Phonetics as a science

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Phonetics as a science

The term phonetics derived from the Greek words (phone) meaning sound, voice, and (ta phonetica) meaning matters pertaining to the voice, the science of the voice. In modern times phonetics is often defined, as “the science of speech sounds considered as elements of language…”. ” the science which treats of the sounds of which language is composed.” Such definitions are inevitably loose because it is impossible to define phonetics as a science of a single sentence. Instead of giving a formal definition of phonetics, it would be much more exact, clearer and easier to describe phonetics as a science and discipline. It should be noted that phonetics is not a separate, independent science. It is a branch of linguistics, like the other branches, such as lexicology and grammar. These linguistic sciences study language from three different points of view.

Lexicology deals with the vocabulary of a language, with the origin and development of words, with their meaning and with wordbuilding. Grammar defines the rules governing the modification of words and the combination of words into sentences. Language is the most important means of human intercourse. Being the most important medium of human intercommunication, language is at the same directly and inseparably connected with thought. The direct and inseparable connection between language and thought 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 in the less obvious fact that thoughts can originate and be formulated in the human mind also only on the basis of words, which consist of sounds. However, words alone are not sufficient for thought and speech. Separate words do not express any thought. In order to formulate and express a thought the necessary words must be modified and combined into a sentence in accordance with the rules of grammar, and the sentence must be pronounced with the proper intonation. Human speech sounds are of a complex nature and they may be viewed from four points articulatory, auditory, acoustic and functional (or social and linguistic). These are the aspects of speech sounds. None of these four aspects can be separated from any other in the actual process of communication by word of mouth. But each of these can be singled out for purposes of linguistic analysis and thus becomes a separate object of investigation, which necessitates the division of phonetics as a science into several branches. Each of these branches has its own methods of investigation and its terminology. The term nasal is descriptive of the articulatory aspect of the sounds [m, n, ?,]? acoustically they are resonants? the term sonorant characterizes them from the viewpoint of the auditory impression they produce? the statement that all these sounds are realizations of different phonemes in English, while [?] is an allophone of the phoneme /n/ in Italian, characterizes them from a functional or purely linguistic point of view. One must clearly understand the correlation between articulatory, acoustic, auditory and purely linguistic terms and take care not to confuse them in describing.

The above implication that it is not always possible to do that is due to two main factors:

1) the inseparable interconnection between the four aspects of speech sounds in their actual use, and

2) the in many cases of all four parallel terms descriptive of one and the same linguistic phenomenon.

The second factor makes it necessary to invent and introduce new phonetic terms. Phonetics, as a science, has developed a number of its own branches. Physiological phonetics treats of the articulation and perception of sounds and from the articulatory point of view every speech sound is a complex of definite, finely coordinated and differentiated movements and positions of the various speech organs. All the movements and positions of the speech organs necessary to pronounce a speech sound constitute its articulation. It is physiological phonetics (sometimes also called “articulatory phonetics”) which deals with the study, description and classification of speech sоunds. It is the oldest and the most developed branch of phonetics. Acoustic phonetics studies the physical nature of speech sounds. It is one of the youngest sciences and deals with the physical properties of a sound. The principal methods used in acoustic phonetics are experimental ones. Phonology deals with the study of functions of different phonetic phenomena. All the branches of phonetics are closely connected not only with one another and linguistic sciences as grammar, lexicology, stylistics, but also with non linguistic sciences. For example, acoustic phonetics is connected with physics, mathematics, and cybernetics. Physiological phonetics is connected with physiology, anatomy, and anthology. Historical phonetics is connected with general history and the history of the people whose language is studied: it is also connected with archeology.

Phonology is connected with communication (information) theory, mathematics, statistics, and cybernetics. Each of these branches of phonetics has its own methods of investigation and its own terminology. The method of direct observation (visual and auditory) is the oldest, simplest and most available method of investigation. This method consists in observing the movements and positions of people's organs of speech in pronouncing various speech sounds as well as in analyzing one's own kinesthetic sensations (music sense) during the articulation of speech sounds and in comparing them with the auditory impressions. It is considered to be a subjective method of investigation. Besides, objective methods are also used in physiological phonetics. These involve the use of various instrumental techniques, of which the most important and widely used are those for palatography, laryngoscopy, photography, cinematography, Xray photography, Xray cinematography, and electromyography. Certain instrumental techniques greatly facilitate auditory observation as well. All the devices for recording and reproducing sound belong to these, the most important and widely used of which are the gramophone and magnetic tape recorder. Different articulations produce different acoustic effects, i.e. different speech sounds. Consequently, speech sounds have a second aspect, a physical, or more exactly, an acoustic one. From this point of view, a speech sound, like any other sound in nature, is a physical phenomenon, a kind of moving matter and energy.

The auditory aspect of any sound, including a speech sound, is inseparable from its acoustic aspect and both may, therefore, be considered together, although the terms pertaining to each of these two aspects of sounds should not be confused or used indiscriminately, Thus sound always has its source in a vibrating medium (commonly air) set in motion by some kind of energy. In the case of such speech sounds as vowels, sonorants, and, partly, voiced noise consonants the function of vibrator is performed by the vocal cords which are set in vibration by the energy of the airstream coming under pressure from the lungs. The vocal cords vibrate not only over their whole length, but also in all their parts simultaneously. Therefore, the vibrations of the vocal cords are complex ones, and so are the sound waves produced by them. Each of these waves, however, can be resolved into partial waves (the socalled partials) corresponding to different parts of the vibrator. The frequency of the vibrations of the vocal cords over their whole length is called the fundamental frequency. These vibrations are always regular or periodic ones and are, therefore, perceived as musical tone, or pitch. Changes in the fundamental frequency, or pitch, are used in speech to produce intonation, and not individual sounds. The oscillations of the parts of the vibrator pro duce the socalled overtones, or harmonics, whose frequencies are in definite relations to the fundamental frequency. The vibrations of the vocal cords producing overtones are also regular, or periodic, in character. These overtones play a crucial role in the formation of vowel sounds and sonorants: they determine the quality, or tamber, of these sounds.

The vocal cords are not the only source of vibration in the production of speech sounds. Disturbances of very high frequencies can be set up in the air by the friction of the air particles, passing through a constriction at a point in the respiratory tract above the larynx, as in the production of fricative consonants, such as [f], [0], [s], [3]. Another source of highfrequency air disturbance perceived as a speech sound is a sudden burst of air pent up behind a complete closure of the respiratory tract in the larynx or above it when that closure is quickly removed, as in the production of plosive consonants, such as [p], [t],[k]. The complex range of frequencies of varying intensity which constitute the quality of a sound is known as the acoustic spectrum? those individual bands of energy which are characteristic of a particular sound are known as the sound's formants. Speech sounds are the basic units of any language because they make up the material forms of all its morphemes and words. For this reason speech sounds may be considered the basic component of the sound matter of language. Since every speech sound as a physical phenomenon has a characteristic spectrum, made up by formants, this component of the sound matter of language may be called its spectral or formant component, The role of the fundamental frequency, or pitch, in speech production is quite different from that of the formant frequencies. The fundamental frequency takes no part in the formation of sound quality, but as pitch it forms intonation. Therefore the fundamental glottal frequency should be considered a separate component of the sound matter of language, different from its spectral component both physically and functionally.

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