Technology is the use of scientific knowledge

Technology is the use of scientific knowledge to develop and produce goods and services useful to man. Technologists use the discoveries of science to produce tools, machines, and methods for industry, communications, transportations, medicine, warfare, and other human activities. In turn, this greatly affects jobs available for the unemployed as well as the job duties or job description intended for them.A nation’s level of technology depends on the extent to which current scientific knowledge is put to practical use. The United States is considered a technologically advanced nation; its major industries used advanced production techniques such as automation, its health institutions used advanced treatments such as laser-beam surgery, and use of up-to-date scientific knowledge is made in most other everyday activities (Clarke, 2001).A nation in which most production is carried on by handicraft methods, and communications and transportation are equally old-fashioned, is consid ered technologically backward, or underdeveloped. Just as some countries are more technologically advanced than others, so are some industries. The electronics and aerosphere industries, for example, are generally technologically advanced wherever they are established. Because of the great investment in money, plants and equipment, and skilled personnel required to operate them, these industries are found only in those countries that have a generally high level of technology. Agriculture, on the other hand, is a technologically backward industry in most parts of the world.In line with this jobs are also progressing while man power is not that important as it was long ago, before all the advancements have been discovered. Before companies hire as many employees but not the same as of the present because some rely on robots or high technology computers or devices needed for a company’s survival and success. Some companies hire people but the sad truth is that sometimes their bo ss are the computers or other devices when in fact, human beings are smarter than any other equipments.Reference:Clarke, A.C. (2004). Profiles of the Future: an Inquiry into the Limits of the Possible, revised edition (Holt, Rinehart & Winston).

Movie Madness: Lord of War

In my opinion, Lord of War has a couple of different ethical issues in it. The main character in the movie, Yuri Orlov played by Nicolas Cage, sold illegal guns to countries around the world. Yuri did not care who he sold the guns to, he was just worried about making money. Although selling these guns brought Yuri a ton of money, this was unethical because Yuri’s did not care how his actions affected other people (i. e. people getting killed by these illegal guns). The thought of selling illegal guns came from his uncle being the head of the military. Yuri was not always a law breaker. He once worked at his family’s restaurant, but he wasn’t happy with the amount of money he was making. Even though the family business was making money, Yuri wanted his family to live better then where. Yuri allowed greed to get in the way and he wanted to become rich. If Yuri would have stayed true to his moral ethics, he would have realized that it would have been better for him to stay at the family restaurant and work on some different ways to grow the businesses income. Yuri’s actions were also morally unethical because he was breaking the law. Another way that Yuri’s decisions affected ethics was regarding business ethics. When Yuri was selling guns to other countries, including countries that were at war with his own country, he was essentially helping to potentially start wars. I also feel that it is morally unethical for Yuri to bring his brother Vitaly into the illegal arms business. If Yuri wanted to be unethical, that is solely his choice; however for him to basically plead with his brother to join him and play on his brother’s sense of brotherly love is unethical. Yuri used the one thing he was always able to use against Vitaly to get him to do anything â€Å"Brothers in arms. † Yuri was only thinking about money, and was not thinking about the well-being of his brother. This comes back to haunt Yuri, when he is forced to take cocaine from a drug dealer who is buying guns from him. The dealer forces Yuri and Vitaly to test the merchandise, which in turn caused Vitaly to get hooked and addicted to cocaine. Even though Yuri had good intentions of trying to get his brother rich, he hurt Vitaly in the long run. A good lesson to take away from this movie is that if something worth having; it is worth working hard for. There are no easy ways out. Yuri could have stayed home and worked at his family restaurant, but instead he let his greed get in the way. In regards to Vitaly, Yuri needed to realize that every decision that you make has repercussions and accountability, so you need to make sure you make the right decision. Yuri lied to his wife, and the repercussion of his betrayal was that she turned him in to the Interpol.

Report Module Topic 7-12 International Business Management Essay

Report Module Topic 7-12 International Business Management - Essay Example International Business Organizational Design 13 4.1 & 4.2 Different types of Organizational Design & Benefits 13 5. International Strategic Control Issues 14 5.1 Control Process of International Business 14 5.2 Control Problems in an International Business 15 Conclusion 16 References 17 Executive Summary The study deals with the implementation of international strategic management process that is undertaken by the firms who are planning to expand its business by entering into foreign market. The report also indicates the problems that are faced by the firms in undertaking the process and the ways to rectify it. It also elaborates the type of entry modes through which the firms penetrate into the foreign markets. The firms are also responsible for undertaking social activities so as to continue their operation ethically. The firms often face problems because of the exporters in such a case they must take few initiatives to improve the situation. The initiatives are elaborated in the r eport. The report will also highlight the risk associated with operational process and planning while the management of a company tries to adopt varied internationalization mode and approaches. The author of the report will focus on the importance of the organizational design and its impact on the organizational outcome. ... Introduction International strategy making is more crucial and complex than the strategies that are made by the domestic companies. The manager of the firm who is entering a new foreign market has to deal with a number of governmental policies of the host country and take care of the conflicting demand between the domestic and the host country factors 1. International Business strategies and CSR 1.1 Steps in International strategic management International strategic management can be defined as the ongoing and comprehensive management planning process that aims at devising and executing strategies, which enables firms to compete internationally (Arnold, 2003). The steps are as follows: Foreign Market Analysis The foreign markets are researched carefully to get the picture of the overall condition of the market. Before entering the foreign market, the cost and benefits of the venture are assessed carefully by the firms. The risk associated with the business is also evaluated in order to safeguard their operation from beforehand. The investment banking corporations analyze the new foreign market before entering. Choose a mode of entry In the next step, the firm decides the mode through which it will enter the foreign market. The entry of the firms can be elaborated by the Dunning’s Eclectic Theory. The theory provides the firms with two modes of entry: FDI related mode and the non-FDI related mode. The theory gives the following advantages: 1) Ownership advantages identify the intangible and tangible resources that are owned by the firm. These resources grant them competitive advantage over their competitors in the industry. 2) Location advantage identifies the non-economic and economic factors that can influence the interest of locating production

My Inner Struggle with English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

My Inner Struggle with English - Essay Example Watching their movie, I used to think that I will be able to speak English very easily. Although I did not understand all the words that Stallone or Schwarzenegger said, I used to get an idea of what they were saying. It was much later when I came to know that I was going to the US, and was required to speak English, that I realized that my favorite stars did not actually say much in the movies. It was their guns and hands that did most of the talking, and not their tongue. I started thinking that if I had chosen to watch maybe the romantic movies or the dramatic movies, I would have learned English more easily. At least, my travel to the United States would have been smooth. I realized that just listening to someone speak a language cannot make you fluent in that language. With this discouraging realization, I landed in the United States. It was not that my English was bad, but it was not good either. I could manage to speak in broken English. I could read and write quite nicely. Bu t when it came to speaking, I used to choke. I realized that the fear of being laughed at or being ridiculed hampered my efforts to speak in English. My friends and relatives in the US were unaware of my inner struggle with English. I conversed with them in my regional language so the question of my inability of speaking good English never really came up in front of them. However, it was bothering me a lot. I knew that in some time, I will join the college, mix with people and will have to speak in English without the aid of my own language. I decided to hone my English speaking skills. The very next day, I bought a book that promised to teach how to speak fluent English. To avoid my family members from knowing my dilemma, I used to go to a nearby coffee shop, order whatever I saw in the pictures that were stuck on the wall, grab a corner table and immerse in the book. This became my regular habit. I used to go to the coffee shop at early hours to avoid a rush of customers. It used to be deserted at early hours and that provided me with the silence and peaceful environment that was necessary to concentrate on my ‘study.’ This went on regularly for some days. I became sort of familiar with the waitresses and the cashier at the coffee shop. However, I kept my conversation limited to a ‘hello’ and a ‘thank you.’ Things were going fine until I became aware of a pair of eyes watching me intently for the past few days. I realized that one of the waitresses was keeping an eye on me since the past few days. She was in her late forties, with a plump physique and blonde hair. From the way she was treated by her colleagues, I could tell that she was working there for a long time and had gained a respectable position. Even though she was just ahead waitress, she had an authoritative attitude and her authority was accepted by others. I got to know that her name was Jennifer.  Ã‚  

Newborn case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Newborn - Case Study Example The normal respiratory of an infant is usually between 30 and 60 breaths/min. In Baby Cunningham’s case, the respiratory was significantly high as a result of the respiratory distress syndrome. She was also preterm, and her lungs had not fully matured. Baby Cunningham’s temperature was significantly low at 96 degrees. The American Academy of Pediatrics shows the normal range of temperature for newborns to be between 97.7 and 99.3 degrees Farenheight. The main cause of the low temperature can be attributed to the fact that she was preterm, and her subcutaneous tissue had nod developed completely. Normal blood glucose levels in a neonate is recommended at a minimum of 30mg/dl. The blood glucose levels in Cunningham’s case was 25mg/dl one hour after birth, below the recommended level. If not corrected, it can result in symptoms of hypoglycemia such as apnea, tremors, seizures, lethargy, cyanosis and poor feeding (Adamkin, 2011). Respiratory distress syndrome is characterized by several symptoms, most commonly tachypnea, nasal flaring, grunting and retractions. These symptoms are due to the difficulty in breathing, and they are managed by relieving the underlying cause. Treatment involves supplying oxygen, mechanical ventilation, surfactant replacement and supportive care. The environmental temperature can influence the chances of survival of baby Cunningham. Since she is already hypothermic and has difficulty controlling her body temperature, it is recommended to put her in a warm environment as a management measure. Due to the complications of the elective induction and the caesarean section, Cunningham was exposed to infection and, therefore, it is important to determine if she has an infection to avoid further health complications. The situation in Cunningham’s birth could have been easily avoided by waiting for her to complete her gestation period. A full term infant has got higher chances of survival as compared to a preterm. Complications can

L.A. Exile Writers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

L.A. Exile Writers - Essay Example In addition to being one of the foremost crime novelists of the 20th century, Raymond Chandler is also recognized as one of the greatest writers of Los Angeles. In articulating Los Angeles it’s clear that Chandler assumes a sort of outsider status. Rather than romanticizing the various daily on-goings there is almost a sense of condescension in his tone. For instance, he writes â€Å"an evening with the sports page, the blatting of the radio, the whining of their spoiled children and the gabble of their silly wives† (Chandler). It’s clear that rather than romanticizing the movie star nature of Los Angeles, Chandler is attempting to present it in a more gritty light, with a self-conscious flavor. In other instances, Chandler attempts to depict the behind the scenes reality of the city, demonstrating producers that speak of the nature of the movie business in cynical terms. In all its an engaging portrait of the city that eschews romanticized notions of celebrity p arties and Hollywood for a grittier and realistic edge. A lot of how Chandler does this is by showing off the people who did not make it into the Hollywood and Los Angeles dream as well as those who did. Although his novel The Little Sister, already quoted above, is about the disappearance of an airline engineer, there are parts of it which deal specifically with some of the studios. In chapter 19, Marlowe goes to a movie production studio and notes that the entrance area has bulletproof glass. He mentions that he â€Å"never heard of anybody shooting his way into the picture business,† and a woman behind him laughs and says she wishes that was all it took (Chandler). In this short section, Chandler has deftly managed to point out the paranoia of the rich Hollywood types, as well as showing that for every bullet proof glass protected studio there are many people who do not make it into them. In this way he successfully deflates the image that Los

Rethinking the European Integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 2

Rethinking the European Integration - Essay Example European integration as it exists today is largely confined to the domain of economics. In other words, the dismantling of labor movement barriers between nations, the floating of a common currency, the adoption of common laws pertaining to trade and commerce, are all outside the purview of domestic/internal policy. To this extent, the constituent nations retain their cultural and social uniqueness, while still benefiting from new economic opportunities created within Europe. This essay will look into the advantages and challenges created by the process of integration by way of studying its various facets. Given the long history of war and conflict between European nations, there emerged a need for a strong commitment toward cooperation and mutual benefit. The first step toward this cooperative framework was initiated with the formation of Council of Europe and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the year 1950. An impressive 40 European nations subscribed to the resolutions carried forward in the convention. Yet, the Council of Europe remained a peripheral institution as the continent was divided in two during the Cold War. It would be another forty years for the next significant step toward integration, which came with the fall of Berlin Wall in 1989 and with it the collapse of the Soviet Union. The commitment toward amicable relations within Europe resumed with the signing of Maastricht Treaty in 1993, which was further expanded in the Charter of Fundamental Rights in the year 2000. The Charter drew together â€Å"all EU-protected p ersonal, civil, political, economic, and social rights into a single text. But it goes beyond simply restating already respected human rights by addressing specifically modern issues such as bio-ethics and protecting personal information and data†. (Nagel, 2004)

Fine art Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Fine art Portfolio - Essay Example In most countries in Europe, railways have been in the past been owned and operated by state companies. In situations with one railway corporation there is no call for joint station. Lincoln Memorial Lincoln memorial stands at the west ending of the state mall as a neoclassical testimonial to the 16th president. The monument, intended by Henry Bacon, after primordial Greek place of worship, erected 190 feet lengthy, 119 feet extensive, and about 100 feet tall. It was encircled by a peristyle of 36 fluted Doric columns, one for each one of the thirty-six provinces in the combination at the ultimate loss of Lincoln, and 2 columns in antis at the entry at the back of the walkway. The north and south chambers enclose engraved inscription of Lincoln Gettysburg address the second opening. Lying between the north and south chambers is the middle hallway containing the lonely shape of Lincoln sitting in meditation. The piccirili brothers under the supervision of the sculptor, Daniel F. C, ca rved the figure in four years. The effigy of Lincoln weighs 175 tons and 19 feet high. Jefferson memorial The unique sketch was for the figure to be only ten feet high, but this altered so that the dimension of the compartment would not dwarf the figurine of President Lincoln. Commission to plan that tombstone initially projected in 1867, shortly after Lincoln’s fatal outcome. The Legislative body approved the bill to construct this memorial in 1910. Building began in 1914, and the monument opened to citizens in 1922. Jefferson memorial is a presidential monument in Washington dedicated to President Jefferson Thomas, one of the American naissance fathers and the third leader of the United States. The architect Russell J. P designed the neoclassical building and lay down by the Philadelphia service provider McShain John. Construction began in 1938 and was finished in 1943. Thomas bronze effigy added in 1947 to the existing structure. The cenotaph managed by the national park s ervice beneath its nationwide mall and cenotaph parks partition. It became evident that the place showed suit for another high profile monument since it sat in a straight line south of the white house. The monument possibility came in 1934 when leader Roosevelt, a lover of Thomas inquired to the commission of fine arts concerning the likelihood of building a monument to Thomas, together with it in the strategy for the centralized triangle scheme, which underwent construction by then. Building began on 1938 and the foundation stone laid on 1939 by leader Franklin Roosevelt. The position of the memorial is in Washington West Potomac Park on the shore of Potomac River. It has faced criticism from the campus of Alberta lecturer Hamowy Ronald. The lincoln Memorial gets millions of visitors year in year out. National Archives National archives are very important documentation maintained by a state. The organization charged with preserving and documenting management of records. Firstly, ea ch division and organization of the United States administration was accountable for maintaining its own credentials, which often resulted in the loss and damage of account. Legislature established the state documentation in 1934 to centralize record maintenance, with the archivist of the United States as its core manager. The agency was included in general services management in 1949, but in 1985, it became a self-governing

History of Haute Couture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

History of Haute Couture - Essay Example Many scholars of the world have associated haute couture with the classy and luxurious lifestyles. Going way back to the 17th and 18th century when fashion is believed to have been invented, French fashion trends were simply the best in the entire of Europe and the rich, wealthy and the powerful individuals of the world travelled across the borders just to have a taste of the classic outfits in the French fashion market. These encounters laid the foundation of the Haute Couture a fashion that would later revolutionize the entire world’s fashion industry (Tortora & Keith, 2010, p. 19). The Haute Couture that is known today by many individuals of the world originated in the 19th century and was founded by Sir Charles Fredrick Worth (Ginsburg, 1989, p. 55). This is the person the scholars of the world credit with title ‘the modern Couture founding father’. Having founded his own couture house in the early 1858, Sir Charles Fredrick Worth introduced to the world very important innovations to the fashion industry through organized fashion shows. Following the elegance display of dresses on live models, his fame spread across the world like a bush fire and his work pleased very powerful and wealthy individuals of the time the likes of the famous Princess Metternich. Several years down the line, Charles Fredrick Worth together with his sons founded an association for the Haute Couture Houses. This was simply a criterion that the fashion designers of the time had to meet in order to be declared as ‘couturiers’. Ever since, the name has not only been regulated by the specific criteria but has as well been regulated by the government of France and reserved for only a number of persons. There is an exclusive class of designers who are only allowed to use the label in their designs. In the recent past, eligible haute couture houses are only determined by a commission

Stakeholder in a Business Essay Example for Free

Stakeholder in a Business Essay If a customer’s concern was that the product they want to buy is never in stock Tesco’s aim would then be to make sure they always had products in stock and on the shelves. Customer comments make the most impact because they are telling Tesco’s exactly what it is doing wrong and what needs to be done to improve it so Tesco is encouraged to improve their store for the sake of their customers. They have a big influence on the store because if Tesco’s did not listen to their concerns it would lose customers and sales which could go to other competitors. Customers are split into socio economic groups based on he occupation of the head of the household. It is used to see how people in different socio economic groups react to the same stimuli. The first 3 socio economic groups A, B and C1 will shop at Harrods because they have better more professional jobs which in return they will have more money so they like the finer things in life so therefore shop at Harrods. The last 3 socio economic groups C2, D and E will shop at Tescos because they have average jobs and are likely to be on minimum wage and Tesco if affordable so will therefore shop there. The groups are as followed: Socio economic group| Occupation| Tesco or Harrods| A| Higher managerial, administrative, professional example surgeon| Harrods| B| Intermediate managerial, administrative, professional example bank manager and teacher| Harrods| C1| supervisory, clerical, junior managerial example shop floor supervisor, bank clerk, sales person| Harrods| C2| skilled manual workers example electrician or carpenter| Tesco| D| Semi skilled and unskilled manual workers example assembly line worker, refuse collector, messenger| Tesco| E| Casual labourers, pensioners, unemployed example pensioners without private pensions and anyone living on basic benefits| Tesco| Customers of Tesco and Harrods could complain or give feedback in store or online and the business would do their best to fix these problems in order for the business to run at its full potential. (B) Employees Employees are an important stakeholder to Tesco because without them there would be no one to sell the products. Their job affects the growth of the business because if they do their job well and sell the products the business will bring in money. Employees depend on the business to make sure they are working in a clean and safe environment, there is job security and opportunities for promotion and discounts. Employees can also affect the business if they go on strike because then the business would have no workers to help the business run. They also want the business to do well so they can keep their job because if the business wasn’t doing well it might have to lose workers or close completely. Employees can also have an effect on the business if they let their personal life get in the way of their job. Relationships and emotions can cause an employee not to put their full effort into the job which could result in poor sales and losing customers. It is vital Tescos employees put all their effort into their jobs so the business excels. The employees at Tesco’s and Harrods could potentially quit their job if they feel they are not getting treated properly so it is a main priority that the employees are a big priority to the business. For the employees to be treated well at Tesco they want 24 hour security to make sure they are always safe, to know that anything personal is kept confidential and that they get a fair income for the work that they do. Employees at Tesco will be much different to employees at Harrods and they will both want different things. C) Suppliers Suppliers supply the products and services to a business. They can affect the running of a business if the products are not supplied on time. Not having stock on the shelves could lead customers to competitors. The suppliers want to have a long term contract with the businesses so they know they are always in business and will never lose money. The suppliers can affect the time, quantity, quality and cost of a product. Without suppliers the business could not guarantee that it will always have sufficient high quality materials. It is important that the business maintain good quality relationships with the suppliers so that raw materials and components can be ordered and delivered at short notice. The suppliers of Tescos and Harrods need to maintain their standard if they want to keep contracted with the business losing customers would affect the sales of the suppliers and also the running of the business. (D) Owners Owners and shareholders are interested in the business because they will be interest in their dividends and capital growth of their shares. Shareholders also have the power to elect the managing directors who make the decisions for the business. Owners have a big say in the aims and objectives of the business and how they should be decided. The shareholders can receive return in two ways. Firstly by a rise in the share price, so that they can sell their shares at a higher price than the purchase price known as capital gain and secondly based on the level of profits for the year, the company issues a portion of this to each shareholder for every share that they hold called a dividend. Below I have a copy of the major shareholders of Tesco. Harrods is a private limited company therefore is owned fully by quartar holdings. (E) Pressure groups Pressure groups are interested in whether the business is acting appropriately towards their area of interest. They are organisations of people who believe in the same cause. They have strongly held views and wish to influence some aspect of the society. These groups of people have more affect to the business than just one individual. Pressure groups have the right to criticise the government, hold meetings, protest and be able to have their views broadcasted and heard by the media. Pressure groups have to inform the local authorities and police to let them know they are going to protest. Pressure groups can protest in a number of different ways such as Internet, petition, letters and mass media. These can have a big effect9i on the public and if large numbers of people protest this could lead to the business changing. Pressure groups at Tesco’s will campaign for Tesco’s to stock fair trade products because they believe the workers are getting paid a fair price. (F) Trade unions Trade unions represent the interest of workers. Their main priorities are to guide, protect, help and support fellow workers. This creates a group of professionals wanting a say in their profession making individuals power stronger. They aim to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, achieving higher pay and increasing the number of employees. Trade unions originated in Europe and then they became popular in many countries during the industrial revolution because many workers were mistreated and underpaid. Trade unions may enforce strike or resistance to lockouts in furtherance of particular goals. Trade unions can also promote legislations favourable to the interests of their work members. Trade unions can provide benefits such as to insure members of unemployment, old age and funeral expenses. If trade unions put forward they wanted a pay rise of 5% there would be negotiation on both sides, the case would be unlikely but they could reduce the pay rise to 2. 5%. In France, Germany and other European countries, socialist’s parties and democrats played a prominent role in forming and building up trade unions. Trade unions have been said to have ineffective policies on racism and sexism, such that a union is justified in not supporting a member taking action against another member. The 4 main trade unions in the UK are: * General unions – these are for skilled and unskilled workers performing different jobs in different industries such as cleaners and transport workers * Industrial unions – these are for different workers in the same industry example the national union of miners covering workers at all levels in the hierarchy. Craft unions – these are fairly small unions for skilled workers performing the same or similar work in different industries such as musicians. * White-collar unions – these are for professional workers who perform the same or similar tasks in the same industry example teachers or scientists. (G) Local and nationals communities The community have an interest for the business because they get their products and services from them and they l ook for jobs from them. The community can have a big say on where the businesses location will be and expects the business to be environmentally friendly and as less disruptive as possible. The community have a big impact on the business because it is them that are customers to the business. If a new business was placed in a small community such as Tesco’s it could put other small businesses out of business example butchers, corner shops which could then affect the community if there shops that they shop at regularly have been put out of business due to this one store. (H) Governments Governments have an interest in the business because they collect tax from them. The government can affect the business in many ways such as businesses have to pay a variety of taxes to central and local governments including corporation tax on their profits, VAT on their sales and business rated to the local council for provision of local services. Businesses can also benefit from government incentives and initiatives, such as new infrastructure, job creation schemes and business relocation packages, offering cheap rent, rates and low interest loans. Tesco’s and Harrods have to work with certain acts of parliament such as the; 1. The employment relations bill, 1999 which states that employees who have been in employment with the same business for a period of one year have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. 2. The employment rights act 1996, which covers unfair dismissal, redundancy and maternity. 3. The sex discrimination act 1975, which states that it is illegal to discriminate against, an employee based on their gender or marital status. 4. The disability discrimination act, 1995 stating that is illegal for a business with more than 20 employees to discriminate against an employee or applicant or a job who may be disabled. Conflict between stakeholders * The local community can often suffer at the hands of a large business. Things such as pollution, noise, congestion and the building of new factories can lead the community to complain and if the business faces strong protests from residents and pressure groups it could cause the business to relocate o shut down meaning people would be unemployed. * Levels of authority can cause conflict between stakeholders. Example, a manager may not feel it has to respect and follow anything an employee says because they are lower and less important them then. There can be conflict between owners and employees if they feel they are not getting fair pay or bonuses. To keep the employees happy you need to build up trust and offering higher benefits and award programmes will assure this. * Suppliers and owners can have conflict if the products and services are not delivered correctly or on time. If a product was not delivered on time and the shelves were out of stock of that product the customers would have to go to competitors and the business would lose out on sales. Conclusion To sum it up stakeholders are very important for Tescos and Harrods to run efficiently and smoothly. Without the stakeholders the business wouldn’t have the money to run and they would not be as successful as they are today. To conclude stakeholders are one of the key factors to a business’s success or failure. The customers are Tescos and Harrods main stakeholders and these have the power to determine whether the business is a success or failure. The employees must do their job properly to retain customer happiness and ensure they will come back. Suppliers are an important stakeholder to the company and must maintain good relationships which will result in a less amount of problems and faster service. The owners are the heart of Tescos and Harrods and their decisions can affect many things in the business. They have to make sure their decisions will not result in a downfall of customers or cause problems with other stakeholders. Pressure groups must be listened to in order for the businesses to know what to improve on and what other stakeholders want from them. Trade unions are also an important stakeholder because company’s want to know what their workers want in order for them to do their best ability when doing their job. These stakeholders all must work together in order for the business to run smoothly. One problem can complicate relationships between other stakeholders which can put a stop to the business. Recommendations * I recommend that Tescos and Harrods listen to customer concerns and take them on board, acting on them to the extent that customers stop complaining, because they are the main source of income and they are vital to the business. I recommend that Tescos and Harrods treat all employees fairly and listen to what they want so they are treated with respect. If all the employees get what they want it makes sure that they are comfortable when doing their job and there will be no complaints. * I recommend that suppliers keep a good relationship with the business so they maintain a contract with them that will always keep them in business. Doing this will also return in the businesses favour because if Tesco needed something on short notice the suppliers might be able to get the product to them quicker.

The Present Environmental Ecological Crisis Theology Religion Essay

The Present Environmental Ecological Crisis Theology Religion Essay There is the worldwide recognition of the present environmental/ecological crisis and there is a central belief amongst the religions that nature was created by God and should be protected. As environmental degradation has occurred, we begin to ask ourselves about the relationship between human beings and nature. The focus on religion and the environment has grown in recent years. Researchers have looked specifically at the role of religion and ecology. Taylor defines the field of religion and ecology as one that focuses on: Identifying the obstacles that the worlds mainstream religions may pose to environmental sustainability, and secondly the resources such religions may have available for promoting environmentally beneficent behaviors, (992). There is the recognition that the Earth is in danger from human activity and use and changes need to be made in order to sustain life on the Earth (Taylor 998). Why is it important to use religion as a means for environmental action? Berry states that it is human carelessness and greed that caused the environmental problems that we are faced with today (30). With this in mind, we look to religion as this is what some individuals believe holds a large degree of responsibility for the start of our environmental problems. Lynn Whites 1967 essay, The Historical Roots of our Ecologic Crisis suggested a link between religion and the environment. White singled out Christian attitudes as a reason for the environmental crisis. He proposed that the attitudes of individuals who do not regard nature as a central importance need to be changed. The earth needs to be respected and used in a manner that will help to preserve it for future generations, rather than exploit it for the present. White suggested that it was when the Industrial Revolution began that the human concern for the environment was lost to a greater degree than had been seen in the past. White interpreted the Bible as presenting human dominance over nature, leading individuals to care about themselves and industrial progress rather than about environmental matters and the ultimate effects of their actions on the earth. Besides Whites interpretation, there are many other suggested explanations for how humans viewed the world, and their resulting actions. From the philosophy of Rene Descartes, the universe was seen as a machine. It was from this time that economic progress was a priority and the long-term effects from the development and use of nature was not regarded as an issue (Sevier, 41). This is a view similar to that held by White, in that human progress and development has led to the environmental effects. However, this view does not specifically mention the role of religion. Carters interpretation of this issue suggests that the ecological crisis is not a result of Judeo-Christian traditions, but rather stems from the interpretation of the Bible and giving human beings dominance over other life forms (animals, plants) (358). This led to the exploitation of natural resources and ultimately to where we are today with the issue. Regardless of how it initially happened, we have to face reality and realize that as a society we have caused considerable damage to our planet. The role of religion Anthropologists suggest that religion persists because it has value to us, and such value can be either intrinsic, instrumental, or a combination thereof, (Strada 59). Sevier writes that, Traditionally, religion used to play an integral role in linking people to the natural world, imbuing people with the knowledge and values that make caring for it a priority, (38). Six major religions Buddhism Christianity Hinduism Islam Judaism Indigenous Religious Buddhism There is a universality of suffering. Being aware of suffering and produces compassion. Though traditional Buddhism regarded human life over that of animals, there is presently the recognition that all life forms should be respected equally. As humans we got ourselves into this ecological/environmental crisis and we are the ones that need to get ourselves out. Source: Swearer Christianity There is often seen to be a failure on the part of Christians in how they had interpreted the Bible and used the resources that God made available to them. Lynn Whites 1967 essay is an example of this. However, this is not the belief of all individuals. There recently has been an increased awareness of the environment in the United States as churches are initiating responsibility towards environmental protection. Hinduism Hindu images relate to the powerful natural world. Ecological sensitivity is based on the relationship between humans and how they respect the gods and goddesses related to the earth. In South Asia, the effects of pollution, both in the air and water, have been felt, particularly in recent years. With the values that Hinduism has towards the environment, reflection is starting to occur on how individuals can best approach the ecological challenges that are occurring. Islam An environmental ethic is in the Quran, but leaves an opening for Muslims to incorporate creative and innovative solutions in the contemporary context. A green jihad has recently begun. This is a common term for the green movement that promotes environmental protection. Source: Denny Judaism Ecological issues were never a central focus of Judaism, but rather were dealt with as they came about. An environmental perspective suggests that a belief of Judaism is that we are only tenants on this earth. The earth must then be cared for as there are other inhabitants, both presently as well as in the future, that will be living here. Source: Fink Indigenous Religions For individuals following indigenous religions, there is an understanding of their place in the local environment. Native Americans have believed that there are spirits in nature and the environment needs to be taken care of. Grim writes that in indigenous beliefs, to analyze religion as a separate system of beliefs and ritual practices apart from subsistence, kinship, language, governance, and landscape is to misunderstand indigenous religion. The respect for nature and the environment is still present amongst the Indigenous peoples. What is evident, however, is wherever indigenous peoples have endured, they have maintained a loving experience of place and an understanding that spiritual forces capable of leading humans into both utilitarian and self-understandings abide in all of these places, (Grim). Source: Grim How do we create a solution? An environmental crisis is here. It is recognized throughout the world, and its presence is agreed upon by the major religions. But what is the next step? How do we go about creating a solution? Can there be a common ground for science and religion in that both work together towards a solution? Bouma-Prediger quotes Edward O. Wilson in saying that religion and science are the two most powerful forces in the world todayif religion and science could be united on the common ground of biological conservation, the problem [of biological catastrophe] would soon be solved (1392). Can religion and science work together? Hossein Nasr writes, The environmental crisis now encompasses the entire Earth, (3). He suggests that there is a crisis of values and that as humans, we have participated in creating the destruction of the environment. A need exists to develop a path across religious frontiers without destroying the significance of religion itself and to carry out a comparative study of the Earths of various religions as has been carried out for their Heavens, if these terms are understood in their traditional metaphysical and cosmological sense, (Hossein Nasr 3). We need to regain the loss of a moral and social awareness as ecology becomes more individualistic and systems based. Many researchers recognize that a global stance needs to be taken by religions, with them working together to create a more comprehensive worldview and ethics to assist in reversing this trend, (Tucker and Grim). This is along similar lines with what Hossein Nasr writes, that dialogue on the environment must take place between religions on a global scale. Tucker and Grim continue by writing that, This is critical because the attitudes and values that shape peoples concepts of nature come primarily from religious worldviews and ethical practices. The moral imperative and value systems of religions are indispensable in mobilizing the sensibilities of people toward preserving the environment for future generations. Religious factors and environmental behaviors and attitudes Sherkat and Ellison analyzed data from a 1993 General Social Survey to look at religious factors and environmental behaviors and attitudes. Their study revealed that contradictory findings on the connection between religion and environmental concern and activism are the result of varied influences of religious schemata and resource interactions on different indicators of environmental concern and activism, (83). Sherkat and Ellison were not able to conclude specific religious influences on the environment, but suggested that Whites 1967 essay had the possibility of being a primary influence for religious leaders to take a pro-environment stance and actions (83). Religion and the environment are intertwined in that they have had a history and will continue to have a role together in the future. This may be one area where science and religion can find a common ground both have the environment in their best interest and can work together to find a solution to the current environmental crisis. As religious traditions and beliefs have shaped human values and behaviors towards the environment in the past, this is one possibility for working toward positive environmental attitudes for the future.

Freedom Encroaching Technologies Essay -- FBIs Use of Privacy-Invadin

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." -- Benjamin Franklin INTRODUCTION: "The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedients, and by parts...the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." -- Edmund Burke U.S. has enjoyed being the most dominant country in the world for almost a century now. No one argues the supremacy, be it militarily or economically, of U.S. in present days. U.S. dominance is so overwhelming that almost nothing can restraint its will, case in point, the recent war without approval of U.N. A disturbing trend seems to be developing. An overconfident/arrogant international policy and a growing fascist domestic policy appear to be the image of U.S. government at this point in time. With every passing year, the government is doing more and more surveillance on the people, citizen and foreigners, without their knowledge and consent. The recent world events have escalated the situation. To be sure, the U.S. government was already on the path of slowly encroaching on privacy well before the events. But since 9/11, the citizens have willingly given up their resistance against the government’s encroachment on privacy in search for national unity and safety. They gave the government more power to prosecute foreigners and citizens accused of terrorism In the 1990s, as technology evolved rapidly the government has kept pace and tried to create new ways to surveillance using the evolving technologies. In addition to that, the government is seeking to find ways to break through encrypted data by asking software companies to allow build-in backdoors for the government to decode sensit... ...html Karen Tumulty and Viveca Novak, Goodbye, soccer mom. Hello, security mom. TIME Magazine. 2 Jun. 2003 ISSUE. Jack Ryan. McAfee broadens denial: No contact with government of any sort. Internet Security Review. 28 Nov, 2001. http://lists.insecure.org/lists/politech/2001/Nov/0109.html Bugbear worms threaten Internet. CNN.com/Technology. 08 Jun. 2003. http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/06/08/computer.worm/index.html Urge Congress to Stop the FBI's Use of Privacy-Invading Software. American Civil Liberty Union. http://www.aclu.org/Cyber-Liberties/Cyber-Liberties.cfm?ID=9958&c=58 John Leyden. Zimmermann defends strong crypto against govt assault. 10 Mar. 2001. http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/archive/22014.html Declan McCullagh, Lantern' Backdoor Flap Rages. 27 Nov. 2001. http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,48648,00.html

Les Miserable Essay -- essays research papers

t  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Les Miserables   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Les Miserables is one of the most captivating plays of our lifetime! It grabs the audience and pulls you in head first. You can't take out eyes off of the stage, and even if you can, the music will take your breath away! I have seen the play 3 times and I don't think I enjoy anything in this world more than watching that play!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Les Miserables starts off on a chain gang in France. The sheriff comes out and gives one of the convicts his release papers. This convict is the lead role who name is Jeran Valjean, who has served 19 years on the chain gang for stealing a mouthful of bread. Jean Valjean leaves the prison and sets out to find work. But no one will give him work because of his tattoo which reads 24601, his prison ID number. Then in the time when he couldn't be more down a priest invites Valjean to stay with him. Despite the kind priest taking him in and feeding him, Valjean decides to take the silver from the table. In the run he gets captured be the police. But instead of telling the truth about Valjeans thievery, he gives the criminal more silver and sends the police away. He makes Jean Valjean promise that he will become an honest man with this silver.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next scene in 10 years later set in a factory where we meat the other main character, Fantine. As she is reading a letter her perverted boss snatches it up with his hands and re... Les Miserable Essay -- essays research papers t  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Les Miserables   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Les Miserables is one of the most captivating plays of our lifetime! It grabs the audience and pulls you in head first. You can't take out eyes off of the stage, and even if you can, the music will take your breath away! I have seen the play 3 times and I don't think I enjoy anything in this world more than watching that play!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Les Miserables starts off on a chain gang in France. The sheriff comes out and gives one of the convicts his release papers. This convict is the lead role who name is Jeran Valjean, who has served 19 years on the chain gang for stealing a mouthful of bread. Jean Valjean leaves the prison and sets out to find work. But no one will give him work because of his tattoo which reads 24601, his prison ID number. Then in the time when he couldn't be more down a priest invites Valjean to stay with him. Despite the kind priest taking him in and feeding him, Valjean decides to take the silver from the table. In the run he gets captured be the police. But instead of telling the truth about Valjeans thievery, he gives the criminal more silver and sends the police away. He makes Jean Valjean promise that he will become an honest man with this silver.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next scene in 10 years later set in a factory where we meat the other main character, Fantine. As she is reading a letter her perverted boss snatches it up with his hands and re...

An Analysis of Thucydides Views on the Melian Dialogue Essay -- Ancie

An Analysis of Thucydides' Views on the Melian Dialogue The Melian Dialogue is a debate between Melian and Athenian representatives concerning the sovereignty of Melos. The debate did not really occur-the arguments given by each side were of Thucydides own creation. Thus it is reasonable to assume that we can tease out Thucydides' own beliefs. In this paper, I will first extract Thucydides views from the Melian Dialogue and then analyze whether or not these views are well founded. Thucydides believed that the Athenians had the stronger argument. Proof of this lies in the way Thucydides picked the arguments for each side. For the moment, we will disregard the actual content of the arguments, and look at argumentation forms and the flow of the debate. The Melians argued using consequences of an Athenian take over. In section 110, the Melians threatened that if their allies the Lacedaemonians were provoked by the takeover of Melos, they might attack Athens itself: "...the Cretan sea is a large place; and the masters of the sea will have more difficulty in overtaking vessels which want to escape than the pursued in escaping. If the attempt should fail they may invade Attica itself, and find their way to allies of yours whom Brasidas did not reach: and then you will have to fight, not for the conquest of a land in which you have no concern, but nearer home, for the preservation of your confederacy and of your own territory." In addition, the Melians complained that they would be thought of as cowards if they surrendered, and they warned the Athenians that hostility would turn other neutral city-states against them. The Melians offered mere speculation. Their arguments sound like the work of a weak and desperate g... ...ust have had more of the things that the gods cared about. The Melians would have been hard pressed to argue that they had more favor amongst the gods than the Athenians, because anything of virtue that they could claim to have had, the Athenians could claimed to have had but more or better. The Melian argument then that they were favored by the gods and therefore must remain free is inconsistent. If Athens and Melos went to battle against each other, the gods, if they favored anyone, would favor Athens. We have now examined Thucydides' strongest arguments for Athenian rule. It is clear that Athens had a stronger claim to rule than the Melians had to remain sovereign. We also know that Athens' claims hold up when we examine them for validity. Thucydides beliefs in Athens' claims were therefore well founded. Works Cited: The Melian Dialogue, Thucydides

Phonetics as a Branch of Linguistics

GLOSSARY Academic style – also scientific style, a style of speech used in lectures, scientific discussions, conferences, etc Accent – 1) type of pronunciation, that is the way sounds, stress, rhythm and intonation are used in the given language community. 2) see stress. Accommodation – modifications of consonants under the influence of the neighbouring vowels and vice versa. Acoustic Phonetics – science which deals with the physical property of sounds.Affricates – noise consonants produced with a complete obstruction which is slowly released and the air stream escapes from the mouth with some friction. Allophones – variants of a phoneme, usually occur in different positions in the word, cannot contrast with each other and are not used to differentiate the meaning. Alveolar – sounds produced with the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth (alveolar) ridge. American English – the national variant of the English language spoke n in the USA.Amplitude – the distance to which the air particles are displaced from their position of rest by the application of some external force. Apical – sounds articulated with the tip of the tongue. Applied Phonetics – a branch of phonetics used for practical purposes in speech therapy and logopedia. Articulatory Phonetics – also Physiological Phonetics, a branch of phonetics which is concerned with the study of speech sounds as regards their production by the human speech organs. Ascending head – a type of head in which syllables form an ascending sequence.Assimilation – The modification of a consonant by a neighbouring consonant in the speech chain. Auditory Phonetics – a branch of phonetics which is concerned with the way our auditory mechanism works to process speech information, also Perceptual Phonetics. Back vowels – vowels formed with the tongue in the back part of the mouth. Back-advanced vowels – vowels formed with the tongue in the back-advanced position in the mouth. Back-lingual – see velar. BBC English – the accent used on BBC radio and TV channels, is considered a standard English spoken in Great Britain, also Received Pronunciation.Bilabial – sounds produced when both lips are active. Bilingualism – the command of 2 different languages by a person. British English – the national variant of the English language spoken in Great Britain. Broad transcription – also phonemic transcription, provides special symbols for all the phonemes of a language. Broad variations – a subclass of the vertical positions of the tongue which in this case is placed slightly lower in the mouth cavity. Cacuminal – sounds articulated with the tip of the tongue curled back.Central vowels – sounds articulated when the front part of the tongue is raised towards the back part of the hard palate. Checked vowels – short stressed vowels fol lowed by strong voiceless consonants. Checkness – a vowel property which depends on the character of articulatory transition from a vowel to a consonant Close vowels – sounds articulated when the tongue is raised high towards the hard palate. Closed syllable – a syllable which ends in a consonant. Coda – one or more phonemes that follow the syllabic phoneme.Communicative centre – a word or a group of words which conveys the most important point of communication in the sentence or the utterance. Commutation test – the procedure of substituting a sound for another sound in the same phonetic environment with the aim of establishing the phonemic system of a language Comparative Phonetics – a branch of phonetics which studies the correlation between the phonetic systems of two or more languages Consonant – a sound made with air stream that meets an obstruction in the mouth or nasal cavities.Conversational style – also convers ational style, a style of speech used in everyday communication. Declamatory style – a style of speech used in stage speech, recitations, etc. Delimitation – segmentation of speech into phrases and intonation groups. Dental – sounds produced with the blade of the tongue against the upper teeth Descending head – a type of head in which syllables form an descending sequence Descriptive Phonetics – a branch of phonetics that studies the phonetic structure of one language only in its static form, synchronically.Devoicing – a process that results in a voiced consonant being pronounced as voiceless. Dialect – a variety of language which differs from others in vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation. Diglossia – a phenomenon when an individual may speak RP in one situation a native local accent in other situations. Dynamic stress – force accent based mainly on the expiratory effect. Diphthong – a vowel which consists of tw o elements, strong (a nucleus) and weak – (a glide).Diphthongoid – a vowel articulated when the change in the tongue position is fairly weak, in this case the articulated vowel is not pure, but it still consists of one element. Direct methods – methods of phonetic investigation which consist in observing the movements and positions of one's own or other people's organs of speech in pronouncing various speech sounds, as well as in analysing one's own kinaesthetic sensations during the articulation of speech sounds and in comparing them with the resultant auditory impressions. Discourse – a larger context in which sentences occur.Dorsal – sounds produced when the blade of the tongue is active. Duration – the quantity of time during which the same vibratory motion, the same patterns of vibration are maintained. Elision – complete loss of sounds, both vowels and consonants, often observed in spoken English. Enclitic – unstressed wo rds or syllables which refer to the preceding stressed word or syllable. Estuary English – a variety of modified regional speech, a mixture of non-regional and local south-eastern English pronunciation and intonation. Estuary English speakers place themselves â€Å"between Cockney and the Queen†.Experimental Phonetics – a branch of phonetics which deals with research work carried out with the help of different technical devices for measurements and for instrumental analysis Extra-linguistic factors – non-linguistic factors, such as the purpose of utterance, participants and setting or scene of speaking, which result in phonostylistic varieties. Familiar style – see conversational style. Forelingual – sounds articulated with the front part of the tongue Fortis consonants – voiceless consonants pronounced with strong muscular tension and strong expiratory effect.Free variants – variants of a single phoneme which occur in a langua ge but the speakers are inconsistent in the way they use them, as for example in the case of the Russian words â€Å"/ †. Free vowel – a weak vowel followed by a weak (lenis) voiced consonant or by no consonant at all. Frequency – a number of vibrations per second. Fricative – constrictive noise consonants articulated when the air escapes with friction through the narrowing formed by speech organs. Front vowels – vowels in the production of which the body of the tongue is in the front part of the mouth cavity and the front of the tongue is raised.Front-retracted vowels – vowels produced with the body of the tongue in the front but retracted position in the mouth cavity. Functional Phonetics – see phonology. General American – the national standard of the English language spoken in the USA. General Phonetics – a branch of phonetics that studies all the sound-producing possibilities of the human speech apparatus and the wa ys they are used for purposes of human communication by means of language. Glide – the second weak element of English diphthongs. Glottal – sounds articulated in the glottis.Glottal stop – a sound heard when the glottis opens suddenly and produces an explosion resembling a short cough. Glottis – the opening between the vocal cords, through which the air passes. Hard palate – the roof of the mouth. Head – part of the intonation group, contains stressed syllables preceding the nucleus with the intervening unstressed syllables. Hesitation pause – silent or filled pause mainly used in spontaneous speech to gain time to think over what to say next. Historical Phonetics – a branch of phonetics that studies the phonetic structure of a language in its historical development, diachronically.Idiolect – individual speech of members of the same language community Informational style – a style of speech used by radio and telev ision announcers conveying information or in various official situations. Instrumental methods – methods of phonetic investigation based upon registering or computing machines and technical devices Intensity – a property of a sound produced by the amplitude of vibrations. Interdental – sounds articulated with the tip of the tongue projected between the teeth. International Phonetic Alphabet – a set of symbols adopted by theInternational Phonetic Association as a universal system for the transcription of speech sounds. Intonation – pitch (or melody) variations used to convey meaning. See also prosody Intonation group – an actualized syntagm. Intonation pattern – pitch movements together with loudness and the tempo of speech extending over an intonation group. Intonation style – a complex of interrelated intonational means which is used in a social situation and serves a definite aim of communication. Intonogramme – the pi cture of the sound wave of a syllable, word or an utterance received with the help of intonograph.Intonograph – a technical device which gives pictures of sound waves of syllables, words and utterances. Kinetic – relating to motion. Labial – sounds articulated by the lips. Labiodental – sounds articulated with the lower lip against the edge of the upper teeth Laryngoscope – a special device which helps to observe the vocal cords, epiglottis and the glottis. Larynx – part of the vocal tract containing the vocal cords. Lateral – sounds produced when the sides of the tongue are active. Lateral plosion – sudden release of air which escapes along the sides of the tongue.Lax – historically short vowels in the articulation of which muscular tension of speech organs is weak. Lenis consonants – voiced consonants pronounced with weak muscular tension. Lip rounding – a position of the lips when their corners are broug ht toward one another so that the mouth opening is reduced. Loudness – the intensity of sound is produced by the amplitude of vibrations. Manner of articulation – one of the principles of consonant classifications which is connected with the type of obstruction to the air stream.Maximum onsets principle – Medio-lingual – sounds produced with the front part of the tongue raised high to the hard palate Minimal pair – a pair of words or morphemes which are differentiated by one sound only in the same position. Modifications of sounds – positional and combinatory changes of sounds in connected speech. Monophthong – a vowel articulated when the tongue position is stable, in this case the articulated vowel is pure, it consists of one element. Mouth cavity – the cavity between the teeth and the pharynx. Narrow transcription also phonetic transcription, provides special symbols for all the allophones of the same phoneme Narrow variatio ns – a subclass of the vertical positions of the tongue which in this case is raised slightly higher in the mouth cavity Nasal consonants – sounds articulated when the soft palate is lowered and the air stream goes out through the nose. Nasal Cavity – the cavity inside the nose which is separated from the mouth cavity with the soft palate and the uvula. Nasal plosion – sudden release of air by lowering the soft palate so that the air escapes through the nose.National variants – the language of a nation, the standard of its form, the language of its nation’s literature. Neutral vowel – a mid central vowel, also schwa. Neutralisation – the loss of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of vowels in unstressed positions. Noise consonants – consonants in the production of which noise prevails over voice, the air stream passes through a narrowing and produces audible friction (compare with sonorants). Normative Phonetic s – see Practical Phonetics. Notation – another term for transcription.Nuclear tone – a significant change of pitch direction on the last strongly accented syllable in an intonation pattern. In general nuclear tones may be falling, rising and level or a combination of these movements. Nucleus – 1) the last strongly accented syllable in an intonation pattern; 2) the most prominent part of a diphthong; 3) the centre of a syllable, usually a vowel. Obstructer mechanism – a group of speech organs which form obstructions during articulation of consonants, it includes tongue, lips, hard and soft palate and teeth.Occlusive – sounds produced when a complete obstruction to the air stream is formed. Onset – sounds that precede the nucleus of a syllable. Open syllable – a syllable which ends in a vowel. Open vowels – vowels produced when the tongue is in the low part of the mouth cavity. Opposition – see phonetic oppositions . Oral consonants – sounds articulated when the soft palate is raised and the air stream goes out through the mouth. Organs of speech – the human organs which together with biological functions take part in sound production.Palatal – sounds produced with the front part of the tongue raised high to the hard palate. Palatalisation – softening of consonants due to the raised position of the middle part of the tongue towards the hard palate. Palato-alveolar – sounds made with the tip or the blade of the tongue against the teeth ridge and the front part of the tongue raised towards the hard palate, thus having two places of articulation (two foci). Paralinguistics – a branch of linguistics which is concerned with non-verbal means of communication. Perceptual Phonetics – see Auditory Phonetics.Pharynx – the part of the throat which connects the larynx to the upper part of the vocal tract. Phonation – voicing, the vibration of the vocal cords. Phone – a sound realised in speech and which bears some individual, stylistic and social characteristics of the speaker. Phoneme – the smallest further indivisible language unit that exists in the speech of all the members of a given language community as such speech sounds which are capable of distinguishing one word of the same language or one grammatical form of a word from another grammatical form of the same word.Phonemic transcription – see broad transcription. Phonetic mistakes – pronunciation mistakes made when an allophone of some phoneme is replaced by an allophone of a different phoneme. Phonetic oppositions – comparison of sounds, words and morphemes in order to single out their minimal distinctive features. Phonetic transcription – see narrow transcription. Phonetics – a branch of linguistics which is concerned with the human noises by which the thought is actualized. Phonetics analyses the nature of thes e sounds, their combinations and their functions in relation to the meaning.Phonological analysis – analysis whose aim is to determine which differences of sounds are phonemic/non-phonemic and to find the inventory of the phonemes of this or that language Phonological mistakes – pronunciation mistakes made when an allophone of the phoneme is replaced by another allophone of the same phoneme; in this case the meaning of the word is affected. Phonology – also Functional Phonetics, a branch of phonetics that is concerned with the social functions of different phonetic phenomena.Phonosemantics – a branch of psycholinguistics that studies the relations between the sound structure of a word and its meaning. Phonostylistics – a branch of phonetics that studies the way phonetic means of the language function in various oral realizations of the language. Phonotactics – the study of the possible phoneme combinations of a language. Physiological Phonet ics – see Articulatory Phonetics. Pitch – the auditory characteristic of a sound, it corresponds to the fundamental frequency (the rate of vibrations of the vocal cords). Pitch level – a particular height of pitch.Pitch range – the interval between two pitch levels or two differently pitched syllables or parts of a syllable. Place of articulation – the place in the vocal tract where the air stream is obstructed. Plosives – consonants produced when the air stream is completely stopped for a short time, also stops. Post-alveolar – sounds articulated with the tip or the blade of the tongue against the back part of the teeth ridge Power mechanism – a group of speech organs which supplies energy for sound production, it includes lungs, diaphragm, windpipe, bronchi.Practical Phonetics – a branch of phonetics which teaches how to pronounce sounds correctly and what intonation to use to convey this or that meaning or emotion. It is called Normative Phonetics because teaches the â€Å"norm† of English pronunciation. Pragmalinguistics – a branch of linguistics that studies what linguistic means and ways of influence on a hearer to choose in order to bring about certain effects in the process of communication. Pragmaphonetics – a branch of Pragmalinguistics whose domain is to analyse the functioning and speech effects of the sound system of a language.Pre-head – the unstressed syllables which precede the first stressed syllable of the head. Primary stress – the strongest stress compared with the other stresses in a word. Principal allophone – allophones which do not undergo any significant changes in the chain of speech. Proclitic – unstressed words or syllables which refer to the following stressed word or syllable Prosody – a complex unity formed by significant variations of pitch, tempo, loudness and timbre. Psycholinguistics – a branch of ling uistics which covers an extremely broad rea, from acoustic phonetics to language pathology, and includes such problems as acquisition of language by children, memory, attention, speech perception, second-language acquisition and so on. Publicistic style – a style of speech used in public discussions on political, judicial or economic topics, sermons, parliamentary debates Qualitative – connected with the spectral characteristics of a sound. Quantitative – referring to the length of a sound. Received Pronunciation (RP) – the national standard of the English language spoken in Great Britain. Reduced vowel – a weakened vowel.Reduction – weakening (either qualitative or quantitative) of vowels in unstressed positions. Resonator mechanism – a group of speech organs which can change their shape and volume, thus forming the spectral component of the sound, it includes nasal and mouth cavities. Rhyme Rhythm – recurrence of stressed syl lables at more or less equal intervals of time in speech. Rhythmic group – a speech segment which contains a stressed syllable and a number of unstressed ones. The most frequent type of an English rhythmic group includes 2-4 syllables, one of which is stressed.Rounded – a sound articulated with added lip rounding. Schwa – see neutral vowel. Scientific style – see academic style. Secondary allophones – allophones which undergo some predictable changes in different phonetic context. Secondary stress – a less strong stress than the primary one, usually precedes the primary stress in a word. Segmental Phonetics – a division of phonetics which is concerned with individual sounds (â€Å"segments† of speech) Segmentation – division of speech into phrases and intonation groups. Semantic centre – see communicative centre.Sentence stress – the greater degree of prominence given to certain words in an utterance. Socio linguistics – a branch of linguistics that studies the way the language interacts with society. Soft palate – the back, soft part of the hard palate. Sonorants – consonants in the production of which noise prevails over voice, the air stream passes through a narrowing and produces audible friction (compare with sonorants). Sonority – a degree of loudness relative to that of other sounds with the same length, stress and pitch.Special Phonetics – a branch of phonetics which is concerned with the study of the phonetic structure of one language only. Spectrogram – a picture of the spectrum of sounds, their frequency, intensity and time. Spectrograph – a device which carries out the spectral analysis of speech. Stops – see plosives Stress – a greater degree of prominence which is caused by loudness, pitch, the length of a syllable and the vowel quality. Stress-timed languages – in these languages stressed syllables ten d to occur at relatively regular intervals irrespectively of the number of unstressed syllables separating them.Strong vowel – the full form of a vowel in the stressed position. Stylistic modifications – sound changes which happen under the influence of extra-linguistics factors. Subsidiary allophone – see secondary allophone. Suprasegmental Phonetics – a division of phonetics whose domain is larger units of connected speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts Syllable – a sound sequence, consisting of a centre which has little or no obstruction to airflow and which sounds comparatively loud; before and after this centre there will be greater obstruction to airflow and less loud sound.Syllable-timed languages – in these languages all syllables, whether stressed or unstressed, tend to occur at regular time-intervals and the time between stressed syllables will be shorter or longer depending on the number of unstressed syllables separating th em. Syntagm – a group of words which is semantically and syntactically complete. Tail – any syllables between the nucleus and the end of the utterance. Tamber – the same as timbre. Tempo – the rate of the utterance and pausation. Tense – historically long vowels in the articulation of which muscular tension of speech organs is great.Terminal tone – the nucleus and the tail of the utterance. Tertiary stress – a less strong stress than the primary one, usually follows the primary stress in a word. Theoretical Phonetics – a branch of phonetics which is mainly concerned with the functioning of phonetic units in the language. It discusses the problems of phonetics in academic terms and gives a scientific approach to the phonetic theory. Timbre – voice quality. Tone languages – the meaning of words in these languages depends on the variations of voice pitch in relation to neighbouring syllables.Tongue – the most movable and flexible speech organ. Transcription – the system of symbols to represent speech in written form. Unstressed – bearing no stress. Utterance – a spoken sentence or a phrase. Uvula – the end of the soft palate. Velar – consonants produced with the back part of the tongue raised towards the soft palate Vibrator mechanism – a group of speech organs which vibrate while the air passes through, thus producing voice, it includes larynx, vocal cords, glottis. Vocal cords – two soft folds in the larynx which can be brought together and apart, thus producing voice.Voice quality – timbre. Voiced consonants – sounds produced when the vocal cords are brought together and vibrate. Voiceless consonants – sounds produced when the vocal cords are brought together and vibrate. Vowel – a sound in the production of which no obstructions are made. Weak form – the unstressed form of a sound or a word. Windpipe – trachea or air passage. Word stress – a greater degree of prominence on one of the syllables in a word. I. PHONETICS AS A BRANCH OF LINGUISTICS. BRANCHES OF PHONETICS. METHODS OF INVESTIGATION 1. 1 IntroductionKnowledge of the structure of sound system and its articulatory and acoustic characteristics is very important in teaching and learning foreign languages. The teacher has to know the starting point from which to begin teaching; he must be able to point out the differences between the pupil’s mother tongue and the language to be learnt. He should be able to choose adequate training exercises. That’s why it is vital to know, at least, the basic principles of this science. The term â€Å"phonetics† comes from the Greek words meaning â€Å"sound or matters pertaining to voice†. What does phonetics study?It is concerned with the human noises by which the thought is actualized (that is the oral aspect of speech communication). However phon etics takes the content level into consideration too. Only meaningful sound sequences are regarded as speech and phonetics is concerned only with such sounds which are carriers of organized information of a language. Phonetics analyses the nature of these sounds, their combinations and their functions in relation to the meaning. No kind of linguistic study can be carried out without constant consideration of the material on the expression level.Consequently, phonetics is important in the study of a language. An understanding of it is a basis for any adequate understanding of the structure or functioning of a language. It follows from this that phonetics is a basic branch – many would say the most fundamental branch of linguistics, because it gives a language a definite form. The vocabulary and grammar of a language can function only when the language has a phonetic form. So grammar and vocabulary depend on phonetics, they cannot exist outside of phonetics, because all lexical and grammar phenomena are expressed phonetically.Neither linguistic theory nor linguistic description can do without phonetics and is complete without it. Phonetics, being a branch of linguistics, occupies a peculiar position. On the one hand it serves as a means of expressing grammatical and lexical phenomena. On the other hand it has laws of its own which are independent of grammar and vocabulary. Besides it is closely connected with a number of other sciences, such as physics, biology, physiology, psychology etc. The more phonetics develops the more various branches of science become involved in the field of phonetic investigation.Phonetics is not a new science. It was known to the ancient Greeks and to the ancient Hindus. The scientists of that time were concerned with speech sounds only. It may be said that the orthography of all written languages which use alphabets developed in the course of a very detailed phonetic analysis. Nevertheless, phonetics as an independent science began to develop only in the 19th century, before that it used to be a part of grammar. There has been considerable progress and growth in the 20th century. New concepts, methods of investigation, new theories and schools have been developed.Not only has the sphere of investigation in phonetics become wider, but several new branches of phonetics have also arisen. So our further point will be made on the branches and divisions of phonetics. 1. 2 Branches and Divisions of Phonetics Everyone who starts learning a foreign language first of all is introduced into practical or normative phonetics. It studies the material form of phonetic phenomena in relation to meaning. It teaches how to pronounce sounds correctly and what intonation to use to convey this or that meaning or emotion. It is called normative because we are to teach the â€Å"norm† of English pronunciation.Theoretical phonetics is mainly concerned with the functioning of phonetic units in the language. It discusses t he problems of phonetics in academic terms and gives a scientific approach to the phonetic theory. Other two important branches of phonetics are special and general phonetics. Special phonetics may be subdivided into descriptive and historical. Special descriptive phonetics is concerned with the study of the phonetic structure of one language only in its static form, synchronically and the domain of special historical phonetics is the phonetic structure of a language in its historical development, diachronically.Historical phonetics is part of the history of a language. Its aim is to trace and establish the successive changes in the phonetic system of a given language at different stages of its historical development. It is very important for the study of the modern phonetic system because without a historical approach it is impossible to understand how this modern phonetic system has developed and what further changes it is likely to undergo.General phonetics studies all the sound- producing possibilities of the human speech apparatus and the ways they are used for purposes of human communication by means of language, it finds out what types of speech sounds exist in various languages of the world, how they are produced and what role they play in forming and expressing thoughts; it also determines the nature, types and role of other phonetic means, such as word stress and intonation.General phonetics is based on the material which the special phonetics of a great number of languages provides; it also uses data of other sciences: physics, biology, psychology, speech pathology, etc. So it makes a number of general conclusions concerning the complex nature of speech sounds, analyses phonetic phenomena from different points of view and formulates phonetic theories. On the one hand general phonetics is based on the data of special phonetics; on the other hand it provides valuable theoretical material which enables us to understand and to interpret correctly differe nt phonetic phenomena of concrete languages.Another important division is into phonology and phonetics. According to the conception of the Prague Linguistic School phonetics and phonology are two independent branches of science, phonetics is a biological science which is concerned with the physical and physiological characteristics of speech sounds, and phonology is a linguistic science which is concerned with the social functions of different phonetic phenomena. Another term for this branch is functional phonetics. The father of Phonology is Prince Nicholas Trubetskoi.His work â€Å"Fundementals of Phonology† separates phonetics and phonology, saying that they are not related and that phonetics is not part of linguistics, but a biological science that deals only with the physiological aspect of speech sounds. Nevertheless it doesn't seem logical to separate function from phonetic forms, thus excluding phonetics from the linguistic sciences. So nowadays most phoneticians cons ider both phonetics and phonology part of linguistics. Phonetics itself is subdivided into 3 sub branches, each dealing with special aspects of sounds, their production by a speaker and perception by a listener.Phonetic processing starts on a neurophonetic level, in the brain of a speaker, where the formation of the concept takes place. The human brain controls the behaviour of the articulatory (or speech) organs and makes them move in a particular way. The branch of phonetics which is concerned with the study of speech sounds as regards their production by the human speech organs is called articulatory (physiological) phonetics. In other words it deals with the way human organs join to produce sounds.Articulatory basis of a language is a set of articulation tendencies characteristic for a particular language community, so articulatory gesturing is culturally specific and not universal. Different articulations produce different acoustic effects, or different speech sounds. Consequen tly, speech sounds have a second aspect, a physical or, more exactly, an acoustic one, which constitutes the domain of acoustic phonetics. Acoustic phonetics involves knowledge of physics as it deals with the physical property of sounds. Any sound is a pressure disturbance transmitted through an elastic medium.When articulatory gesturing starts it causes disturbance (a sound wave) in the medium, which is transmitted from one particle of the medium to another and is reproduced as a sound wave travels from the source to the listener. Perceptual or auditory phonetics is concerned with the way our auditory mechanism works to process speech information. There is a boundary line between reception (which doesn't involve understanding) and perception (which involves decoding and understanding). Phonetic perception is a product of sensation and interpretation of speech elements which take place in a human brain.Phonetics is also divided into two major components: segmental phonetics, which i s concerned with individual sounds (â€Å"segments† of speech) and suprasegmental phonetics whose domain is larger units of connected speech: syllables, words, phrases and texts. There are a number of other divisions of phonetics. We may speak about comparative phonetics whose aims are to study the correlation between the phonetic systems of two or more languages and find out the correspondences between speech sounds and intonation structures.Its data are extremely useful in teaching and learning a foreign language as they show differences and similarities of the phonetic systems of two or more languages and predict possible difficulties for the learners. It should be mentioned that the most difficult phonetic phenomena are those absent in the mother tongue. For example, the sounds [? -? ] cause a lot of difficulties for the Russian students of English, as there are no sounds with similar articulations in the Russian language.On the other hand the most stable and persistent p ronunciation mistakes are made in those phenomena which are similar in the two languages but not exactly the same. For example, falling intonation. In English it goes to the very bottom of the voice, while in Russian it is not so steep and it does not reach the same low note as in English. The data of applied phonetics are essential for practical purposes in speech therapy and logopedia. It helps to correct speech defects and to teach deaf-mutes (or people who do not speak as a result of an accident or some disease) to speak.Experimental phonetics deals with research work which is carried out with the help of different technical devices, machines for measurements and for instrumental analysis. Phonetics as a whole and all of its branches have not come into being all at once: they developed gradually, and their development was closely connected with and determined by the development of other branches of linguistics and other sciences. 1. 3. Phonetics and Social Sciences So our furthe r point should be made in connection with the relationship between phonetics and social sciences. Language is not an isolated phenomenon; it is a part of society.No branch of linguistics can be studied without taking into consideration at least the study of other aspects of society. In the past two decades we have seen the development of quite distinct interdisciplinary subjects, such as sociolinguistics (and sociophonetics correspondingly), psycholinguistics, mathematical linguistics and others. As their titles suggest, they are studied from two points of view and thus require knowledge of both. Sociophonetics studies the ways in which pronunciation functions in society. It is interested in the ways in which phonetic structures vary in response to different social functions.Society here is used in its broadest sense, it includes such phenomena as nationality, regional and social groups, age, gender, different situations of speaking – talking to equals, superiors, on the â₠¬Å"job†, when we are trying to persuade, inform, agree and so on. The aim of sociophonetics is to correlate phonetic variations with situational factors. It’s obvious that these data are vital for language learners who are to observe social norms and to accommodate to different situations they find themselves in. One more example of interdisciplinary overlap is the relation of linguistics to psychology.Psycholinguistics covers an extremely broad area, from acoustic phonetics to language pathology, and includes such problems as acquisition of language by children, memory, attention, speech perception, second-language acquisition and so on. Phonosemantics studies the relations between the sound structure of a word and its meaning. There is some data proving that the sounds that constitute a word have their own â€Å"inner† meaning, which causes certain associations in the listener’s mind. For example, close vowels produce the effect of â€Å"smallness†, and voiceless consonants sound more â€Å"unpleasant† and â€Å"rude† than their voiced counterparts, etc.Some sounds are associated with certain colours. These data may be helpful in teaching, for example, â€Å"tying† together the sound structure of a word and its meaning, thus facilitating the process of memorising new words. Scientists have always been interested how children acquire their own language without being taught. They hope that these data might be useful in teaching grown-up people a foreign language, too. Pragmalinguistics is a comparatively new science, which studies what linguistic means and ways of influence on a hearer to choose in order to bring about certain effects in the process of communication.Correspondently the domain of pragmaphonetics is to analyse the functioning and speech effects of the sound system of a language. Phonetics is closely connected with a number of other sciences such as physics (or rather acoustics), mathematics, biology, physiology and others. The more phonetics develops the more various branches of science become involved in the field of phonetic investigation. Phonetics has become important in a number of technological fields connected with communication.Phoneticians work alongside the communication engineers in devising and perfecting machines that can understand, that is respond to human speech, or machines for reading aloud the printed page and vice versa, converting speech directly into printed words on paper. Although scientists are still dissatisfied with the quality of synthesized speech, these data are applied in security systems, answering machines and for other technical purposes. 1. 4. Methods of Phonetic Investigation Methods applied in investigating the sound matter of the language have changed greatly with the development of technology and computer science.From the beginning of phonetics the phonetician has relied mainly on what he could feel of his own speech and on what h e could hear both of his own and the informant’s speech. Such methods are called direct and consist in observing the movements and positions of one's own or other people's organs of speech in pronouncing various speech sounds, as well as in analysing one's own kinaesthetic sensations (muscle tense) during the articulation of speech sounds and in comparing them with the resultant auditory impressions.Investigation by means of this method can be effective only if the persons employing it have been specially trained and have acquired considerable skills in associating the qualities of the perceived sound with the nature of the articulations producing it. Instrumental methods were introduced into phonetics in the last century to supplement the impressions deriving from the human senses. These methods are based upon registering or computing machines and technical devices, such as spectrograph, intonograph, x-ray photography and cinematography, laryngoscope and some others.The intr oduction of machines for measurements and for instrumental analysis into phonetics has resulted in their use for detailed study of many of the phenomena which are present in the sound wave or in the articulatory process at any given moment. These techniques can be very useful both for discovering in detail how English speakers produce their speech sounds, and for demonstrating to learners of English their pronunciation. Computers can provide additional pronunciation training, displaying useful information on the screen and being a powerful visual aid for effective phonetic practice.One more advantage of the modern experimental study of speech is the enormous amount of varied spoken speech data stored on computers. It facilitates the process of looking for cross-language differences and similarities. The data obtained from instrumental analysis supplement and verify those obtained by means of direct observation, thus making the research results more detailed and precise. II. THE ARTI CULATORY CHARACTERISTIC OF THE ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS 2. 1. The Anatomo-mechanical Aspect of Sound Production Speech is impossible without the speech mechanism.So now our attention will be focused on the articulatory aspect of speech sounds. Speech sounds are acoustic effects of the articulatory movements and positions of the human speech organs. The immediate source of speech sounds is the human speech mechanism developed and perfected in the process of the historical development of man. The organs of speech are the object of linguistic investigation mainly from the point of view of the functions they perform in speech production. So before analysing the linguistic function of phonetic units we need to know how the speech mechanism acts in producing oral speech.According to their main sound-producing functions the speech organs can be roughly divided into the following four groups: the power mechanism (lungs, diaphragm, windpipe, bronchi), the vibrator mechanism (larynx, vocal cords , glottis), the resonator mechanism (nasal and mouth cavities) and the obstructer mechanism (tongue, lips, hard and soft palate, teeth). From the lungs through the wind-pipe the air-stream passes to the larynx, containing the vocal cords. The opening between the vocal cords, through which the air passes, is called the glottis. The linguistic function of the vocal cords onsists in providing the source of energy necessary for speech production. When the vocal cords are kept wide apart (i. e. the glottis is open) the air passes between the cords and the result is non-phonic breath. Then the vocal cords may be drawn together tightly, so that air cannot pass between them. The sudden opening of the glottis produces an explosion resembling a short cough; this sound is called the glottal stop. It often occurs in English when it reinforces or even replaces the sounds [p], [t], [k] or even when it precedes the energetic articulation of vowel sounds.The most important role of the vocal cords i s their participation in the production of voice. The effect of voice is achieved when the vocal cords are brought loosely together, creating an obstacle to the air stream; when the air pressure becomes very strong the air forces its way between the vocal cords thus making the, vibrate. When, as is usual, these vibrations are regular, they produce vocal tone, or voice, whose pitch depends on the frequency of vibrations. We are able to vary the speed of vibration of our vocal cords and thus to change the pitch.Conscious variations of pitch are responsible for intonation. We are also able to modify the size of the puff of the air which escapes at each vibration, thus changing the amplitude of the vibration, which corresponds to the loudness of the sound heard by a listener. The air-stream, having passed through the vocal cords, is now subject to further modification, according to the shape of the pharynx, mouth and nasal cavities. The direction in which the air-stream will follow from the pharynx depends on the position of the soft palate.When it is lowered, the pharynx opens into the nasal cavity. When it is risen, the air-stream comes to the mouth cavity. As in the mouth cavity a lot of movable speech organs are situated it can easily change its shape, thus forming the majority of speech sounds. The movable (or active) speech organs, situated in the mouth cavity are: the tongue, the soft palate with the uvula, the lips and the lower jaw. Of all the movable organs within the mouth cavity the tongue is the most flexible and active.For convenience, the surface of the tongue or divided into several parts: the most flexible part of the tongue, which normally lies opposite the teeth ridge, is called the blade, the tip of the tongue being its extreme point. The part of the tongue next to the blade is called the front of the tongue. Then come the back and the root of the tongue. The tongue being the most active speech organ in the mouth cavity, the main principles of the majority of articulatory classifications of vowels are based on the movements and positions of the tongue. 2. 2. The system of English VowelsThe movements of the body of the tongue provide a convenient articulatory basis for classifying vowels according to two principles: 1) horizontal and 2) vertical movements of the tongue. According to the horizontal movement five classes of English vowels are distinguished. They are: 1) front [i:], [e], [e? ], [ ], [? ] 2) front-retracted [? ], [ ] 3) central [? ], [? :], [? ], [ ], [a? ], [a? ] 4) back [? ], [? :], [u:], [a:], [ ] 5) back-advanced [? ], [ ] Not all phoneticians single out the classes of front-retracted and back-advanced vowels. So both [i:] and [? vowels are classed as front, and both [u:] and [? ] – as back. The point is that the vowels in these two pairs differ in quality which is partially due to the raised part of the tongue. So in this case a more detailed classification seems to be a more precise one, since it adequately reflects the articulatory distinctions actually present in the language. Now let's view another articulatory characteristic of vowels, which is based on the vertical movement of the tongue. The way phoneticians of different schools approach this aspect is also slightly different.Some scholars distinguish three classes of vowels: high (or close), mid and low (or open) vowels. But to mark all significant changes in vowel quality it is not enough to single out these three groups of vowels. For instance, both English vowels [i:] and [? ] belong to the group of close vowels, but when the vowel [? ] is articulated the front of the tongue is not so high in the mouth as it is in the case of the vowel [i:]. Russian phoneticians made the classification more detailed distinguishing two subclasses in each class: broad and narrow variations of the 3 vertical positions of the tongue.Thus the following 6 groups of vowels are distinguished: 1) close a) narrow [i:], [u:] b) broad [? ], [? ], [ ], [ ] 2) mid a) narrow [e], [? :], [? ], [e? ], [ ] b) broad [? ], [? ] 3) open a) narrow [ ], [? :], [ ] b) broad [? ], [a? ], [a? ], [? ], [a:]. In addition to the above-mentioned principle of the classification of vowels phoneticians suggest five other criteria: 1) stability of articulation 2) lip position 3) character of the vowel end 4) length 5) tenseness The stability of articulation specifies the actual position of the articulating organ in the process of the articulation.There are two possible variants: a) the tongue position is stable, in this case the articulated vowel is pure, it consists of one element and is called a monophthong; and b) the tongue position changes, in this case a vowel consists of two elements, the first one is strong, it is a nucleus, the second element is very weak – it is a glide. There exists a third variety, when the change in the tongue position is fairly weak, in this case the articulated vowel is not pure, but it still consists of one element, such vowels are called diphthongoids.So according to this principle the English vowels are subdivided into: a) monophthongs [? ], [? ], [e], [? :], [? ], [? ], [? :], [? ], [? ], [a:] b) diphthongs [ ], [ ], [e? ], [ ], [ ], [a? ], [a? ], [ ] c) diphthongoids [i:], [u:] Some phoneticians, however, do not share this way of thinking and do not distinguish diphthongoids. But for the learners of English it is important to know this differentiation as it is useful for teaching purposes. Besides in modern English the tendency for diphthongization is becoming gradually stronger. Another feature of English vowels is lip rounding.Traditionally three lip positions are distinguished: spread, neutral and rounded. In English lip rounding is not relevant phonologically (it means that no two words can be distinguished on its basis). Our next point should be made about another characteristic of English vowels. It's checkness. The quality of all English monophthongs in the stressed pos ition is strongly affected by the following consonant. If a stressed vowel is followed by a strong (fortis) voiceless consonant it is cut off by it. In this case the end of the vowel is strong and the vowel is called checked.If a vowel is followed by a weak (lenis) voiced consonant or by no consonant at all the end of it is weak. In this case the vowel is called free. Now it should be useful to consider another articulatory characteristic of English vowels, that is their length or quantity. The English monophthongs are traditionally divided into short [? ], [e], [? ], [? ], [? ], [? ], [? ] and long ones [i:], [a:], [? :], [? :], [u:]. It should be noted that vowel length or quantity has for a long time been the point of disagreement among phoneticians. The problem is whether variations in quantity are meaningful (relevant) or not.Let's look at the pairs of words: [b? d – bi:d], [s? t – si:t]. Are they distinguished from one another by the opposition of different lengt h (that's the approach of D. Jones, an outstanding British phonetician) or is the difference in quality (or in other words the position of the active organ of speech) decisive here? Most Russian phoneticians are in favour of the second conception. They state that a feature can be systemic if it does not depend on the context. As to the length of English vowels, it varies and depends on a lot of factors, the first being phonetic context.The shortest are vowels followed by voiceless consonants and the longest are in free position. For example in â€Å"meat† [i:] is half as long as the [i:] in â€Å"me†, but may approximately have the same duration as the [? ] in â€Å"mid†. But still these words â€Å"mid† and â€Å"meat† are perceived as different words because the vowels are different in quality. So no matter what time is required for the articulation of these vowels, the main distinctive feature is quality, not quantity. As for tenseness we shall only mention that special instrumental analysis shows that historically long vowels are tense, and historically short ones are lax.To sum it up we may conclude that among all the articulatory features of English vowels only two are relevant: the stability of articulation and tongue position. 2. 3. The System of English Consonants Before passing on to the classification of English consonants the difference between consonants and vowels should be considered. Acoustically consonants are noises, not musical tones like vowels. From the articulatory point of view the difference is due to the work of speech organs. In case of consonants various obstructions are made. As to the classification of English consonants there are few ways of seeing the situation.One of them is the classification according to the type of obstacle. On this ground two large classes of consonants are distinguished: 1) occlusive, which are produced when a complete obstruction is formed: [t, d, p, b, k, g], [m, n, ? ]; 2) constrictive, which are produced when an incomplete obstruction is formed: [s, z, f, v, O, ? , ? , ? , h], [w, r, l, j]. Each of the 2 classes is subdivided into noise consonants (these are those in the production of which noise prevails over tone) and sonorants (in the production of which tone component prevails).Noise occlusive consonants are called stops because the air stream is completely stopped at some point of articulation and then released with an explosion, that is why they are also called plosives: [t, d, p, b, k, g]. Constrictive noise consonants are called fricatives, because the air escapes through the narrowing with friction: [s, z, f, v, O, ? , ? , ? , h]. Occlusive-constrictive consonants or affricates are noise consonants produced with a complete obstruction which is slowly released and the air stream escapes from the mouth with some friction. There are only two affricates in English: [? ,? . Other phoneticians suggest that the first and basic principle of clas sification should be the degree of noise. So consonants are divided first into noise consonants and sonorants and then each group is divided into smaller groups. Another very important principle is the place of articulation. According to this principle English consonants are classed into labial, lingual and glottal. I. Labial consonants in their turn are subdivided into a) bilabial (produced when both lips are active) [w, m, p, b]; b) labio-dental (articulated with the lower lip against the edge of the upper teeth) [f, v]. II.Among the class of lingual consonants three subclasses are distinguished: a) forelingual; b) medio-lingual; c) back-lingual. Forelingual consonants are also of three kinds: 1) apical (articulated with the tip of the tongue) [t, d, s, z, O, ? , ? , ? , ? , ? , n, l]. 2) dorsal (produced when the blade of the tongue is active). There are no dorsal consonants in English. In Russian these are the sounds [?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?]. 3) cacuminal (articulated with the t ip of the tongue curled back). There is only one cacuminal consonant in English – [r]. According to the place of obstruction forelingual consonants may be: – interdental, rticulated with the tip of the tongue projected between the teeth: [O, ? ]; – dental, produced with the blade of the tongue against the upper teeth: the Russian [?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?]; – alveolar, produced with the tip of the tongue against the upper teeth ridge: [t, d, s, z, n, l]; – post-alveolar, articulated with the tip or the blade of the tongue against the back part of the teeth ridge: [r]; – palato-alveolar, made with the tip or the blade of the tongue against the teeth ridge and the front part of the tongue raised towards the hard palate, thus having two places of articulation (two foci): [? ? , ? , ? ]. b) mediolingual consonants are produced with the front part of the tongue raised high to the hard palate, so they are always palatal: [j]. c) backlingual consonants are also called velar, because they are produced with the back part of the tongue raised towards the soft palate: [k, g, ? ]. III. The glottal consonant [h] is articulated in the glottis. There are no glottal consonants in Russian. One more articulatory characteristic which should be mentioned is the position of the soft palate.According to this principle consonants may be oral and nasal. There are only three nasal consonants in English, which require the lowered position of the soft palate: [m, n, ]. The rest of the consonants are oral because in their production the soft palate is raised and the air escapes through the mouth. Our next point will be made in connection with another sound property, that is voice-voiceless characteristic. When the vocal cords are brought together and vibrate we hear voice and the consonants are voiced: [b, d, g, v, z, ? , ? , ? . When the vocal cords are apart and do not vibrate we hear only noise and the consonants are voiceless: [p, t, k, f, s, O, ? , ? ]. It should be noted that the difference between such pairs as [p, b], [t, d] and so on is based not only on the absence or presence of the voice component, as voiced consonants are not fully voiced in all word positions, in word final position, for example, they are partially devoiced. There's also energy difference. All voiced consonants are weak or lenis and all voiceless consonants are strong or fortis.Summing it up, it should be mentioned that the most important articulatory features, which could serve as a criterion for grouping consonants into functionally similar classes, are: type of obstruction; place of articulation and the active organ of speech; force of articulation. The rest of the characteristics are considered to be irrelevant, as they are of no importance from the phonological point of view, but they provide necessary and useful information for teaching purposes. It is for this reason that they are normally included into the classification. III.THE ACOUSTIC AND AUDITORY ASPECTS OF THE ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS The auditory aspect of any sound is inseparable from its acoustic aspect and acoustic phonetics is closely connected with auditory phonetics and both may, therefore, be considered together. Objectively sound is a physical phenomenon, a kind of moving energy generated by some vibrating body. Subjectively sound is our perception of the vibrations of the air next to our ear-drum. People can perceive not all vibrations of the air but only when they occur at the rate of sixteen to twenty thousand times per second.Sounds may be periodical and non-periodical. If the vibrations of a physical body (vocal cords in our case) are rhythmical, the sound waves are periodical. The auditory impression of such periodical waves is a musical tone or a speech tone. If the wave is non-periodical, it is perceived as noise. Sound has a number of physical properties which all exist and manifest themselves simultaneously. They can be singled out from the others o nly for purposes of analysis. The first of these properties is frequency which is a number of vibrations per second.Our perception of the frequency is the pitch of the sound. The greater the frequency, the higher the pitch and vice versa. The frequency depends on certain physical properties of the vibrator, such as its mass, length and tension. The greater the mass of the vibrator, the slower its vibrations and the lower the pitch. The longer the vibrator, the slower the vibrations and the lower the frequency and the pitch. Here the difference between men and women and adults and children voices lies. Men's and adults' voices are lower than women's and children's are, because their vocal cords are thicker and longer.Tension depends on the elasticity of the vocal cords. The vocal cords of elderly people are not as elastic as the vocal cords of younger people, children especially, so their voices sound rather low. As the tension increases – the frequency increases and the pitch rises. The second physical property of sound is intensity, changes in which are perceived as variations in the loudness of sound. The intensity of sound is produced by the amplitude of vibrations (that is by the distance to which the air particles are displaced from their position of rest by the application of some external force).Intensity is measured in decibels. The intensity and frequency of sound are closely interdependent. The same amount of energy will produce either greater amplitude with a lower frequency or a higher frequency with smaller amplitude. Therefore if you increase the frequency without increasing the amount of energy you will shorten the amplitude and therefore reduce the intensity, that is produce a less loud sound. People are able to produce vowel sounds of various qualities or timbres. This is achieved through the action of the resonator mechanism.So the production and differentiation of vowels is based on the acoustic phenomenon that is called resonance. So unds coming from different resonators travel different lengths (distances) or have different carrying power. The distance is proportional to the volume of the resonator and the size of its orifice. Any sound has a certain duration or length. In other words it can exist and move only in time. The duration or length of a sound is the quantity of time during which the same vibratory motion, the same patterns of vibration are maintained. For this reason, the duration of a sound is often referred to as is quantity.The duration is measured in millisecond. We perceive the variations in duration as tempo or speed of utterance. In speech there are not definite boundaries between different speech sounds. So it’s very difficult to measure the length of separate sounds. In addition it should be mentioned that along with various articulatory classifications of speech sounds, there exist acoustic descriptions and classifications. The chief drawback of articulatory classifications is that t hey don’t describe and define all shades of typologically identical speech sounds, especially vowels.Besides, one and the same speech sound can be pronounced by different people with slightly different positions and movements of their speech organs. Acoustic classifications seem to overcome these difficulties as they are more detailed and accurate. The first acoustic classification was based on spectrographic analysis. It was worked out by Roman Jakobson, C. G. M. Fant and M. Halle. However, acoustic classification, though more precise, are not practically applied in teaching. The acoustic features of speech sounds can not be seen directly or felt.But there are some other fields of the application of acoustic phonetics: speech synthesis, health service, security systems, etc. IV. THE FUNCTIONAL ASPECT OF SPEECH SOUNDS 4. 1 Phoneme and Allophones Phoneticians not only describe and classify the material form of phonetic units. They are also interested in the way in which sound phenomena function in a particular language and what part they play in communication. The branch of phonetics that studies the linguistic function of consonant and vowel sounds, syllabic structures, word accent and prosodic features is called phonology.Unlike phonetics itself, whose domain is articulatory and acoustic features, phono