ShmoopTube

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[Coop and Dino singing]

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Kick your brain-engines into high gear because we're about to ask you the hardest question [Man driving with brain on the bumper of the car]

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you've ever been asked...

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Ready?

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Here it is:

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What word…is….THIS?!

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…Okay, so you probably answered that question in half a second.

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Yeah, it’s “cat.”

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And sure, “cat” might not be the hardest word to read and say aloud, but have you ever [A list of words]

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thought about how you're able to do that?

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What is it about the word cat that makes it sound like, well, the word cat?

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Now that’s a hard question.

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The answer is something called phonemes. [Coop talking about phonemes]

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A phoneme is basically a fancy word for a sound used in speech – any old sound, really.

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So when we look at the word cat, we find three phonemes that allow us to say the word. [A cat perched on top of a billboard]

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Let’s break it down.

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First is “CUH” and then is “AH,” and finally comes “TUH”.

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Cuh-ah-tuh.

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Cat.

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Pretty straight-forward, right?

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It’s just like when you learned to read for the first time.

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All you have to do is sound it out!

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Oh, and if you're wondering why each phoneme has a slash on either side of it, that's just [Arrows pointing to phonemes]

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how phonemes are written.

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It’s one of those rules that nobody ever questions, like why we have to sit down in

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the classroom. [Boy stands up in class]

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We just do.

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Anyway, let’s take a look at some more phonemes.

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So this first one is pretty straightforward.

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It has an S and a T, and when you put those two sounds together, we get “ssssttt.”

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This phoneme is important for words like “stone” and “west” and “street.” [A stone and a compass appear]

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And what about this phoneme?

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It has a T followed by an H, but unlike the previous phoneme, we don't simply combine

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those two sounds, because “tuh”-”huh” doesn't sound right at all.

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Instead, this combination of letters makes an entirely new sound - “thuh”

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This “thuh” sound can be found in words like “teeth” and “nothing” and “month.” [Girl brushing her teeth]

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Let's look at one more phoneme, because, hey, this stuff is kind of fun! [Students falling asleep in class]

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Seriously, we do this at parties…we also don't get invited to a bunch of parties anymore…hm.

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Wonder why…

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Anyway, just like our previous phoneme, when we put two these letters together, we get

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an entirely new sound. [/CH/ phoneme written in notepad]

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In this case, the combination of C and H forms the sound “chuh” like in the words “chase”

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and “witch” and “chair.” [A witch chasing a young boy]

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Even though we might not think about it very often, we're constantly using and interpreting

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phonemes in order to correctly pronounce words – well… unless we’re pretending to be

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a Sim or something. [Two girls standing in a simulated Sims game]

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Knowing all your phonemes is the difference between saying “cuh-hair” instead of “chair,”

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saying “kit-cuh-hen” instead of “kitchen."

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In other words, if you don't want to sound like a total weirdo to everyone around you, [Girl at a party and man appears]

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knowing your phonemes is key.

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But if you still want to sound like a sim, then throw your phonemes out the window!

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Nebbe cronks now! [Witches chase Sims characters]

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Sul sul!

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