Experimental phonetics

TYPES OF PHONETICS (EXPERIMENTAL AND IMPRESSIONISTIC)
Impressionistic phonetics The term impressionistic is taken from Abercrombie (1954,1967), where it is applied to a style of phonetic transcription. In Abercrombie's usage, it is not meant to suggest any neglect of detail, but, rather, the absence of preconceived notions about the structure of the language being transcribed. For example, a linguistic field worker beginning work on

a previously unstudied language would make a very detailed impressionistic transcription. In the present context, impressionistic is opposed to instrumental, and is meant to convey the idea of the phonetician relying entirely on his own impressions of sound, unaided by technology.

Impressionistic phonetics involves, first and foremost, acquiring and cultivating a skill in recognising, discriminating between, and performing, a wide range of speech sounds. For some practitioners, this skill is an end in itself. For others, it is an essential part of a larger, more theoretical enterprise of delimiting and classifying the set of possible speech sounds which may occur in human language. To quote Catford (1988: 2), 'What the competent phonetician must acquire is a deep, internally experienced, awareness of what is going on within the vocal tract - an ability to analyse, and hence describe and ultimately control, the postures and movements of organs that produce the sounds of speech ... the acquisition of these practical skills is by far the best way of acquiring a deep understanding of phonetic theory.'

Impressionistic phonetics has a long history, extending back to before the fifth century BC, at least in Ancient India (Allen 1953: 5). At the risk of being overly simplistic, we might say that the basic framework and methodology of the subject as it is taught and practised today were already in place by the