PPT Notes, Test 2 Flashcards
phoneme
the underlying sound itself /t/. the mental construct of the sound. Your mind will accept a wide set of inputs (allophones) as acceptable
phone
the production of the sound [t] phone=sound
allophone
variations of a phoneme. the possible production of a phoneme [t(h)], these are in complementary distribution(mutually exclusive, never overlap), they do not change the meaning of the word
phonology
the branch of linguistics that studies the sound system of language. (phonemes=mental construct)
phonetics
This is the branch of linguistics that studies the production, transmittal, and perception of speech sounds. (phones=physical sound)
Saussurean sign
Object/Thought/Concept is the thing signified
Word/Sound/Inscription is the signifier
idea of a tree vs. the inscription ‘tree’
minimal pair
one phonetic shift in a ‘word’ that keeps the same number of phonemes, yet this one shift causes the meaning of the word to change.
/pIt/ (pit) vs. /bIt/ (bit)
so /p/ and /b/ are separate phonemes in English
complementary distribution
means that allophones never overlap
contrastive distribution
Phonemes are in contrastive distribution. Where you find one, you will not find the other. Changing one will change the meaning of the word.
contrastive features in English consonants
voiced/voiceless
place of articulation
manner of articulation
obstruent/sonorant
contrastive features in English vowels
height
backness
tense/lax
rounded/unrounded
natural class
all and only those phonemes defined by a particular group of features
ex
/p,t,k/ = voiceless stops
/e, 3/ = mid front vowels
define the natural classes: /k, g/ /j, w/ /b, d, g/ /m, w/
/k, g/ = velar stops
/j, w/ = glides
/b, d, g/ = voiced stops
/m, w/ = bilabial
when are voiceless stops aspirated?
when they appear at the very beginning of a syllable ex Pot Pepper vs step
assimilation
when a phoneme adopts characteristics of a neighboring phoneme in a word
/r/ -less pronunciation, where found
Boston
some syntactical differences in AAVE and southern speak
[d] for /ð/: dis and dat for this and that
multiple negation: I ain’t never flown before.
habitual “be”: He be home.
double negatives: I don’t have nothing to say
their for genderless, singular, possessive pronoun:
The student took their exam. (when we don’t know the gender)
perfective ‘done’: She done vacuumed the house.
multiple: modals: We might can help you move.
who/whom: he/him, subject object issue.
different Englishes
home
work
formal
educational
define language
A system of spoken and/or written communication that a significant group of people use for communication. This usually consists of ‘rules’ (grammar) that people follow to effectively generate communication.
define dialect
A way of using a language. This is often bound by region or group.
define idiolect
The peculiar way of speaking unique to each person.
dialect or language? China; US and Scotland
cultural and political issues
linguistic hegemony
influence, control, culturally, politically over the language - the ones in power are looked up to, emulated - if you desire to have influence, to be accepted, you must speak as they speak - a privileged dialect will seek to maintain its authority
given the stigmas attached to nonstandard varieties, why don’t they disappear?
because people want to maintain there identity, or want to maintain there cultural capital in their own group
overt prestige
A dialect variation that speakers aspire to when they want a higher social standing. This is the supposed ‘valuable’ version.
covert prestige
A dialect variation that has value in a local context, i.e. – Cherokee for Amanda Swimmer (the woman from the dialect video).
change from above
consciously adding/adjusting language to the circumstance due to added social prestige.
change from below
change that happens without the speaker being conscious of the shift. For example, the vowel shift taking place in the North.
what is social network ‘density’
how many people a person knows, and how many people that the person knows that know each other
what is social network ‘multiplexity’
the different capacities that a speaker knows the other speakers - ex. do they know you as a father, web designer, student, musician, athlete, etc.
define isogloss
lines that separate areas that use one lexical item, grammatical construction, or pronunciation from another
define dialect boundary
lines in the geography where many isoglosses coincide
why do sociolinguists study isoglosses and dialect boundaries?
to study the systematic variation of language by region
variationist sociolinguistics
the study of language regional variation further subdivided by demographic factors (race, age, etc.)
summarize Labov’s research
s.klein, fourth floor
define linguistic equality, and why controversial?
the idea that all dialects are equally complex and capable of communication - controversial because people perceive certain dialects as inferior and corrupting of the ‘standard’ English
