AMDG+

Dear Homeschooling Mom;

Please permit me to give you a rather long explanation for Little Stories for Little Folks' substitution of identifying names and groupings in place of symbols e.g., long vowel 'o,' long 'a,' 'y' as 'ee' sound. [One might note that this substitution is not limited to LSLF, but is commonly followed by numerous other reading and spelling programs, for reasons that I hope to make clear.]

First, you know that the English language draws heavily from Latin, Anglo-Saxon, French, Germanic dialects, and various other languages of antiquity. Attempting to draft one set of spelling rules or phonetic markings for such vastly different languages has always caused consternation to those with that charge. In addition, because English is a living language, it endures a constant state of change and development, with concurrent changes in methods of identifying and teaching elements of the language. Thus, pronunciation keys in current dictionaries utilize pronunciation symbols that differ significantly from those published only thirty or forty years ago.

In college, a class of some interest to me examined the historical roots and the ongoing development of the English language; a few examples gleaned from that class might give insight to the question of graphemes, phonemes, phonograms, and their changing identification.

From our Anglo-Saxon roots we continue to use, in developed form, the by-now-unrecognizable words: hwaer, hwael, and hwyk. In Anglo-Saxon, the initial h was vocalized almost explosively; over the years, however, the h and w gradually reversed places, with the stress falling on the w to the extent that the h sound, or phoneme, virtually disappeared. Thus, these words are now rendered! : where, whale, and which.

Because of the fact that ours is a living language, and therefore constantly changing, new theories about, and approaches to, phonics abound. While none of the differences between approaches and theories will radically change most students' understanding of reading, it is nevertheless both interesting and reflective of the metamorphic nature of the language to note variances in approach.

For example, one honored linguist asserts that the 26 letters in the English language represent 45 phonemes, used in about 350 ways. Others identify, variously 39, 42 [Monica Foltzer, M. Ed., renowned teacher and author of Professor Phonics series], or even 47, phonemes. No consensus here for categorization or grouping of phonemes and graphemes!

Sr. Foltzer defines consonant digraphs as 'new consonant sounds differing from the two consonants that comprise them,' including wh in that grouping. That is a fair definition in most cases, but doesn't consistently apply in the case of digraph wh. In who, whose, and whom, the w is completely silent. No new sound is created; only the sound of h is expressed. However, in most words that contain the grapheme wh, the phoneme it represents is the sound of w only; again, no new sound is created at all.

On the other hand, Dr. Edward Fry, Ph.D, professor of education and reading specialist associated with Rutgers, maintains that the digraph wh does not create a new sound, but goes on to group who, what, why, when, and where as containing the same phoneme. Grapheme, yes; phoneme, no. [Who again being the odd man out.]

Marion Hull, noted professor and author of a number of phonics programs—Prentice Hall, Merrill—offers yet more sub-groupings, categorizing w as a vowel in certain instances, and reminding the reader that the phoneme w can actually be a player in words that do not even contain the grapheme w. [One and once both contain the phoneme w, but not the grapheme.]

Let's return to Middle Age Anglo-Saxon and hwaer, hwael, and hwyk. One thousand years ago, the initial grapheme h was the dominate phoneme in these words, but not so today in their descendents where, whale, and which. If one rolls the homonyms wear, wail, and witch across the tongue, one easily hears why all agree that they are homonyms: for most English-speakers, there is no difference in sound between the two groupings of words. That is, after 1,000 years, the phoneme h has disappeared completely.

And, in our age of computerized spell-check, can't homonyms be a mine-field!

So you can see that the English language has changed, and will continue to do so. Those changes include changes in pronunciation and spelling, and the rules and phonics symbols that govern both. Thus, there are some differences in terminology, approach, and categorization, even among recognized experts in the field and in the books they have produced.

I realize that this has likely been a far lengthier explanation than you were looking for! But it developed in the 'testing' of Little Stories for Little Folks with real children that it was easier for the child first to learn to read, without the confusion that sometimes ensued for those who began with one set of symbols and then encountered a different approach and set of symbols in another spelling or reading program. Thus, the substitution of identifying sound and letter names and groupings in place of phonetic or phonics symbols.

Thank you again for your interest and kind commentary. May Our Lord bless and guide you as you teach your children, to His glory.

Nancy Nicholson