File 3 - Phonology

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

Phonotactic Constraints

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Sound Substitution

Answer 3

A process whereby sounds that already exist in 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 4

Allophone

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Phoneme

Answer 5

A class of speech sounds identified by a native speaker as the same sound; a mental entity related to various allophones by phonological rules. Phonemes are written between slashes, for example, /t/.

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

Distribution

Answer 8

The set of phonetic environments in which a sound occurs.

Question 9

Contrastive Distribution

Answer 9

The occurrence of sounds in a language such that their use distinguishes between the meanings of the words in which they appear, indication that those sounds are phonemes of the language in question. Sounds that are in contrastive distribution are allophones of different phonemes.

Question 10

Minimal Pair

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Alternation

Answer 11

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 12

Complementary Distribution

Answer 12

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 13

Free Variation

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Phonological Rule

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Conditioning Environment

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Assimilation

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Palatalization

Answer 17

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 18

Vowel Harmony

Answer 18

Long-distance assimilation between vowels.

Question 19

Metathesis

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Aspiration

Answer 20

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

Question 21

Weakening

Answer 21

A process through which sounds are made “weaker” according to some criterion.

Question 22

Implication Law

Answer 22

Observation about language universals that takes the form of an implication (e.g., if A then B, meaning that if a language has feature A, then we can expect it to have feature B).

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

Basic Allophone

Answer 24

The allophone of a phoneme that is used when none of the change-inducing conditions are fulfilled. Of a set of allophones, it is generally least limited in where it can occur; also termed the elsewhere allophone.

Question 25

Restricted Allophone

Answer 25

An allophone of a phoneme that appears in a more limited set of phonetic environments.