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
Constituents
The elements that make up a syllable or any other linguistic structure
Syllabic consonants
The consonants that occupy the central part of the word (where a vowel should be)
Nucleus
The slot for a vowel in a word
Dipthong
Multiple vowels as the nucleus
Onset
Consonant slot(s) before nucleus slot
Coda
Consonant slot(s) after nucleus
Cognates
When one language’s words translates exactly into another language’s phonology or etymology
*this causes issues
Syllabification
Assigning syllable structure to words
Maximal Onset Code Principle
Syllabification proceeds in a way that as many consonants as possible end up in an onset and only in coda when there is no other choice.
Sonority Sequencing Principle
Sounds preceding nucleus must rise in sonority and sounds following the nuclels will fall in sonority.
Sonority is the volume
