3. Synchronic, diachronic and socio-linguistic factors in phonological system.

In other words, synchronic analysis of linguistic facts of the phonological level should be made from the point of view of the most general (typological) linguistic categories (paradigms). But it must be done on the basis of the diachronic or historical background.

The study of the phonological system can never be complete and truly adequate if we disregard social phenomena of the period under investigation. And so the socio-linguistic factors are the most important. It is especially true of the English language, where the class dialects are expressed clearly and widely spread.

There is a very subtle interconnection between the socio-linguistic factors and their influence on the phonological system of the language.

The feature level is coordinated with other, the higher levels of the language. The phonemes have different functional loading in the language. And those, which are not sufficiently loaded according to the requirements of the higher levels, will tend to disappear from the language. This process is also explained by the system of the language.

5. The phonetic structure of a language.

Each language has its phonetic structure which is represented by a historically formed system of its sound means. In other words, the phonetic structure of a language includes:

1. its system of phonemes – consonants and vowels;

2. combinations and positions of phonemes in words, syllables and also their functions;

3. peculiarities of syllable formation and syllable division;

4. word accent (type, degree, place);

5. intonation – as a complex unity of speech melody, sentence stress, voice timber, rhythm and tempo of speech);

There are two major classes of sounds traditionally distinguished by phoneticians in any language. They are termed consonants and vowels. The criteria accepted by the majority of linguists for classifying speech sounds into vowels and consonants are as follows:

1. the presence or absence of an articulatory obstruction to the air stream in the superglottal cavities (the pharynx, the mouth and the nasal cavity);

2. the concentrated or defused character of the muscular tension in the production of speech sounds;

3. the force of exhalation.

A vowel is a sound in the articulation of which the air passes through the mouth freely (there is no obstruction to the stream of air). The stream of air is weak. The tongue and the vocal cords are tense, muscular tension is distributed more or less evenly throughout the mouth cavity and the pharynx, as in [u:], for example.

The particular quality, or timber, of vowel sounds depends on the volume and shape of the mouth-resonator, as well as on the shape and size of the opening of the resonator. The mouth-resonator is changed by the movements of the tongue and the lips. If the lips are rounded, the increase the volume of the mouth-resonator. The opening of the mouth resonator is formed either by the lips when they are neutral or rounded and protruded or by the teeth when the lips are spread.

A consonant is a sound in the production of which an obstruction is formed in the mouth by the active organs of articulation. The organs of speech are tense at the place of obstruction, the stream of air is strong, especially in the articulation of voiceless consonants, as in [t], [p], for example.

The particular quality of consonant sounds depends on the kind of “noise” that results when the tongue, or the lips, or the uvula obstruct the air-passage.

Consonants are subdivided into noise consonants and sonorous consonants, or sonorants.

An obstruction is formed in the articulation of sonorants as well, but the air passage is wider than in the formation of noise consonants. This results in very little friction produced by the rather weak stream of air. That is why in the production of sonorants tone prevails over noise, whereas in all the other consonants (both voiced and voiceless) noise prevails over tone.

Questions for self-control:

1. What is the phonemic system of the language based on?

2. What is the principle difference between paradigmatic and syntagmatic approaches?

3. What other factors influence the phonological system of the language?

4. What does the phonetic structure of the language include?

Lecture 5.

ENGLISH CONSONANTS AS THE UNITS

OF THE PHONOLOGICAL SYSTEM.

1. Classification of English consonant phonemes.

2. The system of English consonant phonemes as compared with the system of Ukrainian and Russian consonant phonemes.

3. Differences in the articulation bases of English and

Russian consonants and their peculiarities.

1. Classification of English consonant phonemes.

There are various systems of classification of consonants introduced by different phoneticians.

One of the most detailed classifications of consonants was introduced by H. Sweet. According to H. Sweet consonants admit of a twofold division: 1) according to form; 2) according to place. By “form” H. Sweet means the manner of the production of noise, by “place” – the active organ of speech and the place of obstruction. In his “Sounds of English” – a detailed and distinct description of different possible groups of consonants is given. But the division of sounds into the groups according to all those minute characteristics of the sounds makes the system rather complicated.

D. Jones divides consonants according to the place of articulation into bilabial, labio-dental, dental, alveolar, post-alveolar, palato-alveolar, palatal, velar and glottal consonants. The role of the active organs of speech is underestimated. According to the manner of the production of noise (according to “the state of the air-passage at the place of articulation”, as D. Jones defines it) consonants are divided by him into ten separate classes – plosive, affricates, nasal, lateral, rolled, flapped, fricative, frictionless, continuant consonants and semi-vowels.

According to V.A.Vassilyev primary importance should be given to the type of obstruction and the manner of production of noise. On this ground he distinguishes two large classes of consonants: a) occlusive, in the production of which a complete obstruction is formed; b) constrictive, in the production of which an incomplete obstruction is formed.

According to T. Brovchenko the quality of consonants is determined

by the following four conditions:

The active organs of speech which form the obstruction (consequently the place of obstruction).

The manner of the production of noise (the way of forming obstruction).

The work of vocal cords.

The position of the soft palate.

Summarizing what have been described, the majority of Russian and Ukrainian specialists in English phonetics consider relevant the following articulatory features: