THE
SUBJECT MATTER OF PHONETICS
Questions to be discussed:
1. Phonetics as a branch of
linguistics.
2. The links of phonetics with
grammar.
3. The links of phonetics with
lexicology.
4. The links of phonetics with
stylistics.
5. The branches of phonetics.
Phonetics is an
independent branch of linguistics like lexicology, grammar and stylistics. It
studies the sound matter, its aspects and functions. Phonetics is connected
with linguistic and non-linguistic sciences: acoustics, physiology, psychology,
logic etc. Practical phonetics studies the substance, the material form
of phonetic phenomena in relation to meaning. Theoretical phonetics is
mainly concerned with the functioning of phonetic units in the language. It
regards phonetic phenomena synchronically without any special attention paid to
the historical development of the English language, but in terms of English
language teaching.
Trough 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 English regular verbs:
e.g. /d/ is pronounced
after voiced consonants: beg – begged;
/t/ is pronounced after
voiceless consonants: look – looked;
/ɪd/ is pronounced after /t/ and /d/:
want p – wanted, intend – intended.
Some adjectives have a
form with /ɪd/:
e.g. crooked [ˈkrʊkɪd], naked [ˈneɪkɪd], ragged [ˈrægɪd].
Another manifestation of
connection of phonetics with grammar is sound interchange. It is
one of the most important phonetic phenomena. This connection can be observed
in the category of number:
– the
interchange of /f-v/, /s-z/, /Ɵ-ð/ helps to differentiate singular
and plural forms of nouns: calf – calves, leaf – leaves, house – houses;
– vowel interchange helps
to distinguish singular and plural of such words as:
man – men, foot – feet,
mouse – mice, crisis – crises;
– vowel interchange is
connected with the tense forms of irregular verbs:
sing – sang – sung, write
– wrote – written;
–
vowel interchange
can also help to distinguish between:
a) nouns and verbs e.g.
bath – bathe [bɑ:Ɵ] – [beɪð]
b) adjectives and nouns e.g.
hot – heat [hɒt] – [hi:t]
c) verbs and adjectives e.g.
moderate – moderate [ˈmɒdǝreɪt] – [ˈmɒdǝrɪt]
d) nouns and nouns e.g.
shade – shadow [ʃeɪd] – [ˈʃædǝʊ]
e) nouns and adjectives e.g.
type – typical [taɪp] – [ˈtɪpɪkl].
Consonants can interchange in
different parts of speech, for example in nouns and verbs:
e.g. extent – to extend [t]
–[d],
mouth – to mouse [Ɵ] – [ð],
relief – to relieve [f] –
[v].
Phonetics is also
connected with grammar through its intonation component. Sometimes it is
intonation alone can serve to single out the logical predicate of the sentence:
e.g. ˈHe came home. (Not Mary or John).
He ˈcame home. (So you can see him now).
He
came ˈhome. (But you said he was going to
the party).
Pausation may also
perform a differentiatory function. If we compare two similar sentences with
different places of the pause, we will see that their meaning is different:
e.g. There was no love
lost between them. (They loved each other).
There was no love ∣
lost between them. (They
did not love each other).
Phonetics is also
connected with lexicology. It is only due to the presence of stress in the
right place that we can distinguish certain nouns from verbs:
e.g. abstract (реферат) – to abstract (добувати, здобувати),
object (предмет) – to object (заперечувати, не схвалювати),
transfer (перенос, переведення) – to transfer (переносити, переводити).
Homographs can be differentiated only due to
pronunciation because they are identical in spelling:
e.g. bow [baʊ] лук– bow [bǝʊ] уклін,
row
[raʊ] ряд– row [rǝʊ] шум,
tear
[teǝ] розрив– tear [etɪǝ] сльоза,
wind
[wɪnd] вітер– wind [waɪnd] виток.
Due to the position of
word stress we can distinguish between homonymous words and word groups:
e.g. ˈblackboard (дрізд) – ˈblack ˌbird (чорний птах),
ˈblue-nose (сорт картоплі) – ˈblue ˌnose (синій ніс).
Phonetics is also
connected with stylistics. First of all, trough intonation and its components:
speech melody, utterance stress, rhythm, pausation, voice tamber. They serve to
express emotions, to distinguish between different attitudes on the part of the
author and the speaker. Very often the writer helps the reader to interpret his
ideas through special words and remarks:
e.g. There was a short
pause.
He said bitterly.
Betty touched him gently.
His tone was hostile.
Phonetics is also
connected with stylistics trough repetition of words, phrases and sounds. Repetition
of identical or similar sounds is called alliteration. It helps to
impart a melodic effect to the utterance and to express certain emotions. Thus,
the repetition of the sound /m/ in the lines of the ballad helps to produce the
effect of merriment:
e.g. There are twelve
months in all the year,
As I hear many men say,
But the merriest month in
all the year
Is the merry month of
May.
Onomatopoeia is one more stylistic device which
can serve as an example of the connection between phonetics and stylistics. It
is a combination of sounds that imitate sounds produced in nature:
e.g. chatter, clatter,
babble; crash, bang; clink, ting, chink.
The study of phonetic
phenomena from the stylistic point of view is termed phonostylistics. It
is connected with a number of linguistic and non-linguistic disciplines, such
as paralinguistics, psychology, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics,
dialectology, information theory etc.
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 et in motion, the movements 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. Until recently
articulatory phonetics has been the dominating branch, and most descriptive
work has been done in articulatory terms for the purpose of teaching and
because of special interest for research work and applied linguistics.
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, than
in the physiological working of the ear or the nervous activity between the ear
and the brain. The means by which sounds are discriminated – quality,
sensations of pitch, loudness, length, are relevant here. This branch of
phonetics is of great interest to anyone who teaches or studies pronunciation.
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