Phonetics and Phonology. Report of Theoretical phonetics

The importance of English phonetics and phonology. Phonetics as an independent branch of linguistics. Phonetics as a science. The history of phonetics. Connection with other sciences. Development of phonology. Differences between phonetics and phonology.
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Ministry of education and science, youth and sport of Ukraine

Dragomanov National Pedagogical University

Institute of foreign philology

English philology department

Phonetics and Phonology

Report of Theoretical phonetics

Essay performed by

Oksana Chernukha

Group 401 en

Scientific supervisor:

Nikolaenko V.V.

Kyiv 2012



Introduction

“Phonetics - the science that studies the sound matter of the language, its semantic functions and the lines of development.

Phonology - the science that deals with phonemes and their sequences. It is functional phonetics since it investigates the functional side of phonemes, accent, syllable, and intonation” [3; 261].

These sciences are very important for learning language. Very often they are mixed, but we have to differentiate them. To know English well we should learn not only grammar and vocabulary but we should know right pronunciation of the sounds.

The aim of my work is to show the importance of English phonetics and phonology.

Also I have put such tasks, as:

1. to study history, development of phonetics and phonology;

2. to indicate different branches of phonetics;

3. to look on connection phonetics with other sciences;

4. to find out differences between phonetics and phonology.

These items are actual and important even nowadays. Phonetics and phonology are worth studying for several reasons. One is that as all study of language, the study of phonology gives us insight into how the human mind works. Two more reasons are that the study of the phonetics of a foreign language gives us a much better ability both to hear and to correct mistakes that we make, and also to teach pronunciation of the foreign language to others.



The history of phonetics

Ancient objects, drawings, and written documents show that voice and speech always fascinated men. Written documents and evidences from ancient civilizations point to an awareness of speech, its origin and abnormalities a long time ago. In India more than 2000 years ago there flourished a science of phonetics more advanced than any that has since been known until very recent times [3; 8].

But phonetics was treated as a branch of grammar; still up to the 2th half of the XIXth c. it presented the investigations of the sound matter of different grammatical structures.

“In the second part of the XIXth c. phonetics began developing in all European countries due to the names of I. A. Baudouin de Courtenay, L. V. Scherba, E. Sapir, D. Jones, L. Bloomfield, R. Lackobson” [2; 3].

In the 1886 International Phonetic Association (IPA) was founded. IPA started publications of a special phonetic magazine "Le Mattre Phonetique". It stated phonetic symbols for sounds of many existing languages.

Phonetics as a science

Whereas syntax is about sentence formation, and semantics about sentence interpretation, phonetics and phonology cover the field of sentence utterance. Phonetics is concerned with how sounds are produced, transmitted and perceived [1; 3].

So what does mean phonetics as a science? According to phonetician Sokolova phonetics is concerned with the human noises by which the thought is actualised or given audible shape: the nature of these noises, their combinations, and sound system of the language, that is segmental phonemes, word stress, syllabic structure and intonation [5].

“Phonetics is basic branch of linguistics; neither linguistic theory nor linguistic practice can do without phonetics. That is why phonetics claims to be equal importance with grammar and lexicology” [5; 7].

It studies the sound matter, its aspects and functions.

At present phonetics is treated in two principal ways:

a) the narrow point of view: the phonetic system of any language, which includes a definite number of phonemes, a system of accent, the syllabic structure, intonation and its components;

b) the broad point of view: as a branch of linguistics dealing with a process of sound formation, the interaction of speech sounds, the formation of accents, the tones and their functions. [2; 3]

Practical significance of phonetics is connected with teaching foreign languages.

Theoretical significance of phonetics is connected with the further development of the problem or the synchronic study and description of the phonetic system of a national language, the comparative analysis and description of different languages and the study of the correspondences between them, the diachronic description of successive changes in the phonetic system of a language or different languages [3; 14].

Phonetics gave rise to the development of a number of new directions of the phonetic research:

1. General Phonetics.

2. Special Phonetics.

3. Historical Phonetics.

4. Comparative Phonetics.

5. Descriptive Phonetics.

6. Phonology.

7. Phonostylistics.

General Phonetics studies the sound matter of all existing languages, irrespective of the differences between them and deals mainly with acoustics, articulation and physiology of speech and aspects of phonology.

Special phonetics is the branch of linguistics, which deals with the sound matter of one particular language. It can be both synchronical and diachronical.

If the sounds matter is studied diachronically that means all its features are studied in the process of the language development, and it is concern of Historical Phonetics, which stands on the borderline between Phonetics and the History of Language.

Comparative Phonetics implies comparing the sound matter of two or more languages at a certain period of their development.

When the sound matter of a given language is studied synchronically it means that the phonetic aspects of this or that language are studied at a certain period of time and may present interest for Comparative Phonetics, Descriptive Phonetics, Phonology and Phonostylistics.

Phonology sets out to discover segmental and super-segmental features that have a differential value in the language and distinguishes the system of phonemes.

Phonostylistics studies various pronunciation styles and analyses the ways different human beings express themselves. It stands on the borderline between Phonetics and Stylistics [2; 4].

Sokolova says that phonetics is itself divided into major components: segmental phonetics, which is concerned with individual sounds and suprasegmental phonetics whose domain is the lager units of connected speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts [5].

Branches of phonetics

english phonology phonetics science

Of course, phonetics has its branches. According to Leonteva phonetics has the following branches: 1) articulatory (physiological) and perceptive (auditory), 2) acoustic, 3) functional (linguistic).

Articulatory and perceptive investigation of speech sounds is done on the basis of a good knowledge of the voice and sound producing mechanisms, their structure, work and perceptive (auditory) effects, that is--physiology and psychology.

Acoustic properties of sounds, that is, quantity, or length, tamber, intensity, pitch, temporal factor are investigated by the acoustic and auditory branch of phonetics.

The phonological or functional properties of phonemes, syllables, accent and intonation are investigated by means of special linguistic methods, which help to interpret them as socially significant elements [3; 13-14].

But according to Sokolova there are three branches of phonetics each corresponding to a different stage in the communication process. Each of these branches uses quite special sets of methods.

The branch of phonetics that studies the way in which the air is set in motion, the movement of the speech organs and the coordination of these movements in the production of single sounds and trains of sounds is called articulatory phonetics.

Acoustic phonetics studies the way in which the air vibrates between the speaker's mouth and the listener's ear.

The branch of phonetics investigating the hearing process is known as auditory phonetics. Its interests lie more in the sensation of hearing, which is brain activity between the ear and the brain [5; 9].

Connection with other sciences

Phonetics as a branch of Linguistics has a great number of links both with the other branches of Linguistics and other branches of science.

Phonetics formulates the rules of pronunciation for separate sounds and sound combinations. The rules of reading are based on the relation of sounds to orthography. Through the system of rules of reading phonetics is connected with grammar and helps to pronounce correctly singular and plural forms of nouns, the past tense forms and past participles of Engl...