, eth ð, yogh ȝ, and thorn þ (Venezky, 1977). Afterwards in the medieval era, digraphs, two-letter signs like [th], [gh] and [sh], substituted the runic characters. Letters in the digraphs lack their common values, although they are employed as designates to lone sounds.

Orthography can be described as the standards for writing lexis constantly with an alphabetic character set (Venezky, 1977). Constancy in writing was not whole in Anglo-Saxon, since the entire structure was new and standards for writing terms in a steady manner took eras to grow. It is difficult for writers to keep in mind a lone orthographic symbol, known as spelling.

However, this is essential for consistency, but for an ideal one-to-one correspondence among graphemes and phonemes, which is a hard perfection for alphabetic structures to meet. Though there lacks a superior match amid sounds and written characters, writers appear to desire creating written shapes, which they have perceived earlier for definite terms.

Present orthography symbolizes two chief centers of control, including American and British English (Venezky, 1977). Until lately, when a number of other states began to recognize and instruct American orthography, the British norms control led all over the globe. Articulation options are spread acoustically instead of writing, although the same substitution from British to American standards seems to be taking place.

How English Lacks a One-One-Correspondence among Letters and Sounds

English has twenty vowels and twenty-four consonants, and hence, forty-four phonemes in total (Wijk, 1965). Besides, the English orthography includes just twenty-six letters, which may be employed in symbolizing the forty-four phonemes. Each English phoneme contains broad methods of symbolization.

This implies that, while there lacks adequate letters proportionate to every phoneme that has to be symbolized in the orthography, there exists a noticeable short of cutback in the selection of letter symbols for phonemes in English. Therefore, natives of languages that contain standard orthography turn out to be perplexed when learning English, as English spelling presents a deprived direction as regards its articulation.

English spelling, Similar to several other alphabetic orthographies, never symbolizes sub-phonemic sounds. Although letter ⟨t⟩ is articulated as [tʰ] at the commencement of terms, this is never demonstrated in the spelling (Rollings, 1998).

In fact, this phonetic aspect is possibly not perceptible to persons who have not experienced phonetics training. English orthography, different from several orthographies, normally symbolizes an extremely conceptual underlying depiction of English terms.

The assumed primary forms are methodically linked to the usual orthography and as well as the fundamental forms of an earlier chronological phase of the language. Ever since Middle English, there has been slight alteration in lexical symbol, and, as a result, it varies slightly from one dialect to another in contemporary English (Venezky, 1977).

In such instances, a morpheme is symbolized by use of a lone spelling regardless of the fact that it is articulated in a different way. That is to say, it has diverse surface symbols in varied settings. For instance, the suffix (ed⟩, which denotes past tense, can be articulated differently as /d, /ɨd/ or /t/. Following this explanation, the word dip will be articulated as /dipped /, /dɪp/, or /dɪpt /.

Since these diverse articulations of (ed⟩ may be envisaged by some phonological norms, just a lone spelling may be required in the orthography. However, the spelling structure of English is not entirely irregular (Wijk, 1965). This is because it normally pursues a regular model in relation to articulation and spelling. For instance, in the word set /sɛt/ /ɛ/ is symbolized by e while in the word hit /hɪt/ /ɪ/ is symbolized by i.

In most cases, orthography in English provides to all phoneme of the speech, no less than a single regular, apparent and steady symbolization. Although some English words are inscribed by steady and regular spellings, there remains a substantial deposit of words that have irregular spelling. A majority of spellings are irregular just in the symbolization of one or two of the phonemes included in a word.

For instance, the word choir assumes /k/ for ch, as well as the distinctive spelling of [oir] as /waɪə/ (Brengelman, 1970). Besides, even those spellings, which seem irregular, are never fully unsystematic. To some degree, they belong to some sub-sets that are regular from the inside. These spellings can be referred to as “regular irregularities.” For instance, [oe] and [oa] used for [o], ea and ee used for [i] and others.

For instance, in words such as meant /’mɛnt/ and mean /’mi’n/, the spelling of the vowel ⟨ea⟩ is articulated dissimilarly in the two associated words. Hence, the orthography just employs a lone spelling that matches up to the morphemic structure, in place of the surface phonological structure.

Also, in the inscription of consonants, double consonant letters are usually utilized at the ending of terms, as well as, subsequent to letters of vowel at the center of terms. For instance in, sitting, hatter, till, muff and mitt.

Orthography in English is also seen in silent-letters, for instance, debt /dɛt/ (Carney, 1994). English learners are likely to enunciate this word by following the normal sound they contain in English. In languages with one-one correspondence, the letters z and s stand for the sounds of /z/ and /s/ correspondingly.

However, these letters are pronounced to have both /z/ and /s/ sounds in English (Brengelman, 1970). Although letter ‘s’ is articulated as /s/ when lead by a silent consonant, such as takes /teɪks/, it is as well articulated as /z/ when lead by a voiced consonant, for instance, needs /nidz/.

A different example can be seen in words such as bomb /’bɒm/ and sign /’saɪn/, in which the inert letters ⟨b⟩ and ⟨g⟩, correspondingly, appear as silent letters with no practical function. Nevertheless, in the associated words bombard and signature, the inert letters are articulated as /bɒm’bɑrd/ and /’sɪɡnətʃər/, correspondingly.

Here, it can be asserted that the basic symbolization of bomb and sign is |bɒmb| and |saɪɡn|, whereby |ɡ| and |b| are just articulated in the surface shapes when pursued by suffixes (-⟨ard⟩ and –⟨ature⟩). If not, |b| and |ɡ| cannot be noticed in the surface articulation, especially when pursued by suffixes such as -⟨er⟩ and -⟨ing⟩ (Rollings, 1998).

In these examples, the orthography demonstrates the core consonants that exist in some words but lack in other associated words. Additional cases may encompass the ⟨h⟩ in inherit /ɪn’hɛrɨt/ and heir /’ɛər/, as well as the ⟨t⟩ in fasten /’fɑ’sən/ and fast /’fɑ’st/ (Rollings, 1998).

English orthography lacks in its ability for demonstrating the articulation that a phrase or word is supposed to encompass. Stress includes the vowel disparities of quantity, allotment, quality and beyond all, the associated lyrical patterns of expressions.

Hence, stress is an essential element of word-form in English. Nevertheless, in some languages, for instance Turkish, vowels contain similar quality, quantity, and allotment in both unstressed and stressed syllables.

Learners maybe challenged in varying the English diphthongs and long vowels either by means of/ ɪ / or / ə /, after happening in syllables that are unstressed, though both vowels contain a high rate of incidence in English, / ə / is wholly restricted to syllables that are unstressed (Rollings, 1998).

Besides, as the stress regularly reduces on the final syllable of the term in many languages, learners of English, hence, must pay exacting concentration to the location of stress in English terms, and broad performance is required, since English terms contain diverse forms of stress.

Some aspects of English language, particularly, the incident of high quantities of nonaligned vowels in syllables that are softly stressed and the distinctive character of English stress of words, are never documented in the orthography. There exist weakened articulations of some regularly occurring terms, which have structural roles in the sentence.

Since such terms have to be unstressed, they are usually dependent on weakening powers. Some alterations are features of the manner in which weak forms substitute the strong. These include the exclusion of a consonant or a vowel, substitution of a consonant plus vowel by a syllabic consonant, or the substitution of a strong vowel by a weak one, such as, / ə /, /ɪ /, / ʊ /, the English orthography fails to demonstrate.

However, in orthography with a one-one correspondence, for instance, Turkey, a wholly dissimilar condition exists (Carney, 1994). Here, no neutral vowels exist, and those in softly stressed syllables are identical with the strongly stressed syllables, in terms of quality. These phonemes are constantly and regularly revealed in the spelling.

English language is syllable-timed. Only the unstressed and those stressed syllables, which arise at standard periods of time, are compacted in order that they are articulated more swiftly as compared to their stressed counterparts (Carney, 1994). Hence, English stress- timing can be surmounted through paying intentional and methodical concentration.

In conclusion, English spelling is said to be irregular because it lacks a one-one-correspondence among letters and sounds. This is partially as a result of the compound account of the English language, also, as no methodical spelling restructuring has been executed in English, different to circumstances in nearly all other speeches. English has twenty vowels and twenty-four consonants, and hence, forty-four phonemes in total.

Besides, the English orthography includes just twenty-six letters, which may be employed in symbolizing the forty-four phonemes. Each English phoneme contains broad methods of symbolization.

This implies that, while there lacks adequate letters proportionate to every phoneme that has to be symbolized in the orthography, there exists a noticeable short of cutback in the selection of letter symbols for phonemes in English. Therefore, natives of languages that contain standard orthography turn out to be perplexed when learning English, as English spelling presents a deprived direction as regards its articulation.

English spelling, Similar to several other alphabetic orthographies, never symbolizes sub-phonemic sounds. In most cases, orthography in English provides to all phoneme of the speech, no less than a single regular, apparent and steady symbolization. English orthography lacks in its ability for demonstrating the articulation that a phrase or word is supposed to encompass.

Stress includes the vowel disparities of quantity, allotment, quality and beyond all, the associated lyrical patterns of expressions. Some aspects of English language, particularly, the incident of high quantities of nonaligned vowels in syllables that are softly stressed and the distinctive character of English stress of words, are never documented in the orthography.

There also exist weakened articulations of some regularly occurring terms, which have structural roles in the sentence. Since such terms have to be unstressed, they are usually dependent on weakening powers. However, the spelling structure of English is not entirely irregular. This is because it normally pursues a regular model in relation to articulation and spelling.

For instance, in the word set /sɛt/ /ɛ/ is symbolized by e while in the word hit /hɪt/ /ɪ/ is symbolized by i. In most cases, orthography in English provides to all phoneme of the speech, no less than a single regular, apparent and steady symbolization.

Although some English words are inscribed by steady and regular spellings, there remains a substantial deposit of words that have irregular spelling. A majority of spellings are irregular just in the symbolization of one or two of the phonemes included in a word.

References

Brengelman, F. (1970). Generative phonology and the teaching of spelling. California: Fresno State College

Carney, E. (1994). A survey of English spelling. London: Routledge

Rollings, A. (1998). Marking devices in the spelling of English. Atlantis, 20 (1), 129-143

Venezky, R. (1977). Notes on the history of English spelling. Visible Language, 10, 351-365

Wijk, K. (1965). Finnish and English vowels: a comparison with special reference to the learning problems met by native speakers of Finnish learning English. Turku: Turun Yliopisto