ression to the graphic expression. Weigl (1970) considered that the structural rules of the written language have no direct relationships with the features of the spoken language. Their acquisition is really independent and is in no way facilitated by that of the spoken language which preceded it in communicative evolution. Nevertheless, adds Weigl, it would be impossible to learn the written language by learning only the letters and their combinations. Bouton (1976, p. 154) noted, however, that the discovery of language among deaf-mute-blind people, such as Helen Keller, renders this latter position rather difficult of generalization.
Teaching the sound system to ESL students
Piper (1983b), in her selective research study deriving from Clymer's, adjusted the nineteen vowel generalizations to take into account morphology and word order. She concluded by offering six implications for ESL teachers, viz.:
1. Teach the rules as applying only to root words before suffixation or compounding.
2. Teach students to recognize compound words and to ignore vowel digraphs formed as a result of compounding.
3. Teach the pronunciation of unstressed vowels. Since suffixes are rarely stressed, most vowels in suffixes are pronounced as the /i/ in attention or the /e/ in waited.
4. Remind students that it is the pronunciation of the y in the stem which determines the pronunciation of the i in such words as dried and happiest.
5. Teach the pronunciation of r-colored vowels separately. An r following a vowel affects ou
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