Chapter_2_Speech_Sounds.ppt

Chapter 2 Speech Sounds Delivered by Ma Yinglian As human beings we are capable of making all kinds of sounds. How many sounds can we produce? Are all of them are used in human language? only some of these sounds have become units in the language system. We can analyze speech sounds from various perspectives and the two major areas of study are phonetics and phonology. Phonetics vs. phonology The study of sounds used in speech (i.e. speech sounds) falls under the scope of both phonetics and phonology. Phonetics deals mainly with the characteristics of human speech sounds and sound-making, provides methods for the description, classification, and transcription of the speech sounds. Phonology is concerned with the exploration of the patterns governing sound combinations. Examples: [l] sound in the two English words lip and pill is pronounced differently, the first one is a clear [l] and the second is a dark [l~]. The phoneticians are concerned with how these two [l]’s differ in the way they are pronounced whereas phonologists are interested in the patterning of such sounds and the rules that underlie such variations. For phonologists, these two sounds are fundamentally the same, since they have one and the same function in communication, in distinguishing between words and meanings despite their difference in pronunciation. Phonetics studies how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and perceived. Articulatory Phonetics is the study of the production of speech sounds. In other words, how the speech sounds produced. Acoustic Phonetics is the study of the physical properties of speech sounds. studies the physical properties or aspects of speech sound, as transmitted between mouth and ear; Perceptual or Auditory Phonetics is concerned with the perception of speech sounds. as mediated by ear, auditory nerve and brain, how they are perceived. Phonology is the study of the sound patterns and sound systems of languages. It aims to ‘discover the principles tha