Module 3

Question 1

phonology

Answer 1

the study of the abstract categories othat organise the sound system of a language

Question 2

spectogram

Answer 2

graphic representation of the frequency distribution of the complex jumble of sound waver that give the hearing impression of speech sounds

Question 3

phoneme

Answer 3

the smallest unit of speech that distinguishes one word from another in language

Question 4

allophones of the phoneme

Answer 4

phones which function as the alternate realizations of the same phoneme

Question 5

distribution

Answer 5

different positions in which a speech sound can occur or cannot occur in the words of a language

Question 6

minimal pairs

Answer 6

a pair of words which differ in only one sound (or phoneme), but differ in meaning

Question 7

released consonant

Answer 7

when air is built up and then released on the realization of a plosive consonant

Question 8

Neutralisation

Answer 8

in particular contexts a contrast between phonemes becomes invisible

Question 9

final devoicing

Answer 9

when a voiced phoneme has a voiceless allophone in the word-final position

Question 10

velarised realization

Answer 10

when the auditory impression of a phoneme sounds darker due to the raising of the back of the tongue towards the velum. Found at the end of words in English

Question 11

aspiration

Answer 11

the process of aspirating stops, a stop that is produced with an extra breath or puff of air

Question 12

t/d flapping

Answer 12

when the tongue very quickly taps the alveolar ridge once.

Question 13

rhotic

Answer 13

varieties of English where the r-sounds can occur in word-final position (as is found in many North American varieties, as well as Irish and Scottish English)

Question 14

constituents

Answer 14

elements that make up a syllable: ‘slots for consonants’ ‘slots for vowels’

Question 15

syllabic consonants

Answer 15

consonants which occupy the central part of the syllable

Question 16

nucleus

Answer 16

The slot for the vowel of a syllable. May be filled by a vowel, diphthong, or a syllabic consonant

Question 17

onset

Answer 17

the prevocalic slot in a syllable

Question 18

coda

Answer 18

the postvocalic slot in a syllable

Question 19

vowel epenthesis

Answer 19

the insertion of a vowel into a syllable. Often found in English words when they are borrowed into Japanese

Question 20

complementary distribution

Answer 20

Two sounds which are distributed in such a way that one can only occur and the other cannot

Question 21

free variation

Answer 21

when a speaker can choose which allophone they use (dependent on extra-linguistic factors such as prestige or social status)

Question 22

syllabification

Answer 22

The process of assigning syllable structure to a word

Question 23

Maximal Onset Principle

Answer 23

The preference towards putting as many consonants as possible at the onset (beginning) of a syllable

Question 24

sonority sequencing principle

Answer 24

the principle that sounds preceding the nucleus must rise in sonority and sounds following the nucleus must fall in sonority

Question 25

sonority

Answer 25

a measure of the output of periodic acoustic energy associated with the production of a particular segment, and hence its intrinsic loudness. Sounds are more or less sonorous in relation to other speech sounds. The vowel is the most sonorous member of a syllable.