Language Level 3: Phonetics, Phonology and Prosodics

Phonetics refers to the actual sounds of human speech. Understanding this language level includes identifying and analysing all the different sounds that can be made in human speech.
There are three areas of phonetics: articulatory (how sounds are made), acoustic (physical properties of sound waves) and auditory (how the ear perceives sounds). All these areas are necessary for a comprehensive study of phonetics.
Phonology focuses on how sounds function in a particular language, or languages. It examines rules regarding what sounds can follow others, how they change in different contexts, and what sounds can cluster together.
An understanding of prosodics involves the rhythm, stress, intonation, tempo, and pitch of speech. These factors can add meaning to spoken language, convey emotions, and form an integral part of communication.
Prosodic features are crucial in discourse analysis because they can contribute to the way a speaker’s message is interpreted. For example, raising pitch at the end of a sentence typically turns a statement into a question.
English phonetics and phonology include studying different accents and dialects. This explores how language sounds vary across different regions and social groups.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a tool useful for decoding and understanding the pronunciation of different sounds in language variation.
Aspects such as plosives, fricatives, nasals, and approximants form important components of English phonetics that help in differentiating sound patterns in spoken language.
Homophones are words that sound alike but have different meanings, for instance, ‘pair’ and ‘pear’. These are part of phonological studies, as they demonstrate how sounds may convey different meanings.
Phonemic transcriptions offer a visual representation of the sounds in a word or phrase. This is a useful method for studying the principles of phonology and phonetics.
Understanding suprasegmental features, which extend over more than one sound, such as loudness, pitch, and tempo, is also part of this language level.
In summary, Phonetics, Phonology, and Prosodics are related but distinct study areas that collectively give a comprehensive understanding of the sounds in language, their organisation, and their contribution to communication and meaning.