Introduction

I. PHONETICS AS A BRANCH OF LINGUISTICS. BRANCHES OF PHONETICS. METHODS OF INVESTIGATION

PREFACE

This book is intended for students of linguistics. It is based on the material of the textbook «Теоретическая фонетика английского языка» written by M.A. Sokolova, K.P. Gintovt, I.S. Tikhonova, R.M. Tikhonova. Theoretical material is presented here in a simplified way to help students to revise the course of normative phonetics and acquire basic knowledge of the theory of English pronunciation. The aims of the book are as follows:

- to overview phonetics as a branch of linguistics and show some trends in its development;

- to summarize and to extend students’ knowledge of phonetics received during the course of normative phonetics;

- to outline the functional approach to the English pronunciation and to provide an understanding of general principles of phonetics and phonology;

- to develop students’ ability to make some practical conclusions based on the given theoretical facts and instruct them to apply the theoretical knowledge of phonetics to communication, language teaching and self-education.

The body of the book includes 10 units which cover the material on segmental and suprasegmental aspects of phonetics, as well as phonostylistics and territorial varieties of English pronunciation. Each unit contains an overview of the core material on English phonetics and is accompanied by tasks and questions aimed at application of the unit content to solving some practical problems and encouraging students to do further reading on the problem and to discuss major issues in class. The units end with the list of recommended literature for students’ further research related to the units content. The list may be extended if necessary to provide a wider range of material for analysis and discussion.

Knowledge of the structure of sound system and its articulatory and acoustic characteristics is very important in teaching and learning foreign languages. The teacher has to know the starting point from which to begin teaching; he must be able to point out the differences between the pupil’s mother tongue and the language to be learnt. He should be able to choose adequate training exercises. That’s why it is vital to know, at least, the basic principles of this science.

The term "phonetics" comes from the Greek words meaning "sound or matters pertaining to voice". What does phonetics study? It is concerned with the human noises by which the thought is actualized (that is the oral aspect of speech communication). However phonetics takes the content level into consideration too. Only meaningful sound sequences are regarded as speech and phonetics is concerned only with such sounds which are carriers of organized information of a language. Phonetics analyses the nature of these sounds, their combinations and their functions in relation to the meaning. No kind of linguistic study can be carried out without constant consideration of the material on the expression level. Consequently, phonetics is important in the study of a language. An understanding of it is a basis for any adequate understanding of the structure or functioning of a language.

It follows from this that phonetics is a basic branch - many would say the most fundamental branch of linguistics, because it gives a language a definite form. The vocabulary and grammar of a language can function only when the language has a phonetic form. So grammar and vocabulary depend on phonetics, they cannot exist outside of phonetics, because all lexical and grammar phenomena are expressed phonetically. Neither linguistic theory nor linguistic description can do without phonetics and is complete without it.

Phonetics, being a branch of linguistics, occupies a peculiar position. On the one hand it serves as a means of expressing grammatical and lexical phenomena. On the other hand it has laws of its own which are independent of grammar and vocabulary. Besides it is closely connected with a number of other sciences, such as physics, biology, physiology, psychology etc. The more phonetics develops the more various branches of science become involved in the field of phonetic investigation.

Phonetics is not a new science. It was known to the ancient Greeks and to the ancient Hindus. The scientists of that time were concerned with speech sounds only. It may be said that the orthography of all written languages which use alphabets developed in the course of a very detailed phonetic analysis. Nevertheless, phonetics as an independent science began to develop only in the 19th century, before that it used to be a part of grammar. There has been considerable progress and growth in the 20th century. New concepts, methods of investigation, new theories and schools have been developed. Not only has the sphere of investigation in phonetics become wider, but several new branches of phonetics have also arisen.

So our further point will be made on the branches and divisions of phonetics.

Дата добавления: 2013-12-12