Phonetics vs Phonology (Keshavarz 2023)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from notes on phonetics, phonology, their tools, and their distinctions.

Phonetics

The scientific study of human speech sounds, including observation, experimentation, and measurement of their features in phonetic laboratories.

Phonology

The study of how speech sounds form systems and patterns and how they function in a language; it also encompasses the abstract knowledge native speakers have about a language's sound system.

Spectrogram

A visual representation of the spectrum of frequencies in speech as they vary over time, used to analyze produced sounds.

Articulators (vocal tract organs)

The organs involved in producing speech sounds, such as the tongue and lips, that shape the acoustics of speech.

IPA

The International Phonetic Alphabet, a system of symbols used to transcribe and describe speech sounds more precisely than standard orthography.

Consonant cluster

A sequence of consonants; some sequences cannot occur in certain positions in a language (e.g., /p/ /t/ /k/ cannot form a cluster in word-initial position).

Phones

Concrete speech sounds as they are produced and heard (the focus of phonetics).

Phonemes

Abstract sound units that distinguish meaning in a language (the focus of phonology).

Phonotactics

Rules about which sounds can occur together or in which positions within a language; e.g., restrictions on allowable consonant sequences.

Orthography

The conventional spelling system of a language; phonetics uses transcription (like IPA) to describe sounds not easily captured by spelling.

Native speakers’ knowledge of the sound system

The abstract understanding that speakers have about how sounds function and interact in their language.

[ŋ] in syllable-final position

An example illustrating that the phoneme/sound [ŋ] appears at the end of a syllable, not at the start of a word.

Sound production in the vocal tract

Speech sounds are produced by the tongue, lips, and other organs of speech production within the vocal tract.

Phonetics vs Phonology focus

Phonetics focuses on physical properties of sounds; phonology focuses on their functional and systemic roles in a language.

Scope: universal vs language-specific

Phonetics applies to all human languages; Phonology is specific to each language’s sound system.

Level of abstraction: phones vs phonemes

Phonetics deals with concrete sounds (phones); Phonology deals with abstract units (phonemes) and their patterns.

Phonology contrasts with Phonetics

Phonology studies how sounds function in a language’s system; Phonetics studies the actual production and physical properties of those sounds.