Phonetics as a Science

1. BLOCK 1 PHONETICS

1. Phonetics as a Science.
2. Phonetics and Phonology.
3. Four Aspects of Speech Sounds.

2. Phonetics as a Science

PHONETICS AS A SCIENCE
Phonetics – an independent branch of linguistics, the science of
speech sounds as elements of language.
Branches of phonetics:
• Special phonetics
• General phonetics
• Descriptive phonetics (sounds are studied synchronically)
• Historical phonetics (sounds are studied diachronically)
• Comparative phonetics
• Theoretical phonetics
• Practical phonetics

3. Practical Application of Phonetics

PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF PHONETICS
Teaching foreign languages
The art of elocution (actors, singers, public speakers, radio
broadcasters, etc.)
Devising alphabets
Orthographies for unwritten languages
The science of information, communication theory and
cybernetics

4. Four Aspects of Speech Sounds

FOUR ASPECTS OF SPEECH SOUNDS
Articulatory (the work of the organs of speech)
Acoustic (the sounds existing in the form of the wave)
Auditory (the perception of the sound wave with ears)
Functional (the sequence of sounds transmitted in the form of a
certain meaning into a human brain)

5. Four Aspects of Speech Sounds

FOUR ASPECTS OF SPEECH SOUNDS
Articulatory
The following methods and instruments might be useful:
direct observation of the position of the organs of speech and their
movement
a hand-mirror
laryngoscope [ləˈrɪŋgəskəʊp]
artificial palate
photographs and X-ray photographs
cinematography
magnetic tape-recorders)

6. Four Aspects of Speech Sounds

FOUR ASPECTS OF SPEECH SOUNDS
Acoustic
A sound wave is characterized by frequency, intensity, duration.
The following methods and instruments might be useful:
kymograph [kaɪməɡrɑf]
spectrograph [spektrəʊɡrɑf]
intonograph [ɪntəʊnəɡrɑf]
oscillograph [ɔsɪləgrɑf]

7. Four Aspects of Speech Sounds

FOUR ASPECTS OF SPEECH SOUNDS
Auditory (perceptual)
Speech sounds impinge upon a human ear and are in some sense
transmitted to a human brain.
Perceptual phonetics is relatively underdeveloped.

8. Four Aspects of Speech Sounds

FOUR ASPECTS OF SPEECH SOUNDS
Functional
The branch of linguistics which deals with the functional aspect of
speech sound is called phonology.
Phonetics states the property of the sound itself, its physiological and
physical properties. Phonetics deals with speech.
Phonology states vocal features and investigates their function in the
language. Phonology sorts and classifies the material registered by
phonetics. Phonology deals with the language.
Both phonetics and phonology study the same material (sounds) and are
closely connected.

9.

The phoneme – a minimal abstracted linguistic unit realized
through allophones in speech in the form of speech sounds
distinguishing the meaning of morphemes and words.
Distinctive feature is defined as something unique or
different that sets someone or something apart from the
rest.

10.

11. Distinctive Features of English Vowels and consonants

DISTINCTIVE
FEATURES
OF ENGLISH
VOWELS AND
CONSONANTS

12. Distinctive features of English vowels

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF ENGLISH VOWELS
1) The horizontal movement of the tongue
2) The vertical movement of the tongue
3) The stability of articulation
4) The degree of tenseness
5) The length
6) The position of the lips
7) The character of the end

13. Distinctive features of English vowels

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF ENGLISH VOWELS
Tongue advancement (the horizontal movement)
Tongue height (the vertical movement)
The stability of articulation
Non-distinctive features of English vowels
The length
The degree of tenseness
The position of the lips
The character of the end
In certain positions distinctive features do not serve as such, they are
neutralized, they cease to be relevant.
[hed] vs [hæd] – tongue advancement is irrelevant in this opposition

14. Distinctive features of English vowels

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF ENGLISH VOWELS
1) The horizontal movement of the tongue
[fi:d] vs [fu:d] – a distinctive feature
2) The vertical movement of the tongue
[hed] vs [hæd] – a distinctive feature
3) The stability of articulation
[bel] vs [beil] – a distinctive feature
4) The degree of tenseness
Doesn’t stand the test of contrastive distribution – not a distinctive feature
5) The length
[ship] vs [shi:p] – seems to be a distinctive feature but it was proved that it is determined
by the position and the context, it’s not a distinctive feature.
6) The position of the lips
Is determined by the environment, doesn’t stand the test of contrastive distribution, it’s
not a distinctive feature.
7) The character of the end
It’s a dependable feature, it’s not a distinctive feature.

15. English consonants are subdivided according to:

ENGLISH CONSONANTS ARE SUBDIVIDED ACCORDING TO:
1) The active organ of speech
2) The place of obstruction
3) The work of the vocal cords
4) The strength
5) The position of the soft palate
6) The manner of the production of noise
7) The type of obstruction
There are 24 consonants in English.
Distinctive and non-distinctive features are found through the test of
contrastive and non-contrastive distribution (complementary and free
variation).

16. Distinctive features of English consonants

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF ENGLISH CONSONANTS
1) The active organ of speech
[mi:] vs [ni:] – a distinctive feature.
2) The place of obstruction
Consonants may change the place of obstruction (there are cases of assimilation
and adaptation, e.g. at the, quick, key, all the, try) – not a distinctive feature.
3) The work of the vocal cords
Consonants my be partly or fully devoiced – not a distinctive feature.
4) The strength
If a voiced consonant is devoiced it remains lenis and vice versa - a distinctive
feature.
5) The position of the soft palate
[di:l] vs [ni:l] – a distinctive feature.
6) The manner of the production of noise and the type of obstruction
[ti:] vs [si:] (-x = not a spirant) – a distinctive feature.

17. Distinctive features of English consonants

DISTINCTIVE FEATURES OF ENGLISH CONSONANTS
The active organ of speech
The strength
The manner of the production of noise and the type of obstruction
The position of the soft palate
Non-distinctive features of English consonants
The place of obstruction
The work of the vocal cords