- •The subject-matter of phonetics, its practical aims.
- •Verbal communication - the central notion of phonetics. Stages of speech production proce.Ss
- •Branches of phonetics.
- •Articulatory classification of the English vowels.
- •Articulatory classification of the English consonants
- •The phoneme theory as the basis of phonology.
- •The functions of the phoneme.
- •The phonemic inventory of the English language.
- •Modification of sounds in connected speech.
- •Assimilation
- •The notion of elision.
- •Linking and intrusive r
- •Intrusive r
- •The notion of accommodation.
- •Reduction and its types.
- •16. The syllable formation theories.
- •17. Syllabification
- •18. Functios of the syllable.
- •19. Types of English word stress.
- •Word stress tendencies.
- •Functions of word stress.
- •General notion of prosody.
- •Intonation as a complex unity of prosodic features.
- •Sentense stress in English.
- •The main functions of intonation.
- •The components of the intonation group.
- •The nuclear tones and their meanings.
- •Rhythm.
Branches of phonetics.
Phonetics has three main branches.
1)Articulatory phonetics is concerned with the positions and
movements of the speech organs such as the lips and the tongue
in producing sounds.
2)Acoustic phonetics is concerned with the physical properties of
the sound waves.
3)Auditory phonetics is concerned with the perception of the
speech sounds or the effect on the ear.
Phonetics has the following branches: 1) articulatory (physiological) and perceptive (auditory), 2) acoustic, 3) functional (linguistic).
Articulatory and perceptive investigation of speech sounds is done on the basis of a good knowledge of the voice and sound producing mechanisms, their structure, work and perceptive (auditory) effects, that is—physiology and psychology. Articulatory phonetics makes use of such instruments and devices as: a hand mirror, laryngoscope, artificial palate, graphical representations of sounds, photographs and X-ray photographs, gramophone records and magnetic tape recorder. TV classes and special films are also very helpful for the investigation and study of the articulatory aspect of speech.
Acoustic properties of sounds, that is, quantity, or length, tamber, intensity, pitch, temporal factor are investigated by the acoustic and auditory branch of phonetics. Special laboratory equipment, such as kymograph, spectrograph, oscillograph and Monograph help to obtain the necessary data about prosodic properties of speech sounds.
A kymograph records qualitative variations of sounds in the form of kymographic tracings,
A spectrograph produces sound spectrograms which help to list the frequencies of a given sound and its relative amplitudes".
An oscillograph records oscillograms of sound vibrations of any frequency. Automatically recorded oscillograms can be observed upon the screen.
An intonograph measures automatically: 1) the fundamental tone of the vocal cords, 2) the average sound pressure, 3) the duration or length of speech (pausation). The results are recorded: 1) visually upon the screen of the electron-ray tube, 2) on paper or film with the continuous reproduction by tape recorder, 3) in digits (while estimating the limits of the recorded area along the screen of the electron-ray tube).
The phonological or functional properties of phonemes, syllables, accent and intonation are investigated by means of special linguistic methods, which help to interpret them as socially significant elements.
Theoretical significance of phonetics is connected with the further development of the problem or the synchronic study and description of the phonetic system of a national language, the comparative analysis and description of different languages and the study of the correspondences between them, the diachronic description of successive changes in the phonetic system of a language or different languages.
Practical significance of phonetics is connected with teaching foreign languages. Practical phonetics is applied in methods of speech correction, teaching deaf-mutes, film doubling, transliteration, radio and telephone.