A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics David Crystal

phonology 365
phonological scaling An abstract account of phonology which aims to determine
automatically, on the basis of a universal strength scale, the behaviour of
segments or segment classes in all possible structural positions.
phonological space A term used in phonology to refer to a theoretical space
in which a system of phonological contrasts can be thought to operate. For
example, changes affecting a vowel system (such as the English Great Vowel
Shift) can be conceived of as operating in a space where such relations as ‘above’
and ‘below’ or ‘in front of’ and ‘behind’ are phonologically relevant.
phonologization (n.) A term used in historical phonology for a process whereby
sounds which were formerly allophones develop a contrastive status (become
phonemic) through the loss of their conditioning environments.
phonology (n.) A branch of linguistics which studies the sound systems of
languages. Out of the very wide range of sounds the human vocal apparatus
can produce, and which are studied by phonetics, only a relatively small number
are used distinctively in any one language. The sounds are organized into a
system of contrasts, which are analysed in terms of phonemes, distinctive
features or other such phonological units, according to the theory used. The
aim of phonology is to demonstrate the patterns of distinctive sound found in a
language, and to make as general statements as possible about the nature of
sound systems in the languages of the world. Putting this another way, phonology
is concerned with the range and function of sounds in specific languages
(and often therefore referred to as ‘functional phonetics’), and with the rules
which can be written to show the types of phonetic relationships that relate
and contrast words and other linguistic units. The student of phonology is known
as a phonologist. The term has also been applied to the study of analogous
contrastivity in sign languages (see sign (2)).
In linguistic theories, phonology is seen in one of two main ways: (a) as a
level of linguistic organization, contrasted with the levels of phonetics,
grammar and semantics in the first instance, (b) as a component of a generative
grammar (the phonological component), contrasted with various other
components (e.g. syntactic/semantic in early generative grammar; covert in
the minimalist programme). Within phonology, two branches of study are
usually recognized: segmental and suprasegmental. Segmental phonology
analyses speech into discrete segments, such as phonemes; suprasegmental or
non-segmental phonology analyses those features which extend over more than
one segment, such as intonation contours. Another distinction is made between
diachronic and synchronic phonology, the former studying patterns of sound
change in the history of language, the latter studying sound patterns regardless
of the processes of historical change. Experimental phonology aims to integrate
research in experimental phonetics, experimental psychology and phonological
theory to provide a hypothesis-based investigation of phonological phenomena
(of the kind which is standard in the experimental sciences).
The history of phonology is largely taken up with the development of ideas
concerning the phoneme, as originally propounded in Prague School and
Bloomfieldian phonological theory, and the subsequent alternative views
proposed, especially in generative phonology (GP) and prosodic phonology,