Table 1 Phonological awareness across English, Chinese/Cantonese, Hindi and Filipino
Domain-specific language skills | Phonological awareness | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Definition | The ability to analyze spoken utterance into different psycholinguistic grain-size units across segmental and suprasegmental levels. | |||
Components | Segmental | Suprasegmental | ||
Syllables | Onsets and Rimes | Phonemes | ||
English | music/mjuːzɪk/ contains two syllables: /mjuː/ and /zɪk/ | /mju:/ = onset /m/ + rime /ju:/ /zik/ = onset /z/ + rime /ik/ | music comprises six phonemes: /m/, /j/, /u:/, /z/, /i/, and /k/ | A stress-timed language |
Cantonese | /jɐm ŋɔːk/ 音樂 (music) contains two syllables: /jɐm/ and /ŋɔːk/ | /jɐm/ = onset/j/ + rime /ɐm/ /ŋɔːk/ = onset /ŋ/ + rime /ɔːk/ | /jɐm ŋɔːk/comprises six phonemes: /j/, /ɐ/, /m/, /ŋ/, /ɔː/, and /k/ | A tonal language comprises six tones: high level, high rising, midlevel, low falling, low rising, and low level |
Hindi | संगीत (/sngiːt̪/, music) contains two syllables: /sn/ and /giːt̪/ | /sn/ = onset/s/ + rime /n/ /gi:t̪/= onset /g/ + rime /i:t̪/ | (/sngiːt̪/) comprises five phonemes: /s/, /n/, /g/, /iː/, and /t̪/ | A syllable-timed language |
Filipino | /tugtóg/tugtog (music) contains two syllables: /tug/ and /tóg/ | /tug/ = onset /ʈ/ + rime /ug/ /tóg/ = onset /ʈ/ + rime /óg/ | /tugtóg/ comprises six phonemes, /ʈ/, /u/, /g/, /ʈ/, /ó/, and /g/ | A syllable-timed language |