The phoenetic system of a language. Aspects of sound phenomena

Tasks to Unit 8

1. Learn the following terms and word combinations. Check them out with the dictionary if necessary:

- the written form of the language;

- the oral form of the language;

- variations of the language in different situations;

- the pattern of selection and arrangement;

- expressive potential of language elements;

- a universal classification;

- scientific style;

- publicistic style;

- business style;

- literary (belletristic) style;

- colloquial style;

- phonostylistics (noun) but: phonostylistic variations (adj.);

- spoken utterances;

- the communicative extralinguistic situation;

- the components of…;

- the purpose and topic of communication;

- the participants of communication;

- an individual;

- a member of a social group;

- occupational and non-occupational roles;

- the setting (scene) of communication;

- style forming factors: the aim of the utterance; the speaker’s attitude; the form of communication; the degree of formality; the degree of preparedness.

2. Give exhaustive answers to the following questions:

1) What does phonostylistics study?

2) What is the aim of phonostylistics?

3) What are the components of the communicative extralinguistic situation?

4) What are the factors which result in phonostylistic varieties? Specify each of them.

5) What are the style differentiating features?

6) What are the problems of classification of phonetic styles?

3. Try to cover the following issues:

1) Phonostylistics as a branch of linguistics.

2) Functional styles and problems of their classification.

3) The communicative extralinguistic situation.

4) Classification of phonetic styles.

There are many definitions of language. L is a most important means of human intercourse. L is a system of mutually defining entities. L is a vast network of structures and systems. L is an activity and a form of social behaviors. L is a being’s mental or psychological structure. L consists of two speech forms: oral and written. Both an oral and written speech forms have a material substance or the sound matter. In the written speech the substance is graphic. The PS contains 2 systems (lvls): segmental (elementary sounds, vowels, consonants (vocalic and consonantal subsystems))/ supersegmental-prosodic (syllables, rhythmic units, intonation groups, utterances (pitch, stress, rhythm, tempo, pauses)). Grammatical and lexical units (“well done”). Gleason 100% phonetics, 50-90% grammar and 1% vocabulary.

Sound phenomena has different aspects, which are closely interconnected: articulatory, acoustic, the auditory and the linguistic aspect. Articulatory: speech sounds are products of human organs of speech. They result of the diaphragm, the lungs, the bronchi, trachea, the larynx with the vocal cords in it, the pharynx, the mouth cavity with the speech organs and nasal cavity. Sound production is impossible without respiration, which consists of 2 alternating phases - inspirstion and expiration. Expiration, during which speech sounds are produced, is called phonic expiration as distinct from quiet breathing. The air comes from the lungs not freely in spurts, because during speech the air – passage is periodically blocked in speech organs. Expiration in speech much longer than inspiration. The lungs supply the necessary air - pressure and regulate its force, thus producting variations in the intensity of speech sounds. Sounds production actually takes place in the larynx, the pharynx and the oral and nasal cavities. The air- steam coming from the lungs undergoes important modifications in them. One part of sound production is phonation. When the vocal cords, situated in the larynx, are tensed and brought loosely together, the air- pressure below the vocal cords becomes very high and the air comes from the lungs in regular puffs making the vocal cords vibrate. The regular vibrations of the VC are transmitted to the air-steam and the acoustic effect perceived by the human ear is that of a vocal tone. This is what we call voice. The other part of sound-production is articulation which comprises all the movements and positions of the speech organs necessary to pronounce a speech sound. When in the superlaryngeal cavities there is an obstruction the noise is produced. The character of noise depends on the type of obstruction. When an obstruction is created and the vocal cords vibrate, voice consonants are produced. When the VC do not vibrate-the voiceless consonants are produced. Acoustic: Speech sounds exist in the form of sound waves and have the same physical properties- frequency, intensity, duration and spectrum. A sound wave is created by a vibration which may be periodic or non – periodic, simple or complex. The number of vibrations called frequency. F is measured in hertz or cycles per second. The fundamental F determines the pitch of the voice and forms an acoustic basis of speech melody. The superposition of the fundamental and partial vibrations results in a complex tone. The CT is modified in the oral and nasal resonators. The complex range of intensified frequencies which form the quality of a sound is called the acoustic spectrum of a sound. Intensity of speech sounds depends on the amplitude of vibration. Changes in intensity are associated with stress in those languages which have dynamic stress. I ia measured in decibels. The duration of a sound is the quantity of time during which the same vibrations continue. The D of a sound is measured in milliseconds. Auditory: Speech sounds may also be analised from the point of view of perception. The P of speech sounds involves the activity of our hearing mechanism, which can be viewed in 2 ways. Physiological mechanism: the human ear transforms mechanical vibrations of the air into nervous stimuli and transmits them to the brain. Psychological mechanism: selects from the great amount of acoustic information only that which is linguistically significant. The human brain interprets acoustic phenomena in terms of a given language system. Perceptible features of sounds are not fully conditioned by the related articulatory and acoustic ones. Our perception of the pitch of the voice depends largely on the fundamental frequency generated by the VC vibration. Changes in intensity are perceived by our ear as variations in the loudness of a sound. Duration of speech sounds is perceived as a difference in the length. But our perception of the length does not always correspond to the actual D of SS or their units. The better we hear the differences between the sounds. The better we pronounce them. Linguistic: segmental sounds and prosodic features are linguistic phenomena. Representing language units in actual speech, they perform certain linguistic functions. They constitute meaningful units – morphemes, words, word – forms, utterances. All the words of language consist of SS which are unified by stress. The LA of SS is also called the functional or social aspect, because of the role matter plays in the functioning of language as a social phenomenon.

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