What Is Phonology?
As phonetics and phonology both deal with sounds, it is important that you keep in mind that we are not interested in letters, but in sounds.
- For instance, English has not 5 or 6 but 20 different vowels, even if these vowels are all written by different combinations of 6 different letters
- e.g. please, and the phonetic transcription between square brackets [pli:z].
- Thus the word please consists of three consonants, [p,l,z], and one vowel, [i:].
Vowels and Consonanats Symbols
Consonants
Consonants are often classified by being given a so-called VPM-label. VPM stands for Voicing, Place and Manner:
- VOICING means that the vocal folds are used; if they are not, the sound is voiceless (note that vowels always imply the use of vocal folds).
- PLACE of articulation is the place where the air flow will be more or less obstructed.
- MANNER is concerned with the nature of the obstruction.
- The only distinction between the first sounds of sue and zoo for example is that [s] is voiceless, [z] is voiced.
- The same goes for few and view, [f] is voiceless, [v] is voiced. If you now say [ssssszzzzzsssss] or [fffffvvvvvfffff] you can either hear the vibrations of the [zzzzz] or [vvvvv] by sticking your fingers into your ears, or you can feel them by touching the front of your larynx (the Adam’s Apple).
- In the examples below the first sound is voiceless, the other is voiced: pie/buy, try/dry, clue/glue, chew/Jew, thigh/thy.
- This distinction can also be made in between two vowels: rapid/rabid, metal/medal, or at the end of a word: pick/pig, leaf/leave, rich/ridge.
- In English the following consonants are voiced: b, d, g, v, ð, z, ʒ , l, r, j, w, ʤ, m, n, ŋ
