Linguistics 101 Quiz 6: German Phonology Problem

In fact, both of these hypothetical forms are real German words, and both in reality are pronounced with the palatal fricative where the blank was. These facts are summarized in dataset B below. DATASET B: [manç] 'many a' [çemi:] 'chemistry' These facts falsify our first hypothesis, so we need to go back and revise, taking into account the expanded dataset. Here is Dataset A which we looked at earlier: DATASET A [axt] 'eight'; [lœçə] 'holes' [bu:x] 'book'; [ɛçt] 'real' [ho:x] 'high'; [ɪç] 'I' [laxən] 'to laugh'; [kɔʏçt] 'gasps' [lɔx] 'hole'; [byçə] 'books' Now solve the phonology problem again using ALL of the data given above (Datasets A and B). Draw t-charts and analyze them. What are the conditioning environments for the palatal fricative [ç] in the expanded dataset (A+B)? As usual when stating complementary distribution, you should choose the *minimal* amount of environments needed to characterize the distribution of the sounds. (You should check more than one box here.) A) C ___ B) V ___ C) # ___ D) front V ___ E) back V ___

A) C ___ C) # ___ D) front V ___

Now consider another hypothetical word containing a blank. ___emi: Again, suppose that the fricative phoneme occurs where the blank is. What does our hypothesized rule predict: which allophone should surface here, if our rule is correct? German fricative palatalization rule: voiceless velar fricative --> palatal / front V ___ A) The rule in this question predicts that the velar fricative [x] will be the allophone that surfaces here. B) The rule in this question predicts that the palatal fricative [ç] will be the allophone that surfaces here.

A) The rule in this question predicts that the velar fricative [x] will be the allophone that surfaces here.

Suppose that we choose the velar fricative as the phoneme. We could then write the following phonological rule, which accounts for the distribution in the data in Dataset A: German fricative palatalization rule: voiceless velar fricative --> palatal / front V ___ Now consider the following hypothetical word, which has a blank in it. If the fricative phoneme from the above rule occurs in the position of this blank, which allophone does our rule predict will appear there? man___ (Note: even if you speak German, answer the question based on the predictions of the rule exactly as written above!) A) The rule in this question predicts that the velar fricative [x] will occur in the blank. B) The rule in this question predicts that the palatal fricative [ç] will occur in the blank.

A) The rule in this question predicts that the velar fricative [x] will occur in the blank.

Now draw t-charts for the sounds and analyze them. DATASET A: [axt] 'eight'; [lœçə] 'holes' [bu:x] 'book'; [ɛçt] 'real' [ho:x] 'high'; [ɪç] 'I' [laxən] 'to laugh'; [kɔʏçt] 'gasps' [lɔx] 'hole'; [byçə] 'books' ******************************************** Once you have finished your t-charts and eliminated overlap from your enquiries, you should have ended up with the following as the relevant environments for the velar fricative [x]: a__ u:__ o:__ ɔ__ What general statement can you make about these environments? (Choose one.) A) back vowels ___ B) front vowels ___ C) short vowels ___ D) tense vowels ___ E) lax vowels ___ F) rounded vowels ___ G) unrounded vowels ___

A) back vowels ___

Consider the German data below. Based on this data, what is the phonological status of [ç] and [x] in German? Unfamiliar symbols: [ç] voiceless oral palatal fricative [x] voiceless oral velar fricative [y] high front tense rounded vowel [ʏ] high front lax rounded vowel [œ] mid front lax rounded vowel DATASET A: [axt] 'eight'; [lœçə] 'holes' [bu:x] 'book'; [ɛçt] 'real' [ho:x] 'high'; [ɪç] 'I' [laxən] 'to laugh'; [kɔʏçt] 'gasps' [lɔx] 'hole'; [byçə] 'books' A) separate phonemes B) allophones of the same phoneme

B) allophones of the same phoneme

Again based on the data in Dataset A above, what is the phonological distribution of [ç] and [x] in German? A) contrastive distribution B) complementary distribution

B) complementary distribution

For the palatal fricative [ç], you should have come up with the following relevant environments from Dataset A: ʏ__ y__ ɪ__ ɛ__ œ__ What general statement can you make about these environments? (Choose one.) A) back vowels ___ B) front vowels ___ C) short vowels ___ D) tense vowels ___ E) lax vowels ___ F) rounded vowels ___ G) unrounded vowels ___

B) front vowels ___

Based on the Data in sets A & B, which sound makes the best underlying form (the best phoneme)? A) the velar fricative [x] B) the palatal fricative [ç]

B) the palatal fricative [ç]

Again based on your revised analysis of Datasets A & B together, what is the best statement of the phonological rule at work here? voiceless velar fricative = [x] voiceless palatal fricative = [ç] A) voiceless velar fricative ---> palatal / front V ___ B) voiceless palatal fricative ---> velar / back V ___ C) voiceless palatal fricative ---> velar / ___ # D) voiceless velar fricative ---> palatal / # ___

B) voiceless palatal fricative ---> velar / back V ___

Considering ONLY the data given to you in Dataset A above, which fricative is the best choice for the underlying form (the phoneme)? A) Choosing the velar frictaive [x] as the phoneme would give us a simpler rule. B) Choosing the palatal fricative [ç] as the phoneme would give us a simpler rule. C) Neither one is obviously better - either way we could write an equally simple rule. We would need to consider other issues as naturalness to choose the phoneme.

C) Neither one is obviously better - either way we could write an equally simple rule. We would need to consider other issues as naturalness to choose the phoneme.