fonεtIks Iz ә IntәrIstIŋ stʌdI әv spič sawndz

Have you ever though that why people can learn a variety of languages? Human being shares the same vocal tract to produce the sounds of their language. Once the mother language sets its properties, the second language that people pronounce will be limited. Let me give you an example that I had experienced and heard. Most Japanese pronounce “L” to take the place of “R” for they can’t do it. If you have Japanese friends around, maybe you could ask them to read the following sentences “I’m ready” and “I’m lady”. (I don’t mean to offend, just give an instance.) However, remember that practice makes perfect. Anyway, have you ever thought what would happen to an abandoned newborn baby who was sent to a foster home in American? Maybe when it grows up, he/she would speak English with a Japanese-looking appearance.
The human use languages to communicate, but which one came first to cave dweller, sounds or words? The answer was sounds. When sounds were produced to record the events, words were created subsequently. Why? Without the advanced development of technology, how could cave dweller be record the sounds?
When a language learner tell you that he/she knows a language, how do you test what he /she said is a truth or a lie? First of all, you must understand the language that he/she told you. Ask him/her to read a paragraph in that language. If you were a native English speaker, would you believe the one understands English when he/she reads “to/ understand language we/ need to know the/ meaning of/ words and of the/ morphemes that/ compose them.”? The one I gave an example above had made a mistake called “Segment”. Maybe he/she knows how to produce the sounds of a language, but it doesn’t mean that he/she understands. And why? Why do the sounds of languages can be produced without being understanding? Well, I have to do a deeper research…
(Title: Phoneticis is a interesting study of speech sounds.)