What is phonology
What is phonology
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什么是音系学
DOI：
10.1080/00138383308596607
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发表时间：
1933
期刊：
影响因子：
0.3
通讯作者：
J. Vachek
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
J. Vachek
学英语的学生已经习惯于用音韵学这个术语来理解德语语言学家所说的“historische Lautlehre”，即历史语法中处理特定语言的语音（以及语音属性，如数量、重音等）发展的部分。另一些人又把音系学和语音学看作同义词，认为它们之间没有明显的意义差异。当然，音系学一词的这两种含义都与一群语言学家所理解的音系学含义不一致，这些语言学家尤其集中在布拉格语言研究中心，这里提到音系学只是为了警告人们不要把音系学与音系学联系在一起。我们将要讨论的音韵学，以及刚刚提到的语言学家所理解的音韵学，是“语言学中研究语音现象及其各自功能的那一部分”（见TCLP IV，第309页）。刚才引用的定义同时显示了语音学和音系学之间的根本区别应该在哪里寻找。这并不是所考察的材料的不同，而是考察材料的两种方式的不同，是考察材料的两种不同观点的不同。到目前为止，语音学家已经从生理、器官发生、声学或心理方面研究了人类语言的语音方面，但他们在很大程度上没有认识到，所有语音事实都必须被视为所讨论的语言的功能要素，即语言利用它们来表达各种功能，即语言必须完成的各种任务，特别是交际功能、情感功能等。正是音韵学家试图观察语音现象，并持续一致地关注它们在语言中的作用。举一个例子来说明如何做到这一点，它将向我们展示一些基本的重要事实，这些事实对于纯粹语音性质的研究仍然是隐藏的。英语的语音描述，列举了英语中出现的声音，提到了英语中存在的两个类似n的辅音，即在单词no， never， thin中出现的alveolar（或dental） n和在单词thing， wrong等中出现的velar（或back） n。例如，西班牙语、意大利语、捷克语和匈牙利语的语音描述会告诉我们，在这些语言中也存在两个类似n的音。通过确定英语和其他语言之间的语音一致这一事实，语音学家的工作就结束了。然而，一位音韵学家更进一步，询问在这里提到的语言中，两个像n的音是如何使用的。对这一问题的进一步研究表明，两个辅音在英语中的功能作用与它们在西班牙语、意大利语、捷克语和匈牙利语（当然还有许多其他语言）中所发挥的作用大不相同。英语中存在着一些语音结构相同但意义不同的对词，其差异为n/n。（pin: pii\, kin: kir\， rszn: ra»n等），因此这个单一的语音差异与英语中的意义差异密切相关，即英语发音n和n之间的差异被认为能够区分英语中的单词，在该语言中具有功能相关性。
Students of English have been accustomed to understand by the term phonology what German linguists call,, historische Lautlehre", ie that part of historical grammar which deals with the development of the sounds (and sound-attributes, as quantity, stress etc.) of a given language. By others, again, the terms phonology and phonetics were regarded as synonyms, and no noticeable difference of meaning between them was thought of. Neither of these two meanings of the term phonology, of course, is identical with what is understood by it by a group of linguists concentrated especially in the Cercle Linguistique de Prague, and it is only to warn against incorrect associations that they have been mentioned here. Phonology, as we shall deal with it and as it is understood by the group of linguists just referred to, is" that part of linguistics which deals with phonic phenomena of speech with regard to their respective functions"(see TCLP IV, p. 309). The definition just quoted shows at the same time where the fundamental difference between phonetics and phonology is to be looked for. It is not a difference of the material examined, but of two ways in which it is examined, of two diverse standpoints from which light is thrown upon it. Phoneticians have, up to the present day, examined the phonic aspect of human speech from its physiological, organogenetic, acoustic or psychological side, but they have, for the most part, failed to realize that all phonic facts must be regarded as functional elements of the language in question, ie that use is made of them by that language for expressing various functions, ie various tasks which the language has to fulfil, esp. the communicative function, the emotional function etc. Now it is exactly the phonologists who try to observe phonic phenomena v/ith a continual and consistent regard to their roles in the language. An example of how this is done will show us some facts of fundamental importance which remain concealed to the investigation of a purely phonetic nature.Phonetic descriptions of English, enumerating the sounds occurring in that language, mention the two n-like consonants existing in English, namely the alveolar (or dental) n, as in the words no, never, thin, and the velar (or back) n, as in the words thing, wrong etc. Phonetic descriptions of, eg, Spanish, Italian,'Czech and Hungarian would inform us that both n-like sounds exist also in these languages. By ascertaining this fact of phonetic coincidence between English and the other languages the work of the phonetician comes to an end. A phonologist, however, proceeds further, and asks how the two n-like sounds are utilized in the languages mentioned here. A closer investigation of this matter shows him that the functional role of the two consonants in English is quite different from the one fulfilled by them in Spanish, Italian, Czech and Hungarian (and, of course, in many other languages). There exist, namely, some pairs of words of different meaning in English the phonic structure of which is the same, the difference n/n. excepted (pin: pii\, kin: kir\, rszn: ra» n etc.), so that this single phonic difference becomes closely associated with difference of meaning in English, ie the difference between the English sounds n and n is recognized as capable of distinguishing words in English, as functionally relevant in that language.