Phonology

Phonology

What  is Phonology ?

Phonology  is  the study of the sound systems of language.

Vowels

Vowels are sound where there is an escape of the air-stream  centrally through the mouth. The descriptive parameters of vowel sounds correspond to the  tongue movement in the mouth accompanied by the lip-shaped. The other accompanying variables are :

a.      Duration  of  the vowels :

-        a long vowels is the product of a tensed tongue

-        a short vowels is the product of a lax tongue 

b.     Glottis position (vocal cord vibration)

c.      Velic position : escape of air is only through the mouth

      

      Lip shaped

·        Spread position : when the lips are strech out, as in /i:/ (peel)

·        Rounded position : when the lips are rounded, as in /u:/ (pool)

·        Neutral position : when the lips are netral in shape /a:/ (hard)

English vowels

         There are twelve pure vowel sounds in English (also known as monophthongs), they are :

The English Diphthongs

A diphthongs is a succession of two vowel sounds where the tonge starts in the position of one vowel and then immediately proceeds on the position of the other.

Stress

Stress is a suprasegmental features accompaniying words, phrases or sentences to emphasize or focus the important element(s)  in them.

There are various kinds or levels of stress :

(i)              Word stress

This is used to show defference in meaning between two identical words, but having different morphemic fuctions/qualities.

Example :    in’crease / ‘increase

                   Im’port / ‘import

                   In’sult / ‘insult

(ii)           Sentences stress

This is used to show importance of a specific intended meaning.

-        ‘I didn’t ask you for the book = someone else  did

-        I ‘didn’t ask you for the book = I did not although you say I did so

-        I didn’t ask ‘you for the book = I asked someone else

-        I didn’t ask you ‘for the book = I asked you about the book

-        I didn’t ask you for the ‘book = I asked you for something else

Sources :

A Linguistics Primer for Malaysians. Loga Mahesan Baskaran. University of Malay Press. 2005