Overview

There are many ways of looking at, and describing, spoken utterances, i.e. speech:

1. As a physical event - the production, transmission, perception of speech signals: PHONETICS
2. As a system of events with a FUNCTION in communication:
   • DIALOGUE: complex communicative event between one or more participants
   • DIALOGUE EXCHANGE: basic turn-taking unit
   • DIALOGUE CONTRIBUTION: component of a DIALOGUE EXCHANGE
   • SENTENCE: basic unit of grammar
   • WORD: units which constitute SENTENCES
   • MORPHEME: smallest meaningful component of WORDS
   • PHONEME: sound which distinguishes WORDS
3. PHONOLOGY: the study of sounds which distinguish words, and their properties