15. Фонетика як наука та її галузі. Фонетика і фонологія (Phonetics as a science and its branches. Phonetics and phonology)

Phonetics is the science which studies the characteristics of human sound-making, especially those sounds used in speech, and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription.

There are four branches of phonetics. They are as follows: articulatory, acoustic, auditory and functional.

1) articulatory phonetics is the study of the way speech sounds are made (‘articulated’) by the vocal organs;

2) acoustic phonetics studies the physical properties of speech sound, as transmitted between mouth and ear;

3) auditory phonetics studies the perceptual response to speech sounds, as mediated by ear, auditory nerve and brain;

4) functional phonetics is concerned with the range and function of sounds in specific languages. It is typically referred to as phonology. What is the main distinction between phonetics and phonology?

Phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are made, transmitted, and received, i.e. phonetics is the study of all possible speech sounds.

Phonology is the study of those segmental (speech sound types) and prosodic (intonation) features which have a differential value in the language. It investigates the phonetic phenomena from the point of view of their use.

16. Використання мови в усній вербальній комунікації (Language use in oral verbal communication)

Language teachers are expected to know:

1) how oral speech is produced for successful verbal communication;

2) what language resources are used;

3) how they function to create a particular linguistic meaning.

Verbal communication is the process of transmitting a verbal message from a speaker to a listener through a channel.

For sending messages the communicators use a code: “any systems of signals used for sending messages. The senders are said to encode the message and the receivers to decode it”. Encoding is a process of putting the speaker’s thoughts, feelings, emotions, attitudes into a form recognizable by the listeners. The encoded message is then transmitted through a particular channel to a listener.

In verbal communication the communicators use a verbal code - language and a system of nonverbal codes (body language, touch and spatial behaviour, appearance, etc.). Language as a code consists of the following resources: a vocabulary, a grammar and a phonology. It exists in its two material forms: oral and written. Oral language form has its sound material substance, and written language form – graphic material substance.

When language is used for verbal communication the communicators 1) apply language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing);

2) to put their knowledge of language resources (phonology, grammar and vocabulary) into action;

3) produce a discourse.

A discourse is a continuous stretch of language - oral or written - which has been produced as the result of an act of communication.

17. Вимова як один із шляхів матеріалізації усної форми мови (Pronunciation as a way of materializing of oral form of language)

Phonic shaping of oral form of language is called pronunciation.

In its narrow meaning it is restricted to the features manifested in the articulation the sounds of a language.

Its wide interpretation pronunciation realizes the entity of discourse features relating to:

1) the sound system of a language (the so-called segmental phonemes and their allophones or variants);

2) the syllabic structure of a language (syllable formation and syllable division);

3) word-stress/lexical stress;

4) intonation as a complex unity of pitch (тональний), force (силовий) and temporal (темпоральний) components.

The pronunciation of English has two aspects:

a) we may want to describe what speakers do when they are speaking English. This is the aspect of SPEECH.

b) we may address the question, what are the characteristics of English words and sentences (a discourse). This is the aspect of LANGUAGE.

Speech is not the same as language. Speech is an activity; language is knowledge.

Pronunciation is the primary medium through which we bring our use of language to the attention of other people. It is a process of materializing of features relating to the system of sounds, the syllabic structure, word stress and intonation while speech is constructed.