The London School

Linguistic description evolves a standard language since eleventh century. In the sixteenth century the practical linguistic was flourished in England.

Practical Linguistics 

Orthoepy- it is the codification and teaching the correct pronunciation.

Lexicography- it is the invention of shorthand systems, spelling reform, and the creation

of artificial ‘philosophical languages.’

They induce in their practitioners a considerable degree of sophistication about matters.

linguistics. 

Phonetics

Henry Sweet based his historical studies on a detailed understanding of the working of the vocal organs. He was concerned with the systematizing phonetic transcription in connection with problems of language-teaching and of spelling reform.

Daniel Jones stressed the importance for language study of through training in the practical

skills of perceiving, transcribing, and reproducing minute distinctions of speech- sound.

He invented the system of cardinal reference-points which made precise and consistent

transcription possible in the case of vowels.  

Linguistics

J.R. Firth turned linguistics proper into a recognized, distinct academic subject.

Firth said that the phonology of a language consist of a number of system of alternative

possibilities which come into play at different points in phonological unit such a syllable, and

there is no reason to identify the alternants in one system with those in another. 

Trubetzkoy assumes that the range of sounds found in the special neutralizing environment will

be related in a regular way to the range found in other environments. 

A Firthian phonologycal analysis recognizes a number of ‘systems’ of prosodies operating at

various points in structure which determine the pronunciation of a given form in interaction with

segment-sized phonematic units.

The terminological distinction between ‘prosodies’ and ‘phonematic units’ could as well be

thought of as ‘prosodies’ that happen to be only one segment long.