Speech Sounds: Phonetics, Phonology, and Language Elements

Phonetics and Phonology

Phonetics

Phonetics is the linguistic discipline that deals with the nature of speech sounds, seen in their physical form (studying the sounds []).

Phonology

Phonology is the linguistic discipline that studies the mental or abstract sounds in the language (phonemes studies //). A phoneme is the minimal distinctive unit.

Vowel Phonemes

• Degrees of openness:
  • Open: /a/
  • Mid: /e/, /o/
  • Closed: /i/, /u/
• Position of the tongue:
  • Front: /e/, /i/
  • Central: /a/
  • Back: /o/, /u/

Consonant Phonemes

• Manner of articulation:
  • Occlusive: /p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/, /g/
  • Fricatives: /f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʝ/, /x/
  • Affricate: /tʃ/
  • Nasal: /m/, /n/, /ɲ/
  • Lateral: /l/, /ʎ/
  • Vibrant: /ɾ/, /r/
• Place of articulation:
  • Bilabial: /b/, /p/, /m/
  • Interdental: /θ/
  • Labiodental: /f/
  • Dental: /t/, /d/
  • Alveolar: /l/, /n/, /ɾ/, /r/, /s/
  • Palatal: /tʃ/, /ɲ/, /ʎ/, /ʝ/
  • Velar: /g/, /k/, /x/
• Vocal cord vibration:
  • Voiceless: /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, /θ/, /s/, /x/, /tʃ/
  • Voiced: the rest

Elements of Communication

• Sender: Develops the message with informative intent.
• Receiver: Receives the intention of the sender.
• Message: The utterance.
• Referent: The element of reality which is discussed.
• Code: The language that the sender and receiver must share.
• Channel: The physical transmission medium.

Verb Tenses

Indicative

• Present
• Preterite Perfect Compound
• Preterite Imperfect (aba, ía)
• Preterite Pluperfect (had)
• Preterite Perfect Simple (é, í)
• Preterite Anterior (hube)
• Future Simple (aré, eré)
• Future Compound (will have)
• Conditional (ía)
• Conditional Compound (would have)

Subjunctive

• Present
• Preterite Perfect Compound (have)
• Preterite Imperfect
• Pluperfect (had or would have)
• Future (are or iere, ase or iese)
• Future Compound (any)

Infinitive, Gerund, and Participle

• Infinitive:
  • Simple: sing
  • Compound: having sung
• Gerund:
  • Simple: singing
  • Compound: having sung
• Participle: sung

Example: "Sang"

• Lexeme: cant-
• Vowel: -a-
• Tense/Mood: -ba-
• Personal ending: -s

Functions of Language

• Expressive: The sender expresses emotions, feelings, and opinions.
• Referential: Reporting objectively about the referent.
• Appealing: It expects a response from the receiver.
• Metalinguistic: The referent is the code itself.
• Phatic: It establishes contact.
• Poetic: Highlights the message by various linguistic means.