topic 3 - phonological rules

phonological rules

• internalized

• speakers are often unaware of those rules

• realisations are produced subconciously

• rules from speaker’s native language influences L2 pronounciation

the syllable structure

1. onset

2. rhyme

   nucleus (obligatory vowel) & coda (syllable final)

pre-fortis clipping

• voiceless consonants need more muscular energy to be produced

• english vowels of the same phoneme are shortened before fortis consonants (e.g. bit)

• cannot be applied to german because of final obstruent devoicing

pre-lenis clipping

• voiced consonants need less muscular energy to be produced

• english vowels of the same phoneme are lenghtened before lenis consonants (e.g. bid)

• cannot be applied to german because of final obstruent devoicing

Allophones

realisations of the same phoneme

allophones of l

• dark and clear l

• phonetically no difference, but phonemic difference (hearing)

rules for dark and clear l

• clear l: before vowel & /j/

• dark l: before consonant & end of word

complementary distribution

one allophone can only occur were the others dont

vowel reduction/weakening

• reduction of vowels in unstressed syllables

• changes that my occur: Centralisations of a vowel (typically towards schwa)

• reduction in vowel lenght

• reduction of loudness

• change in pitch

function words

• usually occur in their weak form

• occur in their strong form at the end of clauses, in auxiliaries when used with contracted not and for Emphasis (contrasts, cited/quoted), when singing

linking

• strong tendency to fill onset of a syllable

• when a word starts with a vowel, there are strategies to phonetically fill onset

strategies to fill empty onset in German

• tendency to seperate words, morphemes and syllable boundaries in pronounciation

• tendency for vowel-initial syllables to start with a glottal plosive (glottal stop) when vowel-initial syllable is stressed

strategies to fill empty onset in English

• tendency for words, morpheme and syllable boundaries to run together = several strategies to fill onset

• 1. add a consonant

• 2. linking r

• 3. intrusive consonants

non rhotic varieties: linking r

• r is pronounced when next word/syllable starts with a vowel

intrusive consonants

• /r/ /w/ /j/

• final vowel: /ɑ:/ /ɔ:/ /ə/ → intrusive r

• final vowel: /i:/ /eɪ/ /ɑɪ/ /ɔɪ/ → intrusive j

• final vowel: /u:/ /ɑʊ/ /əʊ/ /oʊ/ → intrusive w

consonant vowel linking

If a syllable or word starts with a vowel, the consonant preceding that syllable or vowel is likely to be phonetically added to the vowel

Phonetic-alphabet