Phonetics Flashcards
Allophones of the same phoneme are always…
Phonetically similar
In complementary distribution or free variation
Phonetically similar
Sounds similar
Made in similar ways (voicing, place or manner of articulation, aspiration, etc.)
Complementary distribution
Each allophone occurs in its own set of word environments: restricted to a particular position in the word or syllable, or restricted to occurrence next to certain sounds
The different environments complement one another to make up a complete set
Free variation
Allophones can substitute for one another in words with no change in meaning
Steps in phonemic fieldwork
- Phonetic transcription
- Tabulate sounds, note which ones are similar
- Look for contrast
- Look for CD and FV
- Deal with segmentation problems (if any)
- Write up analysis
Phonetic transcription
Aim for consistency, detail, and accuracy
On a phone chart, mark “suspicious pairs” of sounds that are
Phonetically similar
Distributional charts
Made to compare the environments of suspicious pairs
Helps you find either contrast OR CD or FV
Look for what’s different between the sounds
Contrast
Indicates separate phonemes, which distinguish different words
Minimal pair
A pair of words with only one difference in sounds (indicates contrast and thus separate phonemes)
Near-minimal pair
A pair of words in which the two sounds in question are at least adjacent to the same sounds (can indicate contrast/separate phonemes, but not always)
Segmentation problems
Is the sound one phoneme, or two?
/tS/ (ch) vs. /ts/ (ts)
Analysis
Includes phonemic chart and distribution of allophones
Parallelism
When certain allophones of distinct but similar-sounding phonemes occur in the same environment
Example: In English, the voiceless stops have aspirated allophones that occur in the same environment
Your written analysis of the phonemes and distribution of allophones should be
Descriptively adequate and as general and simple as possible
Why alternate between gathering data and analyzing it?
As your ear is trained to the sounds of the new language, your transcription will improve, which will improve your analysis.
All transcriptions should be dated
To aid accuracy of perception and transcription
Compare words that seem to have the same or similar sounds
Mimic and ask your language helper if you said it right
Strategies for analyzing tone
- Isolate tone by humming or whistling
- Use the monotony test
- Test words in frames
Isolating tone by humming/whistling
Leaving off consonants and vowels can help you hear the tone more easily
Monotony test
Sort by assumed tones or tone contours, then listen to each list to see whether all have the same tone or tone pattern. If not, re-sort them
Testing words in frames
A repeated frame provides a common reference point for comparison of the tones (Be aware that the frame itself may be affected by the inserted word)
A language helper is needed for
Collecting data
Checking the accuracy of data
Comparing written texts to spoken texts
Qualities for an informant
Speaks the language well
Has a regular schedule
Has enough time to spend with the linguist
Informant: character
Intelligent
Good memory
Alertness
Patience, honesty, dependability, cheerfulness
