Phonology Flashcards
Define phonology
The study of how sounds are organized within a language and how they interact with each other
What are phonotactic constraints?
The rules governing which sound sequences are possible in a language and which are not
Which two consonants are impossible to begin a word with initially?
[ʒ] and [ŋ]
If a word begins with a two-consonant combination including a stop or fricative, what typically follows? (ie in the word three)
A liquid or a glide
T/F: [s] can be followed by voiceless and nasal stops.
True; ie “stay” or “small”
T/F: [s] can be followed by [f] or [v]
True; in a small number of borrowed words such as “sphere” or “svelte”
What can [ʃ] be followed by?
Nasal stops or liquids, but only [ʃɹ] is a cluster native to English
How do languages generally prefer syllables to be structured?
With a consonant first and a vowel second
What is the maximum combination of consonants able to start a word in English? Which consonants are able to do so?
3 consonants
Must be [s] followed by [p], [t], or [k] followed by [l], [j], [w] or [ɹ]
ie: STRength, SPLeen
(refer to pg 110 for all possible syllable types)
How does English circumvent phonatic constraints when borrowing words from other languages? (ie with the word “gnostic” or “knish”)
By dropping the first sound (deletion) or by adding a vowel sound between the two consonants (insertion)
ie [gnɑstɪk] to [nɑstɪk]
ie [knɪʃ] to [kənɪʃə]
How can people with foreign accents overcome foreign phonotactic restraints?
Through sound substitution (using sounds from the native language ot replace non-native sounds when pronouncing words of a foreign language)
What is the difference between the [t] in [top] and [stop]
Aspiration
[tʰɑp] versus [stɑp]
T/F: aspiration effects the meaning of words in English
False; they are noncontrastive in English
Define phoneme
A set of speech sounds that are percieved to be variants of the same sound (essentially letters)
These are distinguished by the IPA
What are phonemes further broken down into?
Allophones
Define allophone
Each member of a particular phoneme set that corresponds to an actual phonetic segment produced by a speaker
ie: [t], [tʰ], [ɾ] and [ʔ] are a set of allophones
Are alphabets typically phonetic or phonemic?
Phonemic (based around letters and spelling as opposed to sounds)
How does one determine whether sounds are allophones of a single phoneme or whether they contrast?
By examining the distribution of sounds involved
How do we examine the distribution of a phone?
By the set of phonetic environments in which it occurs (the sounds that come before or after it in a word)
ie: nasal consonants only occurring immediately proceeding a nasalized consonants
What are the three types of distribution?
Contrastive distribution, complementary distribution, and free variation
Explain contrastive distribution
When the two sounds occur in the same phonetic environment and using one rather than the other changes the meaning of the word (ie [p] versus [pʰ] in Hindi)
Define minimal pair
Two words (with different meanings) whose pronounciation differ by exactly one sound
ie: [tʰim] (team) versus [tʰin] (teen)
Define complementary distribution
Sounds that do not occur in the same phonetic environment
Sound A will never occur in the same environment as sound B
ie: [i] and [ĩ] or [p] and [pʰ]
T/F: Complementary distribution sounds are typically allophones
True
What is free variation?
Two (or more) sounds appearing in the same environment without a change in meaning and without being considered incorrect by native speakers
ie: [lip] versus [lip̚]
Define overlapping distribution
Sounds that are contrastive in distribution and sounds that are also in free variation
Only sounds that are complementary distribution do not overlap
Define phonological rules
The mapping between phonemic and phonetic elements
What is another term for phonemic form?
Underlying form
Name the different parts of a phonological rule
1: the sound(s) affected by the rule
2: the environment where the rule applies
3: the result of the rule
What is the shorthand for phonological rules
X→Y/C_D
List the English phonological rules
1: Assimilation
2: Dissimilation
3: Insertion
4: Deletion
5: Metathesis
6: Strengthening
7: Weakening
Define the rules of assimilation
Causes a sound (or gesture) to become more like a neighbouring sound (or gesture) with some respect to phonetic property
Typically done to make sounds easier to articulate in conjunction with surrounding sounds
ie: “uNbelievable” becoming “uMbelievable”
Define palatization
A special type of assimilation in which a consonant becomes like a neighbouring palatal
ie: “Did you?” becoming [dɪdʒu]
Define the rules of dissimilation
Causes two close or adjacent sounds to become less similar with some respect to some property by means of a change in one or both sounds
ie: “sixths” becoming [sɪ́ksts]
Define the rules of insertion/epenthesis
Causes a segment not present at the phonemic (written) level to be added to the phonetic form of a word
ie: “hamster” becoming [hæ̃mpstəɹ]
Define the rules of deletion
Eliminating a sound that was present at the phonemic level
ie: “police” becoming [ˈpʰl̥is]
Define the rules of metathesis
Changing the order of sounds (typically in order to make words easier to pronounce or understand)
ie: “prescription” becoming [pəɹˈscɹɪpʃən]
Define the rules of strengthening/fortition
Making sounds stronger
ie: voiceless stops become aspirated when they occur at the beginning of a stressed syllable ([tɑp] becoming [tʰɑp])
Define the rules of weakening/lenition
Causes sounds to become weaker
ie: flapping in order to make a word easier to say
T/F: All phonological rules are obligatory in order to properly articulate English words
False; some are optional and do not need to be applied
Define implicational laws
Universal, implicated relationships that occur across languages
If A then B = if a language has Feature A, then we can expect B.
T/F: The less common sounds in languages will be used more frequently
False; sounds that are simpler and transcend many languages (such as [p], [t] and [a] will be used more frequently than clicks or voiceless vowels)
Explain the relationship between frequency and distribution
Frequency & Distribution: less-common sounds will be used in fewer words and with more phonotactic constraints
How do implicational laws impact acquisition of language?
Children will acquire (produce) more common sounds before less common sounds.
Define sound change
Less common sounds are more likely to change (or be
dropped) as a language evolves (ie “knight” being pronounced without the [k] as language evolves)
