Phonetics & Phonology for UGC NET Aspirants
Phonetics: The study of the physical sounds of human speech (production, transmission, perception).
Phonology: The study of how sounds function within a particular language or languages (patterns, systems).
Phonology: The study of how sounds function within a particular language or languages (patterns, systems).
1. Phonetics: The Study of Speech Sounds
Branches of Phonetics
| Type | Focus | Key Aspects |
|---|---|---|
| Articulatory | How sounds are produced | Vocal organs, manner/place of articulation |
| Acoustic | Physical properties of sounds | Frequency, amplitude, waveform analysis |
| Auditory | How sounds are perceived | Ear physiology, psychoacoustics |
The Vocal Tract
International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)
- Standardized representation of speech sounds
- One-to-one correspondence between symbol and sound
- Includes symbols for consonants, vowels, diacritics, suprasegmentals
- Example: English "ship" = /ʃɪp/, "measure" = /ˈmɛʒər/
2. Classification of Speech Sounds
Consonants
Classified by voicing, place of articulation, and manner of articulation:
| Place → Manner ↓ |
Bilabial | Labiodental | Dental | Alveolar | Post-alveolar | Palatal | Velar | Glottal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | p b | - | - | t d | - | - | k g | ʔ |
| Nasal | m | - | - | n | - | - | ŋ | - |
| Fricative | - | f v | θ ð | s z | ʃ ʒ | - | - | h |
| Affricate | - | - | - | - | tʃ dʒ | - | - | - |
| Approximant | w | - | - | l ɹ | - | j | w | - |
Example Analysis: /p/ = voiceless bilabial plosive
/ʒ/ = voiced post-alveolar fricative (as in "vision")
/ʒ/ = voiced post-alveolar fricative (as in "vision")
Vowels
Classified by tongue position (height, backness) and lip rounding:
[Diagram: Cardinal vowel chart showing front/central/back and high/mid/low positions]
| Height | Front | Central | Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | i (beat) ɪ (bit) |
- | u (boot) ʊ (foot) |
| Mid | e (bait) ɛ (bet) |
ə (about) ʌ (but) |
o (boat) ɔ (bought) |
| Low | æ (bat) | - | ɑ (father) |
Diphthongs: Gliding vowels where articulation changes (e.g., /aɪ/ in "price", /əʊ/ in "goat")
3. Phonology: Sound Systems
Phoneme: The smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language that can change meaning (/p/ vs. /b/ in "pat" vs. "bat").
Allophone: Variant realizations of a phoneme that don't change meaning (aspirated [pʰ] vs. unaspirated [p] in English).
Allophone: Variant realizations of a phoneme that don't change meaning (aspirated [pʰ] vs. unaspirated [p] in English).
Key Concepts
- Minimal pairs: Word pairs differing by one phoneme (/sɪp/ "sip" vs. /zɪp/ "zip")
- Complementary distribution: Allophones that never occur in the same environment
- Free variation: Allophones that can alternate without meaning change (final /t/ as [t] or [ʔ])
- Phonotactics: Rules about permissible sound combinations in a language
Example: In English:
- /ŋ/ cannot begin words (phonotactic constraint)
- /l/ has "light" [l] (before vowels) and "dark" [ɫ] (after vowels) allophones
Syllable Structure
Components: Onset (optional consonants) + Rhyme (Nucleus + Coda)
Example: "Strengths" /strɛŋθs/
Onset: /str/ (unusually complex in English)
Nucleus: /ɛ/
Coda: /ŋθs/
Onset: /str/ (unusually complex in English)
Nucleus: /ɛ/
Coda: /ŋθs/
4. Distinctive Features
Binary features that distinguish phonemes:
| Feature | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| [±voice] | Vocal cord vibration | /b/ [+voice] vs. /p/ [-voice] |
| [±nasal] | Airflow through nose | /m/ [+nasal] vs. /b/ [-nasal] |
| [±continuant] | Continuous airflow | /f/ [+cont] vs. /p/ [-cont] |
| [±strident] | High-intensity noise | /s/ [+strid] vs. /θ/ [-strid] |
5. Phonological Processes
| Process | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Assimilation | Sound becomes more like neighboring sound | "input" → [ɪmpʊt] (nasal assimilation) |
| Dissimilation | Sound becomes less like neighboring sound | Latin "arbor" → Spanish "árbol" |
| Elision | Sound deletion | "family" → /fæmli/ |
| Epenthesis | Sound insertion | "something" → /sʌmpθɪŋ/ |
| Metathesis | Sound reordering | "ask" → /æks/ in some dialects |
6. Suprasegmentals
Features that extend beyond single segments:
- Stress: Prominence of a syllable (ˈrecord [noun] vs. reˈcord [verb])
- Tone: Pitch that distinguishes meaning (Mandarin: mā "mother" vs. mà "scold")
- Intonation: Pitch patterns over utterances (questions vs. statements)
- Length: Duration contrast (Japanese: おじさん ojisan "uncle" vs. おじいさん ojiisan "grandfather")
7. Major Theories in Phonology
Generative Phonology (Chomsky & Halle): Phonological rules derive surface forms from underlying representations (Sound Pattern of English, 1968).
Natural Phonology (Stampe): Phonological processes are natural tendencies that children must learn to suppress.
Optimality Theory (Prince & Smolensky): Surface forms are optimal solutions satisfying ranked constraints.
Autosegmental Phonology (Goldsmith): Treats features as independent tiers (important for tone analysis).
8. Phonetics vs. Phonology
| Aspect | Phonetics | Phonology |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Physical sounds | Abstract sound systems |
| Approach | Descriptive | Cognitive/mental |
| Units | Phones (all sounds) | Phonemes (meaningful contrasts) |
| Scope | Universal | Language-specific |
| Example | How [pʰ] is produced | Why /p/ has aspirated/non-aspirated variants |
9. Applications
- Language Teaching: Pronunciation instruction, accent reduction
- Speech Technology: Speech recognition/synthesis
- Forensic Linguistics: Speaker identification
- Clinical Phonetics: Speech pathology diagnosis/treatment
- Historical Linguistics: Sound change analysis
10. Important Terms for UGC NET
- Coarticulation: Overlapping of articulatory gestures
- Schwa: Neutral vowel /ə/ (most common English vowel)
- Gemination: Consonant lengthening (contrastive in some languages)
- Neutralization: Phonemic contrast disappears in certain positions
- Sonority Hierarchy: Ranking of sounds by loudness (vowels > glides > liquids > nasals > fricatives > stops)
UGC NET Focus Area
Be prepared to:
- Identify place/manner of articulation for consonants
- Analyze minimal pairs
- Recognize phonological processes
- Transcribe words using IPA
- Differentiate phonetics vs. phonology
Conclusion
Phonetics and phonology provide the foundation for understanding speech sounds and their systematic organization in languages. For UGC NET, focus on mastering IPA symbols, classification of sounds, phonological concepts, and their applications in language teaching and research.
Revision Tip: Practice by:
- Transcribing English words phonemically
- Creating consonant/vowel classification charts
- Identifying minimal pairs in English and other languages
- Analyzing phonological processes in connected speech
