Definition
 Phonology
is the study of the sounds in any language.
The
smallest unit of sound is known as a phoneme.
The
phonemic alphabet is a complete set of symbols, each of which represents
a single sound belonging to a specific language.
Examples
Here
are some of the phonemic symbols representing sounds in English
[received pronunciation]:
/ æ / = the 'a' in hat
/ k / = the 'c' in cap
Use
Phonology
is a study of how sounds are organised in languages.
It
is the province of linguists who study language
varieties and who chart language change and development.
Phonemic
symbols are used in all dictionaries to indicate the received
pronunciation of each word.
Phonology
is also used in therapeutic fields such as audiology and speech therapy.
The
International Phonetic Alphabet [IPA] is a set of symbols which
attempts to represent every unit of sound contained in every known
language. [In this context the symbols are known as phonetic symbols.]
For
instance, the words 'butter', 'carriage', and 'chocolate' (spoken
in received pronunciation) would be
represented as follows:
Butter |
= |
 |
Carriage |
= |
 |
Chocolate |
= |
 |
The
term phonemic symbol is used to refer to a set of sounds
representing a specific language such as English, Turkish, Urdu,
Icelandic, or any other.
It
is as if there were a box containing all phonetic symbols for all languages,
and when we select those which serve our own language we call that
selection a set of phonemes.
A phoneme is
the smallest unit of sound in any language.
It
is represented in writing by placing a phonetic symbol between
slanted lines. This indicates that it is part of a language.
For
instance the simple word 'pig' would be represented by /p/I/g/ because
it is composed of three separate sounds.
Phonemes
are the sounds of a language in received
pronunciation. Regional varieties of that language may use
sounds which differ from the RP version – and the symbols
used to represent the dialect version
are known as allophones.
An
example of an allophone in English is seen in the vowel sound of
words such as 'bath', 'path' and 'castle'. The phoneme for the
RP version of these sounds would be a: – representing
the long open vowel b/a:/ð in 'bath'.
The
northern dialect version of the same sound in the context of those
same words would be an allophone represented as b/æ/ð in
'bath'.
Even
though the symbol used is a phoneme representing RP, it becomes
known as an allophone in the context of regional pronunciation.
It
is important when attempting to grasp the concept of phonology
and phonetics, to put to aside all notions of the orthodox spelling system.
An
introduction to phonetics is useful to students of language in
understanding the important distinction between speech and writing.
Phonetics
also highlights the differences between spelling and
pronunciation. When we learn to read [that is, to understand writing]
we are learning a code. This is related to the spoken language
in a crucially significant way, but in its nature and function
it is distinct and discrete.
Phonology
in context. The pronunciation system in English is extremely
varied, and this variety springs from context.
The
geographical context or the social context can be seen to determine
the speech style of both individuals and
of groups of speakers.
On
a smaller scale, certain words themselves are context-specific
in terms of pronunciation.
For
example, 'hand' is pronounced roughly as it is spelt if it is spoken
in isolation as a single word. However, in 'handbag' it is pronounced
'ham' or 'han'.
The
reason for this is ease of articulation. Clusters of consonants [three
in succession in 'handbag'] are difficult to pronounce.
If
'hand' is spoken after the adjective 'left' in 'lefthand', the
initial aspirant [h] of 'hand' is to varying degrees eliminated
to produce the sequence 'left'and'.
Similarly,
if the word 'crisp' is spoken in isolation, it is pronounced as
written. If the plural 's' is added however, the 'p' almost disappears
to produce the sequence 'criss'.
The
definite article itself
is subject to phonological variation which is determined by its
context.
That is, if it precedes a vowel sound
as in 'the other' 'the' is pronounced 'thee'. If it precedes a consonant,
or is articulated in isolation, it is pronounced 'the', with the
narrower vowel sound. |
