Phonology Flashcards

Flashcards for Phonology review, focusing on vocabulary from the lecture notes.

Phonemic Analysis

• Phonemic system

• Phonotactic rules

• Allophonic Rules

Allophonic Rules

phonological processes that change how sounds are pronounced, often making the spoken form of a word different from its mental form.
Example: In English, the /t/ in "top" is pronounced with a puff of air (aspirated) [tʰ], but in "stop" it's unaspirated [t]. Both are allophones of the same phoneme /t/.

Syllable

A unit of pronunciation consisting of a nucleus (vowel) and optional onset and coda (consonants).

Syllabic Structure

onset

nucleus

coda.( no coda→ opensyllsble; coda→ closed syllable)

rhyme(R)= nucleus+ coda

σ = sigma (syllable)

Syllabification

The division of words into syllables.

Structuring Phonological rule

• input

• output

• condition

/ p t k / → [p*h t*h k*h] / .___V[+stress]

Environment element

• /___ A = before a given context

• /A ___ = after a given context

• /A ___ B = between two given contexts

Phonotactic Rules

define the distribution of speech sound

• based on posiition within a word (mainly consonants)(word initial/medial/final..)

• based on the structure of a sylable (onset, nuclear, coda)

• word combination

Phonological facts

phonological rule

It shows how a phonemic form (input) changes into a phonetic form (output) in a specific environment or context.

• input

• output

• condition

/ p t k / → [p*h t*h k*h] / .___V[+stress]

Allophonic Processes + 4 types

Phonemes are realized in specific ways (allophones) depending on the environment/phonetic context

• Aspiration

• Assimiliation

• Elision

• Insertion

Aspiration

Increased air release

voiceless plosives are aspirated in word-initial position in stressed syllables before a vowel

 / p t k / →[p h t h k h ] / #___ V [+stress]

 but the /t/ in attire is also aspirated

 / p t k / → [p h t h k h ] / .___V[+stress]

Assimilation(allophonic process)

sound changes to become more like a nearby sound.

e.g. Alveolar plosive /t/ becomes more like palatal [j] by becoming postalveolar
affricate [ʧ]

 Careful speech [doʊnt.ju]
 Casual speech [doʊn.ʧju]

Elision

The deletion or removal of a sound segment

e.g. [æskt] →[æst]
 [sǝˈpoʊz] →[spoʊz]

Insertion

Including an additional segment in a sound sequence,

dreamt [dɹɛmpt]

liaison

insertion of linking sound (mostly in non-rhotic accents)

linking [ɹ] or Intrusive [ɹ]

far vs. far away
law[ɹ] and order

Segmental Phonology

Focuses on (individual and collection of) phones of a given language

E.g. analyzing consonants and vowels, their distinct features

Suprasegmental Phonology

Studies the phonological properties of units above individual segments,

e.g. (syllables,) stress, words and intonation phrases

Rhythm

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a language

E.g.Stress-Timed Rhythm

syllable marker

a low dot

technical → tech.ni.cal

Stress

The emphasis given to a syllable within a word.

Multiple factors contribute

 Length

 Loudness

 Pitch

 quality

light syllable

rejects stress (stress goes to penultimate syllable)

heavy syllable

accepts stress

Pitch

Relative Highness/Lowness of a tone in speech

Intonation

The variation in pitch used to convey meaning in speech.

e.g. Rise-Fall, Fall-Rise, Monotone

consonants can serve as the nucleus of a syllable

Only nasals and liquids (sonorant consonants)

e.g.

[n̩]

Syllabic nasal /n/

button, kitten, garden

/ˈbʌtn̩/, /ˈkɪtn̩/

[l̩]

Syllabic lateral /l/

bottle, little, middle

/ˈbɒtl̩/, /ˈlɪtl̩/

[m̩]

Syllabic nasal /m/

rhythm (less common)

/ˈrɪðm̩/

[r̩]

Syllabic rhotic /r/ (in rhotic accents like Scottish English)

butter, letter (rhotic accents)

/ˈbʌtər̩/

Function of Intonation

• Attitudinal

• Accentual

• Grammarical

Attitudinal (Function of Intonation)

Convery a particular emotion in context
No way I would never say that!

Accentual (Function of Intonation)

Used for contrastive stress (emphasize a concept)
I want a big ice cream

Grammatical (Function of Intonation)

Provides informative
Those who work slowly get to the top.

Phonotactic Rules

Restrictions on the distribution and sequencing of sounds in a language.

Distribution of Speech Sound

Distribution of speech sounds based on their position within a word.

Light Syllables

Syllables with short vowels or syllabic consonants

(sorry, enter in non-rhotic)

Heavy Syllables

Syllables with long vowels/diphthongs or vowels followed by coda consonant.

exclude, undo, redye