Meaning & use
phonology
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Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
The study of how speech sounds are organized and used in a particular language.
Grammar: Uncountable; used without 'a' or plural: 'the phonology of English'.
Patterns
- the phonology of a language
- English phonology
- study phonology
She is writing her thesis on the phonology of Japanese.
A good course in phonology will help you understand why English spelling is so irregular.
nouncountabletechnical
The system of sounds and sound patterns of a particular language.
Grammar: Countable when referring to a specific language's sound system: 'the phonologies of Romance languages'.
Patterns
- the phonology of a language
- a language's phonology
- compare phonologies
The phonology of Spanish is quite different from that of English.
Linguists have described the phonologies of hundreds of languages.
Common combinations
- phonology and phonetics
- In linguistics, phonology and phonetics are closely related but distinct fields.
- English phonology
- English phonology includes rules for how sounds change in connected speech.
- study phonology
- Students often study phonology after an introductory course in linguistics.
- phonological rule
- A phonological rule explains why the plural sounds different in 'cats' and 'dogs'.
Synonyms and how they differ
- phonetics
- Phonetics deals with the physical production and perception of speech sounds, while phonology focuses on the abstract sound system of a language.
- sound system
- A less technical term that can refer to the same idea, but it is not used as a field of study.
Word family
- phonological adjective
- Relating to phonology or the sound system of a language.
- phonologist noun
- A person who studies phonology.
- phonologically adverb
- In terms of phonology.
Commonly confused: phonology or phonetics?
phonology vs phonetics
Phonetics is about the physical sounds themselves; phonology is about how those sounds function in a language's system.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'phonology' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Phonology refers to the sound system of a language. Option 1 is correct because it talks about rules for combining sounds. Option 2 confuses phonology with phonetics, which studies the physical production of sounds. Option 3 describes a phonetic transcription, not phonology. Option 4 is nonsensical.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “phonology”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.