They say this all the time about various languages. "Estonian/Russian/Japanese/Indonesian is spelt phonetically, so you just say it as it's spelt".
What a load of tosh and bunkum. If the words were spelt phonetically, they would be written with phonetic symbols. Even different dialects and regional variations within a language group will pronounce the same letters differently. Even if you say you only have one sound per letter, there's no guarantee it's the same sound I'm thinking of when I look at that letter. And someone in the south may swear that "a" sounds like ɑ, while someone from the north might be willing to come to blows insisting it sounds like ɛ. And, in any case, there's a good chance that the letter will be pronounced differently by the same person depending on whether it is stressed or unstressed.
Letters are not inherently "phonetic". And when someone tells me, in one instance, that the language is spelt "phonetically", and then goes on to tell me that "b" is sometimes pronounced more like "p" in certain words, I just want to shake them and tell them that they are wrong. They should stop using the word "phonetic" in relation to spelling until they actually understand what it means.
Granted, a voiced bilabial plosive and a voiceless bilabial plosive are very similar, and all languages muddle up their "b"s and "p"s on a regular basis - but it's still not the same sound. You don't pronounce that letter the same way in every single instance, which is what you would be doing if the language was, in fact, spelt phonetically.
So, stick a qualifier in that sentence, for Pete's sake. The language is spelt almost phonetically. The language is spelt phonetically to an extent.
No language is actually spelt phonetically. And if it was, we'd probably find a way to mispronounce it anyway. We're not good with prescriptive language. Never have been.
This rant has been brough to you by ˈʃæɹən, who is quite fond of spelling things phonetically, but finds it rather time consuming when using HTML...
But you must admit that those "phonetic" languages are much more phonetic than english with variants like: dough, tough, through, plough, cough.
ReplyDeleteBut you must admit that those "phonetic" languages are more phonetic than, say, english with all its variants like: tough, dough, cough, through, plough.
ReplyDeleteOh heck, yeah. The English language was clearly developed by an obscure cult of derranged alcoholics who thought logical spelling systems were for pansies.
ReplyDeleteI maintain that the name of their god was Ough, which explains why they put that letter combination in every word they could think of, regardless of how it was actually pronounced.
Also, I think it's why we tend to make a variety of exclamations that all sound like the different pronunciations of "ough" when we sit down and get up.