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Phonetics and Phonology
Phonetics and Phonology
Phonology
Manal A. Allehyani
Phonetics Vs. Phonology
Whereas syntax is about sentence formation, and semantics
about sentence interpretation, phonetics and phonology
cover the field of sentence utterance.
Orthography
Reading
Speech disorders
First language acquisition
Second or foreign language teaching
What is phonetics
Definition
Three main directions in phonetics
Goals of any phonetic theory
Definition
Phonetics is the study of actual sounds of
language.
The Three Main Branches of Phonetics
Articulatory Phonetics : articulatory phonetics is interested in the movement of various parts
of the vocal tract during speech. The vocal tract is the passages above the larynx where air
passes in the production of speech. In simpler terms which bit of the mouth moves when we
make a sound.
Acoustic Phonetics: This is the study of the sound waves made by the human vocal organs
for communication and how the sounds are transmitted. The sound travels through from the
speaker's mouth through the air to the hearer's ear, through the form of vibrations in the air.
Phoneticians can use equipment like Oscillographs and Spectographs in order to analyse
things like the frequency and duration of the sound waves produced. Acoustic phonetics also
looks at how articulatory and auditory phonetics link to the acoustic properties.
Auditory Phonetics :This is how we perceive and hear sounds and how the ear, brain and
auditory nerve perceives the sounds. This branch deals with the physiological processes
involved in the reception of speech.
Goals of any Phonetic Theory
Any phonetic theory should account for:
1- Any kind of noise that the human vocal apparatus
is capable of producing (e.g. grunts, groans, and
laughter).
2- Linguistically significant sounds in language in
general.
3- Linguistically significant sounds in a particular
language (e.g. English).
Description of Consonants
1- Place of Articulation
2- Manner of Articulation
1- Place of Articulation
2- Manner of Articulation
Manner of articulation concerns the types of
obstruction that can take place in the vocal
tract. There are two main places where such
obstruction takes place. One is the glottis and
the other is the oral cavity. The two operate
independently from one another and may act
simultaneously.
Obstruction in the Glottis
1- Voicing and the glottis : in the production of speech,
the main importance of the larynx lies in the fact that it
contains the vocal bands (vocal cords). The vocal bands
consist of two horizontal folds of elastic tissue, one on
each side of the passage.
In normal breathing, the vocal bands are open, but it is
possible to close them partially or completely during the
production of a sound.
The bands may be brought together so they vibrate as air
passes through them. This vibration accounts for the feature
of voicing (e.g. [z], [v], and [b] are classified as voiced
sounds).
If the vocal bands are open and not vibrating during the
production of a sound, it will be a voiceless sound (e.g. [s],
[f], and [t]).
It is possible to completely close the vocal bands and release
them in a rather abrupt manner. The resulting sound is
referred to as glottal stop, symbolized as [ʔ].
Obstruction in the Oral Cavity
Obstruction in the oral cavity has to do with the kind of
obstruction the air meets on its way out, after it has passed the
vocal folds.
Description of Vowels
Vowels are described in terms of:
1- Tongue Position
2- Length
3- Rounding
4- Nasality
5- Diphthong
1- Tongue Position
Tongue position is described using two criteria: the height (how high is the
tongue) and the part of the tongue involved in the production of the sound.
In English the tongue may either be high , i.e. when the speaker produces e.g. [i:,
u:] in [bi:t, bu:t] beat , boot , intermediate , e.g. [e, N:] in [bet, b N:t] bet ,
bought , or low , e.g. [z,a:] in [b zt, ba:t] bat , Bart .
The part of the tongue involved in the production of a vowel can also be
illustrated with the examples above. If you say [i:] and then [u:] just after it, you
almost have the feeling that you are moving your tongue backwards. This is
because [i:] is a front vowel, and [u:] is a back vowel, or in other words, the
highest point in the pronunciation of [i:] is the front of the tongue, whereas the
highest point in [u:] is the back of the tongue.
2- Length
3- Rounding
4- Nasality
5- Diphthongs
The basic Unit in Phonology : The Phoneme
A phoneme is a basic unit of a language's phonology, which is combined with other
phonemes to form meaningful units such as words or morphemes.
The phoneme can be described as "The smallest contrastive linguistic unit which may bring
about a change of meaning". In this way the difference in meaning between the English
words kill and kiss is a result of the exchange of the phoneme /l/ for the phoneme /s/.
Phonemes are abstract units of a set of speech sounds (i.e. phones)which are perceived as
equivalent to each other in a given language.
Phonemic Fluctuation:
It is the situation when two different phonemes alternate
without causing a difference in meaning. For example;
‘either’ is pronounced as [i:ðər] and [ayðər].
Phonological Features
I. Major Class Features