Theory of Phonetics

Lecture 2.

Phonology. Functional aspect of speech sound.

Plan:

1. 1. Phonetics and Phonology.Phonetics and Phonology.2. 2. The Phoneme as an oppositional unit of sound.The Phoneme as an oppositional unit of sound.3. 3. The difference between phonemes and The difference between phonemes and

allophones.allophones.4. 4. Classification of allophones.Classification of allophones.5. 5. Phonemic and Phonetic Transcription.Phonemic and Phonetic Transcription.6. 6. The phonemic chart.The phonemic chart. 7. 7. Different opinions on the nature of the Different opinions on the nature of the

phoneme and its definition.phoneme and its definition.

1. Phonetics and Phonology.

Phonetics

is the study of the way humans make, is the study of the way humans make, transmit, and receive speech soundstransmit, and receive speech sounds

may be divided into three main branches may be divided into three main branches ( articulatory, acoustic, auditory )( articulatory, acoustic, auditory )

studies all possible sounds that the studies all possible sounds that the human vocal apparatus can makehuman vocal apparatus can make

Phonology

is the study of the sound systems of is the study of the sound systems of languageslanguages

studies only those contrasts in sounds studies only those contrasts in sounds

which make differences of meaning which make differences of meaning

within languagewithin language

Phonetics & Phonology.

PhoneticsPhonetics

studies sounds as studies sounds as articulatory and articulatory and acoustic units.acoustic units.

The unit of The unit of Phonetics is a Phonetics is a speech sound.speech sound.

PhonPhonology ology investigates sounds investigates sounds as units, which as units, which serve serve communicative communicative purposes.purposes.

The unit of The unit of Phonology is a Phonology is a phoneme.phoneme.

2. The Phoneme as an oppositional unit of sound.

In search of the essence of the phoneme

1874- first mentioning of the term to denote a sound by French linguists

1870- Russian linguist I.A. Baudouin de Courteney expressed the idea that the physical nature of sounds does not coincide with their meaning in the functioning of the language

1911- L.V. Scherba defines the phoneme as the minimal sound unit capable of differentiating meanings

The Phoneme is an oppositional unit of sound.

Phonemes can be discovered by the method of minimal pairs.

The method of minimal pairs consists in finding pairs of words which differ in one

phoneme.e.g.e.g. fan fan van van can can ban ban

come come gum gum know know so so

Minimal & Subminimal pairs

hat - huthat - hut thin – tinthin – tin three - treethree - tree

treasure –pressuretreasure –pressure

A minimal set : a chain of words which differ in

one phoneme.

fan fan van van can can ran ran tan tan ban ban bun bun burn burn born born Ben Ben bad bad bat bat back back badge badge bang bang

The commutation test The phonemes of a language form a system The phonemes of a language form a system

of oppositions, in which any one phoneme is of oppositions, in which any one phoneme is opposed to any other phoneme in at least opposed to any other phoneme in at least one position in at least one lexical or one position in at least one lexical or grammatical minimal or sub-minimal pair.grammatical minimal or sub-minimal pair.

If the substitution of one sound for another If the substitution of one sound for another results in the change of meaning, the results in the change of meaning, the commuted /the substituted/ sounds are commuted /the substituted/ sounds are different phonemes.different phonemes.

Transformations

How to turn :How to turn :

a cup a cup intointo a jar?a jar?

a hat a hat intointo a box? a box?

a wood a wood intointo a park? a park?

Possible transformations

cup – cap – car – jarcup – cap – car – jar

hat –fat – fax – fox – boxhat –fat – fax – fox – box

wood –word – work- pork - parkwood –word – work- pork - park

The Phoneme is an oppositional unit of sound.

Abstract nature of phonemes

Phonemes are of different nature than Phonemes are of different nature than the morphemesthe morphemes, , since they have no since they have no meaning of their own.meaning of their own.

They are, rather, the basic elements out They are, rather, the basic elements out of which the morphemes are made up.of which the morphemes are made up.

Levels of phonetic study

The content level The content level (the level of (the level of meanings)meanings)

The expression level The expression level (the level of sounds)(the level of sounds)

morphemes are morphemes are

the basic units of the basic units of

contentcontent

phonemes are the phonemes are the

basic units of basic units of

expressionexpression

Each phoneme, as a basic unit on the expression level of language, is opposed to all other similar units in the language.

3. The difference between phonemes and allophones.

I.A. Baudouin de Courteney

L.V. Shcherba

In actual speech we utter a much greater variety of sounds than we are aware of, and that in every language these sounds are united in a comparatively small number of sound types, which are capable of distinguishing the meaning and the form of sounds; that is they serve the purpose of social intercommunication.It is these sound types that should be included into the classification of phonemes and studied as differentiatory units of the language.

«В живой речи произносится значительно большее, чем мы это обыкновенно думаем, количество разнообразных звуков, которые в каждом данном языке объединяются в сравнительно небольшое число звуковых типов, способных дифференцировать слова и их формы, т.е. служить целям человеческого общения. Эти звуковые типы и имеются в виду, когда говорят об отдельных звуках речи. Мы будем называть их фонемами. Реально же произносимые различные звуки, являющиеся тем частным, в котором реализуется общее (фонема) будем называть оттенками фонем».

Л.В. Щерба

The actually pronounced speech sounds are variants, or allophones of phonemes.

Allophones have phonetic similarity: their acoustic and articulatory features have much in common, but at the same time they differ in some degree and are incapable of differentiating words.

 

/t/ in

 take twice button cattle tube Betty eighth

/t/ in take is followed by aspiration

in stone this aspiration is no longer heard because of the preceding /s/

in twice /t/ is pronounced with rounded lips because a fully rounded sound /w/ follows

in button /t/ is released partially through the nose together with the immediately following /n/ sound

in cattle /t/ is released laterally, together with /l/

With some speakers /t/ in cattle and button may be pronounced with a glottal stop

in tube it is weakly palatalized because of the following /j/ sound;  

in Betty it may be partially voiced because it is situated between two vowels.

(This is especially true of American English);

  

in eighth it is dental, because the following sound / / is dental itself.

How “foreign” would you like your students to

sound? Are phonemic variants important Are phonemic variants important

for language teaching?for language teaching? Are phonemic differences Are phonemic differences

important for actual important for actual communication?communication?

At what level of language At what level of language teaching will you introduce teaching will you introduce them?them?

I heard a bus.

I heard a buzz.

4. Classification of allophones.

allophones

principal/typicalsubsidiary

positional combinatory

 

Compare:light, let - hill, ill, mill

5. Phonemic and Phonetic Transcription.

Which transcription?

PhoneticPhonetic

Square brackets - Square brackets - is called allophonic or is called allophonic or

narrow transcription.narrow transcription.

PhonemicPhonemic

Slant brackets - Slant brackets - / // / is known as broad is known as broad

transcriptiontranscription

I.P.A. (International Phonetic Alphabet)nasalitydevoicing, breath'haspirationlack of aspiration unreleased allophone

dental articulation

j palatalized articulation

wlabialization, lip rounding

indicator of the utterance boundary

Transcribe the sentence: 

I taught the children to swim.

6. The Phonemic Chart.

eI i: 

I V u: Iqe 

q E:

O:

Vq OIx 

A R P eq

aI

aVp

 

b 

t 

d 

C 

G 

k 

g 

f 

v 

T D s z S Zm 

n N h l r wj

qV

7. Different opinions on the nature of the phoneme and its definition.

The nature of the phoneme

  Mentalist view. Mentalist view. /I.A. Baudouin de Courteney//I.A. Baudouin de Courteney/

  Physical view. Physical view. /L. Bloomfield, D. Jones//L. Bloomfield, D. Jones/

  Functional view. Functional view. /R. Jacobson, N.S. Trubetskoy//R. Jacobson, N.S. Trubetskoy/

  Dialectical view. Dialectical view. /L.V. Scherba, V.A. Vassiliev//L.V. Scherba, V.A. Vassiliev/

The phoneme is a dialectical unity of three aspects:

(1)(1)                material, real & objective;material, real & objective;

(2)(2)                    abstractional & generalized;abstractional & generalized;

(3)(3)                    functional.functional.

What exactly is meant by that?

    It is an objective reality, existing independently from our will, or intention.

the phoneme is material, real & objective because it really exists in the material form of speech sounds, allophones.

the phoneme is an abstraction, because we make it abstract from concrete realizations for classificatory purposes.

the phoneme functions to make one word or its grammatical form distinct from the other, it constitutes words and helps to recognize them.

Plan:

1. 1. Phonetics and Phonology.Phonetics and Phonology.2. 2. The Phoneme as an oppositional unit of sound.The Phoneme as an oppositional unit of sound.3. 3. The difference between phonemes and The difference between phonemes and

allophones.allophones.4. 4. Classification of allophones.Classification of allophones.5. 5. Phonemic and Phonetic Transcription.Phonemic and Phonetic Transcription.6. 6. The phonemic chart.The phonemic chart. 7. 7. Different opinions on the nature of the Different opinions on the nature of the

phoneme and its definition.phoneme and its definition.