Self-study assignment 1 in Theoretical Phonetics

English Phonetics Department

Dmitry Andrushchenko

Group 311

Self-study assignment 1 in Theoretical Phonetics

(Variant 2)

Task 1. Dwell on the difference between speech sounds and phonemes. Give the examples of speech sounds modifications in different phonetic context. Do it in writing.

One of the most important steps while giving an answer to this question is to define what a speech sound and a phoneme is. Although it is quite difficult task so far as the phoneme, for example, has several aspects and functions and its actually impossible to devise a formal definition, that would reflect all these aspects and functions.

A speech sound is an individual sound unit of speech without concern as to whether or not it is a phoneme of some language. Out of this definition emerges that speech sounds, i.e. phonetically distinct units of speech, have no regard to any place in the phonology of a language.

Speech sounds are:

1. produced by man’s organs of speech,

2. travel in sound waves,

3. are perceived by man’s hearing mechanism as units capable of differentiating meanings of the words.

It follows that speech sounds differ from each other in their physical/acoustic properties, in the way they are produced by organs of speech and in their features which take part or do not take part in differentiating the meaning.

They can be analysed from the point of view of four aspects of speech sounds:

1) articulatory (as a complex of coordinated and differentiated movements and positions of speech organs)

2) acoustic (as an effect with physical properties, such as frequency, spectrum, intensity and duration)

3) auditory (that involves a mechanism of hearing)

4) functional (the role they play as a medium of human communication)

Each aspect characterise speech sounds from a particular angle and they all form a complete (as much as it is possible) picture of what a speech sound is.

But speech sounds exist as a variety in a number of different languages as phonemes. A phoneme is the smallest indivisible language unit which is capable of distinguishing one word from another word of the same language or one grammatical form from another of the same word, and which exists in the speech of all the members of definite language community. Sometimes phonemes are identified as a psychical image of a sound. Phonemes are ultimate constituents of a language, the smallest elements that it can be broken down into. Phoneme is a fundamental unit of phonology. All theories of phonology hold that spoken language can be broken down into a string of sound units (phonemes), and that each language has a certain, relatively fixed set of these phonemes. Every phoneme is represented in speech by its several variants or allophones. In its turn each variant of a phoneme is a part, an aspect or the essence of that phoneme.

Though phonemes have no meaning, they are linguistically important, since they perform several functions:

1. constitutive (for they constitute morphemes, words);

2. distinctive (because they distinguish one word from another);

3. indemnificatory, or recognative (since they identify the right use of the allophone of a certain word).

So the main differences are as follows6

1. speech sounds are units of speech, whereas phonemes are units of a language;

2. speech sounds have no regard to any place in the phonology of a language, phonemes are units of phonology;

3. a speech sound is more general meaning for a unit of speech that has some qualities, and a phoneme is more particular notion for a definite unit of a language with certain characteristics.

Examples of speech sounds modifications in different phonetic context:

[с] – с отцом [с’] – с сестрой [з] – с братом [з‘] – с дядей

[ш] – с шурином [ш‘] – с чадом [ж] – с женой

In informal situations we may observe certain phonetic modifications: accidental assimilations (give me /gimmi/, let me /lemmi/), non-standard elisions (phonetics /f’netiks/, the next day /DE'neksdei/), the simplification of the diphthongs – the omission of glides (take it /‘tekit/, I’m /am/).

Task 2.

Suddenly the door flew open and in walked a strange little man with a long ginger beard. “What will you give me” said the man, “if I spin this straw into gold for you by the morning?” “I will give you my necklace” said the girl. The little man took the necklace and straight away started spinning. He worked all night until just as the sun rose he finished. Before the miller’s daughter could thank him he’d vanished. The king was surprised and pleased to see all the gold, but this only made him more greedy. He led the girl into a second room, larger than the first one. It too was full of straw. Again the king told the girl to spin all this straw into gold by the morning, or she must die. Ones more the girl began to cry, and no sooner had she began that the door flew open and in walked that strange man again.

Task 3.

· sai d t he, le d t he – regressive complete assimilation affecting the place of articulation.

· thi s s traw -

· o f s traw – lost of final /v/

· please d t o, mus t d ie, an d p leased – regressive complete assimilation affecting loss of plosion

· made h im, thank h im – loss of initial /h/

Reduction:

1. Qualitative:

· Hard: surprised / /, again / /, into / /.

· Soft: she / /, open / /, morning / /.

2. Quantitative: What will you give me?

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29