Blackwell Reference Online

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The question ‘what is the relation between phonetics and phonology’, like any question with historical and philosophical implications, cannot be answered objectively. Whenever an answer to this question is given it is inevitably subjective, grounded in the experience, beliefs, and prejudices of the answerer. This is no less true of my discussion here as of the views I survey from the past and the present. Nevertheless, I will try to make explicit the basis of my opinions so that those who have other views will be in a better position to evaluate my position and, perhaps, be persuaded by it.To begin we must establish the defining characteristics of phonetics and phonology. Among the defects that I perceive in many prior attempts to define phonetics or phonology is specifying a field in a way which owes too much to modern theories and methods and which therefore implies that the field didn't even exist N years ago. To correct this defect it is necessary to take a broad historical view and to attempt to establish the recurring themes of the fields and aims of their practitioners. I believe that the defining characteristics of a discipline are not its methods and not its theories–the answers to questions–but rather the questions themselves. The methods used to get answers to questions and the candidate answers to the questions show periodic change; the questions themselves are remarkably ... log in or subscribe to read full text