LING 311 - Exam-Style Questions

Explain how the lack of predictability between the spelling and pronunciation of a name affects the ease with which people 'correctly' pronounce a name, using at least one concrete example.

Native or native-like intuition or knowledge of a language often comes with the predictability of what sounds and sound combinations are possible in said language. Without that intuition/knowledge, there is a lack of predictability. For example, if somebody who was not an Icelandic speaker or had little to no knowledge of the name Björk Guðmundsdóttir and was seeing said name for the first time, they probably wouldn't be able to pronounce it 'correctly', whereas somebody with that knowledge could.

Explain how unfamiliarity with the phonological inventory of another languages affects the ease with which people 'correctly' pronounce names from that language, using at least one concrete example.

As names can exist across various languages and considering that different languages have different phonological inventories, somebody trying to pronounce the name of another may do so in a way that reflects the name in their phonological inventory. For example, the Greek name Andrea is often pronounced as /anˈdre.as/, whereas the Dutch version of the name can be /ˈændɹi.ə/.

Explain how unfamiliarity with the phonotactics of another language affects the ease with which people 'correctly' pronounce a name from that language, using at least one concrete example.

Phonotactics is defined as the study of rules that govern the possible phoneme sequences in a language. In written language, the spoken pronounciation can differ from that of another language that uses the same script. For example, the /mh/ in Scottish Gaelic is pronounced as /v/. Therefore, the name MhicLeòid would begin with a /v/ sound, not an English /m/.

Explain how you would go about analyzing the phonological processes that govern the "Hul'q'umi'num'-ization" of names shown in the given dataset.

- analyze and notice the changing and differing of vowels; what stays the same, what is different? does one vowel replace two vowels?

- do the same with consonants; how do certain consonant sounds get adapted into Hul'q'umi'num? what are the differences in phonetic properties?

- after taking notes of these changes, write proposals for the changes occurring based on your observations.

Explain why it might be possible to have a 'context-free' phonological rule, that is, a rule that applies in every phonological environment, using a concrete example.

- context-free phonological rules apply uniformly across all phonological environments in a language.

- an example of this English voicing assimilation in English plural fixes

- the plural '-s' is pronounced /z/ after a voiced sound and /s/ after a voiceless sound

- context-free as it is a rule that operates solely based ont he voicing feature of the preceding sound, with no exceptions.

[I give you a sample phonological rule, something like [-son] —> [-voice].] Explain whether the given phonological rule is or is not true for the "Hul'q'umi'num'-ization'' of names shown in the given dataset.

- [+ sonorant] is produced with continuous, non-turbulent airflow in the vocal tract

- if a sound is

[- sonorant], then it is [+ obstruent], or the airflow is obstructed.

- in this case, it is not a true rule as only applies to some sounds, and not others. Giving an example may help prove your point.

[I give you a sample phonological rule.] Explain whether the given phonological rule is or is not complete with respect to the "Hul'q'umi'num'-ization'' of names shown in the given dataset.

- a complete rule will fit the following criteria:

1. is it true?

2. is it complete?

(A -> B/C_D) with prose

3. is it well-formed/efficient?

[I give you a sample phonological rule.] Explain whether the given phonological rule is or is not well-written for the "Hul'q'umi'num'-ization'' of names shown in the given dataset.

- a complete rule will fit the following criteria:

1. is it true?

2. is it complete?

(A -> B/C_D) with prose

3. is it well-formed/efficient?

[I give you a sample phonological rule.] Explain whether the given phonological rule is or is not true for the distribution of voiced and voiceless stops in the Isthmus Zapotec dataset.

- look for outliers!

[I give you a sample phonological rule.] Explain whether the given phonological rule is or is not complete with respect to the distribution of voiced and voiceless stops in the Isthmus Zapotec dataset.

- is it complete?

(A -> B/C_D) with prose

[I give you a sample phonological rule.] Explain whether the given phonological rule is or is not well-written for the distribution of voiced and voiceless stops in the Isthmus Zapotec dataset.

- a complete rule will fit the following criteria:

1. is it true?

2. is it complete?

(A -> B/C_D) with prose

3. is it well-formed/efficient?

How many alternations are there in the Samoan dataset? Explain how you figured this out.

- an alternation is a systematic variation in the pronunciation of a unit

- typically context-dependent (variation in different contexts)

- take into account phonological processes

- The form a word may change depending on the grammatical function/morphological structure of a sentence

- different forms of a verb may have lexical alternations

- analyze the dataset while taking these factors into account

- eleven alternations in total

[I give you a morpheme from the Samoan dataset, such as 'stand.'] Explain how you would decide what the underlying representation of this morpheme is.

- morphemes can be identified as "being what native speakers have in their head as a default" (though this is an overgeneralization and can be defined better)

- the UR is the SIMPLE + the consonant found in the PERFECTIVE

[I give you a sample phonological rule.] Explain whether the given phonological rule is wrong in terms of being untrue, incomplete, or not well-written for the Samoan dataset.

- remember rule criterias!

[I give you a phonological rule and sample derivation.] Explain whether the given derivation correctly shows how the given rule would work in the Samoan dataset.

Explain why being 'too broad' or 'too narrow' is not really a criterion for evaluating phonological rules.

- evaluation of phonological rules is context-specific and varies via perspective of the linguist

- recite the rules for rule-writing

- consider overgeneration and undergeneration

- phonological rules should capture generalizations while being concise and simple

Explain why phonological features are used instead of phonetic characteristics in analyzing datasets.

- phonological features represent more abstract concepts of sounds that can be compared and contrasted in a generalized manner

- predictive components

Explain how you figure out which feature is involved in the process of umlaut in the Dutch data from Quiz 1, Question 13. [Note: on the actual exam, I would reproduce the original dataset and question for you! You don't have to have it memorized.]

Explain why linguists posit that some features are monovalent and some are binary, using at least one concrete example.

- monovalence = only one value

- binary features = two contrasting values

- e.g. nasality is monovalent (no variation in nasality)

- e.g. [voice] is binary (can be [+voice] or [-voice]

Explain why some features aren't specified for / are irrelevant for some segments, using at least one concrete example.

- phonological features are meant to capture distinctive properties

- in some English words ending in /t/ or /p/, for example, it is given that they are [-voice]

Explain a circumstance under which you would not use phonological features while writing a formal phonological rule and why they wouldn’t be used.

- in some cases, not using phonological features makes formal rule-writing more simple and clear

Explain why it’s important to give a description of a phonological dataset before doing an analysis.

Explain what makes a description different from an analysis of a phonological dataset.

- a description gives an overview/summary of phonetic and phonological properties in a given dataset (no deep analysis needed here)

- an analysis will offer a theoretical explanation of what is occurring in a given dataset

[I give you an example of a description of a dataset you've seen before, like the Hul'q'imi'num' names, Isthmus Zapotec, or the Samoan data from Week 1.] Explain what elements of the given description have been done well and what elements could be improved.

Explain why it is useful to use phonological features in the environment of the rule for the Isthmus Zapotec question, even though in the dataset, the phonological process occurs after only one sound.

Explain why there are multiple possible correct feature combinations for specifying the input of the rule for the Isthmus Zapotec question.

[I give you a particular rule for a dataset you’ve seen before, and a class of sounds.] Explain what this particular rule predicts for the given class of sounds. (E.g., if I gave you [-continuant] —> [-voice] / [s] ___ for the Zapotec dataset, and the class of sound “nasals,” the question would be: What does this rule predict will happen to nasals in Zapotec?)

Explain why it's important to know what the phonological inventory is before you use features to pick out a natural class of sounds.

- phonological features determine contrastiveness and relevance within a sound system

[I give you a phonological inventory and a set of sounds.] Explain which phonological features would best be used to pick out this set of sounds as a natural class from this inventory.

Explain how it is possible to talk about the phonetics and phonology of sign languages when they don't involve speech sounds.

- phonetics in sign language refers to physical articulatory gestures in a signed language

- phonology in sign languages refers to the systematic patterns and rules governing organization, combination and distribution of signs

Explain how a single phonetic handshape might have two different phonological interpretations.

- handshape variability concerns phonetic forms

- the same handshape may be interpreted differently based on hand position, or interactions with neighbouring signs

[I give you an example of a sign.] Describe the phonetic characteristics of this sign.

- refer to handshapes, movements, locations for manual articulation

- refer to facial expressions, hand movements and body posture when concerning non-manual features

[I give you a pair of signs from a language, and the name of a parameter, like "handshape," "movement," or "location."] What does this pair of signs tell you about the phonological status of this parameter, and why? (For example, if I gave you the pair of signs AFTERNOON and NAME in BSL and the parameter 'handshape,' the question would be "What does the pair of signs AFTERNOON and NAME in BSL tell you about the phonological status of handshape in BSL and why?")

Explain how you know whether a phonetic difference is phonologically contrastive in a sign language.

- establish minimal pairs (hand shape in same location/movement)

- consider rules and processes

- If phonetic differences occur in complementary distribution, meaning that they appear in different linguistic contexts and do not result in minimal pairs, they are less likely to be phonologically contrastive

[I give you one of the rules from question 7 of the Week 3 handout.] Explain whether or not this rule is true, complete, and well-written.

[I give you one of the stages of handshape acquisition from question 9 of the Week 3 handout.] Explain which phonological features have been acquired at this particular stage of acquisition and how you know.

Explain how you go about looking at a phonological dataset for a sign language when there's not a transcription system.

- look at the features in the dataset

- build a transcription based on the features based on those found in the dataset

Explain what phonological element can undergo metathesis in ASL and how you know it's that feature that undergoes it.

-

Explain what the phonological restriction is that allows some ASL signs to undergo metathesis and and others not to undergo it.

-metathesis is about switching the linear order in elements

-e.g. 'deaf' moves from the ear to the chin or chin to the ear

-we have place features and setting features

-setting features are high, low, ipsi, contra

-the example with 'deaf' is a change in setting feature

-we can allow metathesis when we have two settings within a single place and it's not allowed for two separate places

[I give you an example sign from question 12 of the Week 3 handout.] Explain why this sign either is or is not particularly likely to undergo Weak Drop.

-define the term weak drop as the non-dominant hand is dropped in a two-handed sign and is dropped from the sign entirely

-define the types and their criteria in relation to their likelihood of undergoing weak drop (write definitons)

-classify the sign in respect to criteria

-conclusion about sign with description

Explain some of the key similarities and differences between a rule-based and a constraint-based approach to doing phonology.

Explain one phenomenon that an OT-style approach to phonology can better handle than a rule-based approach.

Explain the difference between Faithfulness and Markedness constraints.

[I give you an example of a constraint and its Kager-style definition.] Re-define this constraint to be clearer and explain why the new version is clearer.

- re-define the constraint as "assign a violation mark to_____"

[I give you an input and an output form.] Explain which elements are in correspondence between these two forms and what has changed between them.

-for example: input /muh-k'a/ and output [muhk'a]

- both have the same segments

- the '-' int eh input form liekly represents a boundary (morpheme?)

- the input form indicates a more abstract representation that may reflect the phonemic form

- the inout form suggests that /k/ is syllable-intial whereas the output form suggests a coda position

[I give you a filled-out tableau.] What is the optimal candidate in this tableau and why?

- the optimal candidate is the candidate that best satisfies the given constraints.

- does not (and likely will not) be a perfect candidate in that it may still violate some of the constraints, but it is the candidate that violates the least amount of constraints in the given ranking.

[I give you a filled-out tableau and a specific candidate.] Is there a way to re-rank these constraints so that this candidate wins?

- writing out tableaux may help to visualize this

[I give you a tableau that doesn't have the violation marks, but I also give you constraints and their definitions.] Explain how these candidates violate or don't violate each constraint.

[I give you one of the sets of sounds from question 1 of Homework #1.] Explain how you would go about figuring out what the minimal feature set is for this natural class (if it is a natural class).

- first, analyze the set to observe any similarities or differences in the sounds

- second, analyze the phonetic properties of the sounds in the set in regards to their phonemic features

- rule out redundant features (those that are obvious given another feature)

- test and refine as needed

- natural classes will have all of the sounds in the sets fit into the proposed minimal feature set.

[I give you two signs in ASL.] Explain whether or not these two signs rhyme in ASL.

[I give you a schematic constraint ranking.] Explain what phonological pattern you would expect to arise from this constraint ranking and why.

Explain how you decide what the underlying form of a morpheme is when doing an Optimality Theoretic analysis.

- Formulate a theory based on the dataset

- Examples: Zapotec case /geta/ vs /keta/ 'corncake'

- Every morpheme has a single underlying rep.

- Which of those has unpredictable info

[I give you description of a phonological pattern, something like "In Language X, voiced and voiceless stops can both occur word initially, but only voiceless stops can occur after [s]."] Explain what kind of ranking of standard OT constraints you would need to account for this pattern.

[I give you a set of phonological constraints for one of the datasets on the handout, like Yowlumne, Mokilese, or Black ASL.] Explain what the correct ranking of constraints would be for this dataset and why.

Explain why it is that unpredictable information is stored in underlying forms, using at least one concrete example.

Explain why putting faithfulness at the top of a constraint ranking will allow for surface forms that show phonological contrasts.

Explain why the sequence CVCV will be predicted to be syllabified as CV.CV and not CVC.V even in a language that does allow CVC syllables.

- Syllables, by default, are thought to have a consonant and a vowel

-When C and V can be paired together (in that order), it is better to do it that way

[I give you a sequence of consonants and vowels, like CVCCVC.] Explain how this sequence would be syllabified and why.

- CVC.CVC

- this is because, by default, a syllable should constitute a CV structure, though CVC is also plausible in this instance

[I give you the dataset for Yowlumne or Attic Greek.] Explain what phonological process this language employs to guarantee 'good' syllabification and how you know, using at least one concrete example.

- onset maximization favours placing consonants at the beginning of syllables, not at the end.

- consonants should start at the beginning of a syllable whenever possible

- Attic Greek [an.mar] having a syllable structure of VC.CVC

- even though the first syllable starts with a vowel, it is just if the second syllable starts with C bc what else can you do?

[I give you one of the languages in #4, #6, or #8 on the Week 5 handout.] Explain what kind of syllable structure this language allows and what phonological process (if any) it uses to enforce that syllable structure.

[I give you one of the languages as described in #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, or #9 on the Week 5 handout.] Explain what the constraint ranking of Onset, NoCoda, Dep-IO, and Max-IO would have to be to get a language like this.

[I give you a particular constraint ranking for the four constraints Onset, NoCoda, Dep-IO, and Max-IO.] Explain what type of language this would end up giving you (in terms of its syllable structure and phonological processes used to enforce that syllabl structure).

Explain why the input /pao/ won't ever result in the output form [pa.to.to], even in a language where strict CV syllable structure is enforced.

Explain why there might in some cases be multiple constraint rankings of the four constraints Onset, NoCoda, Dep-IO, and Max-IO that would result in the same type of language (in terms of the syllable structure and phonological processes used to enforce that syllabl structure).

[I give you a 2x2 tableau from #8 on the Week 5 handout.] Explain how the two given constraints should be ranked for this language and how you know.

Explain why it's sometimes not possible to rank constraints with respect to each other, giving at least one concrete example.

Explain one way to determine what the highest-ranking constraint for a language is.