Chapter2现代语言学 .docVIP

Chapter 2 Phonology 音系学The phonic medium of language 语言的声音媒介Speech and writing are the two media used by natural languages as vehicles for communication. Of the two media of language, speech is more basic than writing. Speech is prior to writing. The writing system of any language is always “invented” by its users to record speech when the need arises. For linguists, the study of sounds is of greater importance than that of writing. The limited ranges of sounds which are meaningful in human communication and are of interest to linguistic studies are the phonic medium of language (语言的声音媒介) . The individual sounds within this range are the speech sounds （语音）. 2．What is phonetics? 什么是语音学？Phonetics is defined as the study of the phonic medium of language；It is concerned with all the sounds that occur in the world’s languages. 语音学研究的对象是语言的声音媒介，即人类语言中使用的全部语音。 There are three branches of phonetics. They are: Articulatory phonetics （发音语音学）, it studies the speech sounds from the speaker’s point of view. It studies how a speaker uses his speech organs to articulate the sounds.Auditory phonetics （听觉语音学），it studies the speech sounds from the hearer’s point of view. It studies how the sounds are perceived by he hearer.Acoustic phonetics（声学语音学），it studies the speech sounds by looking at the sound waves. It studies the physical means by which speech sounds are transmitted through the air from one person to another.Organs of speech 发音器官The pharyngeal cavity 咽腔 the throat The oral cavity 口腔 the mouth The nasal cavity 鼻腔 the noseThe air stream coming from the lungs may be modified in these cavities in many ways. It may also be modified in the larynx (喉) before it reaches any of the cavities.Lying across the glottis (声门) are the vocal cords (声带). Vibration of the vocal cords results in a quality of speech sounds called “voicing”. The speed of the vibration determines the pitch of the sound. The tongue is the most flexible in the oral cavity.Orthographic representation