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METHODS OF PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS, bee, cat, pen, alone, house, pin, sound…
METHODS OF PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
The aim of phonological analysis is to establish distinctive difference between sounds, create the inventory of the phonemes and describe the phonemic system of a language.
There are two main approaches to phonological analysis:
Formally distributional approach
practiced by American structuralists is focused on the position of the sound in the word, or its distribution.
The study is done through the phonological opposition system.
Semantic method
attaches special importance to meaning. It is widely used in this country.
The phonemes have the possibility of differentiating the meaning once they oppose each other in the same phonetic environment (day - they, sheep - ship).
Commutation test
To conduct this test we must find the so-called minimal pairs.
A minimal pair is a pair of words which differ in one sound only. Therefore, we replace one sound with another sound and try to consult whether the opposite sounds belong to them or different phonemes.
The commutation test may have three possible results:
Pin – sin | the meaning is different so the opposed sounds belong to different phonemes.
P(h)in – pin | the meaning is the same so the opposed sounds belong to the same phoneme.
Pin – hin | we have a meaningless word, so we can’t make any conclusion about the phonemic status of the second sound, we can’t identify it.
Different types of oppositions:
If the members of the opposition differ in one articulatory feature, the opposition is called single.
Pen – ben | [p] is fortis (voiceless), [b] is lenis (voiced).
If there are two distinctive features, the opposition is double.
Pen –then | the differentiating features: occlusive – constrictive, labial – interdental, fortis – lenis.
If three distinctive features are marked, the opposition is triple (multiple)
Pen – den | [p] is labial, fortis, [b] is fore lingual, lenis.
The application of this method shows that the English language has 24 consonant and 20 vowel phonemes. In English the following features are distinctive for consonants:
place of articulation (labial, lingual, glottal)
type of obstruction (manner of articulation)
force of articulation (fortis, lenis)
Quantity
In English, vowel quantity refers to the duration or length of a vowel sound.
English vowels can be classified into two categories based on quantity:
Long vowels
: These vowels are typically pronounced with a relatively longer duration. Examples include the /iː/ sound in "bee," the /oʊ/ sound in "go," and the /uː/ sound in "blue."
Short vowels
: These vowels are generally pronounced with a relatively shorter duration. Examples include the /ɪ/ sound in "sit," the /æ/ sound in "cat," and the /ʌ/ sound in "cup."
Quality
Vowel quality refers to the specific articulatory characteristics that define a vowel sound
English vowels have a wide range of quality distinctions, and they are typically classified into a system of monophthongs (pure vowels) and diphthongs (gliding vowels).
Monophthongs
: These are single, stable vowel sounds without significant changes in quality during their production. Examples include the /æ/ sound in "cat," the /ɪ/ sound in "sit," and the /ə/ sound in "about."
Diphthongs
: These are vowel sounds that involve a gradual transition or movement from one vowel quality to another within a single syllable. Examples include the /eɪ/ sound in "day," the /ɔɪ/ sound in "boy," and the /aʊ/ sound in "house."
