27037 本科自考英语语言学概论精心整理 Chapter 4 Phonology

Chapter 4 Phonology(音位学)

4.1 phonetics and phonology:语音学与音位学的区分

Both phonetics and phonology are concerned with speech.语音学和音位学都士对语音的研究。

定义区别

-Phonetics is a study of the production, perception and physical properties of speech sounds. 语音学是研究语音的生产、感知和物理性质的。

-Phonology studies how speech sounds are combined，organized，and convey meanings in particular languages.研究语音如何在在特定的语言中结合、组织和表达含义。

---Phonology is language-specific.it is the study of how sounds are organized and used in natural languages.音位学是特定于语言的。它的研究对象是自然语言中的声音是如何组织和使用的。

---Phonetics is a study of speech sounds while phonology is a study of the sound syst em of a language.语音学是一个研究语音的然后音位学是研究一种语言的声音系统的学科。

4.2 Phonemes，phones and allophones 音位、音子、音位变体

Different languages have different phonological systems.不同的语言有不同的语音系统。

定义：

①Phones are the smallest identifiable phonetic unit or segment found in a stream of speech.

音子就是在连续的发音中可辨认的最小语音单位或片段。

②Allophones are the phones which represent a phoneme in a language and cannot change

word meaning by substituting any of the set for another.音位变体是指代表语言中音位的音子，即使以一个取代另一个也不改变词义。

③Phonemes are the minimal distinctive units in the sound system of a language.音位是语言系统中最小的独特的单位。

Allophones are the realization of a particular phoneme while phones are the realizatio n of phonemes in general.音位变体是一个特定音素的认知而音子则是一般的音素。

4.3Minimal pairs 最小对立体

The phonologist is concerned with what difference are significant or technically speaki ng, distinctive.

Minimal pair---a pair of words which differ from each other by one sound.

Three conditions（情况）:

1）the two froms are different in meaning意义不同

2）the two forms are different in one sound segment声音片段不同

3）the different sounds occur in the same position of the two words.不同声音发生在两个单词的相同位置

Minimal set: a group of words can satisfy（满足）the three conditions .

Minimal pairs help determine phonemes. 最小对立体用来定义音位。

4.4 identifying phonemes 识别音素

4.4.1 contrastive distribution，complementary distribution and free variation

对比分布，互补分布和自由变异

The distribution of a sound refers to the collective environments in which the sound concerned may appear.一个声音的分布是指其有关的声音可能出现的集体环境。

1）contrastive distribution对比分布

If two or more sounds can occur in the same environment and the substitution of on

e sound for another brings about a change o

f meaning，they are said to be in contra stive distribution.如果两个或更多的声音可以发生在相同的环境并且一旦一个声音替换另一个会改变的意思,那他们就是处于对比分布。

2）complementary distribution互补分布

If two or more sounds never appear in the same environment，that is，each sound o nly appears in the environments where the other sound never occurs，then they are s aid to be in complementary distribution.如果两个或更多的声音从未出现在相同的环境中,也就是每一个声音只出现在其他的声音不出现的环境中,然后他们被称为处在互补分布。

3）free variation 自由变异

When two sounds can appear in the same environment and the substitution of one fo r the other does not cause any change in meaning，they are said to be in free variat ion.当两个声音可以出现在相同环境但是替换一个其他不会导致任何意思的改变, 然后他们被称为处在自由变异。

4.4.2 Principles of identifying phonemes 识别音位的四个原则

（1）If two sounds are found to be in contrastive distribution,they are separate phonemes.

如果两个音处于对比分布，那么它们是两个独立的音位。

（2）If two sounds are always in free variation, then they are two allophones of the same phoneme. 如果两个音总是处于自由变异，则这两个音是同一个音位的音位变体。

（3）If two phonetically similar sounds are in complementary distribution, then they are two allophones of the same phoneme.如果语音上相似的两个音处于互补分布，则它们是同一个音位的音位变体。

（4）If two sounds are in complementary distribution but have no phonetic similarity, then they are two different phonemes.如果两个音处于”互补分布”，但没有语音相似性，他们肯定是两个不同的音位。

Procedures:过程

? 1 check principle (1) and find minimal pairs. If yes, then two sounds are phonemes.

? 2 If no minimal pair is found, check principle（2）. The answer is always NO, direct ? 3 Check principle （3）. if yes, phonemes. If no, come to principle 4

? 4 Check principle （4）, if yes, phonemes

4.5 Distinctive features 区别性特征

定义：A distinctive feature is one which distinguishes one phoneme from another, 区别性特征就是把两个音位相互区分的特征like /nasal/,/voiced/.

?Phonetic features are used to describe allophones, or phones.

?The distinctive feature theory is put forward by Jakobson.

4.6 Phonological rules 音位规则

4.6.1 Assimilation rule 同化规则

定义：An assimilation rule is a phonological rule that is to describe the effect of phonetic context or situation on a particular phone.同化规则是描述一个特定音子下语音上下文和情形效果的一个语音规则。

It assimilates one segment to another by“copying”a feature of a sequential phonem e to another, thus making the two phones more similar.它通过“模仿”一个序列音位的一个特征使一个语音与另一个语音相似，从而使两个音子变得相似。

4.6.2 Deletion rule 省略规则

定义：The deletion rule in phonology concerns the relation between letters and sounds

within the phonetic condition.在音位学中省略规则是关于在语音条件下字母与声音的关系。

The deletion rule tells us when a sound is to be deleted although it is orthographically represented. 它告诉我们什么时候一个语音尽管在拼写中存在，但再发音时却可以省略。

4.6.3 Sequential rules 序列规则

Sequential rules state the possible combination of phonemes and the constraint over s uch a combination for a language.序列规则规定了音位的可能的组合以及其的组合制约。

With this sort of linguistic knowledge which is stated in phonology as a phonological rule，a string of phonemes can be judged whether it is a word or a possible word for a language. 用这样的语言知识,阐述了音位学作为一个语音规则,一连串的音位可以判断它是否是一个词或一个可能的单词。

4.7 suprasegmental features(超音段特征)

segmental features(音段特征): features that have effect on only one segment, like voicing, aspiration.只对音段产生作用的特征。

suprasegmental features（超音段特征）: features that have effect on more than one segment, The distinctive（phonological）features which apply to groups larger than the single segment such as a syllable，a word，or a sentence.定义：(语音)的独特特性,适用于团体大于音段如一个字、一个字,或一个句子。

which also known as prosody(韵律特征).

The main suprasegmental features include stress, tone, intonation and juncture.

重音、声调、语调、连音。

4.7.1 stress(重音,重读)

Stress is a feature for which the smallest unit of application is syllable.重音是最小应用到音节的特征。

Word stress：the noun has the stress on the first syllable and the corresponding verb has the stress on the second syllable.

Sentence stress: an unstressed word in a sentence is stressed

4.7.2 Tone(声调)

Tone(调):an identifiable movement or the level of pitch(音高) that is used in a linguis tically contrastive ways.一个可识别的运动或音高水平用于一个语言的对比方法。

Tone language:the meaning-distinctive function of tone is especially important .

Chinese is a typical tone language. 中文是典型的声调语言。

Four tones：level，rise，fall-rise，and fall

4.7.3 Intonation(语调)

English is an intonation language.

Five basic types of tones:1 the falling tones: certainty;

2 the rising tones: uncertainty

3 the level tones: undecided yet whether known or unknown,

4 falling-rising tone: seems certain but turns out not to be.

5 rising-falling tones: seems uncertain but turns out to be certain.

4.7.4 juncture(连音): the phonetic boundary features that may demarcate(确定界限) grammatical units such as morpheme.word or clause.语音边界的特性,可以确定语法单元划分例如词素，单词或子句。

4.8narrow and broad transcription严式音标和宽式音标

narrow transcription(严式音标): symbolizes all the possible speech sounds, including even the most minute shades of pronounciation.象征着所有可能的语音,甚至包括最小的发音。

broad transcription(宽式音标): was intended to indicate only those sounds capable of distinguishing one word from another in a given language.是为了显示只有那些听起来能够区分一个词和另一个词。

So a broad romic is phonemic while a narrow romic is phonetic.

所以宽式是音位的，严式发音是语音的（发音有细微区别的）

4.9Uses of phonetics and phonology 语音学和音位学的使用

language learning , machine talking and integrating.

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1.Synchronic vs diachronic Language exists in time and changes through time. The description of a language at some point of time in history is a synchronic study; the description of a language as it changes through time is a diachronic study. A diachronic study of language is a historical study; it studies the historical development of language over a period of time. 2. Langue and parole Langue refers to the abstract linguistic system shared by all the members of a speech community; and parole refers to the realization of langue in actual use. Langue is the set of conventions and rules which language users all have to abide by, and parole is the concrete use of the conventions and the application of the rules. Langue is abstract; it is not the language people actually use. Parole is concrete; it refers to the naturally occurring language events. Langue is relatively stable, It does not change frequently, while parole varies from person to person, and from situation to situation. 3. Competence and performance Chomsky defines competence as the ideal user’s knowledge of the rules of his language, and performance the actual realization of this knowledge in linguistic communication. According to Chomsky, a speaker has internalized a set of rules about his language, which enables him to produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences and recognize sentences that are ungrammatical and ambiguous. 4. Arbitrariness As mentioned earlier, language is arbitrary. This means that there is no logical connection between meanings and sounds. A good example is the fact that different sounds are used to refer to the same object in different language. On the other hand, we should be aware that while language is arbitrary by nature it is not entirely arbitrary; certain words are motivated. The best examples are the onomatopoeic words, such as rumble, crash, cackle, bang in English. Besides, some compound words are also not entirely arbitrary. For example, while photo and copy are both arbitrary, the compound word photocopy is not entirely arbitrary. But non-arbitrary words make up only a small percentage of the vocabulary of a language. The arbitrary nature of language is a sigh of sophistication and it makes it possible for language to have an unlimited source of expressions. 5. Productivity Language is productive or creative in that it makes possible the construction and interpretation of new signals by its users. This is why they can produce and understand an infinitely large number of sentences, including sentences they have never heard before. They can send messages which no one else has ever sent before. Much of what we say and hear are saying or hearing for the first time. 6. Duality Language is a system, which consists of two sets of structures or two levels. At the lower or the basic level there is a structure of sounds, which are meaningless by themselves. But the sounds of language can be grouped and regrouped into a large number of units of meaning such as morphemes and words, which are found at the higher level of the system. 7. Displacement Language can be used to refer to things which are present or not present, real or imagined matters in the past, present, or future, or in faraway places. In other words, language can be used to refer to contexts removed from the immediate situations of the speaker. This is what “displacement” means. This property provides speakers with an opportunity to talk about a wide range of things, free from barriers caused by separation in time or place. In contrast, no animal communication system possesses this feature. Animal calls are mainly uttered in response to immediate changes of situation, i.e. in contact of food, in presence of danger, or in pain. Once the danger or pain is gone, calls stop. 8. Cultural transmission While human capacity for language has a genetic basis, i.e. we were all born with the ability to acquire language, the details of any language system are not genetically transmitted, but instead have to be taught and learned. An English speaker and a Chinese speaker are both able to use a language, but they are not mutually intelligible. This shows that language is culturally transmitted. It is passed on from one generation to the next through teaching and learning, rather than by instinct. In contrast, animal call systems are genetically transmitted, i.e. animals are born with the capacity to produce the set of calls peculiar to their species. 9. Broad transcription and narrow transcription: Broad transcription is the transcription with letter-symbols only, this is the transcription normally used in dictionaries and teaching textbooks for general purposes. Narrow transcription is the transcription with letter-symbols together with the diacritics, this is the transcription needed and used by the phoneticians in their study of speech sounds. With the help of the diacritics they can faithfully represent as much of the fine details as it is necessary for their purpose. 10. Sense and reference Sense and reference are two terms often encountered in the study of word meaning. They are two related but different aspects of meaning. Sense is concerned with the inherent meaning of a linguistic form, the collection of all its features; it is abstract and de-contextualized. It is the aspect of meaning dictionary compilers are interested in. Reference means what a linguistic form refers to in the real, physical world; it deals with relationship between the linguistic element and non-linguistic world of experience. 11. Context It is generally considered as constituted by the knowledge shared by the speaker and the hearer. Various components of shared knowledge have been identified, e.g. knowledge of the language they use, knowledge of what has been said before, knowledge about the world in general, knowledge about the specific situation in which linguistic communication is taking place, and knowledge about each other. Context determines the speaker’s use of language and also the hearer’s interpretation of