Definition of Phonology in linguistics

Definition of Phonology in Linguistics


Last updated on April 6th, 2023 at 12:35 pm

Definition of Phonology in Linguistics

Phonology is an essential lesson of linguistics that deals with the sound systems of languages, and it is also concerned with the functional aspect of different speech sounds. Furthermore, phonology also analyzes existing speech sounds’ production, transmission, and cognition.

The main objective of phonology is to observe how speech sounds are organized in languages. Phonology closely observes the significance of different speech sounds’ abstract or mental aspects in linguistics as a branch of linguistics.

Furthermore, the functional pressures underlying the exchange of phonetic and cognitive mechanisms impact the progress that sounds systems may experience as they are passed from age to age, inside and between discourse groups.

From in linguistics point of view, Phonology is seen in two principal ways:

  1. As a dimension of linguistics association, appeared differently concerning the dimensions of phonetics, language structure, and semantics in the main occasion, and
  2. As a material of generative grammar, different from the syntactic and semantic segments.

Also read

Inside Phonology, two parts of the study are generally perceived: segmental and suprasegmental. Segmental phonology describes speech into discrete sections, for example, phonemes. What’s more, suprasegmental phonology investigates those elements that reach out over more than one section as stress, tone, and intonation.

Conclusion

To sum up, it may say that phonology deals with the investigation of the language sound system. However, phoneticians examine the physical properties of speech sounds and phonologists and specialists in phonology research the utilitarian properties of speech sounds.

Phonologists mainly investigate sound substitutions, the supplanting of one speech sound with another, and the practical outcomes of these substitutions for word meaning.

Reference

Hyman, L. M. (1975) Phonology: Theory and analyze, New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston.

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