basics - revision (Intro to Phonetics and Phonology) Flashcards
phonology definition
- studies sound system that human can produce, speech within a language - language specific
- language system (langue)
- abstract
- phoneme ||
phonetics definition
- speech sounds, independent of a language - sounds as such, not language specific
- language use (parole)
- concrete
- phone []
phoneme
- phonology
- smallest meaning-distinguishing unit of a language
-> abstraction (langue)
phone
- phonetics
- concrete realization of a phoneme
- physical segments, instances of phonemes in actual utterances
minimal pairs
= words that…
have distinct meanings
consist of the same number of phonetic segments
the segments are identical except a single one
the differing segment occupies the same position
bed x bet, bud x but, bed x bud
phonemes - features
plosive
voiced
labial
alveolar
velar
branches of phonology
- segmental
- suprasegmental
segmental phonology definition
- examines function of individual sounds in a language - segments
suprasegmental phonology definition
- examines features of pronunciation that extend over more than one segment = across more sounds
segmental phonology - what it covers
+phoneme (langue (language system) level)
= smallest meaning-distinguishing unit of a language
- abstract, idealized sound units (exist only in our minds/mental grammar)
—> are realised as (allo)phones (parole (language use) level)
- free variation
e.g. aspirated (puff of air) x unaspirated /p/
- /p/ is always aspirated at the beginning of a word, beginning of a stressed syllable
- /p/ is unaspirated in <sp> words, <spr> words, at the end of a word (it still sounds like a /p/ but there is no forceful puff of air)</spr></sp>
e.g. /l/ => [l] or [ɫ] (vowel follows or consonant/nothing follows)
+ phonotactics
+ syllables
+ sonority hiearchy
phonotactics
= restrictions concerning combination of phonemes in a specific language
syllable composition
e.g. teach, tea, each
syllable
- onset: /t/, /t/
- rhyme
— nucleus: /i:/, /i:/, /i:/
— coda: /tʃ/, n/a, /tʃ/
–> /ti:tʃ/, /ti:/, /i:tʃ/
syllable can be:
open: /ti:/
- ends in a vowel (empty coda)
closed: /ti:tʃ/
- ends in a consonant
sonority hiearchy
= ‘loudness’
- rules influencing possible sound combinations
- it influences syllable structures
- onset: rising in sonority (except for initial /s/)
–> many consonant combinations impossible: /fs/, /spm/
- coda: falling in sonority
–> also limitations on possible clusters
- SONORITY SCALE
sonority scale
sonority scale
/a/ vowels
/w/ glides
/l/ liquids
/ŋ/ nasals
/v/ fricatives voiced
/f/ fricatives, voiceless
/b/ plosives, voiced
/p/ plosives, voiceless
suprasegmental phonology - what is covers
- phonetic features that extend over more than one phoneme
- stress: word stress
- rhythm: distribution of stressed syllables in a sentence
- tone: pitch movement within the word (not distinctive in ENG)
- intonation: pattern of rises and falls in pitch at sentence level, grammatical, pragmatic and emotional functions
stress
stressed syllable
- more prominence - achieved by increased loudness, length and higher pitch
- primary /’ / precedes stressed syllable in transcription, secondary / ,/ comes after
unstressed syllable
- less prominence - often contain reduced vowels
-> stress shift leads to change of vowel quality
phonological processes in speech
- in connected speech, phonemes may change according to their ‘sound environment’
assimilation
epenthesis
metathesis
liaison/intrusion
reduction
assimilation
- phonological process in speech
- sounds are influenced in their quality by their neighbouring sounds
- regressive assimilation: influenced sound + influencing sound
-progressive assimilation: influencing sound + influenced sound - reciprocal assimilation: two adjacent sounds unite into one
elision
- omission of one or more sounds, a word looses a syllable
e.g. camera -> /’kæmra/, history -> /’hɪstri/, support -> /s’pɔ:rt/
epenthesis
- insertion of a sound into a word
- in the series nasal + voiceless fricative or voiceless plosive, a voiceless plosive can be inserted
e.g. chance -> /tʃan(t)s/
metathesis
- transportation of sounds in a word -> nonstandard English
e.g. ask -> GA /æsk/ -> /æks/
liasion/intrusion
- transition between sounds or words carrying over a woed-final consonant to a word beginning with a vowel
e.g. not at all -> /nɔ:tərɔ:l/
special cases:
- linking r - RP: pronounced only when preceded by a vowel in the same word and followed by an initial vowel in the next word
e.g. far away -> /fa:rə’weɪ/
- intrusive r: intrusion even when the letter isn’t present, link between two consecutive vowels belonging to different words
e.g. saw a film /sɔ:rə fɪlm/ (RP)
reduction
- reduction in vowel length, usually changes quality
- weak forms x strong forms
- vowel weakens to /ə/ or /ɪ/ or even becomes a subject to elision
(function words)
e.g. some -> /sʌm/ -> /səm/ or /sm/
