Phonology Flashcards
Phonology
The study of the distribution of sounds in a language and the interactions between those different sounds
Phonotactic constraints
restrictions on possible combinations of sounds
Sound substitution
by which sounds that exist in a language speaker knows are used to replace sounds that do not exist in that language when pronouncing the words of a foreign language
allophone
one of a set of non contrastive realizations of the same phoneme
phoneme
a class of speech sounds identified by a native speaker as the same sound
non contrastive
two sounds that are not used to differentiate words in a language
contrastive
a term used to describe two sounds that can be used to differentiate words in a language
distribution
the set of phonetic environments in which a sound occurs
contrastive distribution
the occurrence of sounds in a language such that their use distinguishes between the meanings of the words in which they appear
minimal pair
two words that differ only by a single sounds in the same position and that have different meanings
alternation
the difference between two or more phonetic forms that one might expect to be related
complementary distribution
the occurrence of sounds in a language such that they are never found in the same phonetic environment
free variation
term used to refer to two sounds that occur in overlapping environments but cause no distinction in the meaning of their respective words
overlapping distribution
the occurrence of sounds in the same phonetic enviroment
underlying form
the form of a word before phonological rules are applied
conditioning environment
neighboring sounds of a given sound that cause it to undergo a change
natural class
group of sounds in a language that satisfy a given description to the exclusion of other sounds in that language
sibilant
a member of the natural class of sounds that are characterized by a high pitched hissing quality
labial
sounds produced with the lips
obstruent
produced with the obstruction of the airflow in the oral cavity while the nasal cavity is closed off
sonorants
sounds produced with a relatively open passage of air flow
assimilation
sound becomes more like a nearby sound in terms of some features
palatalization
a process wherein a sound takes on a palatal place of articulation
vowel harmony
long distance assimilation between vowels
