• ProstheticBrain@sh.itjust.works
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    6
    arrow-down
    1
    ·
    11 months ago

    I was just learning about this today in response to this post! I had no idea that the definition of a vowel is based on what sound you actually make, rather than it having anything to do with what you write.

    It’s kind of weird that it’s not taught that way in schools. Like, you’re just told a/e/I/o/u are the vowels and left to get on with it. Seems to me that could just be changed to “by the way it’s a/e/I/o/u/y/w, off you go”.

      • ProstheticBrain@sh.itjust.works
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        I can only imagine they’re downvoting because they’ve had a better education than me, or paid more attention in class, or read the Wikipedia entry ten minutes before me.

          • ProstheticBrain@sh.itjust.works
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            2
            arrow-down
            1
            ·
            11 months ago

            Exactly! I mean, some people (looking at you downvoters) learnt that during their education. But I (we?) didn’t, and this has been a really interesting find for me.

            I genuinely love learning about linguistic weirdness, I just don’t know a lot about it. Or have many occasions to learn.

    • lad@programming.dev
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      11 months ago

      I was once told on one croud-knowledge site that in English letters don’t imply sounds and there is no such thing as “this letter sounds like that in this word”

      Makes me wonder what they would’ve told me about this “sometimes Y” rule that is exactly based on letter-sound correspondence

    • PeriodicallyPedantic
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      11 months ago

      IDK what they’re teaching these days, but back in my day (😭) it was

      AEIOU and sometimes Y

      • Gestrid
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        11 months ago

        Back in my day, we didn’t even have “and sometimes Y”.

        • PeriodicallyPedantic
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          I’m not sure if I’m older or younger than you so IDK if it’s trending better or worse. I’m late 30s, for reference. Also Canadian since that probably makes a difference.

          • Gestrid
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            11 months ago

            I’m a little younger than you. I live in the US, but I was homeschooled in my early school years, so it’s possible the curriculum my mom used simply didn’t teach it. Or maybe I’ve simply forgotten they taught it.