Linguistics: Phonetics

Phonetics is a subdiscipline of linguistics used to describe and categorize the smallest units of language used to build words. The smallest units of language themselves hold no meaning but help create meaning when they are combined into words. Phonetics is often used to help the investigation of other aspects of linguistics—phonology, morphology, syntax, discourse, etc.

What is the significance of understanding the smallest parts of language? First, we must understand what they are and what they are capable of (phonetics) [Page 621]and then how they can be used in language and how they may be influenced by certain linguistic processes (phonology). This investigation helps us understand how the smallest units of language are used. This understanding helps further the investigation of how meaning is created or modified, how sentence types can be marked, and how discourse cues work (e.g., how you know when it’s your turn to talk).

The human body is a complex system of bones, joints, and muscles. All of these elements work together to achieve movements. The head can nod, shake, and tilt. The eyebrows can be raised or lowered and, in some individuals, cocked. The eyes can open, close, and wink. The nose can flare and be wrinkled. The mouth (ignoring the production of sound for this entry) can open, close, purse, blubber, sneer, and tense. The torso can lean forward, backward, or to the side. The hips can be twisted. The knees can bend. The feet can flex and extend. The shoulders can be raised, lowered, and rotated. The elbows can fold like a hinge on a door. The wrists can flex, extend, twist, and wave (make a side-to-side movement). The thumbs can be opposed (the position in which they can help the hand grasp something) or unopposed (their position when something is dropped). The fingers can be extended, flexed, and spread.

All of these body parts perform all of those motions and others. In addition, those motions can be combined with other motions to create an infinite possibility of motion. Consider the average person going about her day. The activity of walking alone is a highly complex action that requires coordination of several body parts. Consider a dancer. Consider gestures that are used in everyday communication.

These everyday gestures are created from a combination of manual (produced by the hands) and nonmanual (produced by other parts of the body) movements and signify meaning. These gestures can be used to indicate, greet, threaten, promise, delay, apologize, request, and convey just about any other activity that humans undertake (Figure 1). They can tell us the time or quantity of something.

These gestures can be both universal (understood by anyone in the world regardless of the language they speak or the community they belong to) or cultural (specific to a certain language and/or community). Some of the gestures shown above could be considered universal. An example of a cultural gesture can be found in the “thumbs-up” sign (Figure 2). Today, an American who raises his hand, in which all fingers are folded but the thumb is spread, and holds it up is expressing that all is well.

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