What is the difference between phonetics and phonology in terms of their goals?

Phonetics And Phonology Questions



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What is the difference between phonetics and phonology in terms of their goals?

Phonetics and phonology are two branches of linguistics that study the sounds of human language. While they are closely related, they differ in terms of their goals.

Phonetics focuses on the physical properties of sounds, examining how they are produced, transmitted, and perceived. Its goal is to describe and classify the sounds of human language, without considering their linguistic function or meaning. Phonetics aims to provide a detailed analysis of speech sounds, including their articulation, acoustic properties, and auditory perception.

On the other hand, phonology is concerned with the abstract, mental representations and patterns of sounds in a particular language or languages. It investigates how sounds function within a specific linguistic system, analyzing their distribution, organization, and relationships. Phonology aims to uncover the underlying rules and principles that govern the sound patterns of a language, including phoneme inventory, syllable structure, and phonotactics.

In summary, while phonetics focuses on the physical aspects of speech sounds, phonology delves into the abstract and systematic organization of sounds within a language.