Each and every language had its own
unique sound and sound sequences. However, the number of possible sound
distinctions which can be made in any language in quite limited. When we
listen to any speakers, we can realize that they have a distinct set of
sounds and certain ways to put the sounds together. So all languages share
at least some sets of sounds.
Phonology is a branch of linguistics
which studies the sound systems of a particular language. The word
phonology is derived from Greek word “phone” which means sound and logos
which means science or knowledge.
It is just one of several aspects of
language which is related to other aspects such as phonetics, morphology.
It is the study of how sounds are organized and sound in natural languages
and description of the systems and patterns of language.
The aim of phonology is to demonstrate
the pattern of distinctive sound found in a language and to make general
statements as possible about the nature of sound systems in the language of
the world. It is concerned with the range and function of sounds in
specific languages and with the rules which can be written to show the
types of phonetic relationships that relate and contrast words and other
linguistic units.
Phonology is the basis for further work
in Morphology, syntax, discourse and orthography design. Therefore, it
analyzes the sound pattern of a language by determining which phonetic
sounds are significant and explaining how these sounds are interpreted by
native speakers. It studies the speech sounds only within the limited
context or systems of a certain language. It is concerned only with
distinctive sounds that can make differences in meaning within a language.
Such distinctive sounds which become meaningful units in larger units in a
given language are phonemes. It is the smallest distinctive unit in
phonology of language systems, another being syntax and yet another
semantics which draws upon the finding of phonetics but it doesn’t deal
with the phonic medium as such.
Then it seeks to discern the sounds
made in all human languages. The identification of universal and
non-universal qualities of sounds is a crucial component in phonology as
all languages use syllables and forms of vowels and consonants.
Syllables are involved in the timing
space of speaker language since speaking each word takes a position of
time. Syllables are units of measurement in language. Vowels allow air to
escape from the mouth and nose unblocked while consonants create more
covering of the vocal tract by the tongue. The heard friction i.e. a
consonant is made from the air that can not escape as the mouth utters the
consonant.
Phonemes are units of sound are a
language that conveys meaning. For instance, changing a syllable in a word
will change its meaning such as changing the “a” in “mad” to an “o” to
produce “mod”.
A phone can also achieve no meaning by
creating non-existent. Word such as by changing the “m” in “mad” or “mod”
to a “j” to produce “sad” or “jod”. Phonemes differ from morphemes and
graphemes. A morpheme refers to main grammar units while grapheme is the
main unit of written language.
The proper pronunciation used in a
language is a practical application of phonology. For example:- Phonology
uses symbols to differentiate the sounds of a particular vowel.
Vowels are classified into ‘front’
‘central’ and ‘back’ depending on the positioning of the jaw and tongue
when the vowel sounds are made.
Phonology also note lip position such
as if the lips are spread out or rounded as well as if the vowel sound is
long or short. The symbol for the vowel sound in words such as ‘chilly’ or
‘fin’ in phonology is /I/ and refers to a front short vowel spoken with a
tongue in high position and spread lips.
Contrasting the symbol for the vowel
sound in words such as “moon” or “blue” in phonology is /u/ and refers to a
back, long vowel spoken with a tongue in high position still, but with
sounded lips.
Phonetics
Phonetics is derived from Greek word
‘phone’ means “sound, voice”, is the science which studies the
characteristics of human sound making especially those sounds used in
speech and provides methods for their description, classification and
transcription of all speech sounds of human beings. It comprises the study
of the sounds of human speech and is concerned with the physical properties
of speech sounds (phones), and the processes of their physiology
production, auditory reception and neurophysiological perception.
Thus phonetics is the study of the
production, perception and transmission of speech sounds of human language
in general. Phonetics deals with the ways speech sounds of human languages
are produced the physical properties of transmission and the conditions of
their perception.
In fact, phonetics is the basis for
phonological analysis which analyzes the production of all human speech
sounds regardless of language. It is the study of the phonic medium.
Phonetics is categorizes into three branches which are given as below:-
1.
Articulator Phonetics: - It is the study of the way speech sounds are made
or articulated by the vocal organs. It investigates and classifies
speech-sounds in terms of the way they are produced by the speech organs.
Thus it is concerned with the articulation of speech. The position, shape,
and movement of articulators or speech organs, such as the lips, tongue,
and vocal folds.
2.
Acoustic phonetic: - It studies the physical properties of speech sound as
transmitted between mouth and ear. In terms of the physical properties of
the sound waves that are created by the activity of the speech organs and
travel through the air from speaker to hearer. It is concerned with
acoustics of speech: The properties of the sound, waves, such as their
frequency and harmonics.
3.
Auditory phonetics: - It studies the perceptual response to speech sounds,
as mediated by ear; auditory nerve and brain. In terms of the way the
speech sounds are perceived and identified by the listener’s ear and brain.
So it is concerned with speech perception. How sound is received by the
inner ear and perceived by brain.
Phonetics is
the criterion with which we operate in the phonological analysis of
languages. It is the study of the articulatory and acoustic properties of
the sounds of human language.
In contrast
to phonetics, phonology,is the study of language-specific systems and
patterns of sound and gesture, relating such concerns with other levels and
aspects of language. While phonology is grounded in phonetics, it has
emerged as a distinct area of linguistics, dealing with abstract systems of
sounds and gestural units (e.g, phoneme, features, mora, etc.) and their
variants e.g., allophones, the distinctive properties which form the
basis of meaningful contrast between these units, and their classification
into natural classes based on shared behavior and phonological
processes. Phonetics tends to deal more with the physical properties of
sounds and the physiological aspects of speech production and perception.
It deals less with how sounds are patterned to encode meaning in language
(though overlap in theorizing, research and clinical applications are
possible.
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