The Sound System: Phonology Flashcards
Chapter 2 The Sound System: Phonology
Phonology
The study of the abstract categories that organize the sound system of a language.
Spectogram
A graphic representation of the frequency distribution of the comple jumble of sound waves that give the hearing impression of speech sounds.
Phone
A physical realization of a speech sound
Allophones (of the phoneme)
Phones which function as alternate realizations of the same phoneme
*ex. the same letter but, voiced or not
Narrow transcription
Additionial articulatory details that are needed when discussing and analyzing allophones of a particular phoneme
Distribution
Refers to the different positions in which a speech sound can occur or cannot occur in the words of a language
Complementary distribution
Two sounds which are distributed in such way that one can only occur where the other cannot
Minimal pairs
A pair of words which differ in only one sound will differ in meaning
Free variation
Speakers can choose which allophone they use
*ex. clap or claP
Released [consonant]
After the building-up phase, the release of the built-up air follows
Unreleased [consonant]
The air pressure is not released after the building-up phase
Neutralization
A contrast between phonemes becomes invisible
Aspirated stop
A stop that is produced with an extra ‘breath of air’
ex. saying ‘pin’
Non-rhotic/rhotic
When the r-sounds do not get pronounced or more specifically, non-rhotic = zero allophones of /r/ in word-final position.
Rhotic is opposite.
Syllable
How we tend to ‘measure’ the size of words. There is an obligatory and two optional elements.
Comes from intuition
