Lеcture 1.

Phonetics as a Branch of Linguistics

1.1. The Subject-matter of Phonetics.
1.2. Branches and Divisions of Phonetics.
1.3. Methods of Phonetic Investigation.
1.4. Phonetics and Other Disciplines.
1.5. Practical Application and Theoretical Significance of Phonetics.

1.1. THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF PHONETICS

The word “phonetics" is derived from the Greek “φωνη” (sound).

Phonetics is not a separate science. It is a branch of linguistics, like the other branches, such as
grammar, lexicology and stylistics. It studies the phonetic structure of the language, i.e. speech
sounds, word stress, syllabic structure and intonation. These four components form the
pronunciation of a language. Therefore, the knowledge of the phonetic system of the language and
the mastery of its pronunciation involve the study and mastery of each component of its phonetic
structure.
Phonetics is quite independent and develops according to its own laws. As an independent branch
of linguistics, it has developed branches of its own.
Today the sphere of phonetics is wide and deep. It deals with phonemes and their distribution in
words, their mutual adaptation, syllable formation, stress, intonation, the relation between oral and
written speech and a number of other problems.
1.2. BRANCHES AND DIVISIONS OF PHONETICS

Speech sounds have four aspects: articulatory, acoustic, auditory, and functional (social). According
to V.A. Vassilyev, these four aspects cannot be separated from one another in the actual process of
communication, but each of these four aspects can be singled out for purposes of linguistic analysis
and thus becomes a separate object of investigation, which necessitates the division of phonetics as
a science into several branches. Each of these branches of phonetics has its own methods of
investigation and its own terminology.
The branch of phonetics which is concerned with the study, description and classification of speech
sounds as regards their production by the human organs of speech is called articulatory phonetics.
It is the oldest, the most developed and productive branch of phonetics.
Acoustic phonetics studies the way in which the air vibrates between the speaker’s mouth and the
listener’s ear, in other words, the acoustic aspect of speech sounds (their physical properties). It is
sometimes called 11
experimental, instrumental or laboratory phonetics, because experimental methods and
instrumental techniques are widely used here.
The branch of phonetics investigating the perception process is known as auditory phonetics.
The branch of phonetics that studies the functional (linguistic, social) aspect of speech sounds and
all the other components of the sound matter of the language (syllabic structure, word stress and
intonation) is called phonology. It investigates sounds as units that serve communicative purposes.
Besides the branches of phonetics described above, there are other divisions of phonetics.
Traditionally phonetics is divided into general phonetics which studies the nature of phonetic
phenomena and formulates phonetic laws and principles and special phonetics which is concerned
with the phonetic structure of a particular language.
Special phonetics is subdivided into descriptive and historical. Special descriptive phonetics studies
the phonetic structure of the language synchronically (i.e. it studies its contemporary phonetic
system), while historical phonetics looks at it in its historical development (diachronically). The
study of the historical development of the phonetic system of a language helps to understand its
present and predict its future. Historical phonetics is connected with general history and the history
of the people whose language is studied. Historical phonetics uses the philological method of
investigation, which consists in studying written monuments and comparing different spellings of
one and the same word.
Closely connected with historical phonetics is comparative phonetics which studies the correlation
between the phonetic systems of two or more languages.
Another important division of phonetics is into segmental phonetics, which is concerned with
individual sounds (i.e. “segments” of speech) and suprasegmental phonetics, which deals with the
larger units of connected speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts.
Phonetics can also be practical and theoretical. Practical phonetics studies the material form of
phonetic phenomena in relation to meaning. Theoretical phonetics is mainly concerned with the
functioning of phonetic units in the language.
There are branches of linguistics which are closely connected with phonetics because some
phonetic information and facts are of great importance in their spheres of investigation.
Phonostylistics studies phonetic phenomena and processes from the stylistic point of view. It
studies the way phonetic means are used in this or that particular situation.
Another linguistic branch is phonosemantics. It investigates the connection between the sound
form and the meaning. This connection may easily be observed in onomatopoeia (ping-pong,
cuckoo). It is also realized in sound symbolism which implies that some sounds and some
combinations of sounds may evoke different semantic associations. For example, some words
beginning with sl are ugly and unpleasant (slime, slush, slum, slug, slough, slash, slop, sludge).
Though there are lots of neutral words.
1.3. METHODS OF PHONETIC INVESTIGATION
Each branch of phonetics uses its own methods of research.
M.A. Sokolova states that phoneticians generally distinguish methods of direct observation (they are
carried out without any other instruments of analysis than the human senses) and instrumental methods.
The methods of direct observation are the oldest, simplest and most available. They consist in observing
the movements and positions of one’s own or other people’s organs of speech in pronouncing various
speech sounds, as well as in analysing one’s own muscle sense during the articulation of speech sounds
and comparing them with the resultant auditory impressions. These methods can be effective only if a
person using them is specially trained. Instrumental methods were introduced into phonetics in the second
half of the 19th century in order to supplement the impressions deriving from the human senses. They are
based on the use of special technical devices, such as hand mirror, spectrograph, intonograph,
oscillograph, x-ray photography and cinematography, CD records, laryngoscope and others.
Phonology possesses its own methods of investigation (special linguistic methods), which help to
interpret phonological and functional properties of sounds as socially significant elements. They will be
described later in the course.
These two ways of phonetic investigation are widely used in modern phonetics and combined in research
work. The “subjective” methods of analysis by sensory impression and the “objective” methods of
analysis by instruments are complementary. For instance, articulatory phonetics borders with anatomy
and physiology, it uses methods of direct observation, whenever it is possible (lip movements, some
tongue movements) combined with x-ray photography or x-ray cinematography, observation through
mirrors as in the laryngoscopic investigation of vocal cord movements, etc.
1.4. PHONETICS AND OTHER DISCIPLINES

Phonetics is one of the basic branches of linguistics and it is closely connected with the other
linguistic disciplines: lexicology, grammar, stylistics. This connection is determined by the fact that
language is a system whose component parts are inseparably connected with one another, and
therefore the sciences that study these component parts must be interconnected too.
S.F. Leontyeva points out that phonetics formulates the rules of pronunciation for separate sounds
and sound combinations. The rules of reading are based on the relation of sounds to orthography
and present certain difficulties in learning the English language. Thus, vowel sounds are pronounced
not only as we name the letters corresponding to them: the letter a [ei] can be pronounced as [æ] –
can, [ɑ:] – car, [eə] – care.
Through the system of rules of reading phonetics is connected with grammar. It helps to pronounce
singular and plural forms of nouns, the past tense forms and past participles of English regular verbs
correctly (to beg – begged [d], to wish – wished [t]). Another manifestation of the connection of
phonetics with grammar is sound interchange (or sound 15
alternation). This connection can be observed in the category of number (the interchange of [f –v],
[s –z], [θ –ð] helps to differentiate singular and plural forms of such nouns as: calf – calves, leaf –
leaves, house – houses). Vowel interchange is connected with the tense forms of irregular verbs
(sing – sang – sung, write – wrote – written). It can also be observed in onomatopoeic compounds
(flap-flop, hip-hop).
Phonetics is also connected with lexicology. Due to the accurate presence of stress, or accent, we
can distinguish certain nouns from verbs ('object предмет – to ob'ject возражать). Due to the
position of word stress we can distinguish between homonymous words and word groups
(`blackbird дрозд - 'black `bird черная птица). Besides we can differentiate homographs only due
to pronunciation, because they are identical in spelling (bow [bəʊ] лук – bow [baʊ] поклон).
S.F. Leontyeva also notes that phonetics is connected with stylistics. First of all, through intonation
and its components: speech melody, utterance stress, rhythm, pausation and voice timbre which
serve to express emotions, to distinguish between different attitudes on the part of the author and
speaker. Phonetics is also connected with stylistics through repetition of words, phrases and
sounds. Repetition of this kind serves the basis of rhythm, rhyme and alliteration. Onomatopoeia, a
combination of sounds which imitate sounds produced in nature, is one more stylistic device which
can serve as an example of the connection between phonetics and stylistics (tinkle, jingle, clink,
ting, chink; clap, dab, smack; crash, bang).
Phonetics is also closely connected with a number of non-linguistic disciplines which study different
aspects of speech production and speech 16
perception: physiology, anatomy, physics (acoustics). Mathematics, statistics, logic and computer
science are used in phonetic research too.
1.5. PRACTICAL APPLICATION AND THEORETICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF PHONETICS

Phonetics is indispensable to the teaching of the pronunciation of foreign languages. The teachers
have to know the sound system of the pupil’s mother tongue and the sound system of the foreign
language to be learnt so that they can help the pupils to master its pronunciation. It is necessary to
be able to point out the differences between these two languages and to provide adequate training
exercises. Ear training and articulation training are both equally important in modern language
teaching.
For those who work in speech therapy (logopedics) phonetics forms an essential part of the
professional training syllabus. Phonetics also enters into the training of teachers of the deaf and
dumb people and can be of relevance to a number of medical and dental problems.
Phonetics is useful in such spheres as investigations in the historical aspects of languages, in the
field of dialectology; designing or improving systems of writing or spelling (orthographies for
unwritten languages, shorthand, spelling reforms), in questions involving the spelling or
pronunciation of personal or place names borrowed from other languages.
Phonetics contributes important information to the research in criminology aimed at identifying
individuals by voices. It is also widely used in teaching correct pronunciation and good elocution to
actors, singers, radio-announcers and other public speakers. 17
Nowadays phonetics is important in a number of technological fields connected with
communication. The results of phonetic investigations are used in communication engineering. For
example, phonetic data is needed for creating machines converting the printed symbols or letters
into synthetic speech or automatic typewriters that convert speech directly into printed words on
paper.
According to S.F. Leontyeva, theoretical significance of phonetics is connected with the further
development of the problem of the synchronic study and description of the phonetic system of a
national language, the comparative analysis and description of different languages, the study of the
correspondences between them, the diachronic description of successive changes in the phonetic
system of a language or different languages.
18