Re: european roots, etc.
| From: | Nik Taylor <fortytwo@...> |
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| Date: | Monday, April 2, 2001, 22:16 |
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Fabian wrote:
> The problem is that, not being familiar with the dialect of the authors, or
> those dialects normally described within those dictionaries, the definitions
> are useless for me.
But that's exactly the point. If you're a native speaker, it works for
YOUR dialect. Whatever vowel you use in "hat" will work for the symbol
defined as "a in hat". It works because it allows you to know how the
word would be pronounced in YOUR dialect. Using IPA would only show you
how the word is pronounced in the author's dialect.
> Indeed, the USA system tends to be useless for EFL students as well, and for
> similar reasons.
Right, but it's designed for native English speakers.
--
Cenedl heb iaith, cenedl heb galon
A nation without a language is a nation without a heart - Welsh proverb
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