Phonology LI 2023 Nathalie F. Martin

Introduction: Phonology No human language exploits all phonetic possibilities Every language makes its own particular selection from the range of all possible ___________

Introduction Phonological Representation Phonology /fənɒlədʒi/ : The components of grammar that determines the _______of speech sounds and that ______both the sound ______ and the systematic phonetic variation found in language.

Introduction Phonological Representation The task of phonologists: To ________and ________the systematic phonetic patterns found in individual languages To discover the ___________ ____that underlie the patterning of sounds across human languages.

Introduction Phonological Representation Three major phonological units: ___________

Introduction Phonological Representation Wd σ σ s è g m F n t - syllabic + sonorant … Word level Syllable level Segment level Feature level [ ]

Introduction Phonological Representation Segment: ___________ ___________ Feature: Features correspond to articulatory or acoustic ___________such as [voice] or [strident] Smallest building block of phonological structure Syllable: A syllabic element – usually a vowel- and any preceding or following segments that are associated with it

Segments in Contrast Contrast All speakers knows which segments contrast and which ones don’t … Segments are said to _______when: Their presence alone may distinguish forms with different meaning from each other Ex: sip [sɪp] and zip [zɪp] Ex: hit [hɪt], hat [hæt] & hot [hɒt]

Segments in Contrast Minimal Pairs The first step in the analysis of the phonology of language is to establish which sounds in that language are in ______with each other In order to establish contrast, it is necessary to examine the ___________ of sounds in words and to compare word meanings. This can be accomplished through the ______________

Segments in Contrast Minimal Pairs Minimal pair: Consists of _______with ___________ that differ by ______ ____ ______found in the same position in each form. Example: sip [sɪp] and zip [zɪp] Therefore the segments [s] and [z] contrast

Segments in Contrast Minimal Pairs – English Consonant Example:

Segments in Contrast Minimal Pairs – Definitions Environment: The phonetic _________in which a sound occurs. Near minimal pairs: Pairs of words that have segments in nearly identical environments (ex: assure & azure)

Segments in Contrast Minimal Pairs – Definitions Phoneme: Segments that _______with each other ___________ _______are said to belong to separate phonemes of that language Contrastive phonological units Not to be confused with ________

Segments in Contrast Vowel Contrast in English Find words with these minimal pairs (vowels)

Segments in Contrast Vowel Contrast in English

Segments in Contrast Language-Specific Contrasts Important: - Two sounds can be phonetically distinct without necessarily being phonologically distinct or contrastive. - Sounds that are contrastive in one language may not necessarily be contrastive in another.

Segments in Contrast Language-Specific Contrasts Example: In English [ɛ] & [æ] are contrastive (ex: Ben & ban) In Turkish (ex: the word “I” can be said [bɛn] & [bæn])

Segments in Contrast Practice & Homework Find minimal pairs to show contrast between all English consonants (15 phonemes) Exceptions which are hard to find: [ŋ] [h] [ʔ] [ʒ]

Complementary distribution

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Introduction Phonetic variation is systematic Occurs most often in phonetically similar segments Conditioned by the ___________ or environment in which the segments are found

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Introduction - Variation Variation occurs because segments are affected and altered by phonetic characteristics of neighboring elements or by the larger phonological context in which they occur Speakers and listeners of any language tend to factor out this type of variation in order to focus on contrast that affect meaning

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Complementary Distribution In English, all Ls are not identical Different sounds: [l̥̥] (voiceless l)& [l] (voiced l) Yet they do not contrast There are no minimal pairs in which the phonetic difference [l̥̥] & [l] functions to indicate difference

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Complementary Distribution Examine the distribution of the two Ls All of the voiceless [l̥̥] occurs after the class of ___________ ___________ Voiced [l] never occurs after voiceless stops Predictable property of phonology in English

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Complementary Distribution Therefore: Since no voiced [l] ever occurs in the same phonetic environment as a voiceless [l̥] (and vice versa), we say that that the two variants of L are in ___________ ___________ Table 3.6 Complementary distribution of [l] and [l̥] in English [l] [l̥] After voiceless stops no yes Elsewhere

Phonemes and allophones

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Phonemes and allophones When segments are phonetically distinct, but not phonologically the same they are considered _________(predictable variants) of one _________(contrastive phonological unit).

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Phonemes and allophones Phonetic representation: Consists of predictable variants or allophones Phonemic (or phonological) representation: Consists of the phonemes to which the allophones belong. Phonemic representation (phoneme) /l/ Phonetic representation (allophones) [l̥̥] [l] Symbols for phonemes are placed between slashes // Symbols for allophones are enclosed in square bracket []

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Phonemes and allophones Are _________representations: the way in which sounds are stored in the mind. Are in your ________ Allophones: Are not part of what you remember when you store a word in your mind Come out of your mouth

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Phonemes and allophones An important part of phonological analysis thus deals with discovering ___________ of the phonemes of language and accounting for ___________ ___________.

Classes and generalization

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Free Variation Various forms that do not change the meaning since they are phonetically similar. They are therefore allophones of a phoneme Ex: [stɒp!], [stɒp̚] & [stɒpʔ] [p!], [p̚] & [pʔ] are different allophones of the phoneme /p/ Notice that the narrow transcription of these words and the different allophones are in square brackets and that the phoneme is in between slashes. Forceful articulation (Feature rep. only used in the book) Coarticulation with glottal stop Extended closure

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Classes & Systematic Variation Everyday speech usually _______ systematically according to phonetic classes

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Classes & Systematic Variation In English, liquids have _______ __ __ _____after voiceless stops and ___________ __elsewhere. General Statement

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Classes & Systematic Variation In English, liquids and glides have ___________ ________after voiceless stops, and _________ __ ___________ elsewhere. General Statement

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Classes & Systematic Variation One of the major goals of phonological description is the discovery of such ____ __ ________, and the formulation of the most ___________ ____possible to describe them.

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Canadian Raising English mid vowels and glides Language-specific patterns

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Canadian Rising Canadian rising is another example of allophonic variation in English [aj] before the class of ____________________ or in _________________ [ʌ j] before the class of ________________________________________

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Canadian Rising [aj] before the class of ___________ or in ___________ [ʌ j] before the class of ___________

Phonetically Conditioned Variation English Mid Vowels and glides In most dialects of English, the mid tense vowels [e] & [o] are always diphthongized [ej] & [ow] [e] and [o] are both mid tense vowels [e] and [j] are both back and unrounded [o] and [w] are both back and unrounded

Phonetically Conditioned Variation English Mid Vowels and glides The ___________ ___________ are predictably followed by a ___________ that has the same ___________ and ___________ as the vowels General Statement

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Language-specific patterns Important: The phenomenon of allophonic variation is universal. However, just as the phonemic contrast found in each language are specific to that language, the actual ___________ of phonemes and allophones is also language-specific. Thus, whatever we discover for one language may not hold true for another.

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Language-specific patterns Nasals in Scots Gaelic: Vowels are nasal in Scot Gaelic when preceded or followed by a nasal consonant

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Language-specific patterns Nasals in Malay: In Malay, all vowels and glides following a nasal and not separated from it by a non-nasal consonant are nasalized (until an obstruent, liquid, or glottal is reached)

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Language-specific patterns English and Khmer (Cambodian) stops:

Phonetically Conditioned Variation Language-specific patterns English and Khmer (Cambodian) stops:

Phonetic and Phonemic Transcription

Phonetic and Phonemic Transcription

Phonetic and Phonemic Transcription Inventory of Vowels

Phonetic and Phonemic Transcription Inventory of Consonants

Phonetic and Phonemic Transcription Let’s Practice! Transcribe the following words Phonemically Phonetically Don’t forget the predictable properties mentioned on the previous slides

Review Contrast, phonemes and allophones Each language has a set of contrastive phonemes Phonemes themselves can have predictable variants or allophones There are two distinct levels of representation: phonemic level and phonetic level

Onset constraints and phonotactics Accidental and systematic gaps Syllable Defining the syllable Onset constraints and phonotactics Accidental and systematic gaps

Syllables Introduction Definition: A syllable consists of a ___________ _ and its associated non-syllabic (less sonorous) segments. What speech sounds are more sonorous?

Syllables Introduction Vowels are the most sonorous sound Therefore, syllables usually have a vowel nucleus as their core Less sonorous sounds may appear ___________ ___________

Syllables Introduction Native speakers of a language demonstrate their awareness of the sonority values of segments and of the syllable Examples: Telegraph Accident Sprint

Onset Constraints and Phonotactics

Syllables Onset Syllable: σ Onset (O): Within a syllable, the longest segment of consonant to the ___of each nucleus

Syllables Rhyme: Nucleus & Coda Rhyme (R): The ______and the ____of a syllable (e.g., [ɪnt] in Sprint)

Syllables Nucleus & Coda Nucleus (N): a vocalic element that forms the _______of a syllable (e.g., [q]) Coda (Co): The elements that _______the nucleus in the same syllable (e.g., [nt])

Syllables Constraints Syllables comply with certain constraints that prohibit them from beginning with a sequence like [kstr] and thus results in the actual syllabification / ək.strim / (“extreme”)

Syllables English Syllables

Syllables Universal Tendencies All languages have syllables The shapes or syllables are governed by various kinds of constraints But certain universal tendencies are observable

Syllables Universal Tendencies Syllable nuclei usually consists of _________; Syllables usually begin with onsets; Syllables often end with codas; Onsets and codas usually consist of one consonant. Syllables usually take the shape ___________

Syllables Onset Constraints & Phonotactics Isn’t it interesting! Native speakers of ant language intuitively know that certain words from other languages sound unusual and they often adjust the segment sequences of these words to conform with the pronunciation requirements of their own language. Example: Russian word vprog /fprɔk/ (value, or good) [fəprɔk] – adding /ə/ [prɔk] – deleting /f/

Syllables Onset Constraints & Phonotactics The set of constraints on how sequences of segments pattern Forms part of a speakers knowledge of the phonology of his or her language

Syllables Onset Constraints & Phonotactics

Accidental and Systematic gaps

Syllables Accidental and Systematic Gaps Gaps in the language’s vocabulary that correspond to ___________ but _________ forms called accidental gaps Sometimes filled by borrowed words that fill the phonotactic constraints Ex: Kodak, taco, Zen, perestroika

Syllables Accidental and Systematic Gaps Gaps in the syllable structure of a language that result not by accident but from exclusion of certain sequences Examples in English: /bz/, /pt/ & /fp/ Unacceptable in one language but not necessarily another

Syllables Accidental and Systematic Gaps Accidental gaps: Sometimes filled by ___________ ___that fill the phonotactic constraints Ex: Kodak, taco, Zen, perestroika Systematic gaps: English speakers often change the pronunciation of borrowed words that do not fit the phonotactic constraints Ex: Psychology & pterodactyl

Syllables Language-specific phonotactics Language-specific constraints, on the other hand, hold true for individual languages such as English, but they may not be found in other languages

Setting up the syllables Review Setting up the syllables Syllabic phonology Practice

Review Syllable & Onset Onset (O): Within a syllable, the longest segment of consonant to the left of each nucleus that does not violate the phonotactic constraints of the language in question (e.g., [st] forms the onset of the second syllable in hamster)

Review Rhyme: Nucleus & Coda Rhyme (R): The nucleus and the coda of a syllable (e.g., [ust] in the word boost) Nucleus (N): a vocalic element that forms the core of a syllable (e.g., the vowel [A] is the nucleus of the first syllable in Patrick) Coda (Co): The elements that follow the nucleus in the same syllable (e.g., [rf] in surfboard)

Review Practice Sprint [sprɪnt]: σ Onset (O) Rhyme (R) Nucleus (N) Coda (Co) spr ɪ nt

Review Practice First [fɜrst] σ Onset (O) Rhyme (R) Nucleus (N) Coda (Co) f ɜ rst

w ɜ rdz Review Practice Words [wɜrdz] σ Onset (O) Rhyme (R) Nucleus (N) Coda (Co) w ɜ rdz

Syllables Setting Up Syllables Each language defines its own syllable structure through the interaction of universal and language-specific constraints

Syllables Setting Up Syllables Step a: Nucleus-formation

Syllables Setting Up Syllables Step b: Onset-formation

Syllables Setting Up Syllables Step c: Coda-formation

Syllables Setting Up Syllables Step d: Word-level construction

Syllables Setting Up Syllables

Syllables Syllabic Phonology One reason that syllables are treated as units of phonological structure is that they are relevant to stating generalizations about the distribution of allophonic features

Syllables Syllabic Phonology: Aspiration

Syllables Syllabic Phonology: Aspiration English ___________ are aspirated ___________ General Statement

Syllables Syllabic Phonology: Vowel Length

Syllables Syllabic Phonology: Vowel Length English vowels are ____when followed by a ______ ___________ in the ____ position of the same syllable General Statement

Features

Features Definition Segments themselves are composed of even smaller, subsegmental, phonological units known as segments Smallest unit of phonology Basic building blocks of human speech sounds Independent and coordinate phonetic elements

Features Independent and Coordinate

Features Features & Natural Classes

Features Features & Natural Classes

Features Features & Natural Classes

Features Features & Natural Classes By ___________ examining the phonemic contrasts of a language, we can extract the ___________ ____and use these irreducible linguistic elements to describe the phonemic inventory

Features, Processes, & allophonic variation

Features Representation Only a limited number of features – currently around twenty-four – have been proposed Fewer are needed to characterize the sounds of English

Features Representation Major class features [±consonantal] [±syllabic] [±sonorant]

Features Representation Manner features [±continuant] [±delayed release] ([±DR]) [±nasal] [±lateral]

Features Representation Laryngeal Feature [±voice] [±spread glottis] ([±SG]) [±constricted glottis] ([±CG])

Features Representation Place of Articulation [LABIAL] [±round] [CRONAL] [±anterior] [±strident] [DORSAL] [±high] [±low] [±back] [±tense] [±reduced]

Features Representation

Features Representation

Derivations

Derivations Definitions Phonemic representations are equivalent to __________________ that speakers have of the words in their language Also called underlying representation Phonetic representations are equivalent to the __________________that are produced in the course of speech Also called surface representations

Derivations Definitions Resulting from the application of phonological rules to underlying representation Going from mental representations to spoken language Phonological rules: Rules that derive phonetic representations from underlying representations, accounting for alterations among allophones

Derivations The derivation of three phonetic representations from underlying representations are illustrated bellow: