Phonology

Question 1

Define phonology

Answer 1

The study of how sounds are organized within a language and how they interact with each other

Question 2

What are phonotactic constraints?

Answer 2

The rules governing which sound sequences are possible in a language and which are not

Question 3

Which two consonants are impossible to begin a word with initially?

Answer 3

[ʒ] and [ŋ]

Question 4

If a word begins with a two-consonant combination including a stop or fricative, what typically follows? (ie in the word three)

Answer 4

A liquid or a glide

Question 5

T/F: [s] can be followed by voiceless and nasal stops.

Answer 5

True; ie “stay” or “small”

Question 6

T/F: [s] can be followed by [f] or [v]

Answer 6

True; in a small number of borrowed words such as “sphere” or “svelte”

Question 7

What can [ʃ] be followed by?

Answer 7

Nasal stops or liquids, but only [ʃɹ] is a cluster native to English

Question 8

How do languages generally prefer syllables to be structured?

Answer 8

With a consonant first and a vowel second

Question 9

What is the maximum combination of consonants able to start a word in English? Which consonants are able to do so?

Answer 9

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)

Question 10

How does English circumvent phonatic constraints when borrowing words from other languages? (ie with the word “gnostic” or “knish”)

Answer 10

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]

Question 11

How can people with foreign accents overcome foreign phonotactic restraints?

Answer 11

Through sound substitution (using sounds from the native language ot replace non-native sounds when pronouncing words of a foreign language)

Question 12

What is the difference between the [t] in [top] and [stop]

Answer 12

Aspiration
[tʰɑp] versus [stɑp]

Question 13

T/F: aspiration effects the meaning of words in English

Answer 13

False; they are noncontrastive in English

Question 14

Define phoneme

Answer 14

A set of speech sounds that are percieved to be variants of the same sound (essentially letters)
These are distinguished by the IPA

Question 15

What are phonemes further broken down into?

Answer 15

Allophones

Question 16

Define allophone

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Are alphabets typically phonetic or phonemic?

Answer 17

Phonemic (based around letters and spelling as opposed to sounds)

Question 18

How does one determine whether sounds are allophones of a single phoneme or whether they contrast?

Answer 18

By examining the distribution of sounds involved

Question 19

How do we examine the distribution of a phone?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

What are the three types of distribution?

Answer 20

Contrastive distribution, complementary distribution, and free variation

Question 21

Explain contrastive distribution

Answer 21

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)

Question 22

Define minimal pair

Answer 22

Two words (with different meanings) whose pronounciation differ by exactly one sound
ie: [tʰim] (team) versus [tʰin] (teen)

Question 23

Define complementary distribution

Answer 23

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]

Question 24

T/F: Complementary distribution sounds are typically allophones

Answer 24

True

Question 25

What is free variation?

Answer 25

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]

Question 26

Define overlapping distribution

Answer 26

Sounds that are contrastive in distribution and sounds that are also in free variation
Only sounds that are complementary distribution do not overlap

Question 27

Define phonological rules

Answer 27

The mapping between phonemic and phonetic elements

Question 28

What is another term for phonemic form?

Answer 28

Underlying form

Question 29

Name the different parts of a phonological rule

Answer 29

1: the sound(s) affected by the rule
2: the environment where the rule applies
3: the result of the rule

Question 30

What is the shorthand for phonological rules

Answer 30

X→Y/C_D

Question 31

List the English phonological rules

Answer 31

1: Assimilation
2: Dissimilation
3: Insertion
4: Deletion
5: Metathesis
6: Strengthening
7: Weakening

Question 32

Define the rules of assimilation

Answer 32

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”

Question 33

Define palatization

Answer 33

A special type of assimilation in which a consonant becomes like a neighbouring palatal
ie: “Did you?” becoming [dɪdʒu]

Question 34

Define the rules of dissimilation

Answer 34

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]

Question 35

Define the rules of insertion/epenthesis

Answer 35

Causes a segment not present at the phonemic (written) level to be added to the phonetic form of a word
ie: “hamster” becoming [hæ̃mpstəɹ]

Question 36

Define the rules of deletion

Answer 36

Eliminating a sound that was present at the phonemic level
ie: “police” becoming [ˈpʰl̥is]

Question 37

Define the rules of metathesis

Answer 37

Changing the order of sounds (typically in order to make words easier to pronounce or understand)
ie: “prescription” becoming [pəɹˈscɹɪpʃən]

Question 38

Define the rules of strengthening/fortition

Answer 38

Making sounds stronger
ie: voiceless stops become aspirated when they occur at the beginning of a stressed syllable ([tɑp] becoming [tʰɑp])

Question 39

Define the rules of weakening/lenition

Answer 39

Causes sounds to become weaker
ie: flapping in order to make a word easier to say

Question 40

T/F: All phonological rules are obligatory in order to properly articulate English words

Answer 40

False; some are optional and do not need to be applied

Question 41

Define implicational laws

Answer 41

Universal, implicated relationships that occur across languages
If A then B = if a language has Feature A, then we can expect B.

Question 42

T/F: The less common sounds in languages will be used more frequently

Answer 42

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)

Question 43

Explain the relationship between frequency and distribution

Answer 43

Frequency & Distribution: less-common sounds will be used in fewer words and with more phonotactic constraints

Question 44

How do implicational laws impact acquisition of language?

Answer 44

Children will acquire (produce) more common sounds before less common sounds.

Question 45

Define sound change

Answer 45

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)