Ch 3 Phonology Flashcards
Phonology
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.
Phonotactic constraints
Restriction on possible combinations of sounds, often in particular environments
Sound Substitution
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.
Phoneme
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/.
Allophone
One of a set of nondistincive realizations of a particular morpheme that have the same function and are phonetically similar.
Phonetic Environments
The sounds that come before and after a particular sound in a word
Contrastive Distribution
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.
Minimal Pair
Two words that differ only by a single sounds in the same position and that have different meanings
Complementary Distribution
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.
Free Variation
Term used to refer to two sounds that occur in overlapping environments but cause no distinction in the meaning of their respective words.
Overlapping Distribution
The occurrence of sounds in the same phonetic environments
Phonological Rule
The description of a relationship between a phoneme and its allophones and the conditioning environment in which the allophone appears
Natural Class
Group of sounds in a language that satisfy a given description to the exclusion of other sounds in that language.
Sibilant
A member of the natural class of sounds that are characterized by a high-pitched hissing quality
Labial
A member of natural class of sounds produced with lips; includes both bilabial and labiodental sounds
Obstruent
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.
Sonorant
Sound (usually voiced) produced with a relatively open passage of airflow. Nasals, liquids, glides, and vowels are all sonorants.
Palatalization
A process wherein a sound takes a palatal place of articulation, usually in assimilation to high or mid front vowels like [i] or [e].
Vowel Harmony
Long-distance assimilation between vowels
Insertion
Phonological process by which a segment not present in the phonemic (or underlying) form is added in the phonetic form.
Deletion
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.
Metathesis
Switching of the order of two sounds, each taking the place of the other.
Aspiration
A puff of air that follows the release of a consonant when there is a delay in the onset of voicing.
Basic Allophone
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.
