File 3 Flashcards
Phonotactic Constraints
Restriction on possible combinations of sounds, often in particular environments.
Allophone
One of a set of noncontrastive realizations of the same phoneme; an actual phonetic segment.
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.
Noncontrastive
A term used to describe two sounds that are not used to differentiate words in a language.
Contrastive
A term used to describe two sounds that can be used to differentiate words in a language.
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.
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.
Obstruent
A natural class of sounds produced with an obstruction of the airflow in the oral cavity while the nasal cavity is closed off.
Sonorant
Sound(usually voiced) produced with a relatively open passage of airflow. 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 feature(s).
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].
Dissimilation
Process by which two nearby sounds become less alike with respect to some feature.
Basic allophone
The allophone of a phoneme that is used when none of the change-inducing conditions are fulfilled.
Restricted allophone
An allophone of a phoneme that appears in a more limited set of phonetic environments.
Near-minimal pairs
Similar to a minimal pair, but whereas the words in a minimal pair are identical apart from the contrastive sounds, the words in a near-minimal are only almost identical, apart from the contrastive sounds.
Vocal harmony
Long distance assimilation between vowels
Metathesis
Switching of the order of two sounds, each taking the place of the other.
Deletion
A process by which a sound present in the phonetic form is removed from the phonetic form in certain environments.
Weakening
A process through which sounds are made “weaker” according to some criterion.
Strengthening
A process through which sounds are made “stronger” according to some criterion.
Aspiration
A puff of air that follows the release of a consonant when there is a delay in the onset of voicing.
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.
Minimal pair
Two words that differ only by a single sound in the same position and that have different meanings
