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

Phonetics And Phonology Questions



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

Phonetics and phonology are two subfields of linguistics that study the sounds of human language. However, they differ in terms of their scope.

Phonetics is the study of the physical properties of sounds, focusing on their production, transmission, and perception. It examines the articulatory, acoustic, and auditory aspects of speech sounds. Phonetics aims to describe and classify all possible sounds used in human languages, including consonants, vowels, and suprasegmental features like stress and intonation. It is concerned with the actual sounds produced by speakers and how they are perceived by listeners.

On the other hand, phonology is the study of the abstract, mental representations and patterns of sounds in language. It investigates how sounds function within a particular language or languages, analyzing their systematic organization and the rules governing their distribution and behavior. Phonology is concerned with the underlying structures and rules that determine how sounds are combined and patterned to form meaningful units, such as words and sentences.

In summary, phonetics deals with the physical properties and production of speech sounds, while phonology focuses on the abstract patterns and rules governing the sounds within a language.