Phonetics & Phonology II (Syllables, Phonological Processes, Word Stress, Intonation) Flashcards
Syllables
= suprasegmental units that impose an organisation on phonemes
Onset
= longest sequence of consonants to the left of the nucleus that does not violate any phonotactic constraints of the respective language
- optional in English
- English allows onsets with up to three consonants
- onsets have primacy over codas, as captured by the Maximal Onset Principle
Nucleus
= core in the middle of each syllable
- the most sonorous sound
- the only obligatory element in English
- head of the rhyme
Coda
= consonant (cluster) to the right of the nucleus
- optional in English
- coda-less syllables: open syllables
- syllables with coda: closed syllables
- up to 4 consonants
Phonotactics
= branch of phonology that deals with permissible combinations of phonemes, including their distribution within syllables
- many phonotactic constraints concern sequences of consonants, known as (consonant) clusters
Sonority
amplitude of a sound, its acoustic “carriying-power”, its relative loudness
Sonority Scale
- obstruents < sonorant consonants < vowels
- plosives < affricates, fricatives < nasals < liquids < glides < vowels
Sonority Sequencing Generalisation
= principle of syllable structure
- the nucleus (aka peak) is the most sonorous element
- the onset tends to increase in sonority towards the nucleus
- the coda tends to decrease in sonority away from the nucleus
Identifiying a syllable
1) Nucleus-formation: after transcribing the word, identify the most sonorous segments (usually vowels)
2) Onset-formation: Assign the onsets i.e. consonants to the left of each nucleus; pay regard to phonotactic constraints
3) Coda-formation: remaining consonants form codas
Phonological Proccesses
- affect pronunciation of words, making speech production easier and efficient
- have occured regularly in some words/phonetic environments → historical language change
- can occur optionally (rapid speech) in other words
Assimilation
- one sound influences the articulation of another
Progressive Assimilation
- one sound influences a following sound
- rapid: happen /ˈhæpən/ > /ˈhæpm̩/
- conv: -s and -ed suffixes (voice assimilation)
Coalescence
two or more adjacent sounds fuse into one (aka reciprocal assimilation)
fusion of an alveolar plosive (/t, d/) or fricative (/s, z/) and a following /j/ into /tʃ, dʒ, ʃ, ʒ/
-rap: did you /dɪd ju/ > /ˈdɪdʒu/
-conv: musi-ci-an
Elision
removal of a sound that ought to be in a word
rap: suppose /səˈpəʊz/ > /spəʊz/
conv: Chris-t-mas
Compression
two syllables become compressed into one
opening /ˈəʊ.pə.nɪŋ/ > /ˈəʊ.pn̩.ɪŋ/ > /ˈəʊp.nɪŋ/
Epenthesis
insertion of a sound into a word
rap: chance /tʃɑːns/ > /tʃɑːnts/
mumble compared to German mummeln, Danish mumle
Stress in Perception
- stressed syllables are perceived to be more prominent (e.g. sister, rely)
- acoustic factors contributing to the perceived prominence:
a) pitch: stressed syllables have a different pitch than neighbouring syllables
b) length: stressed syllables have a longer duration than unstressed ones
c) loudness: stressed syllables tend to be louder
d) quality: stressed syllables contain vowels that are different in quality from neighbouring vowels (strong/weak syllables)
Stress in Production
stressed syllables are articulated with more muscular energy than unstressed syllables
Levels of Word Stress
- unstressed: syllables have no prominence relative to the surrounding syllables
- primary stress: most prominent syllable of a word
- secondary stress: words with three or more syllables may contain syllables with intermediate stress - indicated by a lower vertical stroke
(mathematics /ˌmæθəˈmætɪks/; magazine /ˌmæɡəˈziːn/)
Factors that Influence Stress Placement in English Words
- morphological structure: word consist of one morpheme (“simple word”) or multiple morphemes (“complex word”)
- grammatical category
- number of syllables
- phonological structure of the syllable: strong - can be stressed or unstressed, weak - always unstressed
Stress Rules in Morphologically Complex Words - Derivates
effects on word stress:
1) no change in stress placement
2) stress shift within the base
3) affix receives primary stress
-Weakening-
- speech sounds in stressed syllables have a different quality
- vowels & consonants are fully articulated rather than reduced
- unstressed syllables contain reduced vowels due to undershot articulation
- tongue height & position far from ideal articulation target
- /ə/ and /ɪ/ appear in unstressed syllables
Intonation
- melody of speech
- intonation studies → how speakers use pitch variation (=tone) to convey linguistic and pragmatic meaning
Tonality
- division of speech into phonetic chunks, known as intonation phrases (IPs)
- each IP has its own intonation pattern (tune), shaped by tonicity and tone
Tonicity
every IP will have one word which receives the strongest accent = nucleus of the IP, also called pitch accent
Tone
- what tones (= pitch movements) are to be used
- fall → information/ utterance completed
- rise → more to come
- fall-rise → more to come, signals particular implications
Functions of Intonation
- attitudinal function
- grammatical function
- focusing function
- discourse function
- psychological function
- indexical function
