Conflict

In Pakistan, mostly Linguistics is taught with respect to or in association with English literature studies. BZU Multan is the most biggest institute regarding Linguistics education in Pakistan. The students of BZU whether they are mastered in literature or language they have the basic knowledge of the other discipline. MSc Linguistics know the basics of literature and genres and, on the other hand, MA English Literature students have a basic knowledge of the major areas of Linguistics.

Linguistics at GCUF is trying to establish its roots. The Applied Linguistics Department was established in 2006 and after some time it was merged with Department of English. It was run under the head of English department of almost 4+ years. Here at GCUF, we have typical problems of management, favoritism and other such social evils of our society. People cannot see something progressing so linguistics students were suppressed in the department. Thus a dichotomy and tension was created among the two discipline's students. There is a fair state of hatred among them.

The department of applied linguistics is now a separate department but still we do not have equipment, managing staff and sufficient teaching staff. We share everything with department of English. The cream of university, the higher management is also in favor of English department. We need a language lab and today the controller examination of our university announced that department of English should re-submit the proposals etc so it may get the hosting of this language lab. I was wondering what is the need to have a language lab for an English Literature student.

I am not against the merger of these two departments. But the problem is what I mentioned above. The poeple are not ready to accept our existance in university. So we had to separate. Although it looks strange in Pakistani context that linguistics department is separate from english literature department. We should accept the existence of each other in every field of life instead of cutting the roots of each other.

Language Monster?

We are studying Sapir Whorf Hypotheis these days. Along with it there is another cousrse regarding Literary Theory in which we are studying Strucuralism. Both of these theories regard language as if it were a monster. The quotation from Whorf's writings "Humans beings are at the mercy of their Language" is the most controversial one. And then the strcutulists and post-structuralists say that language is superior to our thought. Every thing is a construct of langauge. What we perceive is due to language and nothing else. I am quite confused here because my personal attitude is towards medial way. I think language influences our thought but not determines it. There are lots of examples when human mind breaks the cage of language and thinks beyond the so-called singnification system. All the scientific discoveries and revolutionary ideas are the product of same process. We create words often to name the concepts which we have thought of or oberverd. I personally do not think that langauge 'determines' our thought. Ok I admit it influences but this influence is a biletral process.

"English is not a Phonetic Language"

A phonetic language means that the written words have same
pronunciation. But it is not in the case of English. It is not a
Phonetic language. It has no relation in spellings and
pronunciation of the word. Often we observe that the pronunciation is
beyond our expectations. There are several rules for a single character
to pronounce in certain circumstances. But we cannot also predict even
then, there may a pronunciation exist which we cannot even think about.
The thing that the spellings and sound patterns of English words is
different, makes it one of the difficult languages of the world. So
what we have to do then?

If we want to learn Spoken English we should concentrate then on pronunciation. Just forget the spellings and try to learn the sounds. e.g. There are seven sounds for a spelling combination "oug"

1. though (like o in go)

2. through (like oo in too)

3. cough (like off in offer)

4. rough (like uff in suffer)

5. plough (like ow in flower)

6. ought (like aw in saw)

7. borough (like a in above)

Another combination 'ght'

right (rite no /g/ and /h/ sounds)

There are some other examples also where the combination is same but
pronunciation is different in each case.

As:: We read.(ri:d)

We had read.(red)

Some more examples::

1. As use (/z/ instead of /s/ so uze)

2. As but (/ɘ/ instead of /ʊ/ so /bɘt/

3. As year (ear no /y/)

4. As guide (/gɘi:d/ no /u:/ or /ʊ/)

5. As up (/ʌp/ no /u:/ or /ʊ/ sounds)

Assignment 1(Phonology)

Phonetics
& Phonology Difference

Definition:

Phonetics describes the articulatory and acustic properties of human speech sound. In Phonetics we study the sounds which could be produced by human articulatory system. What kind of parts of body i.e. The speech organs are invoved in it.What kind of sounds each one can produce.

Phonology is another term and branch of sound studies which deals with the sounds of a specific language.

Scope:

Phonetics deals with all kind of human speech sounds irrespective of any language of the world. Its independence from language enables every human being to study it without getting any extra knowledge of some other language.

Here we have to bound ourselves in a specific language. Phonology actually deals with the sounds selected in a language from a set of all sounds which could be produced by the human articulatory system. For example in English we study 44 selected sounds as for English only instead of more than 100 sounds which can be produced by human speech organs. Phonology thus makes the sound system of that specific language.

Sound
Pattrens:

We are only concerened with sounds not their combinations in Phonetics.

There are some patterns of sounds which are used to make words. Phonology also determines the permitted pattrens for a specific language. Pattren may be said as a combination of vowels and consonants to make a word.

Branches:

There are basically three branches of Phonetics. They deal with three basic parts of human speech and listening system. Articulatory Phonetics is the branch which deals with the mechanisms involved in a specific sound production, the tongue position, vocal fold state and lip rounding etc. Acoustic Phonetics studies the process of transformsion of one's sound into other's ear. The kind of sound waves, the enviornment around where the communication is taking place and may be energy spectrum and resonence of voice also. The third kind is called Auditory Phonetics, deals with the listning process of the sound. We study here what is pitch of the sound, is it louder or weaker in the ear etc.

Phonology has two branches. The branch which deals with above mentioned functions i.e. Selection of Sounds and Permitted Patterns is called Segmental Phonology. There is another branch with deals with other features. This kind is called SuperSegmental Phonology. This branch deals with factors effects the sylleble in connected speech. These factos can be stress, intonation, assimilation, elision etc.

Vowels
And Cosonants Difference

Definition:

The word vowel comes from the Latin word vocalis, meaning "speaking". In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language is that sound in which there is no hindrance while uttering them. Simply mean there is not air pressure produced in vowel production.

The word consonant comes from Latin and means "sounding with" or "sounding together." In Phonetics consonant is a sound in which production vocal tract comes into such a position that it sufficiently causes audible troublence or causes air to come out with a stop or friction.

Kinds:

There are diffrerent classification methods of vowels. Classification on the basis of Tongue Position There are three kinds according to tongue position. Front Vowels: Those which are produced by the raised front part of tongue against hard palate.e.g /i:/ Back Vowels: Those which are produced by the raised back part of the tongue in the direction of hard palate.e.g /u:/ Central Vowels: Which are produced at a postion inbetween front and back of the tongue. e.g. /З:/ Classification on the basis of Tongue Height Close Vowels: Those in which tongue is raised close to the roof of the mouth. e.g /u:/ Open Vowels: In which tongue has distance from roof of mouth./ǽ/ Half Close Half Open Vowels: In which tongue is at a postion of ½ or 2/3 positions with respect to height. Distinction on the basis of Lip Position Rounded Vowels: Those vowels in which lips are brought towards each other and pushed forward while vowel porduction. e.g. /u:/ Spreah Vowels: Those vowels when they are produced lips are spreaded and the lip corners moves away from each other. e.g. /i:/ Neutral Vowels: They are produced when lips are neither rounded nor spread as in /З:/.

Consonants can be classified on the basis of Vocal Chord Vibration. Voiced: While therir production the vocal chord vibrates and thus the sound uttered is called a voiced sound. Like Voiceless: Which are produced without Vocal Chord virbration. Consonants can be classified by the manner of articulation. Stops: In which air is stopped by articulatary system and then released as in /p/. Fricatives: Air comes out with friction, our articulators tends to block air but it doesn't blocked actually as there in /f/ Affricates: The compound of stops and fricatives. They have bothe the qualities. Oral And Nasal Articulation Nasal: During uttrence of sound if velum is in such a position that air escapes from Nasal cavitiy then we call such sound a Nasal as /m/. Oral: When air is escaped through oral cavity (as usaully) the sound produced is called Oral as /w/. Place of Articulation Bilibial: Lips are combined to pronounce such sounds like /p/. Libio-Dental: Those in which lips and teeth both involded as in /f/ where upper teeth and lowe lip produce the sound. Dental: When toungue touches the teeth as in /θ/. Alveolar: Alveolar reigon is involved along with tongue in such sound's production. Just as /d/ Palato-Alveolar: A producion of sound from harad palate and alveolar region. As in /l/ Palatal: Where toungue touches directly to the harad palate. Like in /j/ Veler: Veler section is involved as in /w/

Number:

Vowels are 20 in number from which 12 are monothongs and 8 are diphthongs i.e. Compound Vowels.

Consonants are 24 in number.