Filthy Phonemes

Phonemic awareness training with slang and swear words...finally!

If you like slang and swear words and have been known to say “phonemic awareness”, then Filthy Phonemes is your kind of good time. This IS NOT for kids, your granny or (probably) your students. But for anyone who has ever taught reading, this is funny!

Don't get me wrong: the activities are completely legit for PA training:

1) HEAR: identify which word includes the given phoneme

2) CHOOSE: identify phonemes in initial, terminal and internal positions of a given word

3) BUILD: select and arrange phonemes in a given word

The naughty words include all the choicest /k/-terminal single-syllable swear words you'd expect. Slang for body parts, fluids and functions—especially the sexy ones—and an assortment of insults and general-purpose swears are IN. Slurs based on race, nationality, religion or sexual orientation are OUT. ’Cause that stuff is NOT funny.

Edit the Blacklist: Any words that are objectionable to you personally can be blacklisted in the app and won't be used. They won't even show up in the Dirty Dictionary or Shareables.

Edit the Phoneme Set: This is a sweet PRO feature available with a one-time in-app purchase. You control which phonemes are used in the activities. For example, you may want to ask about word-initial phonemes only. Additional constraints can be imposed on the word selection: single-syllable only, no blended consonant sounds, words using only the selected syllables. It’s hard core!

Accent: For now, the only accent in the app is mine, which is pretty standard Canadian. If I can get volunteers to record other accents, will I add them? You bet I will!

Activity Log: The outcome of each exercise is logged. Going PRO lets you email the contents of the log to yourself (as well as—and more importantly—giving you access to the Phoneme Set editor). What? It’s better than having to write it all down yourself!

Bonus Features:

1) "Dirty Dictionary": a somewhat tongue-in-cheek dictionary of the words, some of which may not be familiar to you (British or North American slang) or may have meanings you weren't aware of.

2) "Nice Pair": play Concentration/Memory with the naughty words

3) Shareables: You'll want ALL your teacher, speechie and reading tutor friends to know about Filthy Phonemes! Maybe not your granny... Pretty much anyone you know with a sense of humour who ever learned to read will get a laugh out of Filthy Phonemes. Share some fun!