PHONETICS AS A SCIENCE

PHONETICS AS A SCIENCE

Nowadays Phonetics is defined as an independent branch of Linguistics
which studies the sound matter of the language, its semantic functions and the lines
of its development. Phonetics began to be developed as a science in the 19th
century. The factors that stimulated its development were as follows:
• a more thorough acquaintance with the functioning of the human speaking
apparatus;
• investigations of many linguists who studied languages that had not
alphabets;
• compiling alphabets for such languages.
The objects, aims and value of Phonetics are defined on the basis of
scientific conception of language based on the thesis that being the most important
medium of human intercourse, language is at the same time directly and
inseparably connected with thought. This connection manifests itself not only in
the generally recognized fact that thoughts can be expressed in actual speech only
by means of words organized into sentences pronounced with the proper intonation
but also in the less obvious fact that thoughts can originate and be formulated in
the human mind also only on the basis of words and sentences. It is clear that
language can only exist in the material form of speech sound, though the sounds of
speech do not constitute a separate independent element of language.

Speech sounds are vibrating particles of air or sound waves or still in other
words – a variety of matter moving in space and time. Speech sounds are produced
by human organs of speech. Every speech sound is a complex of definite finely coordinated and differentiated movements and positions of various speech organs.
They can be considered from the physiological phenomenon having its articulating
and auditory aspects.
Accordingly to it Phonetics is subdivided into three principal parts: the branch of Phonetics concerned with the study, description and classification of speech sounds as regards their reduction by the human speaking apparatus is called Articulatory Phonetics. Its oldest and simplest method of
investigation is the method of direct observation (visual and auditory).
This method is subjective. The objective methods require the use of various apparatus
and devices such as the artificial palate, photography, X-ray photography, X-ray
cinematography, laryngoscopy etc.
The branch of Phonetics which is concerned with the study of the acoustic aspect is called Acoustic Phonetics. It uses kymograph (records, qualitative variations of sounds), a spectrograph (shows
frequencies of a given sound and its amplitudes), auscilograph (records sound
vibrations) and intonograph (investigates the fundamental frequency of speech as
the component of intonation).
The branch of Phonetics which studies the units serving people for communicative purposes is called Phonology. Besides we have Special Phonetics or Descriptive Phonetics, General Phonetics, Historical Phonetics, Comparative Phonetics.
All the branches of Phonetics are closely connected with each other as well as with some other branches of Linguistics such as Lexicology, Grammar, and Stylistics. The connection of Phonetics with Lexicology lies in the fact that distinction of words is realized by the variety of
their appearances.
The phonetic course of a given language determines the sound composition of words. For example Turkish languages do not admit two or more consonants at the beginning of words while in some Slavonic languages such a phenomenon is widely spread (вкрасти, спритний). Sound interchange is a very vivid manifestation of a close connection of Phonetics with Morphology. It can be
observed in the category of number (man – men; goose – geese; foot – feet).
 Sound interchange also helps to distinguish basic forms of irregular verbs (sing-sangsung),
adjectives and nouns (strong-strength), verbs and nouns (to extend-extent).

Phonetics is closely connected with Syntax. Any partition of a sentence is realized
with the help of pauses, sentence stresses, melody. Changes in pausation can alter
the meaning of an utterance. For example: One of the travelers / said Mr. Parker /
was likeable (direct speech). If the pause is after “said”, then we have another
meaning of this sentence: One of the travelers said / Mr. Parker was likeable. The
rising/falling nuclear tone determines the communicative type of the sentence: You
know him – statement / You know him – general question.

Phonetics is also connected with Stylistics through repetition of sounds,
words and phrases. Repetition of this kind creates the basis of rhythm, rhyme and
alliteration (repetition of sounds). Rhythm may be used as a special device not only
in poetry but in prose as well:
Round about the cauldron go
In the poison’d entrails throw
Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble
Investigations in historical aspects of languages and the field of
dialectology would be impossible without an understanding of phonetics. The
practical aspect of Phonetics is no less important. Teaching of reading and
writing is possible only when one clearly understands the difference between the
sounds and written forms of the language and the connection between them.
Phonetics is also widely used in teaching correct pronunciation and allocution of
actors, singers, TV announcers on the basis of established orthoepical norms.
Orthoepy is the correct pronunciation of the words of a language. Phonetics is
important for eliminating dialectical features from the pronunciation of dialect
speakers; in logopedics (in curing various speech defects); in surdopedagogics (in
teaching normal aural speech to deaf and dumb people). Acoustic Phonetics and
Phonology are of great use in technical acoustics or sound technology that is the
branch of science and technology which is concerned with the study and design of
techniques for the recording, transmission, reproduction, analysis and synthesis of
sound by means of various devices such as microphone, loud-speaker, radio and
television sets, speech synthesizers etc.