Phonology

Question 1

voicing assimilation

Answer 1

a sound adopts the voicing feature (voiced or voiceless) of a neighboring sound

Question 2

assimilation

Answer 2

• co-articulation process
  results from a sound becoming more like another nearby sound in terms of one or more of its phonetic properties
• mainly talking about consonants
  3 Types:
  1. voicing
  2. place
  3. manner

Question 3

place assimilation

Answer 3

one sound adopts the place of articulation of a neighboring sound

Question 4

manner assimilation

Answer 4

one sound changes its manner of articulation to become more similar to a neighboring sound

Question 5

progressive assimilation

Answer 5

change is influenced by a sound that occurs earlier in the sequence
A affects B

Question 6

regressive assimilation

Answer 6

change is influenced by a sound that occurs later in the sequence
B affects A

Question 7

vowel nasalization

Answer 7

• phonological process
• regressive
  a vowel becomes nasalized when it occurs before a nasal consonant in the same syllable
• represented phonetically with a (~) over the vowel, e.g., [ã], [ẽ], [ĩ]
• nasal consonants: m, n, ŋ

Question 8

dissimilation

Answer 8

• opposite of assimilation
• not very common in English
• 2 sounds becoming less alike with respect to a particular feature

Question 9

metathesis

Answer 9

A B becomes B A
reorders a sequence of segments
ex. Prescribe to Perscribe

Question 10

deletion

Answer 10

• removes a segment from a word
• usually the vowel
• schwa is often deleted in English (vowel reduction), its the shortest vowel

Question 11

epenthesis

Answer 11

• opposite of deletion
  inserts a segment within existing string of segments

Question 12

tapping/flapping

Answer 12

• /t/ and /d/ can become a tap [ɾ]
• type of assimilation process where a stop becomes more like the vowels
  surrounding it
• happens between vowels, when the first vowel is stressed (more loud/prominent) (t or d between vowels and first is stressed)
  ex. Compare the d-sound in bedroom and bedding

Question 13

aspiration

Answer 13

• a burst of air is released during the articulation of a consonant
• indicated in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) with a superscript [ʰ] after the consonant: [pʰ], [tʰ], [kʰ]
• when p,t,k are followed by a vowel in a stressed syllable they are aspirated

Question 14

liquid devoicing

Answer 14

• related to aspiration
• liquids /l/ and /r/ become devoiced immediately after voiceless stops
• liquid has to occur in a stressed syllable
• has to be between a syllable-initial voiceless stop and a vowel
• marked by [ ̥ ] under the liquid, e.g., [l̥] or [r̥].

Question 15

Canadian Raising

Answer 15

• [aj] and [aw] are the dipthongs involved
• /aj/ is pronounced as [ʌj] before voiceless consonants
• [ʌw] which occurs before voiceless
  consonant
• [ʌ] is higher than [a]

Question 16

syllabic consonants

Question 17

Maximize Onset Principle

Answer 17

• requires onsets to be as large as possible
• every time a syllabification process has to choose between placing a segment in a coda or in an onset, the
  onset will be automatically preferred

Question 18

what are the 2 major elements to a syllable

Answer 18

onset (O) and rhyme (R)
- Rhyme can be broken into the Nucleus (N) and Coda (C)

Question 19

onset

Answer 19

• consonant(s) at the beginning of the syllable
• Not all syllables have onset

Question 20

nucleus

Answer 20

• core of the syllable
• usually a vowel

Question 21

coda

Answer 21

• consonant(s) that come after the nucleus, forming the end of the syllable
• Not all syllables have codas

Question 22

voiced and voiceless sounds

Answer 22

• consonants can be either voiced or voiceless
• consonants can be either voiced or voiceless
• If the air passes freely through the open glottis, voiceless sounds are produced
• our vocal cords close together (but
  not fully shut). The air passing through forces the vocal cords to vibrate, causing a voiced sound

Question 23

How to test whether a sound is voiced or voiceless?

Answer 23

1. Putting your fingers to the larynx as the sound is produced. Voiceless sounds do not produce vibration, while voiced sounds do
2. same as 1, but with the fingers in the ears. Voiced sounds produce greater resonance
3. Covering one of the ears while producing the sounds. Voiced sounds resonate stronger than voiceless ones

Question 24

manner of articulation

Answer 24

‘How’ consonants are produced (i.e., what kind of constriction or type of air obstruction occurs?)

Question 25

what are the 2 basic distinctions in manner of articulation?

Answer 25

1. When the velum is raised, cutting off the airflow through the nasal cavity, oral sounds are produced
2. Nasal sounds are articulated when the velum is lowered and allows air to pass through the nasal cavity
   - Nasal sounds are usually voiced

Question 26

stops (manner of articulation)

Answer 26

• some point during the production
  the air is completely stopped in the mouth
• can be either nasal or oral, depending on the direction the airflow is exiting
• For nasal stops, the air will escape through the nasal cavity
• In both cases, the closure happens in the oral cavity
  ex. [t] and [d]

Question 27

fricatives

Answer 27

• manner of articulation
• space through which the air must pass is very small, tiny airway causes the air passing through to make noise
• forcing air through a narrow constriction in the vocal tract
  ex. [s] and [z]

Question 28

affricates

Answer 28

• made by producing a full closure in the oral tract which is immediately followed by a slow release of the
  air pressure
• resulting sound is often described as a stop + fricative combination
• [tʃ] and [dʒ]

Question 29

Fricatives and affricates can be further subdivided into two types based on their relative loudness:

Answer 29

1. The noisier fricatives are called stridents (or sibilants)
2. quieter counterparts (such as [θ] or [ð] ) are called non-stridents

Question 30

approximants (liquids)

Answer 30

less constriction of airflow than in fricatives, resulting in consonants that do not have frication

Question 31

lateral approximant

Answer 31

[l], the tip of the tongue is at the alveolar ridge. The sides of the tongue are lowered, allowing
the air to pass freely over the sides

Question 32

retroflex approximant

Answer 32

• defining feature of [r] is that the tip of the tongue is curled back behind the alveolar ridge
• curled tongue is called retroflex

Question 33

glides

Answer 33

• made with very little obstruction of the airflow in the mouth
• transitional sounds (transitions to or from vowels) and are sometimes called semi-vowels or
  semi-consonants
  [j] and [w]

Question 34

Universal Syllable Constraints

Answer 34

1. syllable nuclei usually consists of one vowel
2. syllables usually begin with onsets
3. syllables often end with codas
4. onsets and codas usually consist of one consonant

Question 35

Phonotactics

Answer 35

set of rules or constraints in a language that govern the permissible combinations and sequences of sounds (phonemes) in words or syllables

Question 36

If an onset in English contains three (3) consonants, the structure is the following:

Answer 36

1. The first segment is always voiceless alveolar fricative
   - [s]
2. The second segment is always a voiceless stop
   - [p t k]
3. The third segment is either a liquid or a glide
   - [l r j w]

Question 37

three steps in the process of setting up syllables

Answer 37

1. Nucleus formation
2. Onset formation
3. Coda formation

Question 38

syllabic consonants

Answer 38

• As a result of vowel deletion, nasals and liquids can become syllabic
  at the end of the word
• marked with a line under the IPA
  symbol [x̩ ]
• nasal/liquid has to occur in the coda of a syllable, following a schwa [ə]