Types of Phonetics according to its specific fields of investigation.

1) descriptive (synchronic) – synchronic description of the language.

2) historical (diachronic) – the description of the language at its point in history.

3) Comparative – compares the sounds of different languages of the world.

4) Dialectology (accents, dialects) – describes phonetic data from different dialects of the 1 language.

5) Normative – sets standards for the correct pronunciation of varies languages.

6) Clinical/speech – correction of speech pathologies.

7) voice training – for singes and actors.

8) Telephonic – deals with problems peculiar to the telephonic transmission of the speech sound.

9) speech recognition – communication between humans and machines.

1. Four Aspects of a Speech Sound. Methods of Investigation in Phonetics and Phonology.

Theoretical Phonetics has the following branches:

Ø articulatory

Ø acoustic

Ø auditory

Ø functional /phonological

Each branch of Theoretical Phonetics investigates the appropriate aspect of speech sounds.

Articulatory Phonetics investigates the functioning of one’s speech apparatus and mechanism. It is based on profound knowledge of physiology and the structure of one’s speech apparatus. While investigating the articulatory aspect of speech sounds both subjective and objective methods are employed: the method of direct observation (concerning the lips & the tongue movements) – subjective method and X-ray photography and X-ray cinematography (objective methods).

Acoustic Phonetics studies the acoustic properties of sounds (quantity, timber/voice quality, intensity, the pitch of the voice and temporal factor) in terms of the frequency of vibration and the amplitude of vibration in relation to time. The analysis begins with a microphone, which converts the air movement into corresponding electrical activity. While investigating the acoustic aspect of speech sounds special laboratory equipment is employed: spectrograph, intonograph, sound analyzing & sound synthesizing machines.

Auditory Phoneticsis aimed at investigating the hearing process which is the brain activity. Auditory Phonetics and Acoustic Phonetics are very closely connected.

Functional Phonetics presupposes investigating the discriminatory (distinctive) function of speech sounds. While investigating the functional aspect of speech sounds the following methods are employed:

· the distributional method

Distributionis a total sum of occurrences of a linguistic unit ( a phoneme, a morpheme, a word, a word combination). Distribution presupposes contexts in which a segment can be used.

For example, in accordance with the distribution of the phoneme /N/ it can’t be used word initially. But we may use it word medially and word finally.

Distribution

Ø contrastive

It is such a distribution in which allophones of different phonemes occur in identical phonetic context (cake – bake, bike – bite).

Ø non-contrastive

o complementary

It is such a distribution in which different allophones of the same phoneme occur in mutually exclusive positions ( /t/:try, at the, twice, kettle, kitten)

o free variation

It is such a distribution in which different allophones of the same phoneme occur in the same phonetic context but are realized differently (let me /’lemmi/ & /’let mi/). It is determined by social and territorial stratification of language.

Thus the distributional method is based on the following two laws of phonetic and allophonic distribution:

Date: 2015-12-24; view: 2199