PHONETIC, PHONOLOGY AND NATURAL CLASSES

PHONETIC, PHONOLOGY AND NATURAL CLASSES

Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or (in the case of sign languages) the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs (phones): their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory perception, and neurophysiological status. Phonology, on the other hand, is concerned with the abstract, grammatical characterization of systems of sounds or signs. The field of phonetics is a multiple layered subject of linguistics that focuses on speech. In the case of oral languages there are three basic areas of study:

·         Articulatory phonetics      :   the study of the production of speech  sounds by  the  articulatory  and vocal tract by the speaker

·         Acoustic phonetics            :  the  study  of  the  physical  transmission  of  speech  sounds  from  the speaker to the listener

·         Auditory Phonetics           :  the study  of the  reception  and  perception of  speech  sounds  by  the Listener.

Phonology is the subdiscipline of linguistics concerned with the sounds of language. That is, it is the systematic use of sound to encode meaning in any spoken human language, or the field of linguistics studying this use. In more narrow terms, "phonology proper is concerned with the function, behavior and organization of sounds as linguistic items". Just as a language has syntax and vocabulary, it also has a phonology in the sense of a sound system. Phonology is viewed as the subfield of linguistics that deals with the sound systems of languages.

The difference between phonetics and phonology

Phonology concerns itself with systems of phonemes, abstract cognitive units of speech sound or sign which distinguish the words of a language. Phonetics, on the other hand, concerns itself with the production, transmission, and perception of the physical phenomena which are abstracted in the mind to constitute these speech sounds or signs.

Relation to phonology

In contrast to phonetics, phonology is the study of how sounds and gestures pattern in and across languages, relating such concerns with other levels and aspects of language. Phonetics deals with the articulatory and acoustic properties of speech sounds, how they are produced, and how they are perceived. As part of this investigation, phoneticians may concern themselves with the physical properties of meaningful sound contrasts or the social meaning encoded in the speech signal (e.g. gender, sexuality, ethnicity, etc.). However, a substantial portion of research in phonetics is not concerned with the meaningful elements in the speech signal.

What is a natural class?

In phonology, a natural class is a set of sounds in a language that share certain phonetic features. The sound system of every language includes several natural classes, each distinguished from other classes by certain features. A given natural class is described using the minimum number of features needed to include all sounds within the class and exclude all sounds outside the class. Some natural classes in a language are larger and include several other natural classes within them, while some may be small and include only one speech sound. Natural classes tend to behave in similar ways, participating in the same phonological rules.

For example, the set containing the sounds /p/, /t/, and /k/ is a natural class in English, namely voiceless stops. This class contrasts with several other classes, such as the voiced stops, voiceless fricatives, sonorants, and vowels. The class of voiceless stops is described by two features: [-continuant] and [-voice]. This means that any sound with both the feature [-continuant] (not able to pronounced continuously) and the feature [-voice] (not pronounced with vibration of the vocal chords) is included in the class. This correctly describes all voiceless stops and does not describe any sounds besides voiceless stops. By implication, the class is also described as not having the features [+continuant] or [+voice]. This means that all sounds with either the feature [+continuant] (able to be lengthened in pronunciation) or [+voice] (pronounced with vibration of the vocal chords) are excluded from the class. This excludes all natural classes of sounds besides voiceless stops. For instance, it excludes voiceless fricatives, which have the feature [+continuant], voiced stops, which have the feature [+voice], and liquids and vowels, which have the features [+continuant] and [+voice]. Voiceless stops also have other features, such as [+consonantal] and [-lateral], that are not added to the description of the class and are unnecessary, since the features [-continuant] and [-voice] already include all voiceless stops and exclude all other sounds.

For instance, in English:

1.   [k], [g], [ŋ]      form the natural class of velar stops

2.   [u] and [o] form the natural class of rounded, tense

     vowels.

     • What natural classes are formed by the following groups of sounds?

• [t], [s]

• [v],    [ᶞ ], [z],[ ᶾ]

     • [I]   ,  [ᴂ] , [ƹ]

Phonological patterns are often formed by natural classes of sounds.

 Ex: the (regular) English past tense exhibits allomorphy.

• Allomorph 1: [d]

         study - studied                      fear - feared

         mail   -  mailed                      loan - loaned

• Allomorph 2:

      collect  - collected                  mate - mated

        wade  - waded                      need  - needed

What’s the natural class of segments that induces the change? The change undergone by the definite article in Arabic is called assimilation.

     • = when one sound becomes more similar to another in its environment.

• In the Arabic case, there is complete, or total assimilation.

     • …but individual features can also change, as in  place assimilation.

• Ex: In English, /n/ often takes on the place of  articulation of a following consonant.

      • ‘unpleasant’

      • ‘engrossed’

• Plural forms:

         cat:     [kæst]                                     dog: [dagz]

         match: [mætʃIz]                                judge: [dƷ˄dƷʫ]

         chair:     [ ʧԐrz]                                 pass: [pæsʫ]

  • The basic form of the plural is [z].

  • It becomes [IZ] when it follows [s], [z], [ ʃ ]      or   [ ᶾ ] .   These are [strident] consonants.

In addition, members of a natural class will behave similarly in the same phonetic environment, and will have a similar effect on sounds that occur in their environment.