Midterm, Midterm pt2 (ling 100)

Airstream mechanisms beyond pulmonic

-All human speech sounds rely on airflow through the vocal tract. -All human languages rely on pulmonic airflow (generally, egressive airflow) ->i.e. airflow resulting from the diaphragm exerting upward pressure on the lungs) -some language rely on airflow resulting non-pulmonic airstream mechanisms: ->glottalic airstream mechanisms ->velaric airstream mechanisms

Assimilation

-involves one speech sound acquiring either the place of articulation or the manner of another sound -the environment causes the sound to change in the phonological rule E.g. Nasal place assimilation E.g. Palatalization: A consonant raises and 'palatalizes' due to a neighboring palatal segment or high vowel E.g. Intervocalic voicing of consonants /p/→[b] / V___V NOTE: for more detailed examples of languages, refer to pg 28 of week_4_M

syntax of phonological rule

1. A left-to-right arrow links the phoneme, in slashes, with the allophone, in square brackets 2. a forward slash separates the allophone from the environment statement 3. The environment statement consists of -> the environment bar, which represents the position of the phoneme and allophone in the environment -> the elements that define the environment, appropriately positioned with respect to the environment bar

Non-binary vowel-height with binary features

A 3-way height distinction: •high/close = +high,−low •mid =−high,−low •low =−high, +low

approximants

A mild constriction of the oral cavity that allows air to flow relatively freely •Central: air flows though center of oral cavity [w, ɹ, j] •Lateral: air flows around the sides of the tongue, which obstructs the center of the oral cavity [l]

tap

A momentary contact between articulators (with one'tapping' the other) -[ɾ]

Identifying natural classes

A natural class consists of a set of speech sounds that all share one or more characteristics: -> major class features (e.g. vowels, consonants) -> place of articulation features•manner of articulation features -> . . . and crucially,combinations of these -not only must the speech sounds share the characteristics in question, but they must constitute the entirety of the speech sounds in the language in question that share those characteristics ex: -> [p, t, k] is the natural class of voiceless stops in a language which has only these voiceless stops -> [p, t, k] is not the natural class of voiceless stops in a language if it additionally exhibits [ʈ] The places and manners of the standard IPA chart obviously define natural classes: -> consonantal place classes: bilabials, alveolars, velars, etc. -> vocalic place classes: high vowels, front vowels, rounded vowels, high non-front vowels, etc. -> consonantal manner classes: stops, nasals, fricatives, laterals, approximants, etc. -> vocalic manner classes: oral vowels and nasal vowels - laryngeal features cross-cut these to create more natural classes:•voiced fricatives, voiceless stops, creaky vowels, etc.

Natural Classes

A natural class of sounds is a set of sounds that: 1. All share one or more characteristics (features) 2. Are the set of all the speech sounds that share those characteristic in a particular language Phonological analysis has led us to have the following intuition: -> Phonological processes target groups of speech sounds that are similar in some way -> Phonological processes operate in environments characterized by speech sounds that are similar in some way Linguists refer to sets of speech sounds that are 'similar in some way' as natural classes

free variation

A phonological phenomenon that is characterized by: 1. Overlapping distribution 2. But no contrast (aka not contrastive) -also allophones of the same phoneme free variants are distinguished from 'regular' allophones in that: -> the distribution of regular allophones is entirely predictable -> the distribution of free variants is partially unpredictable(variable rule application) -arises when a phonological rule applies optionally, e.g. because it is related to speech rate or degree of formality -This phenomenon is especially common in slow/careful vs. fast/casual speech differences ex: Consider [t] and [P] in the following: [b2tn"] vs. [b2Pn"] (button) - Overlapping distribution but no contrast - ⇒[t] and [P] are not associated with distinct phonemes.

fricatives

Almost complete closure of the oral cavity, so air can barely escape (articulators come very close to one another, leaving only a small aperture through which air flows in a turbulent (hissing) manner) •Voiceless: [θ, s, ʃ, h] •Voiced: [ð, z, ʒ]

Articulatory Parameters for Speech Sounds

An articulatory description of speech sounds involves specifying the behavior of the various parts of the speech mechanism: • Articulators: • Place of Articulation • Manner of Articulation • State of Glottis • Airstream mechanism • Oro-nasal state

affricates

Complete blockage followed by a slight release of the closure: •Voiceless: [tʃ] •Voiced: [dʒ]

Continuant and Strident Features

Continuant: •[+cont]: airflow through oral cavity during articulation of speech sound •fricatives, liquids, glides, vowels •[−cont]: no airflow through oral cavity during articulation of speech sound •oral and nasal stops Strident: •[+strid]: tightest possible obstructions short of stop; creates'hiss' •[s, z, f, v], and related affricates (note all are [+ cont], or at least [±cont], in the case of affricates) •[−strid]: everything else

Delayed Release, Lateral, and Nasal

Delayed Release: - [+ del rel]: affricates - [−del rel] everything else Lateral: - [+ lat]: lateral segments such as [l,ʎ] - [−lat]: everything else Nasal: - [+ nas]: nasal consonants and nasal vowels - [−nas]:everything else Tap - [+ tap]: taps such as [R] - [−tap]: everything else Trill: - [+ trill]: trills such as [r, ö, à] - [−trill]: everything else

Distinctive Features

Distinctive feature theory provides you with the most advanced set of theoretical phonological tools that you will be learning in this course -It allows you to break speech sounds down into the basic elements on which phonological rules operate, giving you great analytical power, and yielding greater insight into phonological processes -Having a complete set of distinctive features allows us the define a large set of natural classes relevant to phonology beyond the modest number available by just looking at rows and columns of the IPA chart. -This set of features also allows us to understanding why this set of natural classes, and not some other. -Following a long intellectual tradition, it will be assumed that features are binary-valued -Any given speech sound is, on this approach, decomposed into a unique set of + and − values for the relevant distinctive features -using these features, it is possible to construct a 'phonological algebra' that serves to describe how speech sounds interact REFER TO PG 19-22 ON LECTURE WEEK 5 M FOR EXAMPLES OF WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT

Vowel features

Dorsal features relevant to vowels: •high: tongue raised from neutral position •low: tongue lowered from neutral position •back: tongue retracted from neutral position •round: lips are protruded Purely vocalic feature: •tense: 'greater muscular effort', more extremely articulated,higher, more peripheral

Georgian language

Georgian is a language of the small Kartevelian family, spokenby some 3.7 million people in the nation of Geogia (see map) -Georgian has its own unique alphabet (see image) of uncertain origin

Manner of Articulation

How do the articulators behave in the production of the speech sound?

Multiple phonological processes

It is not unusual for multiple phonological processes to affect a given word ex: a. /stændpoint/→[stæmpoint] b. /hændbæg/→[hændbæg] This example data provides evidence for two phonological processes. What are they? 1. Consonant deletion 2. Nasal POA assimilation

Major Components of the Speech Production Mechanism

Look at lec week 1 F (page 11)

Vocal Tract

Look at lec week 1 F (page 13)

Some unusual aspects of English vowels

Many unstressed vowels in English reduce to [@] (schwa) •["foUt@gôæf]photograph •[f@"tAgô@fi]photography Although we have orthographic<e>,<o>,<a>, we really only have these sounds phonetically as parts of diphthongs,instead exhibiting [E], [O], and a variety of low front vowels,e.g [æ], [A]. (Contrast with, say, Spanish, which actually has [e], [o], and[a]!) •E.g., [pelota] 'ball' LEC week 2 W page 14

Does overlapping distribution -> distinct phonemes?

NO -Because distinct phonemes must also contrast

rule ordering

Once you have two (or more) rules, an interesting phenomenon can arise: one rule might create the environment in which the other applies -If this occurs, then rule ordering becomes a critical part of the analysis of the phonology of the language -To test if rules are critically ordered with respect to each other, one tries the possible orders, and sees if one gets different results NOTE: if both orders produce the same result, this means that the two rules do not interact, and are not critically ordered with respect to each other.•But: you need to make sure that you are working with a form to which both rules could apply non-vacuously NOTE2: In order to apply the rules, you need to deduce the phonemic representation of form to which you apply the phonological rules.

Free variation in Palauan

Palauan is a language of the Austronesian family (map), spoken by some 17,000 people in the Republic of Palau (map)

Phonetics

Phonetics is the field of linguistics dedicated to the study of the production, properties, and perception of human speech sounds • There are three commonly distinguished subfields: -Articulatory Phonetics -> Studies how the human vocal apparatus produces speech sounds - Acoustic Phonetics -> Studies how the properties of the sound waves constituting speech sounds - Perceptual Phonetics -> Studies how we hear and perceive speech sounds

Place Features

Place features fall into three major groups defined by the relevant articulator: •Labial •Coronal •Dorsal •(Pharyngeal) Consonantal place features exhibit an additional level of featural specification, namely, whether they are active or relevant for the speech sound in question. -> To understand what this means, consider the role of tongue position in the articulation of [p]. In one common scheme of featural representation, a circle by the articulator indicates that the articulator is active.

International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)

Set of symbols used by linguists to represent human speech sounds, transcending the limits of particular writing systems. -includes all potentially phonologically contrastive phonetic differences, at least

Are there non-sonorant nasal stops?

Short answer: NO Longer answer: My searching did turn up one case, but its the exception that proves the rule. -It turns out that in the early 1960s, some linguists used [−son]to characterize prenasalized stops, e.g. [mb], [nd], or [ŋg] -Now we do not do this, and would give each part of the speech sound its own [+son] and [−son] feature assignment. -This is part of a bigger issue of how we treat complex or contour speech sounds, e.g. [tʃ], or really complex ones like[bmb], [dnd], or [ŋgŋ] -Q theory

Parsimony

The basic idea behind the parsimony criterion is that a rule that defines a change is better if one is able to state its operation in a concise manner -Stating a phonological rule in terms of natural classes is highly parsimonious.

syllables

The boundary between syllables in a word is indicated by a period ex: [kwIk.li]

the onset

The consonant(s) at the beginning of a syllable are called the'onset' of the syllable

the coda

The consonant(s) at the end of a syllable are called the 'coda' of the syllable -If a syllable lacks a coda, it is called an 'open syllable' -If a syllable has a coda, it is called a 'closed syllable'

Glottal State

The glottiis defined as the space between the vocal folds;these vibrate when they brought close to each other, resulting in voicing: •three glottal states 1. voiced: e.g. [b], [d], [g], [z] -vocal folds vibrating during articulation of consonant 2. voiceless: e.g. [p], [t], [k], [s] -vocal folds begin vibrating very shortly after articulation ofconsonant (e.g. release of stop) -voice onset time (VOT)≈10-20 milliseconds 3. aspirated: e.g. [ph], [th], [kh] -vocal folds only begin vibrating after a perceptible delay afterarticulation of consonant -(VOT)≈50-60 milliseconds

Laryngeal Features

The laryngeal features involve specifications of glottal states: Voice: - [+ voice]: voiced consonants and vowels - [−voice]: voiceless consonants and vowels Spread Glottis: - [+s.g.]: [h] and aspirated segments, e.g. [th]; - [−s.g.]:unaspirated segments Constricted Glottis: - [+c.g.]: ejective consonants such as - [k', á] and creaky vowels such as [a ̃] - [−c.g.]: everything else

result of the cognitive-conceptual model of phoneme

The result is a multi-level view of sound structure in human language, mediated by rules: 1. Phonemic (cognitive, abstract) 2. Allophonic/Surface/Phonetic -this model is powerful -It handles with relative ease some very complex phenomena -it also remains the focus of active research, as linguists try to determine what the levels in question are. •Lexical Phonology •Optimality Theory (OT) •Stratal OT -basic idea of a multi-level approach to linguistic phenomena was tremendously influential (e.g. syntax)

Glottalic airstream mechanisms

The two glottalic airstream mechanisms depend on creating a sealed volume in the vocal tract by: 1. closure of the oral cavity (e.g. at the lips) 2. closure of the glottis The pressure in this sealed volume can then be altered by moving the entire glottis up or down -ejective consonants -implosive consonants

What determines the form of the phoneme when writing phonological rule?

There are basically two principles that guide us in this choice: 1.Parsimony: Ability to state the rule (especially the conditioning environment) in an economic manner 2.Phonetic plausibility: There exist a plausible phonetic (e.g. articulatory) mechanism linking the phoneme and its allophones -it is very useful to know what the common types of phonological processes are

5 major classes of Distinctive Features

There are ∼23 features that fall into five major classes (with some overlap): 1.Major Class Features: dividing up the consonant-vowel continuum 2.Place Features: place of articulation 3.Manner Features: manner of articulation 4.Laryngeal Features: state of the glottis 5.Vowel Space Features: features associated with articulation of vowels

Testing rule ordering in Votic

To test the correct ordering, we will just take the underlying form of a word /kurkə/ 'stork' and apply the rules in the two possible orders to see which derives the correct nominative form [kurtʃi] vowel raising followed by palatalization 1. vowel raising: /kurkə/→kurki 2. palatalization: kurki→[kurti] palatalization followed by vowel raising 1. palatalization: /kurkə/→kurkə (vacuous application) 2. vowel raising: kurkə→*[kurki] Therefore, vowel raising precedes palatalization

Manners of articulation beyond english

Trills: involve multiple 'taps' of 'flaps' of a flexible articulator -Bilabial (e.g. some Papuan and Pacific languages, e.g. Kele) -Alveolar (e.g. Spanish) -Uvular (e.g.French)

Articulators

What parts of the vocal tract are involved in the production of the speech sound?

Why natural classes matter

When describing phonological processes, and writing phonological rules, the sets of segments that you refer to should either be: -> natural classes -> 'non-natural classes', when describing the else where environment Note: If in your effort to describe a non-elsewhere environment, you find your self describing disjunctions of natural classes (= not a natural class), this is a sign that it is actually an elsewhere environment:•E.g. [a] appears following voiceless stops or before front vowels(not a natural class)

Place of Articulation

Where in the vocal tract do articulators come together to produce the speech sound?

anterior

[+ant]: coronal articulation obstructs oral tract at, or in front of, the alveolar ridge [−ant]: coronal articulation obstructs oral tract behind alveolarridge (i.e postalveolar region)

distributed

[+dist]: zone of constriction/contact along the axis of airflow is relatively long (e.g.[ʃ]) [−dist]: zone of constriction/contact along the axis of airflow is relatively short (e.g.[s])

[s] and [ʃ] in Matsigenka

[ʃ]:i [s]:{a, e, o, u} [ʃ] and [s] are in complementary distribution [ʃ] and [s] differ is in terms of the height of the body of the tongue -The body of the tongue is higher for [ʃ] than it is for [s] •If the [s] is sufficiently influenced by the height of the [i], itbecomesan [ʃ]. -This process is called 'height assimilation' and serves as acausal relationship between [ʃ] and it's environment:i •This leads us to conclude that [s] and [S] are contextual variants of one another •That is: they are allophones of the same phoneme

fortition

a consonantal change from a 'weak' sound to a 'strong' one, the opposite of the more common lenition ex: a fricative or an approximant may become a stop (i.e. [v] becomes [b] or [r] becomes [d])

allophone

a contextual variant of a phoneme -the realization of a phoneme in a particular phonological (sound) environment

Votic dataset

a highly endangered Uralic language (see map) spoken by a few dozen elderly individuals in western Russia refer to week_5_M data for the following Votic example: The first block of data just shows us that nominative does not bear a suffix, while the partitive does Odden then tells us that the partitive case suffix has two forms:-a and -æ 1.-æ if the preceding vowel is a front vowel (vowel harmony) 2.-a otherwise The data in (1b) show us an interesting fact, namely that the vowel harmony rule skips over an /i/ immediately preceding the partitive suffix The data in (1c) show us that Votic exhibits final vowel raising•mid non-high vowel→front high vowel /____# And finally, the data in (1d) shows us that /k/ palatalizes:•/k/→[tʃ] /_____i -> So, we have two processes, vowel raising and palatalization,raising questions about rule ordering

Shilha (Tashilhiyt Berber)

a language of the Berber/Amazigh family (see map), spoken in Morocco by some 4 million people -a language famous among linguists for the fact that it allows words without vowels, which is cross-linguistically very rare

Kenyang

a language of the continent-spanning Niger-Congo family spoken by some 70,000 individuals in Cameroon (see Kenyang map, and Niger-Congo map) - Kenyang poetry reading (begins 4:13) - distributions between [q] and [k]: [q]: {ɑ, o, ɔ}____ [k]: {e, i, ə, u, ŋ, #}______ or can be rewritten as: [q]: non-high back vowels____ [k]: elsewhere thus, the phonological rule: /k/→[q] / non-high back vowels______ /k/→[k] elsewhere NOTE: this is NOT an assimilation rule b/c the symbols changes the meaning of the rule and is not just another way of pronouncing the word with the same meaning

Lenition

a phonological process that makes a consonant less stop-like and more vowel-like Some examples: •stop to affricate: [t]→[tʃ] •affricate to fricative: [tʃ]→[ʃ] •fricative to approximant: [β]→[w] •voiceless to voiced stop: [t]→[d] - Lenition is active in many different varieties of Spanish

Dissimilation

a process by which a segment changes to become less similar to another segment in some way -When it occurs in particular languages, dissimilation is often restricted to particular prefixes or suffixes examples of languages w/ dissimilation: -Georgian -Shilha

sonorant

a relatively 'loud' sound that exhibits relatively little obstruction of oral cavity Speech sounds that are [+son] involve relatively unobstructedairflow without turbulence, and are called sonorants -These include: vowels, nasals, and approximants (which includes glides and liquids) = vowels + sonorant consonants -Speech sounds that are [−son] involve obstruction of the airflow, turbulence, or both, and are called non-sonorants -> These include: stops, affricates, and fricatives

phoneme

a unit in the sound system of a language that contrasts with another phoneme (phonemes are the contrastive units in the phonology of a language)

overlapping distribution

appear in the same sets of phonological environments -overlapping distribution associated with different phonemes is a direct consequence of their contrastiveness

Epenthesis and Deletion

are mirror-image processes

Implosive consonants

are produced by pushing the glottis down, creating negative pressure in the volume •The closure in the oral cavity is then released, creating an'implosive pop' common in languages in several regions of the world including: •Meso-America and South America (e.g. Q'anjob'al,Guatemala, 80,000 speakers) •Africa (e.g. Swahili, East Africa, 140 million speaker)) •Southeast Asia (e.g. Khmer (Cambodian), 16 million speakers;Sindhi, 3 million speakers)

Ejective consonants

are produced by pushing the glottis up, creating positive pressure in the volume •The closure in the oral cavity is then released, creating a 'explosive pop' -common in languages in severalregions of the world including: •North and Central America (e.g. Navajo,Lakhota(2000speakers), Mayan languages) •Africa (e.g. Hausa, West Africa, 52 million speakers) •The Caucasus (e.g. Abkhaz) are represented in the IPA by an apostrophe following the place of articulation:p',t',k',q' all ejectives are voiceless, since the glottal closure impedes voicing

dorsal

articulations involving the back of the tongue there are three dorsal features (note that these are also vowel features!): 1. high: •[+high] velar and palatal consonants, high vowels •[−high] everything else 2. low: •[+low] pharyngeal consonants, low vowels •[−low] everything else 3. back: •[+back]: velars, uvulars, and pharyngeal consonants; central and back vowels •[−back]: all other consonants, front vowels

coronal

articulations involving the tongue blade or tip (e.g.interdental fricatives, alveolar stops) There are two coronal features (note that this is only a consonantal feature): 1. anterior 2. distributed Some examples of the combination of these features: •[+ant, +dist]: [t̪] (rare!) •[+ant,−dist]: [t, s] •[−ant, +dist]: [ʃ] •[−ant,−dist]: [ɲ] (rare!) •What about a speech sound like [p] or [k]? -> Coronal feature not active! Thus neither [+ant] nor [−ant].

inspiration behind the cognitive-conceptual model of phoneme

basic idea inspiration behind the cognitive-conceptual model of the phoneme was: -to understand words and other meaningful linguistic units as existing as mental representations -. . . that serve as inputs into rules expressing some form of cognitive processing -. . . which produce outputs, i.e. representations directly used in concrete utterances

environment in phonological rule

can be defined by segments (speech sounds) following the environment bar: (1) /X/→[Y] /____A •. . . by segments preceding the environment bar: (2) /X/→[Y] / B______ •. . . or by both: (3) /X/→[Y] / B____A when it requires 2 environment bars, you can write like the following: /X/→[Y]/{A___ ____B}

phonological groups

can grouped into the following basic types: •Assimilation One speech sound acquires a 'feature' of another. •Dissimilation One speech sound 'rejects' a feature of another. •Epenthesis (Consonant or vowel insertion) •Deletion A consonant or vowel is deleted. •Lenition (Weakening) A speech sound becomes more 'vowel like' (e.g. flapping). •Fortition (Strengthening) A speech sound becomes more 'consonant like'.

syllabic

can serve as the nucleus of syllable -> (Some people call this feature vocalic instead.) -Speech sounds that are [+syll] can serve as the 'nucleus' or center of a syllable.•In English this includes vowels and syllabic nasal and liquid (r-like and l-like) speech sounds. a. [bʌ.tn"] b. [bæ.tl"] -Speech sounds that are [−syll] do not serve as syllabic nuclei: -> In English, all consonants apart from syllabic nasals and liquids

stops

completely block flow of air through mouth •Oral: both oral and nasal airflow blocked -Voiceless: [p, t, k] -Voiced: [b, d, g] •Nasal: only oral flow blocked -Voiceless: [m̥, n̥, ŋ̥] -Voiced: [m, n, ŋ]

relationship between contrastiveness and overlapping distribution

contrastive⇒overlapping distribution

Defining natural classes more powerfully and precisely

developing a more explicit way of describing the features of speech sounds will allow us to write more explicit and enlightening phonological rules Distinctive feature theory is invaluable for another purpose: it allows us to define natural classes in a way that is simultaneously more powerful and more precise ex: recall Palauan data, where we foundthat the non-variable [ð] was found between members of anatural class that included vowels and the lateral approximant [l]. -> With just the manner and place features of the IPA chart, it is unclear how we can group vowels and [l] together as a natural class -> Distinct feature theory, however, classifies vowels and [l] as both having the feature [+sonorant], and belonging to the natural class of 'sonorants' This allows us to generalize that in Palauan [ð] is found between sonorants, giving us the desired natural class characterization of the environment conditioning this allophone

Oro-nasal state

e.g. oral, nasal

Airstream mechanism

e.g. pulmonic, glottalic, velaric

• State of Glottis

e.g. voiced, voiceless, creaky

consonantal

exhibits relatively great obstruction of oral cavity (e.g. fricatives, stops) Speech sounds that are [+cons] involve either obstruction or significant turbulence in oral airflow -> These include: oral stops, affricates, fricatives and nasal consonants (why these?) -Speech sounds that are [−cons] do not involve significant obstruction or turbulence in oral airflow: -> These include: vowels, glides, and glottal segments (e.g. [h,P]) (why these?)

phonological rules

general structure: /phoneme/→[allophone]/environment -Rules of this type express the generalization that a particular allophone 'surfaces as' or 'is realized as' a particular allophone in a particular environment For example, we can recast some our generalizations about Matsigenka from last week as the rule in (2). •Generalization 1: [s] and [ʃ] are allophones of the same phoneme •Generalization 2: [ʃ] only appears before [i] thus, the rule is written as: /s/→[ʃ] /___i

Syntax

he study of how words are organized into larger expressive units, such as phrases and sentences.

Deletion

involves the insertion of a consonant or vowel Examples: English stop deletion in nasal-stop-stop clusters: [stændpoint]→[stæmpoint]; [hændbæg]→[hæmbæg]

Epenthesis

involves the insertion of consonant or vowel Spanish loanword epenthesis: [ski]→[eski]

labial

involving labial articulations (e.g. bilabials,labiodentals) We say that the 'labial node is active' when the lips play an active role in the articulation of a speech sound.•There is only one feature associated with the labial node (note that this is both a consonantal and vocalic feature): •round: -> [+round]: lips are active and rounded -> [−round]: lips are active but not rounded •Some examples: •[o] -> [+round] •[b] -> [−round] •[k] -> Labial node not active! Thus, neither [+round] or [−round]

[ts] and [tʃ], and [s] and [ʃ]

it is more plausible that •the two fricatives [s] and [S] are allophones of the same phoneme •the two affricates [ts] and [tS] are allophones of the same phoneme Why? •height assimilation before [i] would explain the relationship between each of the allophones posited above •it is less clear what mechanism would turn a fricative into an affricate in this precise environment, however Take away: when you have multiple allophones and multiple phonemes, make sure you group the right allophones together. •Phonetic plausibility of posited allophonic relationship is an important principle in this process

allophones of the same phoneme

judgment depends on if there is a plausible phonetic connection between the two speech sounds -if articulatory descriptions are similar then they have a plausible phonetic connection we have analyzed phonemes as sets of allophones,with each allophone being an equal member of a set of realizations of the phoneme

minimal pairs

pairs of words or phrases in a particular language that differ in only one phonological element, such as a phoneme, toneme or chroneme, and have distinct meanings. They are used to demonstrate that two phones are two separate phonemes in the language.

Summary: Phonemes, Allophones, and Free Variation

phonemes: -contrastive -overlapping distribution -not predictable allophones: -not contrastive -complementary distribution -predictable free variation: -not contrastive -overlapping distribution -not predictable

Complementary Distribution

refers to the fact that the two variants are found in non-overlapping environments Complimentary distributions suggest a causal relationshipbetween a given variant and the environment in which it appears.

Manner

refers to the way- not the place - in which articulators approach each other in order to articulate a consonant

Velaric airstream mechanisms

relies on two closures in the vocal tract to create a sealed volume: •a closure at velum, with the back of the tongue •a closure further forward in the oral cavity with the tongue -Negative pressure can be created in this volume by pulling the body of the tongue down. -The more forward closure is then released creating a 'wetimplosive pop'. •The click consonants resulting from this airstream mechanism are found only in languages of Southern Africa

Bakersfield

residents of Bakersfield exhibit the pin-pen merger,especially older residents -Believed to be due to high percentage of migrants in the early 20th century from the Ozarks region (Missouri, Arkansas,Oklahoma)

minimal pairs

s a pair of distinct words that differ by the substitution of a single phoneme.

homorganic

same place of articulation

phonological theory before the late 1950s and early 1960

seeing phonemes are mere unstructured bundles of allophones

Allophones

speech sounds that are contextual variants of a given phoneme -Allophones of a given phoneme are in complementary distribution with one another -Speech sounds associated with different phonemes are generally in overlapping distribution -Allophones of the same phoneme are non-contrastive -> The non-contrastiveness of allophones of the same phoneme is a direct consequence of the fact that they are in complementary distribution -> it is impossible to substitute one allophone for another allophone of the same phoneme because they have complementary distributions CD definition: they are different variations of that specific phoneme in different environments, which is why allophones of the same phoneme have to be complementary

Morphology

study of the minimal meaningful 'chunks'of language(morphemes), and how they combine into words

contrastive

substituting one phoneme for another in a meaning-bearing unit (e.g. a word), results in a change in meaning in that unit

Diphthongs

tend not to get put on vowel spaces, but can be represented by arcs connecting the two vowel articulations involved.

Phonemes

the basic contrastive units in the sound system of a language -Substitution of one phoneme for another results in change in the meaning of a meaning-bearing unit (e.g. a word) -phonemes are contrastive and in overlapping distribution

Partitive case

the form that nouns appear in when they are in expressions like 'some of the Ns', 'three of the Ns', etc.

Nominative case

the form that nouns appear in when theyare subjects of verbs

important development of phonological theory in the late 1950s and early 1960

the phoneme was recast as exhibiting a two-level structure: 1. The phoneme: A relatively abstract cognitive-conceptual unit 2. The allophones: Concrete speech sounds realizing the phoneme -This reconceptualization facilitates formulating phonological rules that govern the distribution of allophones

Phonology

the study of sound systems in human language

The major class features

there are three major class features: syllabic, sonorant, and consonantal -These three features partition speech sounds along a continuum from most 'vowel like' (e.g. /a/) to most'consonant like' (e.g. /t/).

complementary distribution

they appear in different sets of phonological environments

X~Y

this means that the word can be either pronounced as X or Y ex: in Palauan language, ðiak ~ diak

t-chart

useful tool when first learning to find phonological environments for potential allophones -To the left of the vertical line one lists the segments preceding the potential allophone -to the right of the vertical one lists the segments following the potential allophone

General characteristics of vowels

vowels involve no significant obstruction or constriction of the vocal tract English vowels can be described in terms of four parameters: •Height: How relatively close to the roof of the mouth highestpoint of the tongue is •Backness: Where along the front-back axis of the oral cavitythe highest point of the tongue is •Rounding: Whether the lips are rounded or not (spread) •Tenseness: Tense vowels are less centralized and longer than lax vowels

contrastiveness

you need to be able to substitute one for the other in the meaning-bearing unit (e.g. a word), and in doing so, change the meaning of the unit ex: /t/ and /d/ a. [bæt] b. [bæd]

Consonants vs. Vowels

• Consonants involve some degree of obstruction of the vocal tract; vowels do not

Major Articulators in the Oral Cavity

• In the oral tract consonants are articulated through contact or approximation of an upper articulator and a lower articulator

relationship between allophones and phonemes

•Allophones are the contextual variants of phonemes in particular environments •Allophones of a given phoneme are in complementary distribution •Allophones of a given phoneme are related to each other by plausible phonetic mechanisms (i.e. a causal relationship)

Voiceless nasal stops

•Although nasal stops are typically voiced in human languages,it is phonetically possible for them to be voiceless •Voiceless stops are rare, but are more common in some parts of the world, such as Southeast Asia (Burmese, 33 millionspeakers) ex:m̥

Places of articulation beyond english

•Dental •Retroflex (e.g. many language of the Indian subcontinent:Hindi, Malayalam, etc.) •Palatal (e.gMalayalam, India, 38 million speakers) •Uvular (e.g.Quechua, Andean countries, 9 million speakers;French)

Vowel articulations beyond English

•Front rounded vowels -Cross-linguistically rare, but quite common in Northern European languages (e.g.Danish) •High central vowels -Very common in Amazonian languages •Long vowels -Vowels can also contrast in their duration -Vowel length contrasts are common around the world (e.g.Danish)

Nasalization beyond voiced stops

•Nasal vowels •Voiceless nasal stops

Breathy and Creaky voice

•Phonation can also differ in the way the vocal folds vibrate -Modal voice (='regular voice'): Vocal folds are tense and held closely together e.g. [b] -Breathy voice: Vocal folds are tense, but held further apart, so more air (e.g. [bʰ],Hindi) -Creaky voice: Vocal folds are slacker, and held closely together(e.g. in Hausa)

Nasal vowels

•Retraction of the velum allows nasalization during vowel articulation, resulting in nasal vowels. •Nasal vowels are found throughout the world (WALS): -Amazonia and Meso-America (very common) -Southeast Asia (common) -Africa (common) -even Europe (French) ex: ã

Major manner types (English)

•Stop (Plosive) -Oral e.g. [p, b, t, d, k, g,P] -Nasal e.g. [m, n,N] •Fricative e.g. [T, D, s, z,S, Z, h] •Affricate e.g. [tS, dZ] •Approximant -Central (='approximant') [j,ô, w] -Lateral [l] •Tap [R]

Phonation types

•Voice Onset Time (VOT) distinctions •Creaky voice •Breathy voice (Murmur)

VOT distinctions

•We typically think of English as having a two-way distinction between voiced and voiceless consonants. •Some languages (e.g.Hindi, India, 260 million speakers),however, exhibit asystematic three-way distinction in VOT. -Voiced: Voicing during stop closure (e.g. [b]) -Voiceless: Voicing after stop is released (e.g. [p]) -Aspirated: Voicing after after a slight delay after stop is released (e.g. [ph])

Manner Features

•continuant •strident •delayed release •lateral •nasal •tap •trill