Read naYana

Reading is the most concentrated form of attention humans regularly perform. It is also the activity our writing system makes hardest. We spell wonder as if it were rhymed with wander.

riːdɪŋ ɪz ðə moust kɑːnsəntreitəd fɔːrm əv ətɛnʃən hyuːmənz rɛgyələrliː pɚfɔːrm. ɪt ɪz ɔːlsou ðə æktɪvətiː aur raitɪŋ sɪstəm meiks hɑːrdəst. wiː spɛl wʌndɚ æz ɪf ɪt wɝ raimd wɪð wɑːndɚ.

A child who is "learning to read" is, almost entirely, learning to decode the orthographic ambiguities of English. The cognitive load of that work is huge, and it is concentrated in the years when the brain is most plastic — and most easily discouraged.

ə tʃaild huː ɪz "lɝnɪŋ tə riːd" ɪz, ɔːlmoust ɛntairliː, lɝnɪŋ tə diːkoud ðə ɔːrθəgræfɪk æmbɪgyuːətiːz əv ɪŋlɪʃ. ðə kɑːgnətɪv loud əv ðæt wɝk ɪz hyuːdʒ, ən ɪt ɪz kɑːnsəntreitəd ɪn ðə yɪrz wɛn ðə brein ɪz moust plæstɪk — ən moust iːzəliː dɪskɝɪdʒd.

The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along wrapped in a warm cloak. They agreed that the one who first succeeded in making the traveler take his cloak off should be considered stronger than the other.

ðə nɔːrθ waind ənd ðə sʌn wɝ dɪspyuːtɪŋ wɪtʃ wɑːz ðə strɔːŋɚ, wɛn ə trævəlɚ keim əlɔːŋ ræpt ɪn ə wɔːrm klouk. ðei əgriːd ðæt ðə ʌn huː fɝst səksiːdɪd ɪn meikɪŋ ðə trævəlɚ teik hɪz klouk ɔːf ʃʊd biː kənsɪdɚd strɔːŋɚ ðæn ðə ʌðɚ.

Then the North Wind blew as hard as he could, but the more he blew the more closely did the traveler fold his cloak around him; and at last the North Wind gave up the attempt.

ðɛn ðə nɔːrθ waind bluː æz hɑːrd æz hiː kʊd, bʌt ðə mɔːr hiː bluː ðə mɔːr klousliː dɪd ðə trævəlɚ fould hɪz klouk ɚaund hɪm; ənd æt læst ðə nɔːrθ waind geiv ʌp ðə ətɛmpt.

Then the Sun shone out warmly, and immediately the traveler took off his cloak. And so the North Wind was obliged to confess that the Sun was the stronger of the two.

ðɛn ðə sʌn ʃoun aut wɔːrmliː, ənd ɪmiːdiːətliː ðə trævəlɚ tʊk ɔːf hɪz klouk. ənd sou ðə nɔːrθ waind wɑːz əblaidʒd tuː kənfɛs ðæt ðə sʌn wɑːz ðə strɔːŋɚ ʌv ðə tuː.

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

fɔːr skɔːr ənd sɛvən yɪrz əgou aur fɑːðɚz brɔːt fɔːrθ ɑːn ðɪs kɑːntənənt, ə nuː neiʃən, kənsiːvd ɪn lɪbɚtiː, ənd dɛdəkeitəd tuː ðə prɑːpəzɪʃən ðæt ɔːl mɛn ɑːr kriːeitəd iːkwəl.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.

nau wiː ɑːr ɛngeidʒd ɪn ə greit sɪvəl wɔːr, tɛstɪŋ wɛðɚ ðæt neiʃən, ɔːr ɛniː neiʃən sou kənsiːvd ənd sou dɛdəkeitəd, kæn lɔːŋ ɛndʊr.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky.

twɪŋkl, twɪŋkl, lɪttl stɑːr, hau ai wʌndɚ wat yuː ɑːr. ʌp əbʌv ðə wɝld sou hai, laik ə daimənd ɪn ðə skai.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are.

twɪŋkl, twɪŋkl, lɪttl stɑːr, hau ai wʌndɚ wat yuː ɑːr.

Mix two cups of flour with one teaspoon of salt. Add one cup of warm water and stir until smooth. Cover and let it rest for an hour.

mɪks tuː kʌps ʌv flaur wɪð ʌn tiːspuːn ʌv sɔːlt. æd ʌn kʌp ʌv wɔːrm wɔːtɚ ənd stɝ əntɪl smuːð. kʌvɚ ənd lɛt ɪt rɛst fɔːr æn aur.

Knead the dough lightly on a floured surface. Shape it into a loaf and place in a pan. Bake at four hundred degrees for thirty minutes.

niːd ðə dou laitliː ɑːn ə floured sɝfəs. ʃeip ɪt ɪntuː ə louf ənd pleis ɪn ə pæn. beik æt fɔːr hʌndrəd dɪgriːz fɔːr θɝtiː mɪnəts.