Understanding Phonology: The Rules and Units of Sound in Language

Chapter 3: Phonology The study of telephone etiquette?

Similarities to Syntax • Rule governed • Rules can be formalized • Rules can be generalized • Ideal vs. Realization • Largely subconscious • Universals exist

Phonological Units • (Word) unit • Syllable u nit • Segment u n I t • Feature + vowel + nasal + high + stop … … … …

On Being Distinctive • AKA Contrastive • Minimal pairs • pit, bit (initial) • bit, bite (medial) • bite, buys (final) • You tell me: Minimal Pairs… • Minimally pairable: Phonemic Contrast

Phonemes • Sounds that are heard distinctively by native speakers of a language

Vowel Sounds • http://bedfordstmartins.com/linguistics/phonology •  American Dialects

Phonemes & Allophones • [i], [I] - Phonemes • bite, bit • Complementary distribution • [l], [ḷ] - Allophones • gleam, clean [glim], [kḷin] • Phonetically distinct, phonologically same • Voiced  voiceless after voiceless stops(also other sounds in similar environments)

Cross-linguistic Variation • An allophonic variation in one language may be phonemic in another • Chinese tone • Japanese vowel length • Thai aspiration

Phonetic & Phonemic Transcription • Phonetic • More detailed • Includes diacritics (voiceless, etc) • Phonemic • Focuses on meaningful contrasts • Appropriate for your 690 transcription

Features • The atoms of phonology • Building blocks of sound • Key to understanding (much) variation • Binary distinction (+/-) • You’ve either got it, or you don’t…

Natural Classes • Sounds that share feature(s) and behave similarly in phonology • Obstruents (for example) • Obstructed airflow • Stops, fricatives (& affricates) • [-sonorant]

Obstruents Continued [-sonorant] [-voice] ptkf S  [+voice]b d g v z [-continuant] [+continuant] Full feature charts on pgs 82 & 83

Major Class Features • Consonantal • Major obstruction in vocal tract • Sonorant • “singable” sounds • Syllabic • Can act as the core of a syllable

Manner of Articulation Features • Continuant • Free (or nearly free) airflow • Delayed Release • Only affricates • Nasal • Airflow through the nose (closed velum) • Lateral • /l/ only

Laryngeal Features • Voice • Vocal cords move • Spread glottis • In English: all but the glottal stop • Constricted glottis • In English only the _________

Syllable • Book’s Definition: A unit of linguistic structure that consists of a syllabic element and any segments that are associated with it • Dave’s Interpretation: A potentially independent group of sounds that sticks closely together

Syllabic Recipe  σ Onset (O) Rhyme (R) Nucleus (N) Coda (Co)       NOTE: Only the Nucleus is required…

Phonotactics • The set of constraints on how sequences of segments pattern • Rules on which sounds can be next to each other (≈ in a syllable)

Over & Under • Surface representations • Phonetic • Underlying representations • Phonological • (Remember the plural suffix…)

Phonology Rules! • A  B / X __ Y A becomes B when it comes between X and Y Typically uses features for A, B, X and Y… For shorthand we may sometimes use segments instead…

Kenstowicz’s Rules of Order • Solemic  Solemization • General Rules of English (shorthand): • k  s / __ i • #  + ization / indicate process • K  Ø / __ z What happens if we don’t order the rules?

Exercises • 1st see appendix p. 90 • “How to” guide… • 1, 5i, 6, 7, 9, 12, 15

Understanding Phonology: The Rules and Units of Sound in Language