FOUNDATION OF LINGUISTICS

Foundation of Linguistics



Foundation of Linguistics

Part 1: Short Question Answers

Which of the following is the odd one out and why?

affricate

rounded

fortis

plosive

Rounded is different from all the others because affricate, fortis and Plosive are all consonants, while rounded are vowels. Phonology is the study of sound and on the basis of difference in the place and manner of articulation, due to which phonemes are divided into consonant and vowels (Crystal, 2010, p. 11-27). The main difference is on the basis of free or restrictive passage of air during different sound formation. In case of affricates, fortis, and plosives there is an obstruction for the air tract which results in voiced or voiceless sounds. For example, for the sounds of [ch], [j], [p], [b], [d] and [t] there is obstruction due to the movement and articulation of tongue which blocks the air passage. On the other hand while delivering vowel sounds there is free passage of air. Due to this reason, 'rounded' is the odd one.

2. What do plosives and nasals have in common?

There are a number of common feature between plosives and nasals one of the main commonality is that both are the type of consonant. Another common feature between nasal and plosives is that both are closely related in the place of articulation in which there is blockage of air in the mouth. Both consist of same phonemes, but the only difference is that in nasal there is free passage of air from the nasal cavity. Another common element is that both nasal and plosives are further categorise in the same three categorise on the basis of place of articulation and organ of speech. The three same places of articulation for these three are bilabial [p] [b], alveolar [t], [d] and velar [k] [g] (Skandera,& Burleigh, 2011, p.22-23).

3. In describing vowels, what articulatory property do the labels “high” and “low” refer to?

Articulation of tongue assists in producing different quality and sound of the vowels with the movement of lips and opening of the mouth cavity. This articulatory property cause changes in the tone of vowel which resulted as high and low labels. Therefore, it is the movement and height of tongue which results in the difference in the labels. The movement of high with front or back with low movement is the articulatory property of vowels which results in the difference in labels (Ashby & Maidment, 2005, P. 69-77). For example, [i] and [u] are high label vowels and [o] and [a] are low labels vowels.

Image retrieved from: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~gawron/fundamentals/course_core/lectures/phon/phonetics_intro.htm

Part 2: Discursive Assessment (1500 words)

Introduction

This discursive study involves detailed analysis of an answer to the question “Why do you need to study phonology?” the answer was provided by online Forum 'wiki.answers.com'. This study involves the critical assessment of the answer and the problem associated with it due to the confusion in understanding the difference between the two different linguistics fields. There are various differences between phonetics and phonology and this assist ...