ABSTRACT

In the exhibit hall of a recent conference a linguist was trying out some of the new pronunciation software. An attractively arranged display caught his eye. When he clicked on the thumbnail drawing of a loaf of bread, it expanded to fill the screen, along with directions on how to speak and receive feedback. When he said the word “braid,” the computer voice said, “Very good.” When he said “Fred,” again it was accepted. Upon saying “convention center,” he got the response “try again.” At a competitor’s booth, the linguist started working on a screen flashing a white number on a black background. He said /paib/, and it was accepted. He said /fIf/, and it was accepted also. As with the first package, when he said “convention center,” it was rejected. A few weeks later this same linguist was reviewing CDs and web sites for pronunciation training. In the promotional material for one of the CDs was a statement comparing the regular beat of English to the beat of a rock and roll song. He wondered why rock and roll had become so popular if it was just the same old rhythm people used every day. At a web site he made some errors typing the dictated sentence, “Sinking fins are thought to be thin.” A help routine popped up to inform him that the first word is a gerund and the fourth word a past tense verb, oblivious to the possibility that in this context they might be present and past participles.