Romance Linguistics Quiz 2

phoneme

phoneme

smallest unit of sounds that changes word meaning (ex. /p/ and /r/ in pero vs perro)

allophone

phonetic variations of a single phoneme that DONT change word’s meaning (ex. softening of /b/ btw vowels —> bebe (“v” = β))

phonetics

focused on scientific study of human speech sounds (physical production, how sounds are made) —> (ex. studying trilled rr sound in spanish)

phonology

studying how speech sounds form organized, meaningful patterns (how sounds function + convey meaning) (ex. difference btw tap and trill r in pero vs perro)

archiphoneme

class of phonemes that share all distinctive features except one (ex. in spanish distinction btw nasal phonemes is lost when they appear at end of syllable aka coda before another consonant —> cantar (to sing) becomes dental)

homorganic sounds

consonants produced at same place of articulation in vocal tract —> both bilabial, alveolar, or velar. (ex. “un peso” —> ‘n’ becomes [m] becuase ‘p’ is bilabial)

consonant articulatory descriptors (voicing, place, manner)

classifying sounds based on voicing (vocal cord vibration), place of articulation, and manner of articulation —> identify how air is manipulated to produce specific sounds (ex. place = bilabial (both lips) —> /p/ papa, /b/ boca.)

vowel articulatory descriptors (height, blackness, rounding, nasality)

phonetic parameters used to classify vowel sounds based on tongue position (height + backness), lip shape, and tenseness. (ex. /e/ mid, front, unrounded “mesa”

syllable

basic unit of speech structure, consiting of one or more sounds organized around a single, highly audible nucleus

syllable nucleus

most central part of nucleus

onset position

beginning of syllable (before nucleus aka vowel)

coda position

end of syllable after nucleus (vowel)

consonant cluster

a sequence of two or more consonant sounds occurring without any intervening vowel sounds

hiatus

2 separate vowel sounded in adjacent syllables, with no intervening consonant sound (ex. pais)

diphthongs & glides

“gliding” vowels forming a single syllable from two adjacent vowel sounds, where tongue moved from on articulatory position to another (ex. viernes “ie”).

open vs. closed syllables

open ends in vowel (casa), closed ends in consonant (cantar)

syllabification

dividing words into their constituent syllables (ca-sa)

spirantization

an oral stop consonant becomes a fricative sound (type of lenition) (ex/ /d/ in lado becomes [laðo] “th in breathe”

neutralization/mergers

loss of distinctive feature (like voicing) between 2 or more phonemes in a specific position (ex. nasal assimilation —> campo (bilabial + bilabial)

gemination

doubling or lengthening of a consonant sound, lasting longer than a single consonant—> not “hot tea” we say “hottea” and connect the t (las salsas —> long s) “s:”

lenition

a sound change that alters consonants, making them “weaker” in some way —> softening (ex. dados becomes “daos”)

fortition

consonants become stronger (el dato [d] stop after lateral)

elision

speech that lacks final or initial sounds “i duno” (ex. shortening para to pa)

vowel harmony

all vowels in a word share same phonetic features (andalusian spanish —> nene)

complimentary distribution

2 or more distinct elements never occur in same environment (spanish /d/ has two allophones 1. dental stop (beginning of word or after consonant “dedo” 2. dental approximate (between vowels “la dedo”

free variation

sounds can be used in exact same environment without altering the word’s meaning jamon (velar and glottal —> both mean ham)

minimal pairs & phonetic distinction

two diff words that differ by only a single sound in the same position (pero vs perro)

progressive and regressive assimilation (and dissimilation)

re —> following sound changes preceding sound (azteca) (th - t)
pro —> preceding sound changes following sound (un beso)

upgliding (aka diphthongization)

tongue moves from lower or central to higher —> day or dough (fuego)

vowel opening/lowering

tongue as low as possible in mouth (a in father) —> casa or elefante

hiatus resolution

unstable sequences of two adjacent vowels in seperate syllables (pe-oma)

devoicing (consonants & vowels)

no vibration due to environment (verdad)