Chapter 2 Phonology(音韵学)

Chapter 2 Phonology 音系学1.The phonic medium of language 语言的声音媒介Linguists are not interested in all sounds ；they are concerned with only those sounds that are produced by the human speech organs in so far as they have a role to play in linguistic communication .These sounds are limited in number .This limited range of sounds which are meaningful in human communication and are of interest to linguistic studies are the phonic medium of language ;and the individual sounds within this range are the speech sounds.语言学家也并不是对所有的声音感兴趣，他们只关注那些在语言交际中占有一席之地、由人类的发音器官所发出来的那些声音.这些声音在数量上是有限的。

这些范围有限,但对人类交际活动意义重大、对语言学研究价值不菲的声音就是语言的声音媒介，凡是在这个范围的每个单个的声音都叫做语音。

2.Phonetics 语音学2.1What is phonetics？什么是语音学？it is concerned with all the sound that occur in the world’s languages.它的主要研究对象是世界上所有的语言中出现过的一切声音。

These three branches of phonetics are labeled articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics， and acoustic phonetics respectively。

Chapter 1 Introduction语言学的定义：Linguistics is generally defined as the scientific study of language.问题：How do you interpret the following definition of linguistics: Linguistics is the scientific study of language?→It is a scientific study because it is based on the systematic investigation of linguistic data, conducted with reference to some general theory of language structure.What the linguist has to do “first, then, but”:①to observe and collect language facts and generalizations are made about them.②to formulate some hypotheses about the language structure.③to check the hypotheses thus formed repeatedly against the observed facts to fully prove their validity.The study of language as a whole is often called general linguistics. (普通语言学)问题: What are the major branches of linguistics? What does each of them study?→phonetics（语音学）→the study of sounds→phonology（音位学）→study how sounds are put together and used to convey meaning→morphology（形态学）→study the way in which symbols or morphemes are arranged and combined to form words.→syntax（句法学）→the study of rules of forming sentences →semantics（语义学）→the study of meaning→pragmatics（语用学）→ the context of language use Sociolinguistics（社会语言学）：The studies of all these social aspects of language and its relation with society form the core of the branch.Psycholinguistics（语言心理学）：Relate the study of language to psychologyApplied linguistics（应用语言学）：In a narrow sense it refers to the application of linguistic theories and principles to language teaching, especially the teaching of foreign and second languages.Some important distinctions in linguistics:①prescriptive（规定性）/descriptive（描写性）②synchronic（共时）/diachronic（历时）③speech（口语）/writing（书面语）④langue（语言）/parole（言语）（the Swiss linguist F. de Saussure ——Course in General Linguistics）⑤competence（语言能力）/performance（语言应用）（the American linguist N. Chomsky）⑥traditional grammar （传统语法）/modern linguistics（现代语言学）问题：in what basic ways does modern linguistics differ from traditional grammar?①linguistics is descriptive while traditional grammar is prescriptive.②modern linguistics regards the spoken language as primary, not the written.③modern linguistics does not force languages into a Latin-based framework.问题：Is modern linguistics mainly synchronic or diachronic? Why?In modern linguistics, a synchronic (不考虑历史演进的, 限于一时的) approach seems to enjoy priority over a diachronic (探求现象变化的, 历时的) one.Because it is believed that unless the various states of a language in different historical periods are successfully studied, it would be difficult to describe the changes that have taken place in its historical development.Synchronic descriptions are often thought of as being descriptions of language in its current existence, and most linguistic studies are of this type.问题：For what reasons does modern linguistics give priority to speech rather than to writing?From the point of view of linguistic evolution, speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any language is always “invented”by its users to record speech when the need arises. Even in today’s world there are still many languages that can only be spoken but not written. Then in everyday communication, speech plays a greater role than writing in terms of the amount of information conveyed.Spoken language reveals more true features of human speech while written language is only the “revised”record of speech. And linguists’data for investigation and analysis are mostly drawn from everyday speech, which they regarded as authentic.语言的定义：Language is a system of arbitrary vocal symbols used for human communication.Design features of language（7个识别特征）①arbitrariness 任意性（at the syntactic level）②productivity 能产性，创造性Secondary units（底层结构 sounds）③duality 双层性Primary units （上层结构 units of meaning）④displacement 不受时空限制性（handle generalization and abstraction）⑤cultural transmission 文化传递性⑥interchangeability 互换性⑦convention 约定性Functions of language：三大主要功能：The descriptive functionThe expressive functionThe social functionRoman Jacobson（6种首要因素，结构主义语言学家）①speaker addresser→emotive 感情功能②addressee→conative 意动功能③context→referential所指功能④message→poetic 诗学功能⑤contact→phatic communion交感功能⑥code→metalinguistic 元语言功能Other functions:①phatic function 问候功能②informative f. 信息功能③interrogative f. 询问功能④expressive f. 表达功能⑤evocative f. 感染功能⑥directive f. 指令功能⑦performative f. 行使（权力）功能M.A.K. Halliday①ideational②interpersonal（indicate/establish/maintain/social relationships）③textual问题：How is Saussure’s distinction between langue and parole similar to Chomsky’s distinction between competence and performance?The distinction between langue and parole was made by Saussure, langue is abstract; it is not the language people actually use. Parole is concrete; it refers to the naturally occurring language events. Langue is relatively stable; it does not change frequently, while parole varies from people to people, and from situation to situation.The distinction between competence and performance proposed by the American linguists Chomsky, competence is a deal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language, and the performance is the actual realization of this knowledge in linguisticcommunication. Imperfect performance is caused by social and psychological factors.Saussure makes this distinction in order to single out one aspect of language for serious study. In his opinion, parole is simple a mass of linguistic facts, too varied confusing for systematic investigation, and that linguistics should do is to abstract langue from parole, i.e., to discover the regularities governing the actual use of language and make them the subjects of study of linguistics.Similar to Saussure, Chomsky thinks what linguists should study is the ideal speaker’s competence, not his performance, which is too haphazard to be studied.问题：What are the main features of human language that have been specified by C. Hockett to show that it is essentially different from animal communication system?①arbitrariness 任意性（at the syntactic level）②productivity 能产性，创造性Secondary units（底层结构 sounds）③duality 双层性Primary units （上层结构 units of meaning）④displacement 不受时空限制性（handle generalization andabstraction）⑤cultural transmission 文化传递性⑥interchangeability 互换性⑦convention 约定性Chapter 2 PhonologyPhonetics: （语音学）①the study of the phonic medium of language②look at speech sounds from 3 distinct but related points of view.Ⅰstudy the sounds from the speaker’s point of view→articulatory phonetics（发音语音学）Ⅱlook at the sounds from the hearer’s point of view→auditory phonetics（听觉语音学）Ⅲstudy the way sounds travel by looking at the sound waves →acoustic phonetics（声学语音学）③study how sounds are produced, transmitted and perceived. Organs of speech:⒈three important areas①The pharyngeal cavity→the throat② the oral cavity→the mouth③ the nasal cavity→the nose⒉The pharyngeal cavity→windpipe/glottis/larynx/vocalcords⒊the oral cavity→tongue/uvula/soft palate(velum)/hard palate/teeth ridge(alveolus)/teeth/lipsInternational Phonetic Alphabet （IPA）①diacritics 附加符号②broad transcription（宽式标音）→the transcription with letter-symbols only③narrow transcription（严式标音）→the transcription withletter-symbols together withthe diacriticsClassification of English speech sounds①two broad categories of speech sounds in English: Vowels/consonants②two ways to classify the English consonants: In terms ofmanner ofarticulationIn terms of place of articulation③In terms of manner of articulation:Stops/fricatives/affricates/liquids/nasals/glides④In terms of place of articulation:Bilabial/labiodental/dental/alveolar/palatal/velar/glottal⑤Classification of English vowels⒈criteria :（monophthongs）单元音The position of the tongue in the mouth: front/central/back The openness of the mouth: close vowels/semi-closevowels/semi-openvowels/open vowels The shape of the lips: unrounded/roundedThe length of the vowels: tense/lax⒉diphthongs 双元音/ ei // ai // au // əu // ɔi // iə //εə// uə /Phonology 音韵学，语音体系Difference of phonology and phonetics:①Phonetics is interested in all the speech sounds used in allhuman languages.②Phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a languageform patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.Phone（音素）: A phone is a phonetic unit or segment. Phoneme（音位）: It is a phonological unit; it is a unit that is of distinctive value. It is an abstract unit. It is not any particular sound, but rather it is represented or realized by a certain phone in a certain phonetic context.Allophone（音位变体）: The different phones which can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments are called the allophones of that phoneme.Phonemic contrast（音位对立）Complementary distribution（音位变体的互补分布）Minimal pairs（最小对立体）：含音位的单词的全部音标Minimal set（最小对立集）：is used to find the important sounds in language.Phonological Analysis（音位分析）Principle: certain sounds cause changes in the meaning of a word or phase, whereas other sounds do not.Phonetically similar sounds:描述音位关系Free variants: 音位的自由变体The difference of pronouncing a sound caused by dialect, habit, individual difference or regional differences instead of by any distribution rule.Some rules in phonology①sequential rules: 序列规则If a word begins with a / l / or a / r /, then the next sound must be a vowel.If three consonants should cluster together at the beginning of a word, the combination should obey the following three rules:The first phoneme must be / s /The second phoneme must be / p / / t / / k /The third phoneme must be / l // r // w /②assimilation rule:同化规则③deletion rule：省略规则Suprasegmental features 超音段特征≠超音段（比音位更大的语言单位）①stress（单词，句子层面）：the location of stress in English distinguishes meaning.Syllable音节：A syllable nucleus (often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (often consonants)单音节词多音节词英语单词都有重读音位学中，单词由音节构成，音节由音位构成。

Chapter 2 Phonology1.What are the three branches of phonetics? How do they contribute to the study ofspeech sounds?1、Articulatory phonetics describes the way our speech organs work to produce the speech sounds and how they differ.2、Auditory phonetics studies the physical properties of speech sounds, it studies the speech sounds from the hearer’s point of view, and reaches the important conclusion that phonetic identity is only a theoretical ideal.3、Acoustic phonetics studies the physical properties of speech sounds, the way sounds travel from the speaker to the hear.2.Where are the articulatory apparatus of a human being contained?In the three cavities: pharyngeal cavity, oral cavity, and nasal cavity.3.What is voicing and how is it caused?Vibration of the vocal cords results in a quality of speech sounds called voicing, which is a feature of all vowels and some consonants.4.What is the function of nasal cavity? How does it perform this function?To nasalize the sounds that are produced. It does this by closing the air passage connecting the oral and nasal cavities so that he air stream can only go through the nasal cavity.5.Describe the various parts in the oral cavity which are involved in the production ofspeech sounds?The various parts of the tongue: the tip, the front, the blade, and the back of the tongue; the uvula; the soft palate; the hard palate, the teeth ridge (alveolar); the upper and lower teeth; the lips. Of all, tongue is the most flexible, and is responsible for more varieties of articulation than any other.6.Explain which examples how broad transcription and narrow transcription differ? Broad transcription– one letter symbol for one sound.Narrow transcription–a way to transcribe speech sounds. Narrow transcription is the transcription with letter – symbols together with the diacritics. Diacritics are added to show the finer differences between sounds.7.How are the English consonants classified?Two ways to classify consonants: by place of articulation and by manner of articulation.For example, [p] is stop from the classification according to manner of articulation, and from the classification of place of articulation, [p] is a bilabial sound.8.What criteria are used to classify the English vow els?I.Position of the tongue. ( front vowel, central vowel, back vowel)i.e., a front vowel is a vowel which is produced with the front part of the tongue that isheld highest.II.Openness of the mouth. (close vowels, semi-close vowels)III.Length of the sound. (long vowel [I:] [u:], short vowel [I]IV.Shape of the lips (rounded vowels and unrounded vowels) [a:] are rounded vowels.xity of the glottis.9.Give the phonetic symbol for each of the following sound description:1)V oiced palatal affricate: [d ]2)V oiceless labiodental fricative: [f]3)V oiced alveolar stop: [d]4)Front, close, short: [i]5)Back, semi-open, long: [ ]6)V oiceless, bilabial stop: [p]Give the phonetic features of each of the following sounds:1)[d]: voiced, alveolar, stop2)[l ]: alveolar, liquid, lateral3)[t ]: voiceless, palatal, affricate4)[w]: glide, labial5)[u ]: back, close, short6)[æ ]: front, open10.How do phonetics and phonology differ in their focus of study? Who do you thinkwill be more interested in the difference betw een, say, [l] and [l ], [p] and [p ], a phonetician or phonetician or a phonologist? Why?Phonetics: study of the phonic medium of language, it is the description of all speech sounds in the world’s language and their fine differences.Phonology: description of sound systems of particular languages and how sounds function to distinguish meaning and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.For example the [t] sounds in the two English words stop an top are pronounced differently. The first one is what we call an unaspirated [t] and the second one an aspirated [th]. Phoneticians have recognized two quite distinct sounds for [t] in English; but if we consider these two sounds from the phonological point of view, we wound say these two sounds are fundamentally the same, since they have one and the same function in communication, in distinguishing between words and meanings.A phonetician would be more interested in such differences because such differences will not cause the differences in meaning.11.What is a phone? How is it different from a phoneme? How are allophones relatedto a phoneme? (31)Phone – a speech sound we use when speaking a language, it is a phonetic unit or segment. Phoneme – a collection of abstract sound features, a phonological unit.Allophones –the different phones which can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments are called the allophones of that phoneme. ( actual realizations of a phoneme in different phonetic contexts).E.g. the phoneme /l/ in English can be realized as dark [t], clear [l], etc, which are allophones of the phoneme /l/.12.What is a minimal pair and what is a minimal set? Why is it important to identifythe minimal set in a language?Minimal pair refers to two sound combinations identical in every way except in one sound element that occurs in the same position. That is, minimal pairs are word forms that differ from each other only be one sound. pill and till, till and kill, kill and dill, and dill and gill. According, we can conclude that p, b, t, d, k, g are phonemes in English. Then all these sound combinations together constitute a minimal set, they are identical in form except for the initial consonant, this also applies to the vowels. The pronunciations of the following words are identical except for the vowel: beat, bit, bet, bat, ect.By identifying the minimal pairs of the minimal set of a language, a philologist can identify its phonemes.13.Explain with examples the sequential rule, the assimilation rule, and the deletionrule.Sequential rule– rule governing the combination of sounds in a particular language.E.g. If a word begins with a [l] or a [r], then the next sound must be a vowel.Assimilation rule–rule assimilating one sound similar to the following one by copying a feature of a sequential phoneme, thus making the tow phones similar.E.g. impossible is the negative form of possible, as the [n] sound is assimilated to [m].）Deletion rule– rule governing the deletion of a sound in a certain phonetic context although it is represented in spelling.E.g. delete a [g] when it occurs before a final nasal consonant.14.What are suprasegmental features? How do the major suprasegmental features ofEnglish function in conveying meaning?Suprasengmental features –phonological features above the sound segment level, these are the phonological properties of such units as the syllable, the word and the sentences. The major suprasegmental features in English are stress (word stress and sentence stress) intonation and tone;1、Stress: When a certain syllable of a word is stressed, it means that the syllable is pronounced with greater force than the other or others. The shift of stress changes the meaning or the part of speech of a word and the meaning of a sentence.E.g. from n to v. import to import.2、Intonation: pitch variation is known as intonation. More specific, when pitch, stress and length variations are tied to the sentence rather than to the word, they are collectively known as intonation. The three most frequently used intonations are the fall, the rise and the fall-rise. When spoken in different tone, the same sequence of words may have different meaning, e.g. the falling intonation conveys a straight-forward fact, the rising intonation indicates a question; and the fall-rise intonation always conveys some implication.3、Tone: Tone refers to the pitch variation which is caused by the differing rates of vibration of the vocal cords. It is an important feature for some languages, such as Chinese, it distinguishes meaning just like phonemes.15.Explain the following terms, using one or two examples for illustration1)Phoneme (05).A phoneme is a phonological unit. It is an abstract notion instead of a concrete sound. A phoneme consists of a collection of features, and can be realized as different speech sounds in different phonetic contexts called allophones. E.g /l/ can be pronounced as clear [l] or darl [l] depending on where it occurs2)Complementary distributionWhen two sounds never occur in the same environment, they are in “complementary distribution.” E.g. the aspirated English plosives never occur after [s], and the unsaturated ones never occur initially.16.What is the basic difference between a consonant and a vowel?The basic difference between a vowel and a consonant is that in the pronunciation of a vowel, the air stream from the lungs meets no obstruction of any kind in the throat, the nose, or the mouth, while in the pronunciation of a consonant, the air stream from the lungs is obstructed in one way or another.17.How do you set up the allophones of the same phoneme?Which allophone is to be used is determined by the phonetic context in which it occurs. But the choice of an allophone is not random or haphazard in most cases; it is rule-governed. One of the tasks of the phonologist is to find out these rules.。