4Real Forums: dictionary diacritical marks

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Topic: dictionary diacritical marks

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ALmom
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Posted: Sept 30 2009 at 1:25pm \| IP Logged

I had a question that came up in using the Serl language art books with an elementary. The assignment involved finding words with certain markings. Now, this is clearly not my area of strength. I have yet to figure out accent marks in English and have never paid that much attention to the symbols/key for pronunciation of words. I know this is a weakness - not the most earth shaking thing in the world - but since my children are doing a lot of reading to figure out vocabulary, it is one area that sometimes jumps out with some glaring pronunciation mistakes. I've even mispronounced words in stories like Gorgonzola cheese in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and had to get my dh help to figure out how to pronounce this after another adult's reaction clued me in.

I'd like to do this kind of thing with my children so they can figure out how to pronounce new words for themselves without having to have an audio. When we went to do the assignment, I had 3 different dictionaries with 3 different guides - some more detailed than others but all of them missing at least some of the symbols that the child was asked to find words with these sounds. Many distinctions in sound, I simply don't hear. I don't know if it is like my e sound before an n which I just didn't hear properly and thus confused my children since I never pronounced it - or is it something that has changed in the pronunciation of words over time, so the dictionary from 1800s would have a distinction that is no longer there?

Thanks.

Janet

What do you guys use for your elementary child's dictionary? Do you use an older or newer dictionary. I love the Jr. Dictionary we have, but it is from waaay back - belonged to my mil in school so perhaps the keys have changed since then. Anyone have any ideas, suggestions? How have you guys handled this?

ekbell
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Posted: Sept 30 2009 at 3:15pm \| IP Logged

I handle this by letting my husband deal with it

He's the fellow who can pronounce words written in languages he doesn't know,and understands accent marks ; he can figure out those confusing guides and correct my bad pronunciation.

I figure that I'm setting a good example by acknowledging my limitations and asking for help from a more knowledgeable person.

(given that I can forget how to pronounce a word not five minutes after asking, my children need to know that I'm not an authority in this area)

BTW our Student's Oxford Canadian Dictionary published by Oxford University press just gives a phonetic spelling with stress indicator as a pronunciation guide with no diacritical marks.

hylabrook1
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Posted: Sept 30 2009 at 6:50pm \| IP Logged

One problem I've noticed with diacritical marks is that the particular marks chosen by the people who compiled the dictionary sometimes reflect the regional pronunciation used by those people. This can also be true in phonics books. Example: we had a phonics book that used the word "seven" as an example of the schwa sound, saying that the 2nd "e" in the word was that kind of indistinct "a,e, whatever" that is my sense of what the "schwa sound" comes down to. Now, when I pronounce "seven", there are clearly 2 short "e" sounds, one for each syllable. What I"m saying is that even if you can figure out the diacritical markings, they don't always lead to *correct* pronunciation.

Is there an on-line interactive site anywhere that takes you through the markings and the sound that is meant to be achieved by those markings?

Our usual dictionary is Webster's New World Dictionary, which we bought new within the last 5 years, probably for no better reason than that it was for sale at Costco at an acceptable price.

Peace,
Nancy

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