ch. 3 phonology key

Question 1

Phonotactic Constraints

Answer 1

Restrictions on the kinds of sounds and sound sequences possible in different positions in words (particularly at the beginning and end). These restrictions can be formulated in terms of rules stating which sound sequences are possible in a language and which are not.

Question 2

Sound Substitution

Answer 2

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 3

Allophone

Answer 3

One set of noncontrastive realizations of the same phoneme; an actual phonetic segment.

Question 4

Phonemes

Answer 4

A class of speech sounds identified by a native speaker as the same sound; a mental entity (or category) related to various allophones by phonological rules. phonemes are written between slashes such as /t/.

Question 5

Noncontrastive

Answer 5

A term used to describe two sounds that are not used to differentiate words in a language.

Question 6

Distribution

Answer 6

The set of phonetic environments in which a sound occurs. For example, nasalized vowels in English occur only in the environment of a nasal consonant.

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 sound in the same position and that have different meanings.

Question 9

Alternation

Answer 9

In phonology, a difference between two or more phonetic forms that one might expect to be related. In morphology, the morphological process that uses morpheme-internal modifications to make new words or morphological distinctions.

Question 10

Complementary Distribution

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Free Variation

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Overlapping distribution

Answer 12

The occurrence of sounds in the same phonetic environments.

Question 13

Conditioning environment

Answer 13

neighboring sounds of a given sound that cause it to undergo a change.

Question 14

Obstruents

Answer 14

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, fricatives, and affricates.

Question 15

Natural Class

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Sonorants

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Assimilation

Answer 17

A process by which a sound becomes more like a nearby sound in terms of some features.

Question 18

Nasal Place Assimilation

Answer 18

an alveolar nasal assimilates to the palce of articulation of a following consonant.

Question 19

Palatalization

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Vowel Harmony

Answer 20

Long distance assimilation between vowels.

Question 21

Dissimilation

Answer 21

Process by which two nearby sounds become less alike with respect to some feature.

Question 22

Insertion

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Deletion

Answer 23

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

Question 24

Metathesis

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Aspiration

Answer 25

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