Phonology

Question 1

Phonetics vs. Phonology

Answer 1

Phonetics- study of speech sounds found in human languages

Phonology- study of sound systems and patterns

Question 2

Phonemes

Answer 2

Abstractive, cognitive unit of sound

Question 3

Allophones

Answer 3

Phonetic realizations of phonemes in different contexts ; allophones of the same phoneme must share some phonetic similarity with the underlying phoneme

Question 4

Minimal pairs

Answer 4

Words differing in only one sound

Question 5

Near-minimal pairs

Answer 5

Contain additional differences in pronunciation which don’t involve sounds next to the key contrast

Question 6

Phonemic transcription vs phonetic transcription

Answer 6

phonemic- contains only info that affects meaning

phonetic- refers to specific pronunciation

Question 7

Broad vs narrow transcription

Answer 7

broad- very rough, similar level of detail to phonemic

narrow- more detailed info on pronunciation

Question 8

Native vs non native listening

Answer 8

native- you hear in terms of phonemes

another language- you hear in terms of allophones

Question 9

Complementary Distribution

Answer 9

Allophonic variation that is predictable from context

Question 10

Free variation

Answer 10

Allophonic variation that isn’t predictable from context

Question 11

Syllable initial/final

Answer 11

Non-overlapping, mutually exclusive environment

Question 12

Syllable

Answer 12

Basic for metric structure in language

Question 13

Syllable Structure

Answer 13

Consists of a vowel preceded and or followed by a # of consonants

Question 14

Nucelus

Answer 14

Head of the syllable; obligatory in every syllable (usually; a vowel)

Question 15

Onset

Answer 15

All prenuclear consonants; optional in English

Question 16

Coda

Answer 16

All postnuclear consonants; optional in English

Question 17

Rhyme

Answer 17

Nucleus plus coda together

Question 18

Steps of Analyzing Syllable Structure

Answer 18

1. nucleus formation
2. onset formation
3. coda formation
4. rhyme formation

Question 19

Maximum Onset Principle

Answer 19

Assign as many consonants to onset as possible

Question 20

Sonority Contour Principle

Answer 20

Sonority rises before nucleus and declines after nucleus

Question 21

Binarity Principle

Answer 21

Complex onsets and codas can contain two segments at most (violated by English)

Question 22

Sonority Hierarchy

Answer 22

Vowels > Glides > Liquids > Nasals > Obstruents

Question 23

Syllabification Principles

Answer 23

1) Maximum Onset Principle
2) Sonority Contour Principle
3) Binarity Principle

Question 24

Natural Classes

Answer 24

Groups of sounds with similar phonological processes (ex. consonants, vowels, glides etc.)

Question 25

Phonological Rule

Answer 25

A > B/ X_Y

Read as A is pronounced as B when preceded by X and followed by Y

Question 26

Canadian Rising

Answer 26

/aj, aw/ > [ʌj, ʌw]/_ voiceless consonants

/aj/ and /aw/ are raised and become [ʌj] and [ʌw] before voiceless consonants