eng 211 chapter 3

Question 1

Phonology

Answer 1

The study of the sound system of a language, how the particular sounds contrast in each language to form an integrated system for encoding information, and how such systems differ from one language to another.

Question 2

phonetic inventories

Answer 2

The set of sounds that are produced as part of the grammar of a language.

Question 3

phonotactic constraints

Answer 3

Restriction on possible combinations of sounds, often in particular environments.

Question 4

aspiration

Answer 4

A puff of air that follows the release of a consonant when there is a delay in the onset of voicing. Symbolized by a superscript

Question 5

noncontrastive

Answer 5

A term used to describe two sounds that are not used to differentiate words in a language.

Question 6

contrastive

Answer 6

A term used to describe two sounds that can be used to differentiate words in a language.

Question 7

allophone

Answer 7

One of a set of noncontrastive realizations of the same phoneme; an actual phonetic segment.

Question 8

phonetic environments

Answer 8

The sounds that come before and after a particular sound in a word.

Question 9

contrastive distribution

Answer 9

The occurrence of sounds in a language such that their use distinguishes between the meanings of the words in which they appear, indicating that those sounds are phonemes of the language in question. Sounds that are in contrastive distribution are allophones of different phonemes.

Question 10

minimal pair

Answer 10

Two words that differ only by a single sound in the same position and that have different meanings.

Question 11

complementary distribution

Answer 11

The occurrence of sounds in a language such that they are never found in the same phonetic environment. Sounds that are in complementary distribution are allophones of the same phoneme.

Question 12

underlying form

Answer 12

The phonemic form of a word or morpheme before phonological rules are applied.

Question 13

conditioning environment

Answer 13

Neighboring sounds of a given sound that cause it to undergo a change.

Question 14

natural class

Answer 14

Group of sounds in a language that satisfy a given description to the exclusion of other sounds in that language.

Question 15

sibilant

Answer 15

A member of the natural class of sounds that are characterized by a high-pitched hissing quality.

Question 16

obstruents

Answer 16

A natural class of sounds produced with an obstruction of the airflow in the oral cavity while the nasal cavity is closed off. Includes oral stops, fricatives, and affricates.

Question 17

sonorants

Answer 17

Sound (usually voiced) produced with a relatively open passage of airflow. Nasals, liquids, glides, and vowels are all sonorants.

Question 18

nasal place assimilation

Answer 18

or Nasal Stop (2.2.5) Sound produced by making a complete obstruction of the airflow in the oral cavity and lowering the velum to allow air to pass through the nasal cavity, unlike oral stops.

Question 19

palatilization

Answer 19

A process wherein a sound takes on a palatal place of articulation, usually in assimilation to high or mid front vowels like [i] or [e].

Question 20

vowel harmony

Answer 20

Long-distance assimilation between vowels.

Question 21

weakening

Answer 21

A process through which sounds are made “weaker” according to some criterion.

Question 22

implicational law

Answer 22

Observation about language universals that takes the form of an implication

Question 23

basic allophone

Answer 23

The allophone of a phoneme that is used when none of the change-inducing conditions are fulfilled. Of a set of allophones, it is generally least limited in where it can occur; also termed the elsewhere allophone.

Question 24

restricted allophone

Answer 24

An allophone of a phoneme that appears in a more limited set of phonetic environments.

Question 25

near minimal pairs

Answer 25

Similar to a minimal pair, but whereas the words in a minimal pair are identical apart from the contrastive sounds, the words in a near-minimal pair are only almost identical, apart from the contrastive sounds.