【正确答案】Phonology is one of the branches of linguistics, and it studies the rules governing the structure, distribution, and sequencing of speech sounds and the shape of syllables. It deals with the sound system of a language by treating phoneme as the point of departure.

【答案解析】[解析] 此题考查语言学的分支之一——音系学，音系学研究支配语音分布和排列的规则以及音节的形式。音系学以音位为起点来处理语言的语音系统。同时，考生还需掌握包括phonetics(语音学)、morphology(形态学)、syntax(句法学)、semantics(语义学)、pragmatics(语用学)、macrolinguistics(宏观语言学)、psycholinguistics(心理语言学)、sociolinguistics(社会语言学)、anthropological linguistics(人类语言学)、computational linguistics(计算语言学)在内的语言学其他分支。