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Phonology is the study of sound patterns in languages - which sounds precedes or follow which others or begin or end words; what kinds of sounds make up syllables; how the occurrence of one sound in a particular word affects the other sounds around it. Not only that, phonology is also how stress affects the sounds with which they occur (Murray). Phonology is about the sounds of a language. The central concept in phonology is the phoneme. The phoneme is a category of sounds. Phonemes are not actual sounds. Phones are actual sounds. So how do are these sounds represented? The most popular system is the IPA. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin alphabet. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association as a standardized representation of the sounds of spoken language (Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia, IPA). The IPA symbols or the International Phonetic Alphabet is the most common idea concerning phonetics and phonology. They are used for phonemes as well as phones. The difference is that phones are enclosed in brackets such as [b], but phonemes are enclosed in slanted line or virgules, such as /b/ (Murray). How is it useful? Phonology has been studied by researchers all over the world. There are many arguments that doubt the effectiveness of phonology in learning how to speak. Below are some explanations on why and how the study of phonology is helpful in speech. 1. Sounds production Phonology teaches the production of sounds. Vowels and consonants are included in sounds. With the help of symbols, one can practice the production of the sounds. There are short and long vowels (Moore). Some examples are listed below: • /i:/ - cream, seen (long vowel) • /?/ - bit, silly (short vowel) Vowels can be joined to create diphthongs. Diphthongs are sounds that begin as one vowel and end as another, while gliding between them (Moore). Some examples are: /a??/ in "eye" /??/ in “ear” Consonants are easier to understand and pronounce. We form consonants by controlling or impeding the egressive (outward) flow of air. We do this with the articulators - from the glottis, past the velum, the hard palate and alveolar ridge and the tongue, to the teeth and lips. The sound results from three things: • voicing - causing the vocal cords to vibrate • where the articulation happens • how the articulation happens - how the airflow is controlled When learners understand the difference in sounds they can learn to speak using the correct sounds. 2. Stress Stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence (Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia - Stress). Stress is marked by placing a small vertical line ‘ high up, just before the syllable to be stressed (Roach). For example, “y'es” There are many levels of stress and rules on how and where to place them. This is studied in details in phonology. Knowing where to stress in a word helps speakers speak clearly and correctly. 3. Intonation Intonation is another important use of phonology. Intonation is variation of pitch while speaking which is not used to distinguish words (Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia - Intonation). Some examples are listed below: • Rising Intonation means the pitch of the voice increases over time [?]; • Falling Intonation means that the pitch decreases with time [?]; • Dipping Intonation falls and then rises [??]; • Peaking Intonation rises and then falls [??] (Wikipedia – the free encyclopedia - Intonation). A different intonation can have different meanings. Emphasis placed on a word has a certain meaning. For example: He found it on the street? [ hi? ?fa?nd ?t | ?n ð? ???st?i?t ? ] Here the rising pitch on street indicates that the question hinges on that word, on where he found it, not whether he found it (Wikipedia – the free encycopledia - Intonation). If the speaker was to stress that he found it, the intonation would be high on the word “found”. Conclusion For beginners, phonology is a useful method of learning speech. By understanding and learning the rules of stress and intonation, a person can speak clearly. There is no correct pronunciation and a person may learn the pronunciation according to their needs. However, phonology is an important factor in differentiating meaning from sounds. References: Moore, Andrew, “Phonology.” http://www.teachit.co.uk/armoore/lang/phonology.htm, 23 June 2011. Murray, T. E. (1995). The Structure of english: Phonetics, Phonology and Morphology. boston: Allyn and Bacon. Roach, Peter. (1996). english Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia, “IPA” Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia, “Stress” Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia, “Intonation”