Phonology

Question 1

Phonology is the studies of ____

Answer 1

sound systems

Question 2

Phoneme?

Answer 2

The symbols
abstract/ cognitive unit of sound
Distinguishes between words in a language
eg. /t/ (the concept of t, a collection of all the sounds t can make)

Question 3

Allophones?

Answer 3

The actual sound we hear

eg. [t̚ ], [ɾ], [tʰ], [t]

Question 4

Minimal pairs?

Answer 4

Words that differ only in one sound

Different phonemes

Question 5

Contrastive sounds?

Answer 5

Distinctive sound units in English

Question 6

Why are minimal pairs important?

Answer 6

• By identifying minimal pairs, we can determine the phonemic inventory of a
language
– e.g. Examples above provide evidence for following phonemic categories in
English: /f/, /v/, /n/, /m/, /ŋ/ /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /tʃ/, /tʒ/, /j/, /w/

Question 7

Near minimal pairs

Answer 7

Not just one segment difference between the 2 words
contain additional differences in
pronunciation, which don’t involve sounds next to
the key contrast
– e.g. [mɪʃən], [vɪʒən] : mission, vision
these words help show that /ʃ/ and /ʒ/ are
different phonemes in English

Question 8

Types of Transcription

Answer 8

Phonemic (a.k.a. phonological): containing only info that
affects meaning
– Phonetic (refers to specific pronunciation)
• broad: very rough, equivalent to phonological
transcription in its level of detail
• narrow: more detailed info on pronunciation

Question 9

Is aspiration always allophonic? (not used to distinguish words)

Answer 9

Aspiration in Khmer stops is distinctive
• It serves to distinguish words
• Aspiration in English is allophonic
• It doesn’t affect meaning; largely predictable from context

Question 10

Complimentary Distribution

Answer 10

Allophonic variation that is predictable from context is
called complementary distribution
e.g. English /l/ variation:
• /l/ → [l] after voiceless stops ̥
• /l/ → [ɫ] syllable-fnally
• /l/ → [l] elsewhere (usually the elsewhere allophone is by default the phoneme form)
All possible contexts are covered by these rules

Question 11

Free variation

Answer 11

Allophonic variation that is not predictable from context
Allophones of the same phoneme can occur in the
same segmental environment
Free variation
Not all allophonic variation is predictable.
Allophones of the same phoneme can occur in the
same phonetic environment.
[sit^] ‘sit’ (unreleased)
[sith] ‘sit!’ (forcefully released)
[siP] ‘sit’ (glottalized)

Question 12

Syllable patterns

Answer 12

CV
CVC
CCVCC

Question 13

Nucleus

Answer 13

– head of syllable

– Obligatory in every syllable

Question 14

Onset

Answer 14

All prenuclear consonants

Question 15

Coda

Answer 15

All postnuclear

consonants

Question 16

Rhyme

Answer 16

– Nucleus plus coda

together

Question 17

Maximum Onset Principle

Answer 17

Assign as many consonants to onset as possible

Question 18

Sonority Contour Principle

Answer 18

Sonority rises before nucleus and declines

after nucleus

Question 19

Binarity Principle

Answer 19

Complex onsets and codas can contain two segments at most

Question 20

Sonority

Answer 20

vowels > glides > liquids > nasals > obstruents

Question 21

Natural Class

Answer 21

groups of sounds with similar

phonological properties

Question 22

Obstrurents

Answer 22

Stops, Affricates, Fricatives

Question 23

Sonorants

Answer 23

Vowels, Glides, liquids (laterals and rhotic), Nasals

Question 24

Underlying vs surface representation

Answer 24

Underlying representations are composed of
phonemes
– e.g. /itənæpl̩/
Surface (phonetic) representations are made out of
allophones
– e.g. [iɾənæpl̩]

Question 25

A → B / X _Y name all the parts of a rule

Answer 25

• A is the affected segment or input
• B is the output that the rule creates
• X _Y is the context or conditioning
environment of the rule

Question 26

What is a derivation table?

Answer 26

Useful way of testing if rule applies correctly
across different contexts
                           ‘mice’ ‘time’
UR
Rule
Output