Chapter 3

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

Phonetic Inventories

Answer 2

The set of sounds that are produced as part of the grammar of a language.

Question 3

Phonetic Constraints

Answer 3

Restriction on possible combinations of sounds, often in particular environments.

Question 4

Sound Substitution

Answer 4

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 5

Aspiration

Answer 5

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 (e.g., [ph]).

Question 6

Noncontrastive

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Contrastive

Answer 7

A term used to describe two sounds that can be used to differentiate words in a language.

Question 8

Phoneme

Answer 8

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, for example, /t/.

Question 9

Allophone

Answer 9

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

Question 10

Distribution

Answer 10

The set of phonetic environments in which a sound occurs.

Question 11

Phonetic Environment

Answer 11

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

Question 12

Contrastive Distribution

Answer 12

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 13

Minimal Pair

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Complementary Distribution

Answer 14

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 15

Free Variation

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Overlapping Distribution

Answer 16

The occurrence of sounds in the same phonetic environments.

Question 17

Phonological Rule

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Underlying form

Answer 18

The phonemic form of a word or morpheme before phonological rules are applied.

Question 19

Conditioning Environment

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Natural Class

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Sibilant

Answer 21

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

Question 22

Labial

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Obstruent

Answer 23

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 24

Sonorant

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Assimilation

Answer 25

A process by which a sound becomes more like a nearby sound in terms of some feature(s).