1. Phonetics as a linguistic science. Branches of phonetics. Phonetics and phonology

PHONETICS is a linguistic science that studies segmental sounds (vowels, consonants), the way they are organized into the system of units and prosodic phenomena (pitch, stress, tempo, rhythm). Being a science in its own right, it's at the same time closely connected with other linguistic sciences - grammar, lexicology, stylistics and the history of the language.

4 main branches of phonetics:

1. ARTICULATORY/PHYSIOLOGICAL - concerned with the study of sounds as the result of the activities of the speech organs; it deals with our voice-producing mechanism and the way we produce sounds.

2. PERCEPTUAL/AUDITORY - study of man's perception of segmental sounds, pitch variation, loudness and duration.

3. ACOUSTIC/PHYSICAL - acoustic aspect of speech sounds (pitch, spectrum, timber, loudness, length).

4. FUNCTIONAL/LINGUISTIC/PHONOLOGY - purely linguistic branch of phonetics. It deals with the functional aspect of sound phenomena. Phonology sets out to discover those segmental and prosodic features that have a differential value in a language, and it established the system of phonemes.

2. Articulatory classification of speech sounds

VOWEL - a voiced sound in forming of which the air needs no obstruction and no narrowing that would cause audible friction. All the other sounds are called CONSONANTS.

CLASSIFICATION OF VOWELS:

1. according to the horizontal movement of the tongue:

- front (i:, e, æ)

- front-retracted (i)

- mixed (з:, schwa-vowel)

- back-advanced (u, /\, o)

- back (u:, o:)

2. according to the vertical movement of the tongue:

- close/high (i:, i, u:, u)

- mid (e, schwa-vowel, з:)

- open/low (æ, a:, /\, o:, o)

3. according to the position of lips:

- rounded/labialized (o, o:, u, u:)

- unrounded/unlabialized (all the rest)

4. according to the degree of muscular tension:

- tense (all long vowels)

- lax (all short vowels)

5. according to the force of articulation at the end of the vowel:

- free - weakens at the end (long monophthongs, diphthongs, unstressed short vowels)

- checked - no weakening, are pronounced abruptly, are followed by a consonant (stressed short vowels)

6. according to the stability of articulation:

- monophthongs

- diphthongs

- triphthongs

- diphthongized (i:, u:)

7. according to the length/duration:

- long

- short

CLASSIFICATION OF CONSONANTS:

1. according to the type of obstruction and the manner of production of noise:

- occlusives (stops/plosives - p, b, k, g, t, d; nasal sonorants - m, n, nasal n)

- constrictives (fricatives - f, v, s, z, ш, ж, dental; oral sonorants - l, j, r, w)

- occlusive-constrictives/affricates (дж, ч)

2. according to the active speech organ which causes an obstruction:

- labial (bilabial - b, p, m, w; labio-dental - f, v)

- lingual (backlingual - k, g, nasal n; mediolingual - j; forelingual - t, d, s, z, n, dental, r)

- pharyngeal/glottal (h)

3. according to the place of obstruction:

- dental

- alveolar (t, d, n, s, z, l)

- post-alveolar (r)

- palatal (j)

- palato-alveolar (ш, ж, ч, дж)

- velar (nasal n)

4. according to the presence/absence of voice:

- voiced

- voiceless

5. according to the force of articulation:

- fortis (all voiceless)

- lenis (all voiced)

6. according to the position of the soft palate:

- oral

- nasal