Phonology

What is phonology?

-The study of language patterns

-the study of how sounds occur in a language, sound combination, sounds in context, which sound differences have meaning

What is phonetics?

-the study of the physical properties of speech sounds

-production, travel, perception

Phoneme

-smallest unit that can be pronounced

-notation: / /

-sound category that distinguishes meaning in a language

vowel harmony

-found in all major phyla

-sharing of a feature by non-contiguous vowels separated by a consonant

Consonant cluster

-two or more consonants next to each other

-Some African languages have restrictions on which consonants can occur together at the beginning of a syllable.

-Some languages do not allow initial consonant clusters at all and require vowels between consonants.

Phoneme types commoner in Africa than elsewhere

-implosives

-labial velar stops

-initial nasal clusters

-clicks

-lower high vowels

Phoneme types rarer in Africa

-uvular consonants

-retroflex stops and fricatives

-diphthongs

-front rounded vowels

-the high central vowel /i/

Allophone

-a different pronunciation/variant of the same phoneme

-does not change the meaning of the word, just the pronunciation

-Ex: English p

• - [Ph] = aspirated

• - [P] = unaspirated

Syllable

-unit of spoken language that is organized around a central sound

What is unique about African syllables?

-syllabic consonant: the peak is organized around the consonant (not the vowel)

-ex: Mto in Swahili

How is tone lexical and grammatical

1) lexical = related to meaning

• - the tone changes the meaning of the word

• - same word + different tone = new meaning

2) grammatical = related to grammar

• - changing the tone of the same word can change its grammatical function

• -tone can change: tense, mood, aspect, number

What is the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

-standard system of speech sounds

What is phonetic inventory?

-all the sounds a language has

-differs by language

• - Ex: clicks in Khoisan

-follows principle of economy

Principle of economy

-the use of few features to create multiple phonemic contrasts

What is markedness?

-a sound is marked if it is rare

-usually complex

Distinctive feature theory

-describes speech sounds by breaking them into a combination of features

- 3 categories: for consonants

• - place of articulation = where the sound is made

• - manner of articulation = how the airflow is obstructed

• - voicing = do the vocal folds vibrate

Categorizations of consonants

-labial consonants = sounds made using the lips

-coronal consonants = sounds made using the front part of the tongue

-dorsal, laryngeal, and pharyngeal consonants

• dorsal sounds = sounds made using the bac of the tongue and body

• laryngeal sounds= sounds made using the larynx

• pharnygeal = sounds made using the pharynx

Places of articulation: labial consonants

-bilabial: airstream blocked by two lips (p,b,m)

-labiodental: lower lip and upper teeth (f,v)

-labial-velar: overlapping, near simultaneous closure at the lips and velum (kp, gb)

Place of articulation: bilabial

airstream blocked by two lips (p,b,m)

place of articulation: labio-dental

lower lip and upper teeth (f,v)

place of articulation: labial velar

overlapping, near simultaneous closures at the lips and velum (k͡p, ɡ͡b)

Places of articulation: coronal consonants

-interdental: tongue is positioned near or between the teeth/lower edge of upper teeth (/θ/, /ð/)

-alveolar: tongue tip touches the bony area behind the teeth (th (/t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /r/)

-palatal: tongue body touches the hard palate (/c/, /ɟ/, /ɲ/,/ʃ/

Coronal: Anterior

-dental

-alveolar

-denti-alveolar

coronal: posterior

-palato-alveolar

-alveolar-palatal

-retroflex

-palatal

coronal: siblants

*sounds produced with friction

-s, z, ts, dz

Place of articulation: interdental

tongue tip is placed at lower edge of upper teeth (/θ/, /ð/)

Place of articulation: alveolar

tongue tip touches bony area behind teeth (/t/, /d/, /n/, /s/, /z/, /l/, /r/)

place of articulation: palatal

tongue body touches the hard palate (/c/, /ɟ/, /ɲ/,/ʃ/

Places of articulation: dorsal, laryngeal, and pharyngeal consonants

-dorsal sounds = made with the back/body of tongue

• -velars: tongue root touches the velum/soft palate (/k/, /g/, /ŋ/)

• - uvulars: back of tongue touches the uvula

-laryngeal sounds = sounds produced using the larynx (voice box) rather than primarily using the tongue or lips.

• - Includes sounds involving the glottis/vocal folds.

• Examples:

  • /h/ = voiceless glottal fricative

  • /ʔ/ = glottal stop

-Pharyngeal sounds = Sounds made by constricting the pharynx (the throat area behind the mouth).

• -The tongue root and/or pharyngeal walls are involved.

• -Common examples:

  • -/ħ/ = voiceless pharyngeal fricative

  • -/ʕ/ = voiced pharyngeal fricative

place of articulation: velar

tongue root touches the velum (/k/, /g/, /ŋ/)

manner of articulation

-stops

-fricatives

-affricatives

-nasals

-liquids

-glides

manner of articulation: stops

-airstream is completely blocked (/p/, /b/, /t/, /d/, /k/, /g/)

manner of articulation: fricatives

-airstream only partially blocked (/f/, /v/, /θ/, /ð/, /s/, /z/, /š/, /ž/)

manner of articulation: affricatives

-combination stop/fricative; air is stopped first then released with some friction (/c/, /ǰ/)

manner of articulation: nasals

-velum is lowered to allow airflow through the nasal passage (/m/, /n/, /ŋ/)

manner of articulation: liquids

-airstream partially blocked, but without friction

-(/l/, /r/)

Manner of articulation: glides

-halfway between vowels and consonants

- (/w/, /y/)

Voicing: voiceless

-voiceless = vocal folds are still (no vibration)

- (/p/, /f/, /θ/, /t/, /s/, /š/, /č/, /k/)

Voicing: voiced

-Vocal folds vibrate

-(/b/, /v/, /ð/, /d/, /z/, /ž/, /ǰ/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /ŋ/)

Sonorants

-speech sound produced with relatively open airflow

-ex:

• vowels

• glides

• nasals

• liquids

Obstruents

-speech sounds that involve greater obstruction of airflow

• stops

• fricatives

• affricatives

Implosives

-produced with an inward moving airstream involving the glottis

-fully nasalised

-excluded in nasal clusters

-sounds: /b d/

vowel system in africa

-5 vowel *most common

-7 vowel

-9 vowel

Velar

k, g, x

Uvulars: /q G/

/q G/

Laryngeal

glottal stop /ʔ, h/

Pharyngeal

ʕ