Phonology Flashcards
What is phonology?
The way in which language fits together
How to distinguish words
What is a word?
From brain to atmosphere
Thought-phonemes-allophones-physical sounds
What is a phoneme?
A sound that distinguishes words
mental category in your mind
must be learnt
are not language specific
What is a minimal pair?
A pair of words that have the same pronunciation except for a single sound change.
eg. cat, sat
What are minimal pairs called?
Distinctive or contrastive distribution
What are phonemes notated with?
/n/ (forward slashes enclosing phoneme)
What is the phonemic principal centred on?`
the concept of contrast
the smallest difference to distinguish words
What are allophones affected by?
phonological environment
in complementary distribution
never appear in same environment
difference between phoneme and allophone
[n] phoneme: what you think you are saying
/n/ allophone: what sounds you are making
Steps to follow when answering phonology environment questions (5)
- separate into environments
- look for patterns (refer to IPA chart)
- look at overarching themes (place, manner, voicing)
- identify phonemes/allophones
- write phonological rules
3 way to predict allophones
Assimilation (changes to be more like nearby sounds)
Dissimilation (changes to be different to nearby sounds)
Aspiration (puff of air)
3 methods of allophones changing
Insertion (Epenthesis)
Deletion (Elision)
Metathesis (switching of sounds)
What are syllables?
A unit of rhythm
A unit of speech production
Basic structure of a syllable
Onset and Rime (Nucleus and Coda)
Vowel is the key item (nucleus)
How to map loan words phonologically (4 steps)
- Version 1
- possible phoneme mapping
- Syllable rule mapping
- Addition/deletion
eg. Merry Christmas - Mele Kalikimaka
