Phonetical interference in vocal system within Russian and English audience bilinguism

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Phonetical interference in vocal system within Russian and English audience bilinguism 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

      Introduction 

     A silence would be a lonely world. To listen, to answer, and to share our thought and ideas through speech and hearing this is one of the most exciting ports of being human.

     It is no doubt true that students grow toward maturity and independence of thought as they progress through the grades; but this growth is not as a rule a sharp and sudden one, nor does the psychology of the students undergo any great change during the various levels of the fundamental principles that underlie the work of the University remain the same from year to year. The need in every level is to bring about academic growth by providing near and broader experiences.

     While working at school found out how difficult for the students of the secondary school, definite the national groups, to learn English, because there are no prepositions in Russian, but in English we have. If we talk about gender we have, of course some similarities. And when, I tried them to explain some examples in comparison they learned those words better than I thought.

     Thus, the goal of the research is to investigate phonetics in comparison English with Russian.

     The enabling objectives are as follows:

     To review literature of comparative languages (English and Russian) in order to make theoretically we-motivated discussions on the choice of comparison.

     The novelty is that this work contains the comparative analyses of the English phonetics. The student made her own investigation finding many examples of comparison not only in English, and in Russian.

     Materials and literature which she used were «Comparative typology» by V.D. Arakin, the lectures on «Comparative typology» and «Theory of phonetics» by A. Abduazizov.

     The qualification work consists of several parts where she opened and analyzed the theme. 
 

 

      1. Main part 

     1.1 Comparative typology of English and Russian 

     The word typology consists of two Greek morphemes: a) typos means type and b) logos means science or word. Typology is a branch of science which is typical to all sciences without any exception. In this respect their typological method is not limited with the sphere of one science. It has a universal rise. So typology may be divided into:

1. Non-linguistic and
2. Linguistic typology

     Non-linguistic typology is the subject matter of the sciences except linguistics.

     Linguistic typology is a new branch of general linguistic which studies the systems of languages comparatively, also finds common laws of languages and establishes differences and similarities between them.

     Typological classification of languages.

     In linguistics we may come across many terms as to the terminological nature of linguistic typology.

     The are: 1. Comparative methods, 2. Comparative – historical method, 3. Comparative (or contrastive) linguistics, 4. Comparative typology, 5. Comparative grammar, 6. Connotation grammar, 7. Descriptive – comparative linguistics and on the terms used in Russian and English are not exact either.

     Classification of linguistic typology.

     According to the notion of comparison of linguistics phenomenon and the aim directed on we may classify linguistic typology into the following parts a) genetic of genealogical typology, b) structural typology, c) areal typology and d) comparative typology.

     Genealogical typology is a branch of linguistic typology which studies the similarities and the relationship between the related languages. It is applicated to the systems of genetically related languages. Genealogical typology developed from the comparative – historical linguistics dominated during the 19^th century in Europe. It’s origin was stimulated by the discovery of Sanskrit, the ancient classical language of India. The discovery of Sanskrit disclosed the possibility of a comparative study of languages. The concept of relative languages was confirmed by the existence in India of a sister of the familiar languages of Europe e.g. Sanskrit «mata» means «mother», in the accuse case «matarum»

     Dvau-two

     Trayah – three

     As ti-he is etc.

     Before the discovery of Sanskrit European linguistics possessed very vague similarities for the current grammars built on the Greek model. They didn’t set clearly the features of each languages. It is worth to mention that at the same time Sanskrit discovery gave rise to confuse notions of linguistic relation which lived for a brief time that European languages were derived from Sanskrit. But this opinion gave way to a correct explanation, namely Sanskrit, Latin, Greek, and other were later forms of one prehistorically language.

     Comparatives gave two kinds of classification of languages – genealogical and morphological.

Genealogical classification deals with the family relationship of languages which descend from one common ancestor. It distributes languages into different families.

     Morphological classification deals with the classification of languages according to their structural features instead of a genealogical origin.

     According to the morphological classification the languages are divided into:

     Isolating (Chinese; Vietnamese; Japan; etc.)

     Analytic (Russian; English; German; etc.)

     Agglutinative (Turkish languages) and other.

     Genetic Typology compares the systems of languages in two ways: diachronically and synchronically. But in the second case genetic relationship is not taken into consideration.

     Structural linguistic typology can be understood as a systematization of linguistic phenomenon from different languages according to their specific structural features.

     Structural typology research makes it possible to establish some traits are universal, unique, and special.

     Language Universals.

     The notion of language universals is closely connected with the process of unification of linguistic facts with a process of establishing common features between the systems of different languages.

     With the process of generalization of linguistic phenomenon the investigations or language universals began at the end of 1950s. The main event in this field is the international conference held in April, 1961 in New-York.

     At this conference a report called «Memorandum» concerning the language universals was presented by the American linguists J. Greenburg, Ch. Ostgood and J. Genkings. In the former Soviet Union B.A. Uspensky published his monographic research «Структурная типология языка» (1965).

     In 1966 there appeared J. Greenberg’s book «Language universals with special references to feature hierarchies.»

     These works were followed by a number of other research works published as articles and special volumes.

     According to the «Memorandum» languages universals are by their nature summary statements about characteristics or tendencies shared by all human speakers. As such they constitute the most general laws of science of linguistics.

     Language universals study the universal features in the systems of different languages of the world. They find similarities which are typical of the absolute or overwhelming majority of languages.

Types of universals are as follows: 1. Definitional universals, 2. Empirical universals.

     Definitional universals are connected with the fact which the speaker possesses and uses his extrapolation. It means that linguistic phenomenon exists in the system of these languages which the scholar does not know.

     E.g. Indo-European languages have the opposition of the vowels and consonants. This phenomenon may be considered to be systems of other languages of the world.

     Empirical universals are connected with the mental or imaginary experience that is a definite linguistic feature may exist in all languages, secondly he or she does not know if this or that feature exist in all languages. E.g. composition may exist in all languages in spite of their morphological structure.

     Unrestricted universals. According to this type of universals linguistic supposition of hypotheses is not restricted. E.g. all languages have vowels or for all languages the number of phonemes is not fewer that 10 or more that 70 or every language has at least 2 vowels.

     Universal implication. These universals involve the relationship between two characteristics. If a language has a certain characteristics, it has also some particular characteristics but not vise-versa i.e. the presence of the second doesn’t empty the presence of the first.

     E.g. If a language has a category of dual number it has also a category of plural but not vise-versa. Such implications are numerous particularly in the phonological aspect of languages.

     Comparative typology is a branch of general linguistic typology. It deals with a comparison of languages.

     Comparative typology compares the systems of two or more concrete languages and creates common typological laws. The comparison of the system of two languages are compared first of all.

     E.g. the category of mood in English is considered to be a small system. Having completed the comparison of languages investigators takes the third language to compare and so on. Comparative typology is sometimes characterized by some scholars as characterology which deals with the comparison of the systems only. 

     1.2 Comparative – typological analysis of the phonological systems of English and Russian 

     In the linguistic literature phoneme is defined as the smallest distinctive unit. Unlike the other bigger units of language as morpheme and word it doesn’t have its meaning but helps us to distinct the meanings of words and morphemes. Comp. boy-toy, better-letter-latter-litter-later; лук-бук-тук, мор-хор-лор etc. From the acoustic and articulatory points of view the phonemic system of any language may be divided into vowels and consonants.

     The systems of vowel phonemes

     From the acoustic point of the view vowels are speech sounds of pure musical tone. Their oscillagraphic melody tracing are characterized by periodically.

     From the point of view of articulation vowels are speech sound in the production of which there are no noise producing obstructions. The obstructions by means of which vowels are formed may be of two kinds:

1. The fourth obstruction without which neither vowels nor voiced consonants are formed.
2. The third obstruction characteristic of both: English and Russian vowels.

     The channels formed in the mouth cavity for vowel production by moving a certain part of the tongue and keeping the lips in a certain position cannot be regarded as obstructions. They change the shape and volume of the resonance chamber, and in this way, help to achieve the timbre (or quality) of voice, characteristic of the vowel in question.

     In modern English we distinguish 21 vowel phonemes:

     10. monophthongs [e, i, u, æ α:, c, c:, ۸, ə, ə:]

     9. Diphthongs [ei, ai, au, æ i, əi,]

     In modern Russian we find 8 vowel letters and corresponding vowel phonemes [a, o, y, e, э, i(и)]

     The main principles of classifying the vowel phonemes are as-follows: a) according to the part (place of – articulation or horizontal movement) of the tongue; b)according to the height (vertical movement) of the long; c) according to the position of lips; d) according to quality (length) of vowels.

     1. according to the part (horizontal movement) of the tongue vowel may be divided into;

     central [ə: ə], front [i:, i, e, æ,] and back [a, u, æ, u, α:, æ:] vowels.

     2. according to the height of the tongue into: close (high) [i:], [u:], medial [e, ə: ə] and open [æ, α:, æ:, æ] vowels

     In the languages, in which hot only the quality but also quantity of vowels is of certain phonemic or positional value, one more subdivision appears.

     3. according to vowel length the vowels may be divided into short; [i, ə, u, æ,] and long [i: ə: u: æ: α:] vowels. (In this case it belongs only to the English vowels as far as in Russian the length of the vowel is of no importance).

     4. according to the position of lips vowels may be; rounded (or labilialized)

     [u:, u: ۸] and unrrounded (non-labialized) [e, ə: ə, æ] vowels.

     5. we may also subdivide vowels according to their tensely or laxity into:

     Lax [i, e, ۸, ə, ə, æ] and tense [i: u: ə: æ:  α:] vowels.

     Vowel quality, vowel length and the position of the lips are denoted in the classification by transcription symbols of the phoneme itself. For instance [α:] is a long diphthongized vowel phoneme, pronounced with lips unrounded and [æ:] is a rounded long diphthongized vowel, while [۸] and [e] are an unrounded monophthongs. The first and the second principles constitute the basis of any vowel classification. They were firs suggested by H. Sweet (1898). 

     1.3 Comparative vowel table 

     The first comparative vowel tables appeared in the 19th-century. Their aim was to prove the common origin of some two modern languages belonging to the same family. In the 1920s of the XX century Prof. D. Jones suggested a classification based on the principle of the so called «cardinal vowels». But these cardinal vowels are abstract notion and have nothing to do with the comparison of two language from the typological viewpoint.

     The aim of our comparison is pedagogical. Every phoneme of the English language should be compared with the Russian vowels as comparison of an unknown language phoneme with that of one's mother tongue is of great use. The aim of our comparison (does not need any universal principle) and is to underline the specific features of vowel formation in the two languages in question. The tables of English vowels (accepted in our country) are based on the principles of acad. L.V. Sherba's vowel classification, later on prof. G.P. Torsueva’s and prof. V.AVasiljev's classification.

     1. According to the position of the tongue in the horizontal plane English vowels are divided into 3 groups: close, medial, and open. Each of them is subdivided into: narrow and broad.

     2. According to the part of the tongue: front – retracted, mixed, back advanced and back.

     In comparing the English and Russian vowel systems one more principle should be accepted – central vowels must be divided into: l) central proper and central retracted.

     Comparison shows, that:

     1. the Russian [a] should be classified as broad open central retracted vowel

     2. the neutral vowel [ə] in English was pronounced by – the English speakers examined as a broad medial, central retracted vowel.

     3. the English [۸] was pronounced as an open narrow, central retracted vowel (evidently thanks to the new tendency to make it less back).

     As there is ho subdivision of Russian vowels according to their

     quantity into long and short ones there is no perceptible,

     difference in their tensely or laxity,

     phonemes are differentiated by their qualitative features.

     The main philological relevant features of the Russian vowels phonemes are: front–central–back, according to which they may form phonological opposition: close-mid-open (мил-мел-мал, тюль-мель, мол – мел etc.)

     It should be kept in mind that there is a difference between the phonetic and phonological classification of phonemes. In the phonetic classification articulation arid acoustic features are taken into consideration. Every point of its difference is of pedagogical use.

     But philological classification is based on the abstract differential features of phonemes. They serve the purpose of their differentiating, and are called philologically relevant attributes of phonemes. They may be defined with the help of, philological opposition in some pairs of words.

     Comparative analysis of the English and Russian vowels systems

     As has been mentioned above the system of English vowel phonemes consists of monophtongs, diphthongized vowels and diphthongs. There are 21 vowel phonemes in English. They are: [i:, I, e, æ, ά, c, c, u, u, ۸, ə, ə, ei, ou, au, ci, iə, ei, uə,] There are 6 vowel phonemes in Russian. They are: [i, u, e, a, o, j]

     The main point of difference: similarly between the English monophtongs, diphthongizes vowel and Russian may be summed up as follows:

     1. The English and Russian vowel phonemes are characterized by the oral formation. There are no nasal nasalized vowels in the languages compared.

     2. According to the part of the tongue in the formation of vowel phonemes there are no front–retracted, central proper for mixed) vowels in Russian. Resembles may be found in the pronunciation of the back vowels in English and Russian. The Russian [y] and the English [o] are back-advanced vowels. The Russian [o] and the English [e] are back retracted vowels. Therefore, it is comparatively easy to teach the Russian pronunciation of back English vowels.

     3. According to the height of the tongue in English there are vowels of the 6 levels. Russian vowels belong to the narrow varieties of the 3 levels. In Russian there are no vowel phonemes like the English æ, əi, ə, ə:.

     These vowels are difficult for the student to master; especially the neutral vowel. But never the less the neutral [ə] can be compared with Russian unstressed in the words like: писатель, путешествие, удивительный etc.