I’m loving the first activities in See and Learn Speech Sounds app for iPad. But after using it several times I had an unexpected realization. I think some sounds (i.e. “ar” with the picture of an arm) might be specific to the UK, yes?
Is there an alternative for me in the US? Can I choose a different pronunciation option for the “a” in “baa” or at least exclude it from our activities?
Thanks for the great resources and for your time!
Hi - and welcome and thank you for the question.
You can switch between US and UK recordings from the main settings page that can be reaced from the home page. That said, there are differences in every country - some phonemes sound different and in some cases may be nearly indistinguishable in some dialects. For example, on the US West Coast, Mary, marry, and merry may sound much more similar than they might be pronounced on the US East Cost.
“baa” is the combination of “b” and “ar” (as in arm) in Combining Sounds. West Coast speakers are more likely to say “arh” than “ah”/“aa” (and vice versa on the East Coast).
We are considering including more regional dialects in the included recordings in future editions of the apps, though generally we recommend producing the sounds for the child because may not only benefit from local pronunciation but also being able to see your mouth movements/shape.
Thank you Frank!
I have the settings on US already. I’m on the West Coast USA and we definitely use “ah/aa” not “arh”. Is that sound included in the app with a different picture? I don’t remember noticing it, just being baffled by “arh” as in arm.
I do like to repeat the sounds for my child to hear/see me–thanks for that reminder!
I’m less concerned about “ar as in arm” being included than I am about “ah/aa” being missing.
Thanks again!
Judy
