Week 3 – Part 2

PhonologyThe following PowerPoint is to be used as a guideline for the important vocabulary and terminology to know as you do your readings, answering questions, and forming your thoughts and comments for your discussion with fellow classmates.

 

The Pronunciation of Plurals

Allomorphs◦ An alternative phonetic form of a morpheme (plural morphemes:

cats, dogs, kisses)

Homorganic nasal rule◦ place of articulation of the nasal is the same as for the following

consonant.

Pronunciation of Morphemes

Distinctive Phonetic Features—Voiced, Nasal, Labial, and Continuant

 Nondistinctive Phonetic Features—Aspiration,

which is predictable from phonetic context Minimal Pair—when two distinct words are

distinguished by a single phone occurring in the same position.

Distinctive Features of Phonemes

p b mStop + + +Labial + + +Voiced - + +Nasal - - +

Feature Values

b m d n g ŋStop + + + + + +Voiced + + + + + +Labial + + - - - -Alveolar - - + + - -Velar - - - - + +Nasal - + - + - +

Natural Classes of Speech Sound1. Nasalize vowels before p, I, or z

as to have a rule such as

2. Nasalize vowels before m, n, or ŋ

Feature Specification of Major Natural Classes of Sounds (pg. 283)

Features Obstruents

Nasals Liquids Glides Vowels

Consonantal

+ + + - -

Sonorant - + + + +Syllabic - +/- +/- - +Nasal - + - - +/-

Features of Some American English VowelsFeatures i ɪ e ɛ æ u ʊ o ɔ a ʌ

High + + - - - + + - - - *

Mid - - + + - - - + + - +

Low - - - - + - - - - + -

Back - - - - - + + + + + -

Central - - - - - - - - - - +

Round - - - - - + + + + - -

Tense + - + - - + - + - + -

Sound Segments and Phonological Features See handout of Sound Segments and Features

Assimilation Rules

◦ Dissimilation rules—the means by which a segment becomes less similar to another

segment.

Feature Changing Rules

Segment Insertion and Deletion Rules

◦ Epenthesis—the process of inserting a consonant or vowel.

Movement (Metathesis) Rules

◦ Metathesis rules—rules that reorder sequences of phonemes.

From One to Many and from Many to One

The Function of Phonological Rules

◦ Derivation—applying a rule that applies to one phoneme to another phoneme.

Slips of the Tong: Evidence for the Phonological Rules

Rules of Phonology

Prosodic or Suprasegmental Features—pitch, stress, and segment length.

Syllable Structure Word Stress Sentence and Phrase Stress Tone Languages—languages in which syllables or words

are contrasted by pitch. Intonation

◦ Intonation languages—use pitch variations to distinguish meanings of phrases and sentences

Prosodic Phonology

Prosodic or Suprasegmental Features—pitch, stress, and segment length.

 Tone Languages—languages in which syllables or

words are contrasted by pitch. .

Prosodic Phonology

Morphophonemic rules—apply to specific morphemes. Phonotactics—sequential constraints that determine which

sounds may be adjacent within the syllable. Accidental gaps—possible but nonoccurring words

otherwise known as nonsense words. Optimality Theory—hypothesizes a set of ranked

constraints that govern the phonological rules.

Additional terms to know

SOURCES

Fromkin, Victoria, et al. An Introduction to Language. 9th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2011.

Davenport, Mike & Hannahs, S.J. Introducing Phonetics and Phonology. 3rd ed. London UK. Hodder Education.