phonologists
Speech pattern experts
Phonologists are specialists in phonology—the study of how sounds function within languages.
They analyze patterns of pronunciation, how sounds combine and change, and what distinguishes one word from another in a given language.
Phonologists have mapped the sound systems of hundreds of endangered languages.
Audio playback equipment array
- vowelsLetters with unblocked airflow
- consonantsLetters that aren't vowels
- syllablesUnits of pronunciation
- phonemesMinimal sound distinctions
allophones · distinctive features · transcription · IPA · segments · tone · stress · intonation
- generativeAble to produce or create
- constraintsLimits on action
- rulesPrinciples governing behavior
- derivationsProcesses of obtaining from sources
representations · metrical · faithfulness · tableaux · formalism · abstractness · opacity
Written proof or instructions
- endangered languagesSpeech nearing extinction
- native speakersThose who grew up using a language
- elicitationDrawing forth information
- recordingsStored audio or video
transcription · informants · consultants · click consonants · word lists · spectrograms · annotation · language preservation
Science of language structure
- researchersThose who study systematically
- scholarsExperts in a field
- professorsHighest-ranking university instructors
- academicsProfessional researchers and teachers
faculty · doctoral · dissertations · tenure · publications · conferences · universities · departments
sound systems
Audio playback equipment array
- vowelsLetters with unblocked airflow
- consonantsLetters that aren't vowels
- syllablesUnits of pronunciation
phonemes · allophones · distinctive features · transcription · IPA · segments · tone · stress · intonation · distribution
Chomsky
- generativeAble to produce or create
- constraintsLimits on action
- rulesPrinciples governing behavior
derivations · representations · metrical · faithfulness · tableaux · formalism · abstractness · opacity
documentation
Written proof or instructions
- endangered languagesSpeech nearing extinction
- native speakersThose who grew up using a language
- elicitationDrawing forth information
recordings · transcription · informants · consultants · click consonants · word lists · spectrograms · annotation · language preservation · undocumented
linguistics
Science of language structure
- researchersThose who study systematically
- scholarsExperts in a field
- professorsHighest-ranking university instructors
academics · faculty · doctoral · dissertations · tenure · publications · conferences · universities · departments · journals
phonologistsgrammarians
Scholars of language rules
morphologists · phoneticians · lexicographers · sociolinguists · psycholinguists