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Phonetic Nature and Phonemic Status of the English Centring Diphthongs (Experimental Study)


Author: Sandu Tatiana
Degree:doctor of philology
Speciality: 10.02.04 - Germanic Languages (with specification of language)
Year:2015
Scientific adviser: Nicanor Babără
doctor habilitat, professor, Moldova State University
Institution: Moldova State University

Status

The thesis was presented on the 25 August, 2015
Approved by NCAA on the 7 October, 2015

Abstract

Adobe PDF document – 0.69 Mb / in romanian

Keywords

phonological aspect; acoustic, articulatory and general characteristics; central diphthongs; phoneme; formant; frequency; grapheme; intensity; phonetical nature; speech organs; perceptive peculiarities; spectrum; phonematical status; typical sound

Summary

Dissertation Structure. The dissertation consists of: annotations in Roumanian, English and Russian; key-words and abbreviations lists; introduction; three chapters, each followed by the respective conclusions; general conclusions and recommendations, bibliography references (359 entries); 11 appendices. The dissertation basic text contains 147 pages. The achieved results are published in 32 scientific studies.

Domain of Study. English speech studies; experimental Phonetics.

Goal and Objectives. The goal of the present investigation is to study the problems connected with the general, articulatory and acoustic characteristics, phonetic nature, phonetic-phonemic status and orthography values of the English centring diphthongs – British variant /ˊɪə, ˊeə, ˊʊə/. In order to achieve this goal, we pursued the following objectives: to select structures that contain the English centring diphthongs, to establish their articulatory and acoustic peculiarities, to determine the perceptive particularities, to speculate upon the articulatory and phonemic aspects, to determine the applicative principles of the English centring diphthongs.

Scientific Novelty and Originality. The research novelty is based on an attempt to determine, analyse and describe the value of the following issues: general, articulatory, acoustic, perceptive and orthographic ones. The originality of the investigation consists in the description of these compound sounds, using the experimental analysis of the English centring diphthongs based on the data obtained by applying oscillographic and spectrographic methods.

Important Scientific Problem Solved constitutes the performance of theoretical and experimental research, that constantly should have a complex character, to prove that English diphthongs form an indivisible articulatory integrity, where the first structural element has the primary function and is always stressed, while the second element, although not stressed, ensures the indissoluble integrity of the diphthong. The result being the establishment of the statuts of the English centring diphthongs, as being unique and indivisible, the key problem solved articulatorily, acoustically and phonematically.

Theoretical Significance consists in the systematization, hierarchy and complex decoding of the general, articulatory and acoustic features of the English centring diphthongs based on human voice recordings in the context of Phonetics and Phonology. The study was carried out in the framework of the above mentioned characteristics of the centring diphthongs, highlighting their objectivity for a further study of the phonetic-phonemic interconnection.

Practical Value of the Research. The results of the work contribute to the further determination of the English phonetic-phonemic system and, as a result, to solving many problems related to the phonemic status of the English compound sounds, to upgrading some theoretical courses, to developing some methodological supports for the English Phonetics, to improving the quality of learning the English Phonetics, especially that of the English centring diphthongs system.

Scientific Results Implementation. The developed strategies have contributed, from the phonetic and phonemic points of view, to emphasising the diphthongs’ specific status. The investigation results provide a basis for the elaboration of the theoretical and practical courses in English Phonetics which are relevant for both teachers and students.