Chapter 3 Flashcards
Phonology
the study of the distribution of sounds in a language and the interactions between the different sounds
phonotactic constraints
restrictions on possible combinations of sounds
sound substitution
sounds that exist in a language a speaker knows are used to replace sounds that do not exist in that language when pronouncing the words of a foreign language
allophone
one of a set of noncontrastive realizations of the same phoneme
alternation
in phonology, a different between two or more phonetic forms that one might expect to be related.
assimilation
a process by which a sound becomes more likely a nearby sound in terms of some feature
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
complementary distribution
the occurrence of sounds in a language such that they are never found in the same phonetic environment.
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.
labial
a member of a natural class of sounds produced with the lips
minimal pair
two words that differ only by a single sound in the same position and that have different meanings
noncontrastive
a term used to describe two sounds that are not used to differentiate words in a language
overlapping distribution
the occurrence of sounds in the same phonetic environments
obstruent
a natural class of sounds produced with an obstruction of the airflow in the oral cavity while the nasal cavity is closed off
phoneme
a class of speech sounds identified by a native speaker as the same sound
phonological rules
the description of a relationship between a phoneme and its allophones and the conditioning environment in which the allophone appears
underlying form
the phonemic form of a word or morpheme before phonological rules are applied
vowel harmony
long distance assimilation between vowels
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]
insertion
a segment not present in the phonemic form is added in the phonetic form
maximally distinct
consonants that have very few qualities in common with the vowels, and the vowels are likewise very different from the consonants
deletion
a process by which a sound present in the phonemic form is removed from the phonetic form in certain environments
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
flapping
a sound produced by bringing two articulators together very quickly
