Phonetics and Phonology: A compilation of answers

[Tarun Pruthi <tpruthi@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,

I have compiled all the answers to my question below for the benefit of 
others:

Bruno Repp:
-----------
Let me give it a try. Phonetics is the science of the sounds of speech. It 
includes the study of speech production mechanisms (articulatory 
phonetics), of the acoustic characteristics of speech (acoustic 
phonetics), and of speech perception. It involves speech scientists, 
speech pathologists, engineers, acousticians, and psychologists who do 
measurements and experiments. Phonology is a subfield of linguistics. It 
is concerned with the sound structure of languages in the abstract, 
usually without any measurements or experiments. It deals with abstract 
units called phonemes and investigates the rules by which they are 
combined to make words. There is a small group of people who take an 
empirical approach to phonology ("laboratory phonologists"), but most 
phonologists just sit at their desk and rely on their intuitions and 
observations.

In psychology, the term "phonological" has been misused a great deal. For 
example, people are said to rehearse verbal material by means of a 
"phonological loop", which is really inner speech and has nothing to do 
with phonology as such. Perhaps you are a psychologist and are confused 
for that reason.

Sylvia Moosmueller:
-------------------
The difference between phontics and phonology is perhaps quickly explained 
in introductory classes (the phoneme as the "underlying" form), but in 
practice, it often turns out to be quite difficult to decide whether one 
is dealing with phonetics or with phonology; e.g is a given observed 
variation due to coarticulation (phonetics) or to assimilation (phonology) 
or both(!)? Therefore, the issue remains implicit quite often and also 
depends on the theoretical framework. Phonology is defined differently in 
"generative" approaches or in "natural" approaches, this has effects on 
the integration of phonetics. In the same way phonetic theories might 
integrate phonology differently.

Branka Zei:
----------
The difference between phonology and phonetics is fundamental.

The perception of speech sounds implies their categorization. Phonological 
categorization includes only the features that are relevant for 
transmitting meanings. Phonology studies the sound features that are 
relevant for linguistic communication * as well as their distribution and 
organization into phonological systems. Phonemes form systems. Phonetic 
sciences study all kinds of acoustic characteristics that the sounds can 
display regardless of whether they are or not relevant for the primary 
function of a particular language - that is transmitting linguistic 
meanings. Various acoustic characteristics of speech sounds can be 
relevant for example for speaker identification, for his mood or emotions 
but totally irrelevant for the linguistic code he/she is using at the 
moment of speaking. It wasn't until experimental phonetics made progress, 
that phonologists could clearly separate their science from phonetics. 
Both synchronic and diachronic phonology study the way speakers perceive, 
produce and arrange the speech sounds in order to transmit linguistic 
meanings. Phonology belongs to humanities, and phonetics to natural 
sciences.

As fundamental reading I would suggest the great classic N. S. 
Troubetzkoy's Principals of Phonology. By this work Troubetzkoy made a 
crucial epistemological contribution to linguistic sciences.

Valeriy Shairo:
---------------
I think it was Trubetskoy who first said that Phonetics is to Phonology as
Numismatics is to Economics.  Although in the years following the Prague
School, as people started examining speech sounds closer, some speech
scientists thought that a more appropriate analogy was that of History to
Mythology.  While I wouldn't advocate for either of these views, it does
seem that they reflect alternative ways in which relationships between
phonetics and phonology have been considered in the past.  Ideally, I
think, phonetics and phonology can complement each other on different
levels of analysis, but the demarcation lines  between them are often
somewhat arbitrary.

Sascha Fagel:
------------
phonetics deals with the speech sounds as they 
are produced whereas phonology regards the underlying structures and 
processes. Representatives from both sides sometimes claim that the other 
area would be a part of the own field. But in the end it is better not to 
ignore the other viewpoint (as often).

Mark Hasegawa-Johnson:
----------------------
 "Phonology is discrete, Phonetics is continuous."

     - Mario Svirsky, ca. 1995


Thanks
Tarun

On Thu, 8 Sep 2005, Tarun Pruthi wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I don't know if this has already been discussed on the list. My sincere 
> apologies if I am raising it again, but I am very confused about the 
> differences between Phonetics and Phonology. Could someone please elaborate 
> them for me?
>
> Thanks in advance
> Tarun
>
> -----------------------------------------
> Tarun Pruthi
> Graduate Research Assistant, ECE
> Room 3180, A V Williams Building
> University of Maryland, College Park
> MD 20742 USA
> Email: tpruthi@xxxxxxxxxxxx
> Web: www.ece.umd.edu/~tpruthi
> Ph: 301-405-1365
> ----------------------------------------

-----------------------------------------
Tarun Pruthi
Graduate Research Assistant, ECE
Room 3180, A V Williams Building
University of Maryland, College Park
MD 20742 USA
Email: tpruthi@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Web: www.ece.umd.edu/~tpruthi
Ph: 301-405-1365
----------------------------------------