The Importance of Phonetics as a Theoretical Discipline

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 834.

In linguistics, function is usually understood to mean discriminatory function, that is, the role of the various elements of the language in the distinguishing of one sequence of sounds, such as a word or a sequence of words, from another of different meaning. Though we consider the discriminatory function to be the main linguistic function of any phonetic unit we cannot ignore the other function of phonetic units, that is, their role in the formation of syllables, words, phrases and even texts. This functional or social aspect of phonetic phenomena was first introduced in the works by I.A. Baudouin-de-Courtenay. Later on N.S. Trubetskoy declared phonology to be a linguistic science limiting articulatory and acoustic phonetics to anatomy, physiology and acoustics only. This conception is shared by many foreign linguists who investigate the material form and the function of oral speech units separately. Ukrainian and Russian linguists proceed from the truly materialistic view that language being the man's medium of thought can exist only in the material form of speech sounds. That is why they consider phonology a branch of phonetics that investigates its most important social aspect.

Apart from its key position in any kind of scientific analysis of language phonetics plays an important part in various applications of linguistics. A few may be mentioned here.

Though language is the most important method we have of communicating, it is manifestly not the only method. We can communicate by gestures, facial expressions, or touch, for instance, and these are not language. The study of the complex of various communication techniques is definitely relevant to teaching a foreign language.

Through study of the nature of language, especially of spoken language, valuable insights are gained into human psychology and into the functioning of man in society. That is why we dare say that phonetics has considerable social value.

A knowledge of the structure of sound systems, and of the articulatory and acoustic properties of the production of speech is indispensable in the teaching of foreign languages. The teacher has to know the starting point, which is the sound system of the pupil's mother tongue, as well as the aim of his teaching, which is a mastery of the pronunciation of the language to be learnt. He must be able to point out the differences between these two, and to arrange adequate training exercises. Ear training and articulatory training are both equally important in modern language teaching. The introduction of technical equipment – disks, tape-recorders, language laboratories, etc. – has brought about a revolution in the teaching of the pronunciation of foreign languages.

In our technological age phonetics has become important in a number of technological fields connected with communication. On the research side much present-day work in phonetics entails the use of apparatus, and is concerned with the basic characteristics of human speech. Much basic research is to be done with the phonetician working alongside the psychologist on auditory perception as such and on the perception of speech in particular. The phonetician is further needed to work in conjunction with the mathematician and the communications engineer in devising and perfecting machines that will understand, that is respond to human speech, for the simpler programming of computers, machines that will produce with a high degree of intelligibility recognizable human speech synthetically, machines that will reliably distinguish and identify individual speakers, machines for reproducing human speech in audible or visible forms. For instance, in the experimental stage are devices for “reading” the printed page, that is for converting the printed symbols or letters into synthetic speech. A little further away as yet, but apparently well within the bounds of possibility is the automatic or phonetic typewriter, which will convert speech directly into printed words on paper. Because of the obvious practical importance of advances in these fields it is certain that further collaboration will develop between phonetics and sound engineering, to the mutual benefit of each.

For those who work in speech therapy, which handles pathological conditions of speech, phonetics forms an essential part of the professional training syllabus. Phonetics also enters into the training of teachers of the deaf and dumb people and can be of relevance to a number of medical and dental problems.

An understanding of phonetics has proved extremely useful in such varied spheres as the following: investigations in the historical aspects of languages, and in the field of dialectology; designing or improving systems of writing or spelling (orthographies for unwritten languages, shorthand, spelling reform), in questions involving the spelling or pronunciation of personal or place names or of words borrowed from other languages.