Ch 3 Phonology

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

Phonotactic constraints

Answer 2

Restriction on possible combinations of sounds, often in particular environments

Question 3

Sound Substitution

Answer 3

A process whereby sounds that already exist in a language are used to replace sounds that do not exist in the language when borrowing or when a speaker is trying to pronounce a foreign word.

Question 4

Phoneme

Answer 4

A class of speech sounds identified by a native speaker as the same sound; a mental entity related to various allophones by phonological rules. Phonemes are written between slashes, for example, /t/.

Question 5

Allophone

Answer 5

One of a set of nondistincive realizations of a particular morpheme that have the same function and are phonetically similar.

Question 6

Phonetic Environments

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Contrastive Distribution

Answer 7

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 8

Minimal Pair

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Complementary Distribution

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Free Variation

Answer 10

Term used to refer to two sounds that occur in overlapping environments but cause no distinction in the meaning of their respective words.

Question 11

Overlapping Distribution

Answer 11

The occurrence of sounds in the same phonetic environments

Question 12

Phonological Rule

Answer 12

The description of a relationship between a phoneme and its allophones and the conditioning environment in which the allophone appears

Question 13

Natural Class

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Sibilant

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Labial

Answer 15

A member of natural class of sounds produced with lips; includes both bilabial and labiodental sounds

Question 16

Obstruent

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, fricative and affricates.

Question 17

Sonorant

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Palatalization

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Vowel Harmony

Answer 19

Long-distance assimilation between vowels

Question 20

Insertion

Answer 20

Phonological process by which a segment not present in the phonemic (or underlying) form is added in the phonetic form.

Question 21

Deletion

Answer 21

In phonology, a process by which a sound present in the phonemic form (i.e. underlying form) is removed from the phonetic form in certain environments. In speech production, a production error involving the inadvertent omission of units.

Question 22

Metathesis

Answer 22

Switching of the order of two sounds, each taking the place of the other.

Question 23

Aspiration

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Basic Allophone

Answer 24

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 25

Restricted Allophone

Answer 25

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