Phonology

Question 1

phonologically constrained distribution

Answer 1

when a phone is limited in where it can occur in a word. for example, a glottal stop can only occur in some varieties of English, and only in some places.

• matter (includes glottal stop)
• mature ([t], not glottal stop)

Question 2

2 levels of analysis in Phonological Theory

Answer 2

two levels of analysis

• phonemic
• allophonic

Question 3

Phonemic

Answer 3

underlying. represents perception of contrast
- the difference between two sounds that represents a difference between two words

[n] and [m] contrast

Question 4

Allophonic

Answer 4

surface level. represents something close to articulation (glottal stop is an allophone of /t/)

[n] and dental [n] are allophonic

/n/ realised as [n] and dental [n]

Question 5

transcription of phones (speech sounds)

Answer 5

[…]

Question 6

transcription of phonemes

Answer 6

/…/

Question 7

complementary distribution

Answer 7

allophones that cannot occur in the same phonological environment

[n] and dental [n]
pot [p] and spot [p^h]

Question 8

predictable distribution

Answer 8

generalisations that allow us to predict which words will contain what allophone (dental [n] occurs next to a dental. [n] occurs with everything else)

Question 9

The Phonemic Principle

Answer 9

In normal allophony, allophones of one phoneme are in complementary distribution and are expected to be phonetically similar.

if the phones belong to different phonemes, they are in parallel distribution and are semantically contrastive

Question 10

parallel distribution

Answer 10

when the difference between two phones signals a contrast in meaning

Question 11

minimal pairs

Answer 11

if a pair of words only differ in terms of one phone

cap and cab
thigh and thy 
net and met
cat and hat 
laugh and half

Question 12

#

Answer 12

word boundary

Question 13

_

Answer 13

segment in question

Question 14

_

Answer 14

start of word

Question 15

_#

Answer 15

end of word

Question 16

V_V

Answer 16

intervocalic

Question 17

Phonological Rule

Answer 17

/…/ -> […] / …_…

only accounts for derived allophones

Question 18

derived allophones

Answer 18

different from the phoneme

Question 19

non-derived allophones

Answer 19

the default

Question 20

Aitkens Law

Answer 20

certain vowels in SSE can be long if they occur in from of: v, ð, z or r, or at the end of the word

/i/ -> [i:] / … v, ð, z, r, #

Question 21

σ

Answer 21

syllable symbol

Question 22

components of syllable

Answer 22

onset

rhyme

Question 23

components of rhyme

Answer 23

nucleus coda

Question 24

onset

Answer 24

bit before the rhyme
can contain nothing, 1 segment, 2, or more

typically contain consonants

Question 25

rhymes

Answer 25

normally contain a vowel

• nucleus (obligatory)
• coda (bit after - optional)

Question 26

closed syllables

Answer 26

syllables with a coda

Question 27

open syllables

Answer 27

syllables without a coda

Question 28

coda

Answer 28

typically contain consonants

Question 29

syllabic consonants

Answer 29

occur in the nuclei
the dark l at the end of syllable
transcribed [,]

Czech allows /r/ and /l/ to be syllabic in any syllable

Question 30

systemic gap

Answer 30

a segment that cannot occur in a language due to phonological constraints

/h/ cannot occur in the coda of a rhyme, only in the onsets of syllables: hat, behave, alcohol

Question 31

accidental gaps

Answer 31

a segment that does not exist but would still be permitted due to the rules of that language

Question 32

Sonority Sequencing Principle

Answer 32

sonority increases from the edge of the syllable towards its nucleus.

onsets: increases from left to right
codas: decreases from left to right

Question 33

sonority hierarchy

Answer 33

correlates to some extent with loudness, openness. the more sonorous the segment, the closer to the nucleus

(most sonorous)
vowels,
approximants,
nasals,
fricatives,
oral stops (plosives)
(least sonorous)

Question 34

Maximal Onset Principle

Answer 34

“if anything can be in the onset, it will be in an onset”

syllable boundaries represented using ‘full stop’

Question 35

stressed syllables

Answer 35

louder and longer

typically intuitive

Question 36

primary stress

Answer 36

most stressed syllable in a word

transcribed with [’] at the start of the relevant syllable

Question 37

secondary stress

Answer 37

indicated by [,] at the start of the relevant syllable

Question 38

free stress language

Answer 38

where any syllable in a word can be stressed

Question 39

fixed stress language

Answer 39

where syllable stress has a pattern

Question 40

heavy syllables

Answer 40

long vowel
diphthong
short vowel + consonant

Question 41

light syllables

Answer 41

short vowel 
(in trisyllabic nouns with only short vowels, the antepenultimate (third last) syllable gets the stress)

Question 42

stress in English nouns

Answer 42

if the penultimate syllable is heavy, we expect primary stress
if the penultimate syllable is light, we expect the antepenultimate syllable to have primary stress