Final consonant sounds and homophony in AAE
Total time for this activity: 20 minutes
Part 1: Recognizing words that sound the same
In each set of three words below, speakers of AAE usually pronounce two of the words the same way and one word differently, even though all three words have a distinct pronunciation in “Standard” English. Select the word that is usually pronounced differently and explain how it and the other two words are pronounced in AAE. All of the words are written in Standard English orthography. Once you have completed this exercise, compare your answers to those of your assigned partner.
| 1 | mask | max | mass |
| 2 | test | text | Tess |
| 3 | Ann | and | ant |
| 4 | bolt | bold | bowl |
| 5 | rushed | Russ | rush |
| 6 | toll | told | tolls |
| 7 | mix | miss | mist |
| 8 | packs | pass | passed |
| 9 | ban | band | bank |
| 10 | cold | colt | coal |
Part 2: Recognizing words that rhyme
In each set of three words below, two of the words rhyme (end in the same vowel and consonant sounds) in AAE. Select the two words that rhyme in each set and explain how they and the other word are pronounced in AAE. All of the words are written in Standard English orthography. Compare your answers to those of your partner.
| 1 | post | close | pokes |
| 2 | wasp | tops | lost |
| 3 | friend | men | tint |
| 4 | ask | act | back |
| 5 | spend | win | lint |
| 6 | makes | haste | race |
| 7 | speck | inspect | pecks |
| 8 | best | Lex | desk |
| 9 | roll | sold | bolt |
| 10 | face | raised | phase |
Part 3: Recognizing plural forms
In each set of words below, two of the words are usually pronounced the same way by speakers of AAE. Select the pair of words in each set that sound the same. Explain why the words you have selected in each pair sound the same. Once you have completed this exercise, compare your answers with those of your partner.
| 1 | mists | miss | misses |
| 2 | Texas | Tess’s | tests |
| 3 | masks | masses | Max’s |
| 4 | pastes | paces (noun) | paste |
| 5 | writs | wrists | risks |
Reflection activity: Which part of this exercise (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3) was the most difficult for you? Why do you think that was the case?
Consider completing this module’s Independent Research Project on some aspect of the part that posed the greatest challenge.
Source: This exercise has been adapted from McDorman (2012).