Ргпу им. Герцена Факультет иностранных языков

Кафедра: Перевода и переводоведения

Реферат

Тема: The definition of the phoneme from the viewpoint of distinctive oppositions. Types of phonological oppositions. Distinctively relevant and redundant features of the phoneme. Invariant and variant.

Студентка: Козлова А.В.

Санкт-Петербург

2013 г.

Оглавление

1. The definition of the phoneme from the viewpoint of distinctive oppositions. 2

1.1 The functions of the phoneme 2

2. Types of phonological oppositions. 3

2.1. Phonological Oppositions 3

2.2. Types of Phonological Oppositions 3

3. Invariant and variant of the phoneme. 6

3.1. Invariant of the phoneme. 6

3.2. The difference between allophones and phonemes. 6

3.3. Invariant of the phoneme. 7

4. Distinctively relevant and redundant features of the phoneme. 8

Источники 10

1. The definition of the phoneme from the viewpoint of distinctive oppositions.

The most comprehensive definition of the phoneme was first introduced by the Russian linguist L. V. Shcherba:

“The phoneme is a minimal abstract linguistic unit realized in speech in the form of speech sounds opposable to other phonemes of the same language to distinguish the meaning of morphemes and words.”

1.1 The functions of the phoneme

The phoneme is functional because:

• it functions to make one word or its grammatical form distinct from the other (said - says, sleeper – sleepy, bath – path, light – like), Sometimes the opposition of phonemes serves to distinguish the meaning of the whole phrases, e.g. He was heard badly­ He was hurt badly. Thus we may say that the phoneme can fulfill the distinctive function;

• it functions because it constitutes words, word combinations etc. Thus we may say that the phoneme can fulfill the constitutive function;

• and because due to the fact that it really functions we recognize words (even though they are not pronounced properly), that is the recognitive function.

Every phoneme of a language enters into an opposition with every other phoneme. It is important to bear in mind that an opposition is a relation between a pair of phonemes.

2. Types of phonological oppositions.

Phonemes are discovered by the method of minimal pairs, or by distinctive oppositions. This method consists in finding as many pairs of words as possible which differ in one phoneme.

The substitution of one sound for another is called commutation test. If such substitution results in the change of meaning, the commuted sounds are different phonemes.

A minimal pair is a pair of words from the same language, that differ by only a single categorical sound in the same position, and that are recognized by speakers as being two different words.

Examples: [sit] – [fit], [let] – [led], [lot] – [lit].

1. Phonological Oppositions

Minimal pairs are useful for establishing the phonemes of the language. Thus, a phoneme can only perform its distinctive function if it is opposed to another phoneme in the same position (phonetic context).

Such an opposition is called phonological.