Lecture 1 Language and linguistics Keywords

Self-control questions:

What is Discourse analysis?

How to conduct discourse analysis?
What exactly are the essential skills that translators and interpreters need?
What is discourse analysis used for?
What approaches and techniques can you use to conduct discourse analysis?
LECTURE № 15.
Pronunciation and Phonology. Grammar
Keywords: translation, interpretation, language learning, relationship, language professionals, translator, interpreter.
Phonology is the study of the distribution of and the relationships between speech sounds, i.e, the system of sounds of a language.
Pronunciation is the way of producing a spoken word, especially so that it is accepted or generally understood.
Phonology is a linguistics term. It is the study of the sounds and relationships between sounds that exists in a language. Different languages have different phonologies, and linguists have generally come to consensus on what they are.
Pronunciation is the way in which these sounds are spoken. I can pronounce a word carefully, slowly, quickly, etc. I can use the wrong sounds and pronounce something badly. Pronunciation is phonology in action.
Phonology is what the sounds are in a language.
Pronunciation is how we say them.
The terms phonology and pronunciation are sometimes seen as synonymous. In pedagogy, however, it is useful to distinguish them. The pedagogic fields to which our discussion makes reference are that of second- or foreign-language teaching and learning (SFLT), and that of the training and education of language teachers (TELT).
The phonology of a target language (TL) consists of theory and knowledge about how the sound system of the target language works, including both segmental and suprasegmental features. Pronunciation in language learning, on the other hand, is the practice and meaningful use of TL phonological features in speaking, supported by practice in interpreting those phonological features in TL discourse that one hears. Thus, in phonological terms one might say a particular stretch of sound in the TL consists of a series of phonemes (which we could identify and define with appropriate labels), making up an utterance which has certain suprasegmental patterns — of intonation, rhythm, stress — and is expressed with a particular type of voice quality (all of which we could also identify and define with appropriate labels). In pronunciation one would not necessarily define or label at all, but only practise listening and speaking, i.e. (respectively) interpreting and producing phonological features appropriately.
Most language-learners need to learn how to pronounce the sounds of the TL, rather than to learn to any great extent about those sounds. It must be admitted, of course, that there are language learners who do need to learn about the phonology of the TL too; e.g. non-native speakers intending to teach the TL, or those otherwise needing to theorise about the TL. But for the vast generality of learners of language for general purposes, knowledge of phonology as such will usually need to extend only to an ability to benefit from whatever phonemic script and word-stress marking are used in their dictionary.
Grammar is the system of a language. People sometimes describe grammar as the "rules" of a language; but in fact no language has rules. If we use the word "rules", we suggest that somebody created the rules first and then spoke the language, like a new game. But languages did not start like that. Languages started by people making sounds which evolved into words, phrases and sentences. No commonly-spoken language is fixed. All languages change over time. What we call "grammar" is simply a reflection of a language at a particular time.
Do we need to study grammar to learn a language? The short answer is "no". Very many people in the world speak their own, native language without having studied its grammar. Children start to speak before they even know the word "grammar". But if you are serious about learning a foreign language, the long answer is "yes, grammar can help you to learn a language more quickly and more efficiently." It's important to think of grammar as something that can help you, like a friend. When you understand the grammar (or system) of a language, you can understand many things yourself, without having to ask a teacher or look in a book.
Self-control questions:
What do we study in phonology?
What is pronunciation?
What is the difference between phonology and pronunciation?
What is grammar?
Do we need to study grammar to learn a language?