What is Phonology ?

Phonology is a branch of  linguistics concerned with the systematic organization of sounds in languages. It has traditionally focused largely on study of the systems of phonemes in particular languages.Phonology studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables. It deals with the sound system of a language by treating phoneme as the point of departure. 

• A phoneme is the smallest linguistic unit of sound that can  signal a difference in meaning 

Phonology is often distinguished from phonetics. While phonetics concerns the physical production, acoustic transmission and perception of the sounds of speech, phonology describes the way sounds function within a given language or a cross languages to encode meaning. In other words, phonetics belongs to descriptive linguistics, and phonology to theoretical linguistics.

Phonetics studies speech sounds, including the production of speech, that is how speech sounds are actually made, transmitted and received, the description and classification of speech sounds, words and connected speech, etc

. The field of phonetics is a multiple layered subject of linguistics that focuses on speech. In the case of oral languages there are three basic areas of study:

•Articulatory phonetics: the study of the production of speech sounds by the articulatory and vocal tract by the speaker

•Acoustic phonetics: the study of the physical transmission of speech sounds from the speaker to the listener

•Auditory phonetics: the study of the reception and perception of speech sounds by the listener

In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as an English ah! [ɑː] or oh! [oʊ], pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! [ʃː], where there is a constriction or closure at some point along the vocal tract.

In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are [p], pronounced with the lips; [t], pronounced with the front of the tongue; [k], pronounced with the back of the tongue; [h], pronounced in the throat; [f] and [s], pronounced by forcing air through a narrow channel (fricatives); and [m] and [n], which have air flowing through the nose (nasals). Contrasting with consonants are vowels.

Acoustic  is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and  infrasound.  The application of acoustics can be seen in almost all aspects of modern society with the most obvious being the audio and noise control industries. physical characteristics of sound waves which carry speech sounds between  mouth and ear transmission of sound.

Articulated Sound  are vocalizations that express the letters, syllables, etc., of any alphabet, or language. Non-humans cannot form articulate sounds, cannot articulate the sounds of their voice, excepting some few birds, as the parrot, magpie, Parakeet, etc.

Do you want to watch a video about articulated sound? Check this out !

Phonologycal Rule is a method for describing the way in which individual sounds are produced in spoken language. These rules are written out in a specialized notation that codifies the way in which a sound or group of sounds is altered by appearing in a specific linguistic context. Phonological rules vary between languages and dialects, and they reflect the common pronunciation habits of various linguistic groups. By studying the way that a particular phonological rule operates in spoken language, linguists are able to determine the physiological and neurological mechanisms that translate mental language into spoken language.

A complete phonological rule includes the underlying sound that is altered, the environment in which it is altered and the specific alteration that takes place. Rules might deal with groups of underlying sounds if all the sounds undergo the same alteration when placed in the same linguistic environment. The linguistic environment describes the types of sounds that must exist before or after the underlying sound for the alteration to take place, and it can include both positive and negative features. For example, a phonological rule might describe an alteration that takes place after a consonant in a stressed syllable and before a vowel in a stressless syllable. The alteration is generally expressed in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or as a description of the common features between multiple altered sounds, and it communicates the sound that results from the altered underlying sounds.

Phonological rules are broadly divided into four main groups, which are distinguished by the type of alteration that takes place. 

 Assimilation is the alteration of a sound that makes it more similar to neighboring sounds, making the word easier to pronounce by eliminating some movements of the speech organs.

 Dissimilation is an alteration which causes a sound to be less similar to neighboring sounds, which can make certain sounds more likely to be heard by the listener.

 Insertion is the introduction of an unwritten sound between highly similar or difficult to pronounce sounds, such as the "-e" commonly inserted when pluralizing a word ending with "s." 

 Deletion or truncation occurs when a sound is masked or dropped entirely from a word.