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Module 4

This document discusses the concept of phonemes, which are abstract units of sound in speech, and their realizations known as phones. It explains the difference between phonemic and phonetic symbols, transcription methods, and the areas of phonology covered in the course, including segmental and suprasegmental phonology. The document emphasizes the importance of phonemes for effective communication and outlines various transcription types.

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6 views8 pages

Module 4

This document discusses the concept of phonemes, which are abstract units of sound in speech, and their realizations known as phones. It explains the difference between phonemic and phonetic symbols, transcription methods, and the areas of phonology covered in the course, including segmental and suprasegmental phonology. The document emphasizes the importance of phonemes for effective communication and outlines various transcription types.

Uploaded by

hanapecteacher
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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/ˈɪŋɡlɪʃ/ Phonetics & Phonology

--- 🡪 ---

MODULE 4
The phoneme

Instructor: Lam Hoang Phuc


4.1. The phoneme

▪ We can divide speech up into segments, and we can find


great variety in the way these segments are made.
🡪 Therefore, we need an abstract set of units as the basis for
our speech. These units are called phonemes, and the
complete set of these units in a particular language is called
the phonemic system of that language.
▪ The phonemes themselves are abstract, but there are
many slightly different ways in which we make the sounds
that represent these phonemes. We call these sounds the
realisations, or phones, of these phonemes.
▪ All of the phones of the same phoneme are called the
allophones of that phoneme.
4.1. The phoneme

▪ A phone can be substituted for another phone without


changing the meaning of the word. However, if we
substitute a phoneme for another phoneme, the meaning
will change.
▪ When there is a strict separation of places where particular
phones can occur (e.g. the aspirated realisation will never
be found in the place where the unaspirated realisation is
appropriate), we say that these phones are in
complementary distribution.
4.2. Symbols and transcription

❖ Symbols
▪ Phonemic symbols are symbols for phonemes and are
usually enclosed within slant brackets / /.
▪ Phonetic symbols are symbols for phones and are usually
enclosed in square brackets [ ]. In order for phonetic
symbols to represent sounds more accurately, some marks
can be used to modify these symbols. These marks are
called diacritics.
4.2. Symbols and transcription

❖ Transcription
▪ Transcription is the process of representing speech sounds
in either phonemic or phonetic symbols.
▪ Transcription is a traditional exercise in pronunciation
teaching by phonetic method. There are two different
kinds of this exercise:
o Transcription from dictation
o Transcription from a written text
4.2. Symbols and transcription

❖ Transcription
▪ As phonetic symbols are generally more detailed than
phonemic symbols, phonetic transcription is normally
more accurate than phonemic transcription.
▪ There are two types of phonetic transcription:
o Narrow phonetic transcription: containing a lot of
information about the exact quality of the sounds.
o Broad phonetic transcription: only including a little
more information than phonemic transcription.
▪ There is one further type of transcription that is basically
phonemic but contains additional symbolic information
about allophones of particular symbols. This is often called
allophonic transcription.
4.3. Phonology

The areas of phonology that will be covered in this course:


▪ Segmental phonology (the study of the phonemic
system): there may be many slightly different realisations
of the various phonemes, but the most important thing for
communication is that we should be able to make use of
the full set of phonemes.
▪ Suprasegmental phonology (prosodic phonology /
prosody): this is the study of sound contrasts that extend
over several phonemes. These contrasts are called
suprasegmental. Suprasegmental phonology includes the
study of phoneme sequences and syllable structure as well
as stress and intonation.
REFERENCES

Roach, P. (2009). English phonetics and phonology – A


practical course (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.

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