Phonology Flashcards
phonology
The study of the sound system of a language, how the particular sounds contrast in each language to form an integrated system for encoding information, and how such systems differ from one language to another.
allophone
One set of noncontrastive realizations of the same phoneme
phoneme
a class of speech sounds identified by a native speaker as the same sound; a mental entity related to various allophones by phonological rules. phonemes are written between slashes /t/
phonological rules
the relationship between a phoneme and its allophones and the conditioning environment in which the allophone appears
assimilation
a process by which a sound becomes more like a nearby sound in terms of some features
dissimilation
process by which two nearby sounds become less alike with respect to some features
insertion
phonological process by which a segment not present in the phonetic (underlying) form is added in the phonetic form
deletion
a process by which a sound present in the phonetic form is removed from the phonetic form in certain environments
metathesis
switching of the order of two sounds, each taking the place of the other
strengthening
a process through which sounds are made stronger according to some criterion
weakening
a process through which sounds are made weaker according to some criterion
manner dissimilation
a stop becomes a fricative when followed by another stop
basic allophone
the allophone of a phoneme that is used when none of the change inducing conditions are fulfilled. Of a set of allophones, it is generally least limited in where it can occur; also termed the elsewhere
restricted allophone
an allophone of a phoneme that appears in a more limited set of phonetic environments
aspiration
a puff of air that follows the release of a constant when there is a delay in the onset of voicing. symbolized by a superscript
palatalization
a process wherein a sound takes on a palatal place of articulation, usually in assimilation to high or mid front vowels
flap
a sound produced by bringing two articulators together very quickly
vowel harmony
long distance assimilation between vowels
free variation
refers to two sounds that occur in overlapping environments but cause no distinction in the meaning of their respective words
overlapping distribution
occurrence of sounds in the same phonetic environments
complementary distribution
the occurrence of sounds in a language such that they are never found in the same phonetic environment. sounds that are in complementary distribution are allophones of the same phoneme
contrastive distribution
the occurrence of sounds in a language such that their use distinguishes between the meaning of the words in which they appear, indicating that those sounds are phonemes of the language in question. sounds that are in contrastive distribution are allophones of different phonemes
distribution
the set of phonetic environments in which a sound occurs
noncontrastive
a term used to describe 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
