islamization of phonetics and phonology part 1

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

السلام عليكم

In this post and another two posts that follow, we will be discussing on the islamization of phonetics and phonology in general, its application and how we as a Muslim can relate and benefit from this field of linguistics.

Phonetics and Phonology

Introduction

Both phonetics and phonology are the branches of linguistics. They deal with the structure of human language sound. However, the subject under study in both phonetics and phonology is different. Phonetics deals with the physical appearances of speech sounds and theories of speech production and perception. It is basically about sounds and whatever happens in our mouth, throat, oral and nasal cavities, and lungs. It is the description of how sounds are made and where they are produced. For example, the word “bed” is formed by having our lips pressed together. Since the place of articulation of /b/ is on the lips, it is called bilabial.  /b/ is produced by stopping the flow of air at some point in the mouth and suddenly releasing it, thus making the manner of the articulation as plosive.

 Phonology focuses on the sound patterns and their meanings within and across languages. These are among the questions being asked in phonology: How do sounds change due to the sounds around them? (For example, why does the plural of “hat” end with an 's'-sound, the plural of “dog” end with a 'z'-sound, and the plural of “house” end in something sounding like 'iz'?) How do sounds combine in a particular language? (For example, English allows 't' and 'b' to be followed by 'l' - rattle, rabble, atlas, ablative - so why then does 'blick' sound like a possible word in English when 'tlick' does not?) These kinds of questions would be answered in phonology. 

Why should we learn phonetics and phonology?

Some people do not feel interested in learning phonetics and phonology. They think that as long as they can pronounce the words in English correctly, they do not have to worry about anything. Some of them even think that if they pronounce the words with minor mistakes, people still can understand what they are trying to say. We have to bear in mind, all knowledge in this world are beneficial to people. If they are meant to harm and trouble people, others would not struggle to develop that knowledge. This is similar with phonetics and phonology. There are benefits behind learning these two linguistics areas. By learning phonetics and phonology, we are able to:           

1)      Know how to pronounce the words correctly.

It is important to know how to pronounce a word correctly. Wrong pronunciation may cause miscommunication and misunderstanding among people and eventually will cause other problems.

2)      Be familiar with the sounds and symbols in the IPA chart. It is helpful to know how to read these symbols. When we are in doubt on how to pronounce a particular word, we can always refer to the dictionary that provides the transcription of the word.

3)      Learn about the place and manner of articulation of each and every sound in the IPA chart. We get to know where the sound is produced and how to produce it.

         Learning phonetics and phonology can be very helpful in learning Arabic. As the Qur’an is revealed in Arabic, Muslims have to learn that language. They have to learn all the Arabic letters in order to recite the Qur’an. Knowing the letters are not enough. It is important for Muslims to really know how to produce the sounds of the Arabic letters. If they produce it wrongly, the meaning of the words in the Qur’an would change. Muslims also have to know how the sounds in Arabic change when one letter meets another letter in the same word, or in two different words. All these changes of sounds will fall under tajwid (the rules governing pronunciation during recitation of the Qur’an).

References

Pomona College. (2005). Phonetics-Phonology. Retrieved on March 21, 2013 from             http://www.lcs.pomona.edu/page15/page1/page1.html

Your dictionary reference. (2013). The difference between phonetics and phonology. Retrieved on March 21, 2013 from http://reference.yourdictionary.com/word-definitions/differences-between-phonetics-and-phonology.html