{"id":3659,"date":"2023-03-11T09:55:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-11T08:55:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/e-ucebnice.ff.ucm.sk\/?page_id=3659"},"modified":"2023-04-14T19:38:55","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T17:38:55","slug":"phonetics-and-phonology-1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/e-ucebnice.ff.ucm.sk\/index.php\/phonetics-and-phonology-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Phonetics and phonology-1"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY\n
\nSegmental Aspects<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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THEORETICAL PART<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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PHONETICS, PHONOLOGY AND THE BASIC UNITS <\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The English language is used all over the world as a\u00a0tool for international communication, at present being a universal, global language called lingua franca<\/em>. General British (GB) and General American (GA) are the varieties of the English language spoken by the majority of native speakers of English and studied by most foreign learners. At Slovak educational institutions, British English as one of the principal national varieties of the language is taught prior to American English. Moreover, all over the world, there are many English accents and varieties other than the British and the American variety. As Crystal said at Macmillan Education ELT conference and wrote in his Encyclopedia, \u201cEnglish is not a single variety, it is a conglomeration of different varieties or dialects\u201d (Crystal, 2011, p. 234). They are manifested as British English, American English, Australian English, New Zealand English, South African English, etc., and reflect differences not only in grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation, but in different strategies of discourse as well (ibid.).<\/p>

In academic publications, the morphological, syntactic, lexical and sound levels are mostly presented within microlinguistics. The morphological level of the language, and thus morphology as a\u00a0linguistic discipline, aims at the structure of words (consisting of morphemes), with the classification of words within word classes (parts of speech) and with their secondary grammatical categories. The linguistic discipline dealing with the syntactic level \u2013 syntax – focuses on the issues of clause elements and sentence structure, while the discipline studying the lexical level \u2013 lexicology – specializes in the characteristic features of lexis (vocabulary). As to the sound level, it is phonetics and phonology which analyse the oral manifestation of language, i.e. speech, into its basic components, that means vowels and consonants, and present their basic classification and specifies its characteristic features.<\/p>

In each language, vowels and consonants are included in a specific set of phonemes called Phonemic Inventory (PI). The number of speech sounds in the phonemic inventory of British English comprises 44 phonemes and is based on the accent known as the Received Pronunciation (RP) \u2013 RP General Accent. This way of pronunciation of English is heard predominantly in the south of England. It includes 12 pure vowels (\u0245 e \u026a \u0252 \u028b \u0259 \u00e6 \u0251: i: \u037b: u: \u025c:), 8 diphthongs (e\u026a a\u026a \u037b\u026a \u0259\u028b a\u028b \u026a\u0259 e\u0259 \u028b\u0259) and 24 distinctive consonants (p t k b d g f v \u03b8 \u03b4 s z \u0283 \u0292 h \u02a7 \u02a4 l m n \u03b7 r j w). Triphthongs (e\u026a\u0259 a\u026a\u0259 \u037b\u026a\u0259 \u0259\u028b\u0259 a\u028b\u0259) are also manifested in English, but according to the majority of linguists, they are generally defined as combinations of diphthongs and the schwa.<\/p>

Besides the British English<\/em> variety, American English<\/em> variety is widely used. As it is stated in Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary<\/em> (published in 2003), \u201cGeneral American<\/em> refers to a geographically, largely non-coastal, and at the same time socially based set of pronunciation features. It is important to note that no single dialect \u2013 regional or social \u2013 has been singled out as an American standard\u201d (Jones, 2003, p. vi).<\/p>

Every sound detectable by the organs of hearing is produced as a result of sound wave vibrations. This is for example knocking, coughing, screaming or any other noise. \u00a0Speech <\/strong>sounds<\/strong>, on the other hand, are essential units of human communication. Phonetics and phonology as two linguistic disciplines study human speech and define the basic characteristics of all speech sounds.<\/p>

Phonetics<\/strong> studies human speech from the material point of view, thus being more practical than phonology. Phonetics concerns the physical properties of sounds, how they are produced, transmitted, and perceived. It is \u201ca\u00a0branch of linguistics studying speech sounds, their production, transmission, reception, description and written representation\u201c by special symbols (phonetic alphabet) in transcription (Lan\u010dari\u010d, 2008, p. 39).<\/p>

Its basic units are phones<\/strong> and allophones<\/strong>. Pavl\u00edk characterises speech sounds as \u201cunits of speech having certain articulatory, acoustic and auditory characteristics\u201c (Pavl\u00edk, 2000, p. 13), and Jones states that speech sounds are sounds \u201cwhich are incapable of variation\u201c (Jones, 1960, p. 49). According to Pavl\u00edk, phones are \u201cconcrete acoustic articulations with zero degree of abstraction\u201c, i.e. \u201cconcrete measureable units realized in speech at a\u00a0certain point in time in certain sound environment by a\u00a0certain speaker. Phones are physically unique \u2013 you cannot produce the same phone twice\u201c (Pavl\u00edk, 2000, p. 16).<\/p>

Allophones are defined as \u201ca group of phones with certain very similar articulatory, acoustic, and auditory (perceptual) characteristics\u201c, \u201can allophone is not unique \u2013 in identical or comparable sound environments, you can produce the same allophone repeatedly\u201c (ibid, p. 16). Allophones are variants of pronunciation of the same phoneme depending on their occurrence in a\u00a0certain position in a\u00a0word and on the properties of the adjacent sounds. In English, these are either combinatory variants<\/em> in complementary distribution<\/em> or facultative variants<\/em> in free variation<\/em>.<\/p>

Combinatory variants<\/em><\/strong> in complementary distribution<\/em><\/strong> are the variants which are mutually exclusive to their position in the words. They can be exemplified by the English aspirated <\/em>and unaspirated<\/em> p, t, k<\/em>. These voiceless plosive consonants are pronounced with aspiration – which is defined as a big audible explosion of air – when they take the initial position in stressed syllables and a vowel follows them, e.g. take \/th<\/sup><\/strong>e\u026ak\/<\/em>. However, aspiration of p, t, k<\/em> does not occur when they are preceded by s<\/em>, e.g. spy \/sp<\/strong><\/em>a\u026a<\/em> \/, stream \/st<\/strong>ri:m\/, ski \/sk<\/strong>i\/<\/em>.<\/p>

Another example of combinatory variants<\/em> are the allophones of the English phoneme \/l<\/em>\/. The so-called clear l \/l j<\/sup>\/ <\/em>is pronounced when the phoneme \/l<\/em>\/ is placed before vowels in the initial syllable-position. Clear l<\/em> never occurs before consonants or before a pause, e.g. like \/l j<\/sup><\/em>a\u026ak\/. <\/em>The other allophone of the phoneme \/l\/<\/em> called dark <\/em>\u026b<\/em> is the exact opposite. Dark <\/em>\u026b<\/em> as a combinatory variant of the English phoneme \/l\/<\/em> is never pronounced before vowels, it occurs only before consonants or before a pause, i.e. word-finally, e.g. male \/me\u026a<\/em>\u026b<\/em>\/ <\/em>(Roach, 1996, p. 59). <\/em>Hence, for example, in the word little<\/em>, both allophones of the phoneme \/l\/<\/em> are pronounced. The first l<\/em> is pronounced as clear l j<\/sup><\/em>, the second one as dark <\/em>\u026b<\/em> \/l<\/em> j<\/sup>\u026at<\/em>\u026b<\/em>\/<\/em> (for more details see Chapter 7).<\/p>

Besides combinatory variants, facultative variants<\/em><\/strong> in free variation <\/em><\/strong>are recognised, but the way of their pronunciation is presented according to the speaker\u00b4s preference.<\/p>

Phonetics is manifested in various subdisciplines. Each of its subbranches deals with specific properties of speech, as demonstrated in Figure 1 below presenting the speech chain<\/em>: while articulatory phonetics<\/strong> focuses on all aspects of speech connected with the\u00a0speaker\u00b4s vocal tract, acoustic phonetics<\/strong> studies the transmission of sound through air, and auditory phonetics<\/strong> is interested in the specific features of the listener\u00b4s perception, i.e. of their hearing.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Figure 1: Speech chain, ROACH, P.<\/em> 2009.<\/em> English Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge University Press, 2009, p. 185<\/em><\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

  • ENCODING = process of selecting the signals and putting them into a channel (speaker)<\/li>
  • Sender \u2013 encodes the message and sends it down the channel<\/li>
  • Channel \u2013 code signals are transmitted through it<\/li>
  • DECODING = identification and interpretation of coded signals (listener)<\/li>
  • Recipient – receives and decodes the signals<\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Phonology<\/strong> focuses on speech from the functional point of view, it is more theoretical than phonetics. It aims at the order of sounds, how they are organised within words and used in a language to convey the meaning. Phonology examines the rules and patterns that control how sounds are combined. \u201cThe most basic activity in phonology is phonemic analysis, in which the objective is to establish what the phonemes are and how they arrive at the phonemic inventory of the language\u201d (Roach, 2009, p. 34). Phonology as a discipline \u201cdeals with the description of abstract idealized sounds that we have in our mind\u201c (Lan\u010dari\u010d, 2008, p. 44). It is \u201cthe study of the sound systems of languages, and of the general properties displayed by these systems\u201c (Crystal, 2011, p. 236).<\/p>

    The smallest units of phonology are phonemes<\/strong> defined as \u201cpurely abstract units at the second-degree level of abstraction. A\u00a0phoneme is an articulatory-acoustic-auditory (perceptual) abstraction of a\u00a0group of phones made from the point of view of meaning\u201c (Pavl\u00edk, 2000, p. 17), or as Jones says, \u201cphonemes are contrastive and one must find cases where the difference between two words is dependent on the difference between two phonemes\u2026 the difference between pin<\/em> and pan <\/em>depends on the vowel, and it means that \/\u026a\/ and \/\u00e6\/ are different phonemes\u201d (Jones, 2003, p. 409). A set of phonemes found and used in a\u00a0particular accent is called phonemic inventory<\/strong> (PI).<\/p>

    Subdisciplines of phonology are segmental and suprasegmental phonology. Segmental phonology<\/strong> analyses the features of individual speech sounds while suprasegmental phonology<\/strong> \u201cshows sound contrasts that extend over several segments (phonemes)\u2026 it is necessary to go beyond the sound system of a language\u201d (Roach, 2009, p. 44). Such contrasts are manifested for example by intonation, rhythm, tempo, or stress position in words. Suprasegmental features are closely connected with prosodic features<\/strong> which \u201cextend over stretches of utterances longer than just one sound and are hence often referred to as suprasegmentals\u201d, says cf. Pavl\u00edk (2000, p. 109) quoting Cruttenden (1986).<\/p>

    Phonetics and phonology are related fields of linguistics as both of them study the sounds of human language. While phonetics focuses on the physical properties of sounds, such as their production (articulation), transmission (acoustic properties), and perception (auditory aspects), phonology is interested in the ways in which sounds function within a language. Crystal explains how phonetics and phonology differ when he writes that \u201cby contrast with phonetics, which studies all possible sounds that the human vocal apparatus can make, phonology studies only those contrasts in sound (the phonemes) which make differences of meaning within language\u201c (Crystal, 2011, p. 236). Following this definition, \u201ca minimal pair test\u201d should be mentioned as it compares word pairs in which only one phoneme is different (e.g. in case of pit<\/em> and bit <\/em>\/p\u026at\/, \/b\u026at\/,<\/em> there is a difference between the words only in the initial phoneme, both words have their own lexical meaning, so it means that p<\/em> and b<\/em> are separate phonemes with their own distinctive features).<\/p>

    A minimal pair<\/strong> test is used to find out whether a specific sound is a phoneme with distinctive features and thus could be included into a phonemic inventory. If replacement of only one sound results in changing the lexical meaning of the words, both sounds are considered phonemes. Roach in his publication English Phonetics and Phonology. Glossary. A Little Encyclopaedia of Phonetics<\/em> defines minimal pairs as \u201cpairs of words which differ in one sound only and have different meanings. Thus in BBC English fairy \/fe\u0259ri\/<\/em> and fairly \/fe\u0259li\/<\/em> make a minimal pair and prove that r <\/em>and l<\/em> are separate, contrasting phonemes\u201d (Roach, 2002, p. 50). All this results in conclusion that \u201ccontrastive quality of the sounds in identical environments are classified as separate phonemes\u201d (Boro\u0161ov\u00e1, 2017, p. 14). Any vowel or consonant could be substituted in a minimal pair, but they must be placed in the same position in the words (the initial, medial or final one). It means that for instance the sounds \/n\/<\/em> and \/\u03b7\/<\/em> are two different phonemes in English<\/strong> because their mutual replacement in terms of complementary distribution changes the meaning of the two words, e.g. kin<\/em> \/k\u026an<\/strong>\/<\/em> and king<\/em> \/k\u026a\u03b7<\/strong>\/<\/em>. Distinctive features of the two consonants \/n\/<\/em> and \/\u03b7\/<\/em> never change the lexical meaning of words in Slovak. In Slovak, the consonant \/\u03b7\/<\/em> is pronounced in the same position as it is in English, i.e. when the consonant \/n\/<\/em> is followed or preceded by \/k\/<\/em> or \/g\/,<\/em> but the Slovak \/\u03b7\/<\/em> is an allophone of the phoneme \/n\/<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>

    Other examples of minimal pairs could also be words like veil \/v<\/strong>e\u026al\/ <\/em>and whale \/w<\/strong>e\u026al\/ <\/em>in which replacement of one sound changes the lexical meaning of the words \u2013 it means that both \/v\/<\/em> and \/w\/<\/em> are different phonemes in English. The words snake \/sne\u026ak<\/strong>\/ <\/em>and snail<\/em> \/sne\u026al<\/strong>\/ <\/em>differ in pronunciation by the final sound only. Replacement of the final sound changes the lexical meaning of the words. The result of such a minimal pair test proves that both \/k\/<\/em> and \/l\/<\/em> are phonemes.<\/p>

    Both languages \u2013 English as well as Slovak \u2013 are concerned with phonotactics<\/em>. It is a\u00a0discipline dealing with sequential arrangement of sounds, because \u201cphonemes are not allowed to appear in any order\u201d (Roach, 2009, p. 64). \u00a0The main objective of its interest is to find which sounds can precede and follow other sounds in a particular language. The situation is seen in this way from the phonological point of view.<\/p>

    It is also important to understand and to be aware of the difference between the two differing phenomena \u2013 a speech sound (phoneme) <\/em>and a letter (grapheme)<\/em>. The words vowel <\/em>and consonant <\/em>cover both terms. The word vowel <\/em>is used for both a phoneme and a grapheme as well as the word consonant<\/em> can either be used for \u201ca speech sound which obstructs the flow of air through the vocal tract or a letter of the alphabet representing such a phoneme\u201d (Jones, 2003, p. 117). There is a difference between the number of letters and that of sounds in many languages, including both English and Slovak. Crystal states that \u201cthere are 21 consonant letters in the written alphabet and 24 consonant sounds in most English accents\u201d (Crystal, 2011, p. 242).<\/p>

    Mispronunciation may cause problems in oral communication. Improper way of pronunciation could be the result of either orthoepy or orthophony inadequateness. While orthoepy<\/strong> aims at the fact whether the words are pronounced according to the standard way of pronunciation, orthophony<\/strong> deals with the appropriate quality, or \u201ccolouring\u201c of the speech sounds. The mutual relationship of phonetics, orthoepy and orthophony is analysed in specialised linguistic publications, for example in the work of B\u00f3nov\u00e1 called Ortoepia zvukov\u00e9ho prejavu na segment\u00e1lnej \u00farovni<\/em> (2019).<\/p>

    Orthography<\/strong> relates to the written manifestation of a language. Crystal defines orthography as \u201cthe study of the use of letters and the rules of spelling in a language\u201d (Crystal, 2011, p. 466).<\/p>

    All the three linguistic terms include the first word-forming element orthos<\/em> taken originally from Greek, meaning correct, right, straight<\/em>. The second part of the words also originates in Greek: epos<\/em> meaning speech, ph\u00f3n\u00e9<\/em> – meaning sound, voice<\/em>, and graph\u00f3<\/em> – meaning write.<\/em><\/p>

    (https:\/\/www.definitions.net\/definition)<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Phonetics, Phonology and the Basic Units<\/p>\n

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    1. A linguistic discipline dealing with speech sounds from the functional point of view is:<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n

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