shadowsinner
Member
- Joined
- Dec 18, 2017
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- Australia
- Current Location
- Japan
Hi all,
I'm confused about the IPA symbols used for words such as "train", because the "t" sound in this word is distinctly different from the "t" sound in "talk", for example (unless I've been pronouncing "talk" incorrectly my entire life). However, looking it up in dictionaries, one can plainly see that the word "train" is expressed as "/treɪn/", while the word "talk" is expressed as "/tɔːk/" - same t symbol, but to me, very different sounds.
Are both "t" sounds supposed to be the same? I know when we teach phonics, we say "ts...a-ts" for the t sound, but we do not say "tsalk". The "t" sound only really comes out when we distinctly pronounce the back of words like "that"... the last "t" in "that" definitely sounds like a "ts" or "tch" sound. Why are they written the same in IPA when they sound different?
Also, the word "train" sounds to me like "chain" with an r in it. However, "chain" is expressed in IPA as "/tʃeɪn/"... so shouldn't "train" be "/tʃreɪn/"?
Thanks for your help in advance.
I'm confused about the IPA symbols used for words such as "train", because the "t" sound in this word is distinctly different from the "t" sound in "talk", for example (unless I've been pronouncing "talk" incorrectly my entire life). However, looking it up in dictionaries, one can plainly see that the word "train" is expressed as "/treɪn/", while the word "talk" is expressed as "/tɔːk/" - same t symbol, but to me, very different sounds.
Are both "t" sounds supposed to be the same? I know when we teach phonics, we say "ts...a-ts" for the t sound, but we do not say "tsalk". The "t" sound only really comes out when we distinctly pronounce the back of words like "that"... the last "t" in "that" definitely sounds like a "ts" or "tch" sound. Why are they written the same in IPA when they sound different?
Also, the word "train" sounds to me like "chain" with an r in it. However, "chain" is expressed in IPA as "/tʃeɪn/"... so shouldn't "train" be "/tʃreɪn/"?
Thanks for your help in advance.