9. Theory of phonetics as a science and brunches of phonetics

Language can perform its faction as the most important means of human intercourse only as a language of sounds: words consist of sounds. They are arranged in accordance with grammatical rules and pronounced with proper melody. Only in this way we can express complete thoughts.

To make oneself understandable we must pronounce correctly separate sounds, words and sentences. So, studying phonetics is vitally important.

Phonetic system of a language consists of:

• Phonemes

• Syllabic structures

• Intonation

Theory of phonetics, which studies the sound system of the language, is concerned not only with human noises, the nature and combinations, but with their factions with relation to the meaning.

The main linguistic faction of language units is discriminatory – to distinguish one sequence of sounds from another with a different meaning.

Theory of phonetics is an independent branch of linguistics, like lexicology, grammar and stylistics, it is closely connected with them.

Brunches of Phonetics:

• Articulatory Phonetics studies the way, in which the air is set in motion. The movements of speech organs and the coordination of these movements in the production of single sounds are trains of sounds. So, it is connected with physiology

• Acoustic Phonetics studies the way, in which the air vibrates between the speaker’s mouth and the listener’s ear. So, we must investigate the acoustic properties of sounds, such as length, timber, intensity, pitch, temporal factor

• Auditory Phonetics studies the hearing process, the sensation of hearing, the nervous activity between the ear and the brain.

The aim of Theory of Phonetics isn’t only to describe and classify phonetic units. Phoneticians are also interested in the way the sounds function in the language. Phonology is the brunch of Phonetics that studies the linguistic functions of Phonetic units, the social aspect of pronunciation.

The definition of the norm was suggested by professor Screbnev; norm is a complex unity of Phonetic styles, which vary under the influence of linguistic and extra linguistic factors.

Modern British English recognizes norm the following: The conservative RP; BBC English; Advance RP; Near-RP-southern

10. The History of Early Britain

THE OLD STONE AGE: (500.000 - 10.000 B.C.) The first signs of human habitation are known to have taken place about 500.000 years ago, when Britain was still part of Europe and the English Channel was not yet formed. Not many people lived in Britain then. Just a few hunt­ing families occupied caves such as Cheddar Gorge in South Devon. They developed their own primitive culture. During the MIDDLE STONE AGE (about 6000 B.C.) Britain was separated from the con­tinent. About 2.500 B.C. farming colonists crossed to Britain from Northern France and the Mediterranean. They brought cattle and sheep and seeds of wheat.

THE NEW STONE AGE (2.500 - 1.800 B.C.) lasted over 5 hundred years. People had no metal. They got their clothes and food from their cattle, they cut their furniture from their native rock. In Low-land England people used to mine flints. That was the beginning of mining in the British Isles. The most famous mines are those of Grimes Graves in Norfolk. We know about a fine example of tombs as the Cotswold long-barrows. These barrows are communal graves, they are very large in size. The origin of these barrows is Mediterranean. (We can see this type of long-barrows in Sicily, Malta).

The religion of the people of the NEW STONE AGE was also Mediterranean in origin. Female statuettes (The Earth Mother) found in the Grimes Grames flint mines, point towards the cult of fertility, death and rebirth. Some scientists believe that the first settlements were founded by Iberians ("Iberians" often means "Spaniards" or "Portuguese").

THE BRONZE AGE (1.800 - 500 B.C.).In about 1.800JB.C. Britain was invaded by tribes from France and the Low Countries (Holland and Belgium) known as the Beaker Folk. They brought metal. Many of the Beaker Folk were descended from the northen-warrior peoples and probably spoke an Indo-European language (some believe that it was Gaelie). They did not look like the Stone Age people, they were taller, more heavily built, much fairer m colouring. Their religion was also different: they did not have communal graves. Their chiefs were burried indi­vidually in round barrows. The first religious temples were built in Britain: Stonehenge, Avebury and other monu­ments. They were centres for religious ritual directed towards the sun and the heavens.

THE IRON AGE (500 - 400 B.C.) About 500 B.C. the Celtic invasion began. They brought iron. The first group of tribes - the scots - appeared about 800 B.C. The second group was the Brits, the third - the Belgae (or the Belgic tribes). In war time the Celts wore skins and painted their faces with a blue dye to make themselves look fierce. There were excellent carpenters among them, who could make carts and boats, and blacksmiths - their art survived in metalwork: bracelets, necklaces, hand-mirrors, helmets, etc. The Celts brought their language: its Gaelic form was used in Ireland and Scotland, the Brythonic form was used in England and Wales. It was the Brythonic tribe that gave its name to the whole country.