ch. 3 phonology key Flashcards
Phonotactic Constraints
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.
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.
Allophone
One set of noncontrastive realizations of the same phoneme; an actual phonetic segment.
Phonemes
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/.
Noncontrastive
A term used to describe two sounds that are not used to differentiate words in a language.
Distribution
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.
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 sound in the same position and that have different meanings.
Alternation
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.
Complementary Distribution
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.
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.
Conditioning environment
neighboring sounds of a given sound that cause it to undergo a change.
Obstruents
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.
Natural Class
Group of sounds in an language that satisfy a given description to the exclusion of the other sounds in that language.
Sonorants
Sound (usually voiced) produced with a relatively ope passage of air flow. Nasals, liquids, glides, and vowels are all sonorants.
Assimilation
A process by which a sound becomes more like a nearby sound in terms of some features.
Nasal Place Assimilation
an alveolar nasal assimilates to the palce of articulation of a following consonant.
Palatalization
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].
Vowel Harmony
Long distance assimilation between vowels.
Dissimilation
Process by which two nearby sounds become less alike with respect to some feature.
Insertion
Phonological process by which a segment not present in the phonemic (or underlying) form is aded in the phonetic form.
Deletion
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.
Metathesis
Switching of the order of two sounds, each taking the place of the other.
