M.

A ENGLISH (1ST)

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
PHONETICS & PHONOLOGY

Submitted To:

Sir Kashif Rao

Submitted By:
Group 4
Arsalan Umar (15223)
Adnan Ahmad (15221)
Usama Arshad (15241)
Muhammad Jawwad Ahmed (15231)
Phonetics is about the physical aspect of sounds, it is the study of the production, transmission
and reception of speech sounds. Phonetic transcriptions are done using the square brackets, [ ]. It
is made up of symbols both familiar, such as [b] and [m] and unfamiliar, such as [θ] and [f], to
our alphabet.

Phonology is about the abstract aspect of sounds and it studies the phonemes (phonemic
transcriptions adopt the slash / /). Phonology is about establishing what the phonemes are in a
given language, i.e. those sounds that can bring a difference in meaning between two words. A
phoneme is a phonic segment with a meaning value, for example in minimal pairs:

 bat – pat
 had – hat

Basically, it is the rules that every speaker of a language knows about the patterns of that
language, unconsciously. An example of one such rule would be the understanding that the
words “eighth” and “butter” both have the letter [t], but they are pronounced differently based off
the other letters around them.

Fig: Phonetics as a sub discipline of phonology

 Phonetics
Versus
Phonology
Phonetics belong to Phonology belongs to
descriptive linguistics theoretical linguistics
Studies the production, transmission, Studies different patterns of sounds in
reception of sound different language
Does not study Can study
one particular language one specific language
Limited Scope Broader Scope
Articulation /Production Selection
Transmission Organization
Reception Function
Description Distribution
Not concerned with meaning Semantic function of sounds
Basis for phonological analysis Basis for further morphological, syntactical
analysis etc.
Vocal tract, phonation type, characteristics of Allophones. Syllables, intonation, minimal pairs,
sounds, etc. assimilation, etc.
So, the basic difference is as following; Phonetics deals more with the study of the sounds
without knowledge of language spoken while Phonology is more about the patterns of sounds
and the rules that are unconsciously internalized by the speakers of the language.
 Some of the most prominent differences between phonetics and phonology can be
elaborated as follows:

 Descriptive vs. Theoretical: Phonetics is a subfield of descriptive linguistics while

phonology is an area of theoretical linguistics.

 Phonological Analysis vs. Further Studies: Phonetics is the basis for phonological
analysis. On the other hand, phonology is the basis for further work in morphology,
syntax, discourse, and orthography design.

 General Speech Sounds vs. Particular Sound Pattern Analysis: Phonetics (the study
of the physical aspects of sound) analyzes the production of all human speech sounds,
regardless of any language it is dealing with. While, phonology analyses the sound
patterns of a particular language by determining which phonetic sounds are significant,
and explaining how these sounds are interpreted by the native speaker.

 Concrete vs. Abstract: Phonetics discusses the physical characteristics of speech

sounds or signs, especially, their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory
perception and neurophysiological status. Phonology is primarily concerned with the
abstract, grammatical characterization of systems of sounds or signs.

 Audible Sounds vs. Their Meanings: Phonetics is strictly about audible sounds and
the things that happen in our mouth, throat, nasal and sinus cavities, and the lungs to
make these sounds. It has nothing to do with meaning. It is only description. Phonology,
on the other hand, is both physical as well as meaningful. It explores the differences
between the sounds in a language that change the meaning of an utterance.

 Form vs. Function: Phonetics is concerned with the form, i.e. the physical properties
of sounds. Phonology, on the other hand, is concerned with the function, i.e. the
differences and similarities of sounds.
 Universal vs. Language Specific: Phonetics deals with the universal phenomenon of
human speech sounds. Phonology, on the other hand, is language specific.

 Phone vs. Phoneme: In phonetics, the smallest structural unit is a phone. In phonology,
on the other hand, the minimal meaningful unit is called a phoneme.

 Phone vs. Allophone: Every language consists of speech sounds called phones.
Phonetics is concerned with phones in general. Phonology, on the other hand, describes
phones as allophones of phonemes.

 Phonetic vs. Phonemic Transcription: Phonetics deals with the phonetic transcription
of speech sounds. Phonology, on the other hand, deals with the phonemic transcription of
speech sounds.

 Square Brackets vs. Slanted Brackets: In phonetic transcription, square brackets are
used to enclose transcribed symbols. In phonemic transcription, on the other hand,
slashes are used for the same purpose.

 Speech Act vs. Language System: Phonetics is concerned with the speech act.
Phonology, on the other hand, is concerned with the language system.

 Gradient vs. Categorical: Phonetics is gradient while phonology is categorical.

 Phonetics in Phonology vs. Phonology in Phonetics: During their interaction, when

phonetics affects phonology, the phonetics effects and constraints are reflected in the
phonology. This is referred to as naturalness. On the other hand, when phonology affects
phonetics, it results in the mapping between the units of phonology and their physical
realization.
 Individuality vs. Interrelationship of Sounds: Phonetic transcription depends simply
on the pronunciation of each individual sound regardless of its function in the sound
system of the given language, whereas phonemic transcription depends upon the
interrelationship of sounds in each particular language.

 Identification vs. Interpretation of Sounds: Phonetics studies ‘which sounds are

present in a language’. Phonology, on the other hand, studies how these sounds combine
and how they change in combination, as well as which sounds can contrast to produce
differences in meaning.

 Phonetic vs. Phonemic Features: Phonetic features whose presence or absence can
alter meaning are called phonemic features. On the other hand, adding or subtracting a
phonemic feature normally results in a change of meaning as well as in a change in
pronunciation.

 Phonetic Symbols vs. Phonemic Symbols: The symbols of phonetic alphabet are
universal. On the other hand, phonemic symbols are a type of phonetic shorthand with
specific value for a particular sound in a language.