Phonology - Some Definitions

                             Phonology

What is phonology

Phonology is a subfield of linguistics which studies the structure and systematic patterning of sounds in human languages. It refers to the study of the articulation, classification and sounds used in a particular language and the rules which govern their distribution in the units of the next higher level i.e. syllables, morphemes or words. 

Phonology and Phonetics

The difference between phonetics and phonology is that of generality and particularity. Human speech organs are capable of producing a very large number of sounds.

Phonetics is the study of these speech sounds – their articulation, classification, transmission and reception and the signs used to represent them - without reference to any particular language.

Every language makes its own selection of a small and limited number out of them and organises them into characteristic patterns.

Phonology is the study of the sounds selected by one particular language. These sounds are then called the phonemes of that language. Phonology is the study the articulation and classification, the positional variants and the rules governing the distribution of the phoneme of a language in the structures of the next higher level like syllables, and words. 

According to John Lyons, phonetics differs from phonology in that it considers speech sounds independently of their paradigmatic opposition and syntagmatic combinations in particular languages whereas phonology studies the sounds of only one particular language and their rule based distribution in the structures of the next higher level.

Phoneme

A phoneme is defined as the minimal (smallest) distinctive unit of a language which cannot be divided further into smaller units. As we know, sentences can be divided into clauses, clauses can be divided into phrases and phrases can further be divided into words. Words can be divided into the sounds which they consist of. These sounds selected by a language for its use are known as the phonemes of that language. As we have seen, a phoneme has the following characteristics:

1. It is the smallest unit of the language in question. Therefore, it cannot be divided into smaller units.

2. Phonemes have a distinctive function. They distinguish one word from the other words of the language. The use of one of them in place of another in a particular slot in a given word can change the word into a different word. /p/ and /b/ are two different phonemes of English because if we replace /p/ in the word ‘pat’ by /b/, we get ‘bat’ which is a different word. On the other hand, if the initial aspirated /p/ of ‘pat’ is replaced by the unaspirated /p/’, we do not get a different word but a mispronounced version of the same word. Aspirated and unaspirated /p/ are therefore not recognised as different phonemes. Such non-distinctive sounds are then  called allophones of a single phoneme.

Sounds which are allophones in one language may function as phonemes in another language and vice versa. In Punjabi, aspirated and unaspirated /p/ are two different phonemes because if we replace the unaspirated /p/ in the word ਪਲ਼, It becomes ਫਲ਼ which is altogether a different word.

Therefore, we may now say that a phoneme is the smallest unit of speech distinguishing one larger unit from another in all the variations it displays in the speech of one person or one dialect as a result of the modifying influences such as neighbouring sounds or stress.

According to most contemporary linguists, a phoneme is a bundle of relevant phonetic features. It is not a sound but a class of sounds actualised (realised) in a different way in any given position by one of its representatives – the allophone. It is an ideal towards which a speaker survives whereas the allophone is the performance he actually achieves.

According to the classification theory given by Daniel Jones, a phoneme is a group or family of related sounds. The linguists of the Prague school have developed the distinctive feature theory which defines a phoneme not as the minimal unit of a language but a bundle of distinctive phonetic features and recognises these distinctive features as the minimal units of the language in question. According to this school, /p/ and /b/ are the phonemes of English but they are not the smallest units. /p/ is a voiceless, bilabial plosive whereas /b/ is a voiced bilabial plosive. It is the feature -voice which distinguishes /p/ from /b/ which is +voice. These phonetic features which distinguish the different phonemes of a language are the minimal (smallest) units of language.

Phone

Any objective speech sound considered as a physical event and without regard to how it fits into the structure of any given language is called a phone. It is only when it becomes a part of the sound system of a particular language and becomes subject to the rules patterning the distribution of the sounds in the given language that it attains the status of a phoneme. Hence, a phone in phonology is the smallest possible segment of sound abstracted from the continuum of speech.

Allophone

An allophone is a positional variant of a phoneme. The variation depends on two factors. One, the environment or the context in which the phoneme occurs i.e. the phonemes preceding and / or succeeding it. Two, the fact whether the syllable in which that phoneme occurs is stressed or not. For example, the English phonemes /p, t and k/ are aspirated when they are word initial and the initial syllable of the word is stressed. Thus in the words pool, cool and tool, they are aspirated. It means that they are articulated like the Punjabi sounds ਫ, ਠ and ਖ instead of ਪ, ਟ and ਕ which is their correct articulation in non-word initial positions and unstressed word initial positions where they have their regular articulation. In the word final position, all of them remain unexploded. The sound /k/ in the words keel, calm and cool is not uniform. It varies due to the effect of the vowel which follows it. In keel, it is slightly advanced and spread while in cool it is slightly retracted and rounded. In calm, it is articulated with the middle of the back of the tongue touching the velum and lips spread. These differences are due to the influence of the vowels that follow /k/ in these words. The sound /l/ in leg is articulated as clear/l/ in word initial positions and as dark /l/ in word medial and word final positions.

These variants of a phoneme are known as its allophones. The allophones are in complementary distribution most of the time as illustrated in the above examples because their occurrence is determined by their environment. Bur sometimes, they may be in free variation. For example, the /r/ sound when it occurs between vowels as in the word very can be articulated as a flap or as a fricative.

According to Trager and Smith, allophones are identified taking three things into consideration:

1. They should be phonetically similar.   

2. They should be in complementary distribution.

3. They should exhibit pattern congruity (uniformity of behaviour) with other groups of sounds.

1. Phonetic Similarity

Phonetically similar sounds that share a phonetic feature are said to have phonetic similarity. For example, /m, n and ŋ/ share the phonetic feature of nasality and /p and b/ share the phonetic feature of bilabiality. But the notion of phonetic similarity is not very reliable. In one sense, all the phonemes may be said to be phonetically similar as they are all articulated by the same vocal organs. In another sense, they are dissimilar which is why we can tell them apart.

2. Complementary Distribution

In the case of allophones, complementary distribution does not mean their ability to change the word into a different word as is the case with phonemes. It means rather their inability to occur in the same environment. If the allophones of a phoneme occur in mutually exclusive positions i.e. one of them cannot take the place of the others in the same position, they are said to be in complementary distribution. For example, the aspirated /p/ and the regular /p/ cannot occur in the same environment in a word. They are therefore in complementary distribution. Similarly, clear /l/ and dark /l/ are in complementary distribution because they cannot occur in the same environment.

Normally, the allophones are in complementary distribution. But in some rare cases, they may be found to be in free variation.

3. Symmetrical Patterning

Symmetrical patterning, also known as phonetic patterning or pattern congruity refers to the similar behaviour of allophones in similar environment. Many consonants in English are paired together because of their symmetrical patterning. For example, /p b/, / t d/ and /k g/. Similarly, /p, t, k/ are grouped together because of their similar behaviour in similar environment. They are all aspirated if they are word initial and stressed at the same time. Again, although the varieties of /t/ are sometimes found to be phonetically dissimilar in certain words as in fountain and little, they are considered allophones of /t/ because of the patterning congruity of /t/ with /p and k/.

The Principle of Economy

There are some features of some phonemes that can be treated as phonemes but they are not accorded that status in order to keep the number of phonemes low. For example, the vowel feature of length can be treated as a phoneme but it is not so treated because the phoneticians want to keep the number small. This is called the principle of economy.

Neutralisation

Sometimes, the contrast between two phonemes is lost in one particular kind of environment. For example, /m and n/ are two different phonemes of English. /m/ is bilabial and /n/ is alveolar. But when /n/ occurs before a bilabial or labio-dental phoneme as in confer, it is articulated like /m/. This is called neutralisation.

Free Variation

When two phonemes can occur in the same position in a word without changing the word into a different word, they are said to be in free variation. The word either is pronounced with initial /i:/ by some speakers and with the diphthong /ai/ by others but the word remains the same. The two phonemes are therefore in free variation. Similarly, the /t/ in little can be replaced by the glottal stop /?/ without changing the word into a different one. Therefore, /t and ?/ are in free variation.