Chapter 6 Pronunciation Summary and Analysis

Bryson discusses the changing pronunciation of English over time. One of the points that he mentions is that the vowel system of English has a range of possibilities that are not available in other languages. This combines with the complex spelling rules for vowels to create a language for which the pronunciation rules can be very difficult to define. Bryson compares English to other languages that have clearer sound-spelling relationships, and discusses how English speakers categorize their language differently in order to make up for the complexity of spelling-pronunciation rules.

Bryson examines how many words have changed pronunciation given the regional pronunciations of various speakers. Another aspect that influences pronunciation is the slurring of speech that many English speakers use when speaking very quickly or informally. The slurring of speech is common to most English speakers, though many like...