8商务英语Phonology商务英语.pdf

Phonology Phonology 1 What is Phonology? Phonology is essentially the description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language. 2 The Prague School  The Prague School is best known and remembered for its contribution to phonology and the distinction between phonetics and phonology.  The most influential scholar in this connection is Trubetzkoy, whose most important work is Principles of Phonology (1939). 3 Phonetics and Phonology Phonetics is of a general nature; it is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languages: how they are produced, how they differ from each other, what phonetic features they possess, how they can be classified, etc. Phonology, on the other hand, aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication. 4 Focus of Phonology  Phonology is concerned with the abstract or mental aspect of the sounds in language rather than with the actual physical articulation of speech sounds.  For example, the [t] sound in each of the following words tar, star, water, is pronounced differently, but they would be represented in the same way. 5 Phonological knowledge Phonological knowledge Which set of speech sounds is chosen for a language? Which sound is meaningful? Which sound helps distinguish this word from that word in an expression or a communication? What string