Phonology Flashcards
(26 cards)
Phonology is the studies of ____
sound systems
Phoneme?
The symbols
abstract/ cognitive unit of sound
Distinguishes between words in a language
eg. /t/ (the concept of t, a collection of all the sounds t can make)
Allophones?
The actual sound we hear
eg. [t̚ ], [ɾ], [tʰ], [t]
Minimal pairs?
Words that differ only in one sound
Different phonemes
Contrastive sounds?
Distinctive sound units in English
Why are minimal pairs important?
• By identifying minimal pairs, we can determine the phonemic inventory of a
language
– e.g. Examples above provide evidence for following phonemic categories in
English: /f/, /v/, /n/, /m/, /ŋ/ /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /tʃ/, /tʒ/, /j/, /w/
Near minimal pairs
Not just one segment difference between the 2 words
contain additional differences in
pronunciation, which don’t involve sounds next to
the key contrast
– e.g. [mɪʃən], [vɪʒən] : mission, vision
these words help show that /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are
different phonemes in English
Types of Transcription
Phonemic (a.k.a. phonological): containing only info that
affects meaning
– Phonetic (refers to specific pronunciation)
• broad: very rough, equivalent to phonological
transcription in its level of detail
• narrow: more detailed info on pronunciation
Is aspiration always allophonic? (not used to distinguish words)
Aspiration in Khmer stops is distinctive
• It serves to distinguish words
• Aspiration in English is allophonic
• It doesn’t affect meaning; largely predictable from context
Complimentary Distribution
Allophonic variation that is predictable from context is
called complementary distribution
e.g. English /l/ variation:
• /l/ → [l] after voiceless stops ̥
• /l/ → [ɫ] syllable-fnally
• /l/ → [l] elsewhere (usually the elsewhere allophone is by default the phoneme form)
All possible contexts are covered by these rules
Free variation
Allophonic variation that is not predictable from context
Allophones of the same phoneme can occur in the
same segmental environment
Free variation
Not all allophonic variation is predictable.
Allophones of the same phoneme can occur in the
same phonetic environment.
[sit^] ‘sit’ (unreleased)
[sith] ‘sit!’ (forcefully released)
[siP] ‘sit’ (glottalized)
Syllable patterns
CV
CVC
CCVCC
Nucleus
– head of syllable
– Obligatory in every syllable
Onset
All prenuclear consonants
Coda
All postnuclear
consonants
Rhyme
– Nucleus plus coda
together
Maximum Onset Principle
Assign as many consonants to onset as possible
Sonority Contour Principle
Sonority rises before nucleus and declines
after nucleus
Binarity Principle
Complex onsets and codas can contain two segments at most
Sonority
vowels > glides > liquids > nasals > obstruents
Natural Class
groups of sounds with similar
phonological properties
Obstrurents
Stops, Affricates, Fricatives
Sonorants
Vowels, Glides, liquids (laterals and rhotic), Nasals
Underlying vs surface representation
Underlying representations are composed of
phonemes
– e.g. /itənæpl̩/
Surface (phonetic) representations are made out of
allophones
– e.g. [iɾənæpl̩]
