Phonemes

• Distribution of Phonemes   * most have a wide ranging distribution (t)   * some languages have phonemes w/ limited or defective distributions     * h: only at beginning of syllables     * ŋ: only at end of syllables   * specific notation: the phoneme is pronounced as the allophone in the environment
• Conditioning Environments: causes allophony   * Positional: different allophones can occur depending on where it is in the word (ex: f) [initial, medial, final]   * Adjacent Segments / Assimilation: sounds frequently assimilate to neighboring sounds (ex: nasalization)   * Stress: both vowels and consonants can have different allophones in stressed v unstressed syllables
• Some Phonological Processes   * Voicing Assimilation: voiceless speech sounds get voiced when they neighbor other voiced sounds   * Devoicing: voiced segments become devoiced at the very end of words as the vibration of vocal folds stops prematurely. b, d, g ➝ p, t, k   * Place Assimilation: vowels and consonants take on the place of articulation of a neighboring sound   * Palatalization: a shift to a more palatal place of articulation
• A Brief Overview of Theory   * mental representations of the sound shape of words are stored as phonemes in the Lexicon     * allophones activate the same specific area of the brain as phonemes   * phonological rules: formal statements of what occurred in speech     * nasalization, place assimilation, aspiration
• How to do a phoneme analysis   * Question the phonetics of sounds involved. Should be phonetically similar   * Analyze the sound’s distribution and where each sound occurs     * by position: initial, medial, and final     * by adjacent segments   * Determine the phonological relationship     * Contrast: minimal and subminimal pairs     * Complementary: non-overlapping environments

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