Spelling Pronunciations in Children and Foreigners
Children who read a great deal often produce spelling pronunciations, since they have no way of knowing, other than the spelling, how the rare words they encounter are correctly pronounced. Well-read second language learners are likewise vulnerable to producing spelling pronunciations.
However, since there are many words which one reads far more often than one hears, the problem also affects adult native-language speakers. This, in turn, leads to the language evolution mentioned above. What is a spelling pronunciation in one generation often becomes standard in the next.
Read more about this topic: Spelling Pronunciation
Famous quotes containing the words spelling, children and/or foreigners:
“My spelling is Wobbly. It’s good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.”
—A.A. (Alan Alexander)
“Becoming responsible adults is no longer a matter of whether children hang up their pajamas or put dirty towels in the hamper, but whether they care about themselves and others—and whether they see everyday chores as related to how we treat this planet.”
—Eda Le Shan (20th century)
“Frogs are slightly better than Huns or Wops, but abroad is unutterably bloody and foreigners are fiends.”
—Nancy Mitford (1904–1973)