Phonetics as a Branch of Linguistics

In this respect, it differs from Ukrainian or Russian as well as other languages (Spanish, French, and Japanese, etc.) which are described as 'syllable-timed'.

Such languages depend on the principle that all syllables are of equal values and they follow each other in a steady flow without a strong contrast of stress (a 'machine-run effect). Unstressed vowels tend to retain the quality and quantity found in their stressed counterparts.

In sum, a detailed description of phonic/sound substance of a language will consist of the study of

1.   its segmental subsystem;

2.   the combinatory possibilities of the sounds – syllable structure;

3.   the prosody of the language (the supra-segmental subsystem), i.e. how features of pitch, loudness and tempo work to produce stress/accent, intonation and rhythm.

 

2.Methods of Investigating the Sound Matter of the Language

Let us consider the methods applied in investigating the sound matter of the language.

It is useful to distinguish between phonetic studies carried out without other instruments of analysis than the human senses and such as are based upon the witness of registering or computing machines and technical analyzing or synthesizing devices. The use of such a device as the tape-recorder does not of course imply in itself any instrumental analysis of the speech recorded, but simply serves the purpose of facilitating the speech analysis and conserving a replica of the speech the informants use.

If controlled phonetic experiments employ the use of measuring devices and instrumental techniques, this sub-field of phonetics is called instrumental phonetics. Instrumental methods deriving from physiology and physics were introduced into phonetics in the second half of the 19th  century in order to supplement and indeed to rectify the impressions deriving from the human senses, especially the auditory impressions, since these  are  affected  by  the  limitations  of  the  perceptual  mechanism,  and  in  general  are rather subjective.

The use of instruments is valuable in ascertaining the nature of the limitations and characteristics of the human sensory apparatus by providing finer and more detailed analysis against which sensory analysis can be assessed. In a general way, the introduction  of  machines  for  measurements  and  for  instrumental  analysis  into  phonetics  has resulted in their use for detailed study of many of the phenomena which are present in the sound wave or in the articulatory process at any given moment, and in the changes of these phenomena from moment to moment. This is strictly an instrumental method of study. This type of investigation together with sensory analysis is widely used in experimental phonetics.

The results available from instrumental analysis supplement those available from sensory analysis. Practically today there are no areas of phonetics in which useful work can and is being done without combining these two ways of phonetic investigation. The "subjective" methods of analysis by sensory impression and the "objective" methods of analysis by instruments are complementary and not oppositive to one another. Both "objective" and "subjective" methods are widely and justifiably used in modern phonetics.

Articulatory phonetics borders with anatomy and physiology and the tools for investigating just what the speech organs do are tools which are used in these fields: direct observation, wherever it is possible, e.g. lip movement, some tongue movement; combined with x-ray photography or x-ray cinematography; observation through mirrors as in the laryngoscopic investigation of vocal cord movement; palatography – recording patterns of contact between the tongue and the palate; glottography – studying the vibrations of the vocal cords, etc.

Acoustic phonetics comes close to studying physics and the tools used in this field  enable  the  investigator  to  measure  and  analyze  the  movement  of  the  air  in  the terms  of  acoustics.  This  generally  means  introducing  a  microphone  into  the  speech chain, converting the air movement into corresponding electrical activity and analyzing the result in terms of frequency of vibration and amplitude of vibration in relation to time. The use of such technical devices as spectrograph, intonograph and other sound analyzing and sound synthesizing machines is generally combined with the method of direct observation.

The methods applied in auditory phonetics are those of experimental psychology.

The above mentioned instrumental techniques are used in experimental phonetics, but not all instrumental studies are experimental: when a theory or hypothesis is being tested under controlled conditions the research is experimental, but if one simply makes a collection of measurements using devices the research is instrumental.

As was stated above, phoneticians cannot act only as describers and classifiers of the material form of phonetic units. They are also interested in the way in which sound phenomena function in a particular language, how they are utilized in that language and what part they play in manifesting the meaningful distinctions of the language.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

Phonetics is concerned with the human noises by which the thought is actualized or given audible shape: the nature of these noises, their combinations, and their functions in relation to the meaning.

Practical or normative phonetics studies substance, the material form of phonetic phenomena in relation to meaning.

Theoretical phonetics is mainly concerned with the functioning of phonetic units in the language.

Phonetics studies the sound system of the language, that is segmental units (phonemes, allophones), supra-segmental units (word stress, syllabic structure, rhythmic organization, intonation). Phonetics is closely connected with general linguistics but has its own subject matter (Investigation).

Thus phonetics is divided into two major components: segmental phonetics, which is concerned with individual sounds (i.e. "segments" of speech), their behaviour; and supra-segmental phonetics whose domain is the larger units of connected speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts.

All speech sounds have 4 aspects (mechanisms):

Articulatoty – it is the way when the sound-producing mechanism is investigated, that is the way the speech sounds are pronounced.

Acoustic – speech sound is a physical phenomenon. It exists in the form of sound waves which are pronounced by vibrations of the vocal cords. Thus each sound is characterized by frequency, certain duration. All these items represent acoustic aspect.

Auditory – sound perception aspect. The listener hears the sound, percepts its acoustic features and the hearing mechanism selects from the acoustic information only what is linguistically important.

Functional – every language unit performs a certain function in actual speech. Functional aspect deals with these functions.

Another subdivision of phonetics:

1. General phonetics – studies general laws, formulates general theories (theory of intonation, syllable, formation, phoneme)

2. Special phonetics – based on general phonetics. Deals with phonetical peculiarities of certain language.

3. Some linguists distinguish historical phonetics – it traces the development of the phonetic system in the course of time finding out the basic laws of the system.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

1. Трубецкой Н.С. Основы фонологии. – М., 1960.
2. A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics/ David Chrystal. – Cambridge University Press, 1997. – P. 290-292.
3. Roach,   Peter.   A   Little   Encyclopedia   of   Phonetics, http://www.personal.reading.ac.uk/~llsroach/peter/
4. Pennington,  Martha.  Phonology  in  English  Language  Teaching:  An  International Approach. – London and New York: Longman, 1996.
5. Stevick, Earl W. Toward a Practical Philosophy of Pronunciation: Another View // TESOL Quarterly/–Vol.12. – No.2. – June 1978. – P. 145-150.
6. Vassilyev, V. A. English Phonetics: A theoretical course. – Moscow: Higher School Publishing House, 1970. -P. 30-33.