Phonology: Phonotactics

Question 1

What is Phonotactics? What area of phonology is iti concerned with?

Answer 1

phonotactics - The set of allowed arrangements or

sequences of speech sounds in a

given language.

The area of phonology concerned with the analysis and description of the permitted sound sequences of a language.

Question 2

What are open vs. closed syllables? What is important to remember when considering syllables in phonology?

Answer 2

Open vs. Closed Syllables

Open syllables: End with a vowel phoneme and no coda (“the” and both syllables in “maybe”) (also includes words that consist of only a vowel nucleus-”I,” “oh,” “a”

Closed Syllables: End with a coda (or consonant phoneme)

(“had,” “keg,” both syllables in “contain”)

When determining which type of syllable you are working with REMEMBER to consider the phonemic makeup of the syllable and NOT its spelling.

Question 3

What are the orders of consonant and vowel structures?

Answer 3

Phonotactic Rules/Transcription

Order of Consonant and Vowel phonemes in words that are language specific-these rules dictate permissible syllable structure, consonant clusters, etc. within a language.

CV (so), CVCV (coffee), CCVCC (crisp), VC (it), CVC (bait), CCCVCC (strips)

Question 4

Syllable Structure Analysis
AKA Phonotactic Analysis (word tree pic)

Answer 4

Question 5

What does word stress refer to? How does it affect syllables and pitch? How does a stressed syllable sound in comparison to unstressed?

We recognize words by phonemes and what else?

Answer 5

Prosodic Feature with Linguistic Significance

Syllables are produced with different levels of effort

Stressed syllable is Longer in duration, Higher in Pitch, Greater in Intensity (louder)

The pitch rise is particularly important in alerting listeners to the stressed syllable in word.

We recognize words not only by phonemes, but by particular stress patterns associated with them. conFUSE vs. CONfuse.

Question 6

What do multisyllabic words always have?

Answer 6

Multisyllabic Words will always have one syllable that receives primary stress or greatest emphasis. (SISter, courAgeous,

Question 7

What is the IPA symbol for primary stress?
How does word stress distinguish words phonemically?

Answer 7

IPA symbol for primary stress - It is a raised mark ( | ) placed at the initiation of the stressed syllable

re | veal

Stress not only plays a pronunciation role, it plays a phonemic role as well. Word stress helps to distinguish words that are spelled the same, but vary in part of speech or word class

For example: CONtract (noun) conTRACT (verb)

The stress changes not only the pronunciation, but the meaning of the word.