Phonetics and Phonology

Phonetics is primarily concerned with speech production (how sounds are made by speakers), speech perception (how sounds are perceived by listeners) and speech analysis (how sound waves can be processed and described).

The description of specific sounds and systems of sounds as well as rules of combining them into syllables, words and phrases used by language for human communication constitutes the link between phonetics and phonology.

Phonology, which is sometimes called linguistic phonetics, is concerned with a sound system as a system of contrastive units, phonemes, and their distinctive features.

Phonetics takes care of the physical properties of sounds, while phonology focuses on their functional characteristics: it selects only those features which are distinctive for contrasting sounds (and, therefore, words) in a particular language.

Reading List:

1. Зиндер Л.Р. Общая фонетика. – М.: 2007

2. Vassilyev V.A. English Phonetics. ML, 1970

3. Maslov Y.S. Vvedenye v yazikoznanye. M., 1987

4. Boudarko L.V., Verbitskaya L.A.,Gordina M.V. Osnovi obschey phonetici., L, 1983

5. Соколова М.А. Теоретическая фонетика английского языка: учеб. для студ. высш. учеб. заведений. – 3-е изд.,стереотип.- М.: 2006

6. Шевченко Т.И. Теоретическая фонетика английского языка: Учеб. – М.: Высшая школа, 2009

Distinctive features of a phoneme (phonological oppositions)

Questions and Assignments for Seminar II:

1. Phonemic functions.

2. Phonemic reality.

3. Phonemic System. Distinctive features of phoneme (phonological oppositions).

4. The Establishing of the Phoneme Structure of the Language.

Reading list.

1. Zinder L.R. Obschaya phonetics. M., 1979, ch. 1 (В. Г. Д.)

2. Vassilyev V.A. English Phonetics. M., 1970, ch. 5.

3. Maslov Y.S. Vvedenye v yazikoznanye. M., 1987, ch. 2 (4, 5, 6).

4. Trubetskoy N.S. Osnovi phonologiyi. M., 1960.

Assignments:

1. Do these words testify to the fact that English [i] and [i:] are the phonemes but not the allophones of one and the same phoneme: [ðɪs] this, [θik] thick, [ði:z] these, [θi:m] theme?

2. Do these words testify to the fact that English [n] and [m], [b] and [d] are the phonemes: [net] net – [mæt] mat, [bed] bed – [dæd] dad?

3. Do these words testify to the opposition between [v] and [w] in English: [vest] vest – [went] went?

4. How can you prove the phonemic difference in the following opposed sounds: [m-n], [p-m], [e-ɪ], [ɔ-u]

5. How can you prove the phonemic difference in the following opposed sounds: [ɔ:-e], [r-f], [s-z], [ɪ-ɔ]

6. How can you prove the phonemic difference in the following opposed sounds: [ʌ-ɔ], [v-f], [ʃ-ʒ]?

7. Which among the following oppositions are single: [v-l], [ʒ-s], [g-k], [b-m], [m-n], [s-j], [t-d], [ʃ-ʒ]?

8. Which among the following opposition are multiple: [s-l], [k-g], [v-n], [ʃ-h], [n-l], [t-ʒ], [f-p], [d-l]?

9. Which among the following opposition are proportional: [m-n], [z-ʃ], [t-s], [b-p], [b-s], [b-v], [b-m]?

B. Text to be analysed:

SUN AND MOON by Catherine Mansfield

In the afternoon the chairs came, a whole big cart full of little gold ones with their legs in the air. And then the flowers came. When you scared down from the balcony at the people carrying them, the flower pots looked like funny awfully nice hats nodding up the path. Moon thought they were hats. She said: “Look. There’s a man wearing a palm on his head”. But she never knew the difference between real things and not real ones.

There was nobody to look after Sun and Moon, Nurse was helping Anni alter Mother’s dress which was much too long and tight under the arms and Mother was running all over the house and telephoning Father to be sure not to forget things. She only had time to say: “Out of my way, children!”