Phonetics and Phonology: Speech Sound Analysis
Phonetics and Phonology: The Science of Speech
Phonetics analyzes the sounds of speech and how they are produced. It is the physical aspect of the sound. For example, it studies how we position the lips for pronunciation. Phonology is a branch of linguistics that studies sounds as abstract units inside a system. The objective is to understand how sounds are useful for distinguishing meanings. For example, in English, /p/ and /b/ are phonemes; we can differentiate between words like bad and pat.
Core Concepts and Linguistic Units
- Phone: Any real sound produced in our speech.
- Phoneme: The minimal unit which allows us to distinguish meanings in a language, represented with slashes (e.g., /t/).
- Allophone: A variant of the same phoneme that does not change the meaning of a word (e.g., pin/spin).
Sound Distribution and Variation
- Complementary distribution: Two sounds that never appear in the same context (e.g., pin/spin).
- Free variation: Two sounds that can appear in the same context without changing the meaning (e.g., water).
Airstream Mechanisms in Speech
Pulmonic mechanisms are the most common mechanisms where air is moved by the lungs. These include:
- Egressive: Air goes outside.
- Ingressive: Air goes inside.
Velaric mechanisms: The air is moved by the tongue and velum (soft palate). This produces click sounds. While not common in Spanish or English, it is common in African languages. Glottalic mechanisms: The air is moved by the glottis (the vocal cords). These sounds are found in languages like Georgian and are not standard in Spanish or English.
Phonotactics and the Process of Articulation
Phonotactics is the study of the rules that govern the possible combinations and positions of sounds in a language. For example, the “-ing” sound always appears at the end. Articulation occurs when the sound is modified in the pharynx, the oral cavity, and the nasal cavity. The velum (soft palate) controls if the air goes outside through the mouth or through the nose.
Types of Oral and Nasal Closure
- Velar closure: When the back part of the tongue touches the soft palate and blocks the air in the mouth (e.g., /k/, /g/, /-ing/).
- Velic closure: When the soft palate moves up and closes the airstream to the nose, so the air only goes out through the mouth.
Classification: Obstruents vs. Sonorants
- Obstruents: These are sounds produced with a significant obstruction of the airflow in the vocal tract. They can be voiced or voiceless, and the airflow is blocked. They include plosives, fricatives, and affricates.
- Sonorants: These are sounds produced with a relatively open vocal tract, allowing the air to flow freely and continuously. They are usually voiced and include nasals, liquids, glides, and vowels.
Parameters of Consonant Production
Voicing: Voicing explains if the vocal cords vibrate while we are producing a sound. The vocal cords are in the throat and produce vibration in some sounds, while in others, they remain open and without vibration. Place of articulation: The place in the mouth where the sound is produced. This involves which parts of the speaking apparatus are used to produce the sound of the consonant, including passive articulators (teeth, palate, etc.). Manner of articulation: Describes how the air circulates when we are producing a sound. It explains if the air is totally blocked, if it flows slowly, or if it passes through the nose.