Ch. 2 (Sound Change) Vocab - Sheet1

Question 1

The regularity prinicipal’ or ‘the Neogrammarian hypothesis’

Answer 1

Sound change is regular. There are no exceptions to rules.

Question 2

Unconditioned sound change

Answer 2

Sound change that is not dependent on its neighboring sounds/phonetic context

Question 3

Conditioned sound change

Answer 3

Sound change that is dependent phonetic context

Question 4

Think of phonetics as representing…

Answer 4

…the actually occurring phyiscal sounds.

Question 5

Think of phonemes as representing…

Answer 5

…the speakers’ knowledge or mental organization of the sounds of their language.

Question 6

Phonemic change

Answer 6

Does not change the total number of phonemes in the language.

Question 7

Non-phonemic change (allophonic change)

Answer 7

Sounds change/pronunciations shift, but the number of distinctive sounds stays the same. The number of phonemes doesn’t change.

Question 8

Phoneme

Answer 8

Smallest sound in a language that can make a meaning change. (Smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language.)

Question 9

Merger

Answer 9

(A, B > B or A, B > C) Two or more distinct sounds merge into one, leaving fewer phonemes in the inventory. Mergers are irreversible.

Question 10

Split

Answer 10

(A > B, C) Splits follow mergers. Other sounds in the environment merge, so the only way you can tell two words apart/meaning is distinguished is by the splitting sound, which makes the sounds phonemes and not allophones.

Question 11

Umlaut

Answer 11

Sound change in which back vowel is fronted when followed by a front vowel (or j) (usually in the next syllable).

Question 12

Allophone

Answer 12

One of a set of multiple spoken sounds used to pronounce a single phoneme. One way that a phoneme can be realized. Predictible.

Question 13

Secondary Split (phonologization)

Answer 13

The total number of phonemes in the language increases / new phonological contrasts in the language are produced.

Question 14

Primary Split

Answer 14

Some variant (allophone) of a sound (phoneme) abandons that phoneme and joins some other phoneme instead. s > s, r // r > r .

Question 15

Unconditioned phonemic change

Answer 15

A change that happens in every environment in the language and results in a different number of phonemes in the language.

Question 16

Conditioned phonemic change

Answer 16

A sound’s phonemic status changes, but only in certain circumstances

Question 17

Sporadic changes

Answer 17

Only occur in one or a few words, unlike regular changes

Question 18

Assimilation

Answer 18

Sound change when one sound becomes more similar to another. Classified at total-partial, contact-distant, and regressive-progressive.

Question 19

Total assimilation

Answer 19

One sound becomes completely identical to the other, taking on all of its phonetic features. In contrast to partial assimilation.

Question 20

Partial assimilation

Answer 20

One sound becomes somewhat identical to the other, taking on some but not all of its phonetic features. In contrast to total assimilation.

Question 21

Contact assimilation

Answer 21

The sound that changes and the sound that makes it change are right next to one another. In contrast to distant assimilation.

Question 22

Distant assimilation

Answer 22

The sound that changes is not right next to the sound that makes it change. In contrast to contact assimilation.

Question 23

Regressive (anticipatory) assimilation

Answer 23

The sound that changes is before the sound that causes it to change. In contrast to progressive assimilaiton.

Question 24

Progressive assimilation

Answer 24

The sound that changes is after the sound that makes it change. In contrast to regressive assimilation.

Question 25

Dissimilation

Answer 25

When one of two similar/same sounds changes so that instead of two of the same sound there’s two different sounds

Question 26

Syncope

Answer 26

(atata > atta). Loss or deletion of a vowel from the interior of the word. “fam(i)ly” and “mem(o)ry.” happens from Latin to Romance Languages when there are many syllables.

Question 27

Apocope

Answer 27

(tata > tat). Loss or deletion of a sound (usually a vowel) at the end of a word.

Question 28

Aphaeresis

Answer 28

(atata > tata). Loss or deletion of the first sound in a word, usually a vowel. Usually just called initial vowel loss.

Question 29

Epenthesis

Answer 29

Insertion of a sound!

Question 30

Prothesis

Answer 30

(tata > atata). Sound is inserted at the beginning of a word. An infrequently used term.

Question 31

Anaptyxis (anaptyctic)

Answer 31

(VCCV > VCVCV). A kind of epenthesis where a vowel is inserted between two consonants. An infrequently used term.

Question 32

Excrescence

Answer 32

(amra > ambra); (anra > andra); (ansa > antsa). When a consonant is inserted between other consonants. Usually results in consonant sequences that are easier to pronounce.