Phonology

Question 1

Phonology

Answer 1

the study of the sound system of a language

Question 2

Why do we pronounce ‘I ha[v] no money with a [v] but when we say ‘I ha[f] to start saving’ the [v] turns into an [f]

Answer 2

we turn the voiced [v] into a voiceless [f] to smoothly transition into [t]

Question 3

Why is it when linguists talk about language, they’re talking about speech, not writing?

Answer 3

1. writing is a record of language, not language itself
2. people spoke before they wrote
3. humans speak before they write
4. humans learn language through speech
5. changes in language are first seen in speech, then in writng
6. ‘language’ comes from the Latin ‘lingua,’ which means ‘tongue’

Question 4

Phonemes

Answer 4

the individual sound units that make up the continuous stream of sound we call speech

Question 5

Does every language have its own set of phonemes

Answer 5

yes

Question 6

an example of a phoneme in english

Answer 6

[p] as in ‘cup,’ ‘puck,’ ‘culprit,’ etc.

Question 7

What can a single phoneme show

Answer 7

pronunciation variation

Question 8

Example of a single phoneme showing pronunciation variation

Answer 8

the ‘p’ in puck is aspirated, the ‘p’ in cup is not aspirated

Question 9

Variants of phonemes

Answer 9

allophones

Question 10

studying phonology sheds light on:

Answer 10

1. the ways speech sounds form words
2. the natures of consonants and vowels
3. how speech sounds affect each other when they’re near each other
4. the sounds and sound combinations that are possible and not possible in a language
5. the process in which speech sounds are made, transmitted, received, and translated into meaning

Question 11

How do humans make speech sounds

Answer 11

1. air from the lungs is pushed up through the larynx and out through the mouth and nose
2. the position of the vocal cords while the air passes through affects the sound
3. the sound is further modified by the throat, the mouth (especially the tongue), and/or the nose

Question 12

When are sounds ‘voiceless’

Answer 12

when the vocal cords are spread open and don’t vibrate as air passes through
ex. [th] in thigh

Question 13

When are sounds voiced

Answer 13

when the vocal cords close together and vibrate

ex. [th] in the

Question 14

International Phonetic Alphabet

Answer 14

a universal alphabet for transcribing any language into its speech sounds

Question 15

What does the IPA provide

Answer 15

a distinct symbol for every possible human speech sound

Question 16

Why is the IPA necessary

Answer 16

1. the spelling/pronunciation irregularities within and among languages (beard, heard, heart)
2. alphabet letters often don’t correspond to only one speech sound (ch, sh)

Question 17

Example of the phonetic alphabet in action

Answer 17

‘c’ is a letter but not a sound.
c is [s] in ‘nice’
c is [k] in ‘cat’

Question 18

Two major types of speech sounds

Answer 18

vowels, consonants

Question 19

Vowels

Answer 19

the peaks or nuclei of syllables

Question 20

Consonants

Answer 20

appear at the margins of syllables: onset (start) and coda (end)

Question 21

How are consonants produced

Answer 21

with the narrowing or closure of vocal tract (less sonorous)

Question 22

How are vowels produced

Answer 22

little to no obstruction of vocal tract (sonorous)

Question 23

Distinguishing factors of consonants

Answer 23

1. where they’re produced at
2. what they’re produced by
3. voiced or voiceless

Question 24

Where are consonants produced

Answer 24

various places of articulation - the parts of the vocal tract involved in making the sound

Question 25

What are consonants produced by

Answer 25

various manners of articulation - the different ways airflow is modified in making the sound

Question 26

when does the voicing of consonants occur

Answer 26

when the vocal cords are close together

Question 27

Places of articulation

Answer 27

where the air stream is modified to produce a distinct sound

Question 28

What is involved in articulation

Answer 28

1. lips 2. tongue 3. glottal

Question 29

Lips greatly involved in articulation

Answer 29

bilabial | labiodental

Question 30

bilabial

Answer 30

both lips touch [m], [p]

Question 31

labiodental

Answer 31

bottom lip touches the upper teeth [f]

Question 32

Tongue and articulation

Answer 32

tongue touches different parts of mouth

Question 33

Glottal

Answer 33

made only with the vocal folds as in [h]

Question 34

Manners of articulation

Answer 34

1. Stops 2. Fricatives 3. Affricates

Question 35

Stops

Answer 35

air flow completely blocked fora short time before the air (and sound) are released ex. [p] and [b]

Question 36

Nasal stops

Answer 36

[m] and [n] (could continue forever)

Question 37

Glottal stops

Answer 37

uh-oh, uh-uh; vocal cords tightly closed

Question 38

Fricatives

Answer 38

air flow partially blocked, creating friction (and thus a noise) ex. [f] and [v]

Question 39

Affricates

Answer 39

begin like stops but end like fricatives | ex. 'ch'

Question 40

Liquids and Glides: [l], [r], [w], [j]

Answer 40

1. are consonants 2. are like vowels 3. shape and placement of tongue determines these sounds

Question 41

[l], [r], [w], [j] as consonants

Answer 41

cannot be syllable nuclei

Question 42

[l], [r], [w], [j] being like vowels

Answer 42

airflow is not blocked or obstructed

Question 43

[l], [r], [w], [j] tongue shape and placement

Answer 43

1. [l] - air flows around the sides of the lifted tongue 2. [r] - tongue is 'bunched up' 3. [w] - sort of bilabial 4. [j] - tongue moves up near the hard palate ('y' sound)

Question 44

Liquids

Answer 44

[l], [r]

Question 45

Glides

Answer 45

[w], [j]

Question 46

Produced without blocking or obstructing airflow

Answer 46

vowels

Question 47

syllable nuclei

Answer 47

'sprint': 'spr' + 'i' + 'nt'

Question 48

Simple vowels

Answer 48

sound doesn't change within a single syllable ('lip,' 'hat')

Question 49

Dipthong vowels

Answer 49

a combination of two vowel sounds ('out,' 'bite,' 'day')

Question 50

describes with reference to tongue position, tongue tension, and lip rounding

Answer 50

vowels

Question 51

syllable

Answer 51

a unit of speech consisting of uninterrupted sound

Question 52

what are syllables composed of

Answer 52

one or more phonemes

Question 53

what do syllables consist of

Answer 53

a nucleus (a vowel sound) and maybe an onset and a coda

Question 54

Most common type of syllable

Answer 54

consonant/vowel

Question 55

Where do words break apart into syllables whenever possible

Answer 55

at CV boundaries

Question 56

When are words minimal pairs

Answer 56

when changing one sound in the word changes the word's meaning ex. [sIp] and [zIp]

Question 57

What do minimal pairs make clear

Answer 57

the distinctive sounds which make up a particular language's phonemes

Question 58

What creates minimal pairs in some languages but not in English

Answer 58

aspiration

Question 59

Means of articulatory changes/phonetic variation

Answer 59

deletion, assimilation

Question 60

Assimilation

Answer 60

when a sound changes to become more like a nearby sound

Question 61

Ex. of deletion and assimilation

Answer 61

'sandwich' becomes 'sanwich' which becomes 'samwich'

Question 62

Accidental and Systematic Gaps

Answer 62

gaps in the inventory of possible English sound combinations

Question 63

Accidental gaps

Answer 63

these combinations would be possible for English speakers to say but they don't exist ex. Kodak

Question 64

Systematic gaps

Answer 64

these combinations would not be possible for English speakers to say, which is why English speakers cannot pronounce them ex. ngan, [ps] and [pt]