- •Phonetics as a subject (general notes).
- •Phonetics as a subject, its branches.
- •Connection of phonetics with other sciences.
- •The phoneme theory (the definition of a phoneme, its functions).
- •Phonological schools. Methods of Phonological analysis.
- •Methods of the phonemic analysis
- •The English Vowel system.
- •1. Stability of articulation
- •2. Position of the tongue
- •3. Position of the lips
- •Classification of the English vowels.
- •1. Stability of articulation
- •2. Position of the tongue
- •3. Position of the lips
- •The English Consonant system.
- •9. Classification of the English consonants.
- •Assimilation. Types of assimilation.
- •Word-stress or accent in English (its nature, functions, position in words).
- •Word stress in a language performs three functions.
- •Place of word stress in English.
- •Syllable formation and syllable division.
- •Word-stress and sentence-stress, their difference.
- •Theories of syllable formation and syllable division.
- •English Intonation (general notes).
- •Intonation in unemphatic speech.
- •17. Intonation in emphatic speech.
- •The ascending scale; the sliding scale; the level scale; the scandent scale.
- •18. Functions of intonation.
- •D. Crystal distinguishes the following functions of intonation.
- •19. The English Tunes.
- •20. Received pronunciation and general American pronunciation.
Phonetics as a subject (general notes).
The «birthplace» of phonetics is considered to be Ancient India. The idea of studying sounds was brought about by the need to understand Veda (1500 BC), i.e. sacred songs sang during religious ceremonies. The principal question for the priests [pri:st] was correct reading of Brahmans, as those texts were believed to come from gods and so could no way be distorted or mispronounced. Ultimately, the interest to sounds and pronunciation is explained by the fact that in those times speech was thought to be a magic phenomenon and sounds were ascribed приписываемый some magic features. For instance, all ancient sacred священный songs, spells and incantations [ɪnkæn'teɪʃn] заклинание were based on special use of sounds, certain rules of their placing and ordering; those rules not preserved, the songs or spells were believed to be of no effect.
Phonetics is a special science, which stands apart from other linguistic disciplines, such as lexicology, grammar, stylistics, etc. as it is concerned with the oral aspect of the language (contrasted to written speech), studying the material (physiological and acoustic) and functional features of speech sounds and intonation.
The term «phonetics» is originated from the Greek word «phonetikos», which means «vocalic», «related to sounds». Consequently, at the early period of its development the aim of phonetics as a science was to study individual speech sounds. However, later the scope рамки of phonetic studies widened расширенный greatly, and today phonetics is understood as a branch of linguistics concerned with the study of speech in human communication. It studies not only individual speech sounds and their behaviour in the flow of speech, but the whole sound matter of a language: sounds, syllables, stress and intonation. The basic scope for phonetic studies is formed by phonetic units: speech sounds, syllables, word stress, rhythmic groups, phrases and spoken texts. These phonetic units act according to definite norms and rules of a language system, thus providing success of communication. They are small segments constituting a bigger entity called Speech.
As a branch of linguistics, phonetics studies sound patterns, their pronunciation, mutual relations and modifications in speech, i.e. the way language functions as a «code» of communication. The units of the sound system (phonetic units) are realized in speech, thus making it the subject of phonetic studies.
Phonetics as a subject, its branches.
Speech is a very complicated phenomenon, each of its aspects being a separate subject for investigation. Thus, to study this entity different branches of phonetic science have to be applied. Here they are, each having its own objectives, subject and methods of study:
- Articulatory phonetics
- Acoustic phonetics
- Auditory phonetics
- Functional phonetics
Articulatory phonetics studies the physiology of speech and the mechanism of sound production. It studies the movements of the speech organs and their coordination in the production of sounds. So, it deals with the work of speech apparatus, its organs and their functioning.
Acoustic phonetics studies the physical features of sounds. It studies the way in which the air vibrates between the speaker’s mouth and the listener’s ear. The tools used in this field enable the investigator to measure and analyze the air movements in the terms of acoustics. This generally means converting the air movement into electrical activity and analyzing the frequency & amplitude of sound vibration.
Auditory phonetics started its development in the middle of the 20th century alongside with intensive development of electro-acoustic equipment. The principal question for researchers was to explore the mechanism of speech perception and recognition. How is speech signal recognized, how are different features of sounds sorted and discriminated? Also, auditory phonetics studies the hearing process, the way our brain differentiates sounds as for their quality, pitch, loudness and length.
Functional phonetics (Phonology) studies phonetic units as elements of a system in terms of their functions, mutual relations and rules of realization. Functional phonetics studies the way sounds are utilized in a particular language, their role in manifesting meaningful distinctions of the language. Functional phonetics aims at detecting distinctive features that facilitate successful communication in a certain language on both segmental (individual sounds) and suprasegmental (sound sequences) levels.