Phonology

Question 1

Phonology

Answer 1

the study of the abstract categories
that organize the sound system of a language. These abstract categories comprise
individual speech sounds as well as the way in which speech sounds are grouped
into larger phonological units, such as syllables and words

Question 2

spectrogram

Answer 2

a graphic representation of the frequency distribution of the complex jumble of sound waves that
give the hearing impression of speech sounds. Spectrograms can nowadays be
created easily with the help of a speech analysis program

Question 3

phone

Answer 3

A physical realisation of a speech sound like the voiceless or the
voiced alveolar approximant

Question 4

allophones of the phoneme

Answer 4

Phones which function as alternant realisations of the same phoneme

Question 5

a narrow transcription

Answer 5

e additional articulatory details in the transcription (such as, for example, [   ̥] in [ɹ ̥])

Question 6

distribution

Answer 6

refers to the different positions in which a speech sound can occur or cannot
occur in the words of a language. We can describe the distribution by stating in
which position (henceforth: phonetic context) a particular sound can occur in the
words of the language, and, crucially, in which phonetic context it cannot occur.

Question 7

complementary distribution

Answer 7

Two sounds which are distributed in such a way that one can only occur
where the other cannot occur

Question 8

‘phonological rules’

Answer 8

The interesting thing about the complementary distribution of [ɹ] and [ɹ ̥] is that it allows us to predict for every English
word, which of the two allophones it will contain. Predictable alternations like
those between [ɹ] and [ɹ ̥] are usually expressed in linguistics in terms of ‘phonological rules’

Question 9

allophones

Answer 9

Alternant realisations of speech sounds
are called allophones

Question 10

Difference between phonemes and allophones

Answer 10

. Phonemes can distinguish words; allophones cannot.

Question 11

Why are phonemes distinctive?

Answer 11

Phonemes are distinctive in the sense that they enable speakers to distinguish
between words.

Question 12

minimal pairs

Answer 12

a pair of words which
differ in only one sound, but differ in meaning. The data in (7) provide you with a
small selection of minimal pairs in English.
(7) [tɪp] vs.  [hɪp] tip vs.  hip

Question 13

What are the three strategies for finding order?

Answer 13

1)The first strategy looks at the system of
phonemes and asks what distinguishes this system from the ‘unordered’ jumble
of phones. The answer is that in a language, no phoneme can be used to replace
another phoneme without running risk of changing meaning.
2)The second strategy that can be used to investigate how language categorises
sounds into phonemes and allophones focuses on the properties of allophones.
3)Another cue to how language categorises sounds into phonemes and allophones
can be found if we look at different forms of a single word. Here we base our analysis on the fact that the phonetic context determines which allophone of a
given phoneme will appear. Specifically, we will manipulate the phonetic context
in order to see different allophones appear.

Question 14

a released consonant

Answer 14

after the building-up phase, something
else follows – the release of the air that has been built up
For released realisations of /p/ we use the symbol [p]

Question 15

unreleased

Answer 15

for unreleased realisations we use the symbol [p˺].

Question 16

free variation

Answer 16

We conclude that allophones do not have
to be in complementary distribution. The distribution of [p] and [p˺] is termed
free variation: speakers can choose which allophone they use. Note, however,
that the term ‘choose’ is not meant to imply a conscious decision on the part of
the speaker. Whether [p] or [p˺] is used depends on a variety of factors, most of
which are extralinguistic in nature, with prestige and social status among them

Question 17

Neutralisation

Answer 17

A contrast between different phonemes can be
neutralised. Neutralisation here refers to the fact that in a particular context, a
contrast between phonemes becomes invisible.

Question 18

final devoicing

Answer 18

The fact that a voiced phoneme has a voiceless allophone in word-final position is known in the literature as final devoicing. In German, final devoicing
is widespread; it does not only affect /d/, but also other plosives and fricatives.

Question 19

velarised
realisation/ dark l.

Answer 19

‘Velarised’ comes from ‘velum’, which
is the name of the soft back part of the roof of the mouth

Question 20

non-rhotic

Answer 20

The data illustrate one
of the most well-known phonological features of RP and many other varieties of
English (especially British and Australian). In these varieties, r-sounds do not
seem to occur in word-final position. Such varieties are termed non-rhotic varieties of English

Question 21

rhotic

Answer 21

Conversely, then, rhotic varieties of English are those in which
r-sounds can occur in word-final position. This is the case, for example, in many North American varieties as well as in Irish or Scottish English.

Question 22

syllabic consonants

Answer 22

Consonants which occupy the central part of the syllable are termed

Question 23

nucleus
of the syllable.

Answer 23

Our ‘slot for a vowel’
In English, the nucleus can be filled by a vowel, a diphthong,
or a syllabic consonant.

Question 24

onset and coda.

Answer 24

Among our ‘slots for consonants’,
the prevocalic slot and postvocalic slot
In English, both slots
can be filled by one or more consonants; furthermore, neither the onset nor
the coda is obligatory.

Question 25

vowel epenthesis

Answer 25

The technical term for the insertion of vowels into syllables