12. The theory of phoneme

1) Phonology is a branch of linguistics which deals with the relations among speech sounds in particular languages and contrasting with phonetics. The functional unit – phoneme; each phoneme in a particular language can have several phonetic realizations (allophones).

There are many definitions of the phoneme:

D.Johnes: a phoneme is a family of sounds in a given language which are related in character and are used such a way that no one member (allophone) never occurs in a word in the same phonetic context.

Л.Щерба: is a functional material and abstract unit.

Якобсон: is a minimal sound by which the meaning may be distinguished.

2) Functions of the phoneme:

1. Discriminatory: the phoneme distinguishes one morpheme from another, one word from another. The opposition of the phonemes in the same phonetic environment differentiates the meaning.

Ex. Bath – path; He was heard(t) badly.

2. Recognitive: the phoneme is material, real and objective that means it is realized in speech in the form of speech sound (allophones).

3. Constitutive: allophones of the same phoneme function as the same linguistic unit. Allophones of each phoneme possess a bundle of distinctive features that makes this phoneme functionally different from all other phonemes in a language.

Allophones: dialectical, individual variations, phono-stylistic.

3) Finding allophones&phonemes – the classic way of using minimal pairs (is a pair of words in a language which differ in 2 ways: in meaning, in one&only one phonetic segment. Allophones do not change the meaning.

The behavior of allophones in the phonetic context is called distribution:

1. Contrastive (allophones of different phonemes occur in the same position distinguishing the meaning of different words (bad – mad)).

2. Complementary (allophones of one and the same phoneme never occur in identical positions).

3. Free-variant (allophones of one and the same phoneme occur in the same position but are in capable of differentiating a meaning).

4. Parallel (different phonemes occur in the same phonetic enviroment).

4) The system of Eng. phonemes – vowels&consonants (difference).

1. The auditory: c. are voice&noise combined, v. – only voice.

2. The acoustic: v. are complex periodic vibrations (tones): c. are non-periodic vibrations (noise). Voiceless c. are pure noises, voiced c. are a combination of noise&tone. Sonorans are mostly sounds of tone with a little addition of noise.

3. The articulatory: v. are sounds in the production of which there is no articulatory abstraction to the air stream, the muscular tension is defused, and the force of the air stream is weak. C. –\\– there is an a.a. to the a.s. (complete, incomplete, partially complete), the m.t. is concentrated in the place of abstraction, the force of the a.s. is strong. S. occupied the intermediate position (there is an abstraction but not narrow enough to produce noise, the m.t. is concentrated but the force of a.s. is rather weak).

5) Modifications of phonemes in connected speech:

1. Assimilation (complete – less sugar, partial – at the, intermediate – newspaper).

2. Accomodation (never, man, конь, больно).

3. Vowel reduction (neutral e).

4. Ellision (debt, doubt, high).

13. Lexical stylistic devices

Meaning = grammatical (more abstract) + lexical (more concrete)

Lexical meaning = dennotational (exact naming of the idea) + connotational (emotiveness, expressiveness)

Lexical SDs reveal the following pattern:

- Interplay (interaction) of different types of lexical meaning;

- Intensification of characteristic features of the phenomena described;

- Intentional mixing of words of different stylistic aspects.

Metaphor is transference of meanings on the basis of similarity. It’s a semantic process of associating two referents, one of which in some way resembles the other.

E.g.: the land shouted with grass.

England has two eyes, Oxford and Cambridge.

Metonymy – contiguity of meaning, it’s a semantic process of associating two referents, one of which makes part of the other or is closely connected with it.

E.g.: to read Agatha Christy.

She saw around her red lips poor dear cheeks.

Types of possible association:

A part of a whole;

A symbol for the thing symbolized;

A material for the thing made of;

The author for his works.

Epithet expresses a characteristic of an object existing or imaginary. Describes the object basing on images.

E.g.: semantically – a cold-blooded murder; structurally – a lip-sticky smile.

Oxymoron is a variety of epithet. It is also an attributive or rarely adverbial word joined with an antonymic word in one combination.

E.g.: crowded loneliness. An ugly beauty. To shout silently. Trite – terribly sorry, awfully nice

Antonomasia is the use of a proper name in the function of common noun and vice a versa. The nominal meaning of the proper name is suppressed by its logical meaning acquires the new nominal component.

E.g.: Miss Simplicity. Some Tom-cat entered our room. I want to meet Count Something.

Pun is a figure, which consists in a humorous use of words identical in sound, but different in meaning or the use of different meanings of the same word.

E.g.: Have you been seen any spirit? Or taken any?

Did you hit a woman with a child? – No, I hit her with a stick.

Zeugma is the use of a verb or adjective in the same grammatical, but different semantic relations to two abjection nouns in the context, the semantic relation being on the one hand literal and on the other – metaphorical. Zeugma is a figure of speech, using a verb or adjective with two nouns, to one of which it is strictly applicable, while the word appropriate to the other is not used.

E. g.: And the boys took their places and their books. With wiping eyes and hearts.

Irony is based on interplay of two logical meanings: dictionary and contextual which stand in opposition to each other.

E.g.: As the champion of freedom he (the Englishman) annexes (завоевывает) half of the world.

She turned with the sweet smile of an alligator.

Hyperbole is a SD in which emphases is achieved through deliberate exaggeration.

E.g.: She was both angler and bones. The maw was like the Rock of Gibraltar.