Sounds of Language: Phonetics and Phonology
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Focus
This topic introduces you to the sounds of language and to the organs of the vocal tract in which they are made. You will learn how consonants are made, how vowel sounds are made and classified, and about properties of speech other than vowels and consonants. You will also be introduced to phonology, and to the ways in which sounds relate to each other in a single language. This topic ends with a brief look at transcription, the technique used for writing speech down.
Reading Material
Read McGregor, Chapter 2.
There is a huge amount of detail in this chapter, and it is impossible to assimilate all at once. Read through quickly, and then slowly make sure you understand the main points. You will have to come back to this chapter many times before you will be able to use the terminology with ease. You can expect to re-read sections several times when answering the study questions.
Study Questions
- Study the consonant chart at the top of page 31 of the textbook. English has 24 consonants: can you find them all here? You can expect to spend a long time looking up the technical terms used to label the rows and the columns of the chart. If your first language is not English, can you find the consonants of your language on the chart? Does your language have the same consonants as English?
- What is the difference between a vowel and a consonant?
- Many people say that there are five vowels in English. Do you agree? To answer this question properly, you will have to make a distinction between a letter of the alphabet and a speech sound.
- What are tone and stress, and in what way are these important in the study of human language?
- Why do linguists make a distinction between ‘phonetics’ and ‘phonology’? Why is it necessary to talk about phonemes and speech sounds?
- Look at the example at the bottom of page 48 of the textbook. What is it about, and what is the main point being made?
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