Phonology: From Glottises to Phonemes

The two essays shared the same topic, phonology, but approached them from sides of the field. While Gussenhoven focused on the physiological aspects of speech, Kenstowicz tackled the subject of Phonemes, sounds that native speakers believe are identical but are actually quite distinct. A quick comparison of the two articles establishes that an understanding of the principles Gussenhoven explains is necessary for the more in depth analysis by Kenstowicz.

Gussenhoven's focus is on how the various speech organs produce the sounds necessary to create language. He goes through the lungs, larynx, glottis, nasal cavity, and mouth and covers exactly what sounds they allow us to make and how.  He also covers how the organs team up to create a broad range of noises such as plosives, created by both a closure of the speech tract and pressure by the lungs. The highlight of the reading however is the interesting point that he brings up early on, that even though linguists term them these body parts speech organs, every single one of them has another primary purpose other than to allow us to speak. For me this brings forward a whole other slew of questions that deserve their own answers elsewhere such as, How did we train ourselves to speak in the first place? 

Meanwhile, Kenstowicz builds on the understanding of the physiological aspects of speech established by Gussenhoven and introduces the concept of phonemes. The main purpose of the paper is to try to explain the eccentric way that native speakers treat phonemes and establish rules and causes for their behavior, while striking down those that don't fit. For example Kenstowicz concludes that a simple "if then" law of language, where a sound or set of sounds is triggered based on sounds and pronunciations earlier in the sentence simply doesn't account for the way that many languages, including Russian are spoken. For me the most interesting aspect of the article was the complexity of the rules we use when we speak, despite the fact that before I read Kenstowicz 's article I didn't even know I was following them. 

Together both Gussenhoven and Kenstowicz's treatment of their own topics in phonology work together to provide a peek into the inner working of speech that are not often considered by those haven't examined them.