Introduction
Major Functions of Phonic Elements
The
definition of Phoneme and Archiphoneme
Various
view points of functional phonology
By
functional phonology is normally meant the phonological theory predominantly
associated with the Russian, Nikolaj Sergeyevich Trubetzkoy (1890-1938). This
theory is also known as Prague School Phonology, and there exists a fair amount
of literature on it. Much less has been written in English about the functional
phonological theory developed by the Frenchman André Martinet and his
associates. Both streams of functional phonology are founded on linguistic
functionalism and have much in common.
Major Functions of Phonic Elements
Functionalists study phonic elements from the points of view of the
various functions they fulfill in a given language. They identify and order
these functions hierarchically. Some of the better-known functions are the
following:
1.
1. The representative function,
whereby speakers inform listeners of whatever extralinguistic facts or states
they are talking about. This corresponds to what the Austrian
psychologist-linguist, Karl Bühker (1879-1963).
2.
2. The indexical or expressive
function, whereby information is revealed to the listener about various aspects
of he speaker.
3.
3. The appellative or conative
function, which serves to provoke well-definable impressions or feelings in the
listener.
4.
4. The distinctive function.
This is a function which derives directly from the concept of opposition, and in
the case of phonological analysis, form the concept of phonological opposition.
It is the function by virtue of which linguistic forms are opposed to, or
differentiated form, each other. The minimal linguistic form that is meaningful,
or the minimal significant unit, is known as a moneme, which consists in the
association between a signifier (vocal expression) and a signified (semantic
content).
5.
5. The contrastive function,
which enables the listener to analyze a spoken chain into a series of
significant units like monemes, words, phrases, etc. An accent in a language
functions contrastively by bringing into prominence one, and only one, syllable
in what is called an accentual unit. Since an accentual unit is in many
languages what is commonly referred to as a word, the listener automatically
analyses a spoken chain into a series of words. However, in such a language as
German which allows cumulative compounding in word-formation, a compound word
may consist of a number of elements, each of which bears and accent. What is
meant by the term contrastive is that the accented syllable contrasts with the
unaccented syllable and characterizes the accentual unit as a whole.
6.
6. The demarcative or
delimitative function, which is fulfilled in such a say that the boundary
between significant units is indicated.
7.
7. The expressive function,
whereby speakers convey to listeners their state of mind without resorting to he
use of an additional moneme or monemes.
The
above are some major functions of phonic elements that are identified in various
languages. They are all recognized as major functions in terms of their relative
importance from a functional point of view. It has been pointed out that the
distinct function derives directly from the concept of phonological opposition
and that the distinctive function is fulfilled by a phoneme, an archiphonome, a
tone or an architone. The distinctive function is considered to be the most
important function.
It is crucial to understand that, in functional phonology, the concept
of phonological opposition is primary, while the concept of the phoneme is
secondary; without a phonological opposition, phonemes are inconceivable and
inadmissible; the concept of he phoneme derives its validity from the fact that
phonemes are members of a phonological opposition. The concept of phonological
opposition is thus at the center of functional phonology.
The definition of Phoneme and Archiphoneme
A phoneme or an archiphoneme is a sum of phonologically relevant features –
relevant features for short - which themselves fulfill the distinctive function.
An opposition between phonemes, between phonemes and archiphonemes, between
archiphonemes, between relevant features, or between tones, is said to be a
phonological opposition.
The phonemes and the archiphonemes of a given language are identified at
the same time as mutually different sums of relevant features in terms of which
they are definable, by means of the commutation test. In order to perform the
commutation test, the functionalist chooses from within a corpus of data a
certain number of commutative series which are associated with different
phonetic contexts and each of which consists of a series of monemes, arranged in
a parallel order, whose signifiers differ minimally from each other by the
difference of a single segment at a corresponding point while the rest are
identical.
Various view points of functional phonology
On the basis of this commutation test, functionalists identify, among
other relevant features, the relevant features ‘non-nasal’, ‘bilabial’,
and ‘voiceless’. The principle of the commutation test fundamentally and
closely resembles that of the theory of the micro-phoneme and the macro-phoneme
proposed in 1935 by the American linguist, William Freeman Twaddell(1906-82).
A relevant feature is identified in the course of the commutation test
performed on a corpus of data obtained from a given language under phonological
analysis. Furthermore, the internal structure of a relevant feature is a complex
of multiple non-dissociable distinctive phonic features some of which may be
present in some phonetic contexts while others may not be present in other
phonetic contexts.
The common base of the member phonemes of a phonological opposition in a
given language is not found in any other phoneme (s) of the same language. In
such a case, the phonemes are said to be in an exclusive relation; that is, the
common base is exclusive to the phonemes in question. Some functionalists
suggest the term exclusive opposition to designate conveniently this type of
phonological opposition, whose member phonemes are in an exclusive relation.
On the other hand, it may be the case that the common base of the member
phonemes of a phonological opposition in a given language, is found in another
or other phonemes of the same language.
The common base of the phonemes of an exclusive opposition (but not of a
non-exclusive opposition) is the archiphoneme, which may be defined as the sum
of the relevant features of the (two or more) phonemes of an exclusive
opposition.
An exclusive opposition may or may not be a neutralizable opposition.
However, a neutralizable opposition is bound to be an exclusive opposition; it
is never a non-exclusive opposition. This brings us to the concept of
neutralization.
Martinet and the majority, if not all, of his associates give much the
same account of the neutralization of such an exclusive opposition consisting of
two phonemes, except that they generally do not resort to the concept of
bilateral opposition and to the concept of the archiphoneme representative. It
should be noted in passing that a few functionalists do not operate with the
notions of the mark, marked, and unmarked in their account of any
neutralization.
Finally, a few words are in order about the concepts of the mark, marked,
and unmarked, and the concept of correlation. Most functionalists consider that
one of the two phonemes of a privative opposition possesses the mark and hence
is marked, while the other phoneme lacks it and hence is unmarked.
Adopted from The Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics
Paul Boersma, Inventories In Functional Phonology. 1997.http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/boersma97inventories.html
Paul Boersma, Sound Change In Functional Phonology . http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/176275.html
Functional Phonology. http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/298512.html
The Grammar Model of Functional Phonology. http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/288024.html
Akamatsu,
Tsutomu. Martinet, Andre. Essentials of Functional Phonology.Peeters.Louvain.1992
Cui, Buohai. Note on Functional Phonology. Waiguoyu. 6 (52):74-76.1987.Dec.Beijing, China.