PHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATIONS OF ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS - A PRAGMATIC ANALYSIS

This study takes a close look at the link between English sounds as realized in normal speech. Sounds are discrete entities that carry in them abstractions which is the import of phonology in every language. The physical properties of sounds which are realized in speech production undoubtedly have an interrelation with this discrete nature of sounds. The researcher adopted a purely analytical approach in viewing this topic, with little reliance on literature. It may be described as a purely scientific study as the researcher uses practical examples and correlates to drum home the interconnection between abstract sounds and their physical properties. The study notes that a letter of the English alphabet, for instance ‘y’, has different production realisations as both a vowel and a consonant based on the articulatory nuances a phonetic analyst associates with it. And secondly, the study finds that English speech sound may or may not have the same physiological identification with its phonetic symbol.