Lipreading

Consonant theory

LIPREADING - the ‘nitty gritty’ of sounds and lipshapes

Learning objectives:

• Appreciate the significance of vowels and consonants for understanding the English language

• To understand the consonant confusion groups

Why vowels matter

• Turn to the person next to you . Take it in turns to pick one of

the following sounds and say it out loud to your partner in

such a way that it means something (e.g. using intonation)

1. ah2. oo3. er4. ow 5. ay

What is a vowel?

• Not just a,e,i, o, u.• A vowel is a voiced speech sound in which the breath has free passage and is not blocked

• How many are there in spoken English?• Infinite number – accent• Most sources refer to 20 basic vowel sounds

Importance of vowels for someone with hearing loss?

• tend to be of lower pitch• tend to be louder• important for rhythm• carry emotion, mood etc

Why consonants matter…

_o _ _ _ _ u _ e _ _ _ _ i _ e _ _ o _ o _ a _ e _ _ o _ i e _

(vowels only)

Why consonants matter…

M_st st_d_nts l_k_ ch_c_l_t_ br_wn__s

(consonants only)

Document Title

Significance of consonants for the lipreader:

• Give intelligibility

• Tend to be higher frequency sounds - often difficult to hear

• Some make good lipreadable shapes so provide useful visual clues

Which one of these words will he say?Look at the beginning of the word.

1. Fine ?2. Mine?3. Wine ?

= Fine √

Or could it be something else?

Vine?

Some sounds look the same – or very similar

e.g. F and V Can look the same to the lipreaderWhy?• Made in the same place on the mouth • Only difference is that F is with breath only

(you can whisper it)• But V is made with voice (vocal cords vibrate)

– and the lipreader can’t see that

• You try it….

• Say ‘f’ by just whispering with breath only• Then put your voice with it to make ‘v’

• Can you feel a difference?

Consonants - Activity

• I will give you a list of sounds e.g. ba, da • Say them to the group and say them to yourself

looking in the mirror looking at the first sound (i.e. b, d etc.)

• Sort the sounds into 3 groups 1. quite easy to see 2. can see a bit/sometimes 3. really hard to seeDo you all agree?

Spelling doesn’t matter to lipreaders!

Forget about the anomalies of English spelling.

Remember…How it sounds = how it looks on the mouth

Think…What will the lipreader see?

What’s the sound at the start of this word…..?

Sugar

Sh

Other spellings – same sound and lipshape• Invitation• Pressure• Delicious

Which one of these words do you think I am saying ?Look at the beginning of the word.

1. Cheap ?2. Leap ?3. Weep?

= Cheap √.. But could it be ‘sheep’ or ‘jeep’?So sh, ch and j are another group of sounds that look alike

In your pairs, find the sh/ch/j lipshape in each word and it underline it

• invention• fortune• whichever• during• legendary• durable• fashion

• gorgeous• switched• moustache• carriages• production• station• centuries• manufactured

Consonant confusion groups

We know f and v look alikeWe know sh, ch and j look alike

But there are other sounds which fall into confusable groups as well.

Go through the handout and look at the sound groups with your partner and see if you can understand why the sounds in each group look alike.

Consonants

• A person lipreading you will find some consonants easier to see than others

• They can’t lipread a word they don’t know - as they can’t use their knowledge of vocabulary to make an intelligent guess

• So you may need to rephrase

Activity

With your partner…Look at these pairs of words – which alternative would the lipreader see more easily?

- use your mirrors and also the table of consonants to help you - see how they look on each other1. women ladies 4. chop up cut up 2. change alter 5. sofa settee3. lovely nice 6. USA America

You will be easier to lipread by…..

• rephrasing using a different word if they get stuck

The alternative word(s) you choose may be easier to lipread (or to hear if they have some useable hearing ).e.g. “women” might be easier to see than “ladies”

You will be easier to lipread by…..

• using plain English if they get stuck

If the words you use are common and familiar to the lipreader, it is more likely they will be able to lipread them.

e.g. “help” will be easier to lipread than “facilitate”

You will be easier to lipread by…..

• fingerspelling the first letter of a word they are having trouble with

If they know the first sound they can sometimes work out what the rest of the word is.