Phonology Key Vocabulary

Question 1

Phonology

Answer 1

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.

Question 2

Phonetic Inventories

Answer 2

The set of sounds that are produced as part of the grammar of a language.

Question 3

Phonotactic Constraints

Answer 3

Restriction on possible combinations of sounds, often in particular environments.

Question 4

Aspiration

Answer 4

A puff of air that follows the release of a consonant when there is a delay in the onset of voicing.

Question 5

Nonconstrastive

Answer 5

A term used to describe two sounds that are not used to differentiate words in a language.

Question 6

Constrastive

Answer 6

A term used to describe two sounds that can be used to differentiate words in a language.

Question 7

Phoneme

Answer 7

A class of speech sounds identified by a native speaker as the same sound; a mental entity (or category) related to various allophones by phonological rules. Phonemes are written between slashes, for example, /t/.

Question 8

Allophone

Answer 8

One of a set of noncontrastive realizations of the same phoneme; an actual phonetic segment.

Question 9

Distribution

Answer 9

The set of phonetic environments in which a sound occurs.

Question 10

Phonetic Enviornments

Answer 10

The sounds that come before and after a particular sound in a word.

Question 11

Contrastive Distributions

Answer 11

The occurrence of sounds in a language such that their use distinguishes between the meanings 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.

Question 12

Minimal Pair

Answer 12

Two words that differ only by a single sound in the same position and that have different meanings.

Question 13

Complementary Distribution

Answer 13

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.

Question 14

Free Variation

Answer 14

Term used to refer to two sounds that occur in overlapping environments but cause no distinction in the meaning of their respective words.

Question 15

Overlapping Distribution

Answer 15

The occurrence of sounds in the same phonetic environments.

Question 16

Phonological Rule

Answer 16

The description of a relationship between a phoneme and its allophones and the conditioning environment in which the allophone appears.

Question 17

Underlying Form

Answer 17

The phonemic form of a word or morpheme before phonological rules are applied.

Question 18

Conditioning Enviornment

Answer 18

Neighboring sounds of a given sound that cause it to undergo a change.

Question 19

Natural Class

Answer 19

Group of sounds in a language that satisfy a given description to the exclusion of other sounds in that language.

Question 20

Sibilant

Answer 20

A member of the natural class of sounds that are characterized by a high-pitched hissing quality.

Question 21

Labial

Answer 21

A member of a natural class of sounds produced with the lips; includes both bilabial and labiodental sounds.

Question 22

Obstruents

Answer 22

A natural class of sounds produced with an obstruction of the airflow in the oral cavity while the nasal cavity is closed off. Includes oral stops, fricatives, and affricates.

Question 23

Sonorants

Answer 23

Sound (usually voiced) produced with a relatively open passage of airflow. Nasals, liquids, glides, and vowels are all sonorants.

Question 24

Assimilation

Answer 24

A process by which a sound becomes more like a nearby sound in terms of some feature(s).

Question 25

Nasal (speech sound)

Answer 25

Sound produced by making a complete obstruction of the airflow in the oral cavity and lowering the velum to allow air to pass through the nasal cavity, unlike oral stops.