11.The theory of phoneme

The smallest unit of the sounding speech is called a phoneme.

In the spoken language a much greater number of various sounds is pronounced than we usually think and these sounds in every given language unite to form a comparatively small number of sound types capable of differentiating words and their forms that is capable of serving the purposes of human intercourse. We shall call them phoneme.

The phoneme is the smallest general phonetic unit of a given language (sound type) which can be associated with sense nations and can help to differentiate words and word-forms.

Phonemes have two types of acoustico-articulatory features which are not equally stable in the flow of speech and are not equally important in the differentiation of phonemes.

These features are of 2 types:

1. distinctive (or relevant)

They help to differentiate one phoneme from all others of a certain language. The substitution of these features (at least one of them) can change the phoneme.

2. indistinctive (irrelevant, integral)

The substitution of this features doesn’t change the phoneme, it changes its general image. Such features may be absent in certain positions in a word and certain combinations of sounds. [томный]-[т’омный].

The phoneme is realized in speech in its variants which are of two types:

1. positional (in a word)

2. combinatory (with other sounds)

Among them there are different variants:

1. typical (principal)

It has all features belonging to these phoneme.

t

slop (occlusive) voiceless forelingual (apical) aspirated plosive

The first 3 features are distinctive.

This variant is used in the so-called “strong position”. This strong position is the stressed syllable for vowels and the position before the stressed vowel for the consonants. Other positions are called weak because the characteristic features in these positions are less obvious. Such variants of the phonemes are called subsidiary.

English and Russian vowels are very much modified in unstressed syllables. They change their quality and quantity. They lose some indistinctive features (weakening in quality and shortening in length).

It is called reduction. The change in the realization of consonant phonemes in weak positions is called assimilation or accommodation. It is mostly happens in rapid speech. And such speech reveals phonemic tendencies in speech. And they reveal phonemic tendencies in speech (it’s a problem). Realizations of phonemes in different situations in speech is called its distribution. The phonemes always belong to the sounding system of a certain language. It’s phonological system consists of a certain number of phonemes which depend on each other. It is called the inventory of the phonemes. These phonemes are always compared with each other in opposition (usually in one and the same position or situation). The phonological systems of different languages differ in the number of phonemes, the relations among them and interrelations among the phonemes.

The organization of ph-ms into groups (or oppositions) (Trubetskoy):

1. the ph-ms are organized into groups of pairs in which they differ (opposed) to each other by one feature. These groups are called a correlation row.

E.g. t-d, p-b, k-g, s-z, f-v, -z (voiced-voiceless)

2. some pairs of ph-ms may be opposed to each other by 2 or more features. Then they make up a double for multiple opposition. But they don’t make up a correlation row, but a group of pairs or single pairs.

3. some ph-ms are opposed to each other not in pairs but in bigger rows. Such row is called a chain row.

E.g. [p-t-k] is a chain row

Ph-ms differ in the place of articulation, in active speech organ.

E.g. [i-e-æ] – a chain row

Differs in the movement of tongue.

E.g. p-b, t-d, k-g, f-v, s-z, -z, t-dz

Voiced-voiceless; lenes-fortis

The presence of voice is incidental and can be neutralized in some positions. When teaching the pronunciation special attention should be paid to the lenes-fortis character of consonants.

Duration of vowels is no longer than single feature which makes up a row of vowels:

E.g. [i:-i; u:-u;]

long-short (quantity); movement of the tongue (quality); vertical-horizontal; high-low; back-front.

The shortening of vowels is a signal that the following consonant is fortis. And the lengthening of a V. signals that the following C is lenes (voiced).

To establish the inventory of the phonemes different methods are used. The most widely spread method and most convincing is the semantic method of minimal pairs (two words differ in one sound, ph-m and have different meaning). E.g. sea-tea; bed-bet

This method is based on the distributional method (different moments occur only in 1 and the same position, allophones occur in different positions). E.g. pea-bee; pill-spill

There are problems connected with the establishment of the inventory of phonemes:

1. the problem of the neutral sound is it a ph-m or is it an allophone of other different ph-ms.

Some [э](некоторый) – some[^](несколько)

2. [tr, dr, ts, dr] [t, dz]

hat-hats

3. [j, w]

are they separated ph-ms or allophones of [i, u]

suit [sju:t] [su:t] [siu:t]

yell [jel] [iel]; two [tu:]; twice [twais]

these ph-ms occur in positions that are generally occupied by consonants and cannot be considered to be allophones of vowels.

4. The problem of threephthongs

[aiε] [auε]  [a:ε]

pire – pie {minimal pair}

hour – how {minimal pair}

(lie - lier)

(12 vowels monophthongs)

5. which – witch (allophones or phonemes?)

[м] [w]

глухой звонкий