Phonology

• Phonology


  is the study of abstract categories that organise the sound system of a language
• Overlapping articulations (eg. consonants next to a rounded vowel will be produced with rounded lips as well

  transitions cour articulators are inert, it takes a while to get from one point to the next

  random variation (each time we produce a sound, it will be slightly different from previous time we produced it.
• Phoneme


  minimal distinctive unit in the sound system

  of a language they enable the speaker

  to distinguish between words (meaning -differentiating)
• phone


  a physical realisation of a speech sound like the

  voiceless or the or the voiced alveolar approximant
• different sound instances (phones) may belong to

  the same abstract concept (phoneme)

  · sounds that belong to the same phoneme cannot change the meaning of a word
• ALLOPHONES of the phoneme are phones which function as alternant realisation of the same phoneme

  ↳ notation for phonemes are slashes (//)
• DISTRIBUTION refers to the different positions in which a speech sound can occur or cannot occur in the words of a language -> in which phonetic context can or cant a particular sound occur

  complementary distribution: one particular sound can only occur where its counterpart cannot

  different phonemes create different words, different allophones do not
• minimal pairs: is a pair of words which differ in only one sound, but differ in meaning

  -> changing one sound will result in different meaning

  · minimal pairs are a method with which we can detect phonemes
• released vs. unreleased consonants possible eg for /p/->[p](released)and [p^](unreleased)

  but they are not in complementary distribution -> allophones do not have to

  ↳ free variation: speakers can choose the allophone they use
• Finding order: allophonic alternations in different word forms

  changing word forms (eg. Clap-clapping)makes allophones of phonemes identifiable

  neutralisation: in a particular context, a contrast between phonemes becomes invisible

  final devoicing: voiced phoneme as voiceless allophone in word-final position (not common in English)
• Stop phonemes

  · voiceless stops: /p/, /t/, /k/

  ↳ restricted to word-final context and in free variation with [strich ^]

  aspirated stop/aspiration: occurs when voiceless stop is in a word-initial context prior to a stressed vowel

  and is produced with an extra breath of air -> [h]

  -> in complementary distribution, but also in free variation in word-final position
• non-rhotic varieties: r-sound does not occur in a word-final position (British& Australian E)

  [r] is not absent, but not pronounced unless you add a suffix to make it word-medial

  rhotic varieties: include r-sounds in word-final positions

  zero-allaphone: doesn't have an own sound/leaving the sound out

  ↳ zero-allophones are only visible when they alternate with other allophones
• monosyllabic: one syllable terms vs. disyllabic: two-syllable terms
• constituents: elements that make up a syllable

  · monosyllabic words with no consonants: vowel needs to be diphthong (eg. eye)
• middle-slot in a syllable -> can be filled by vowel diphthong, syllabic consonant

  nucleus
• front-slot in a syllable)can be filled by one or more consonants

  onset
• end-slot in a syllable /not obligatory

  coda
• vowel epenthesis: insertion of vowels into syllables

  ↳ e. g. engl.: Christmas vs. jap.: ku. ri. su. ma. su

  cognates: similar & etymologically related words in different languages
• syllable consonants: consonants that occupy the central part of the syllable, marked by [,]

  (no vowel or diphthong), depends on variety of English and articulation, usally [l], [n], [r],
• Types of syllables

  open syllable: nocoda eg, you, see

  closed syllable: end in at least one consonant eg., dog, ball

  complex coda/onset: coda /onset with more

  than one consonant
• syllabification: assigning syllable structure to words

  · syllabification isn't arbitrary, but regular & predictable

  maximal onset principle: if given the choice, as many consonants as possible are in an onset
• sonority (not clearly definable; relative category): a measure of the output of periodic acoustic

  energy associated with the production of a particular segment and hence its intrinsic loudness

  = clear audibility, prominence of sound

  ↳ the nucleus is the most sonorous part of a syllable
• sonority sequencing principle: sounds preceding the nucleus must rise in sonority and sounds

  following the nucleus must fall

  there are differences in sonority between consonants as well

  · there a language-specific limits to the sonority sequencing principle

  -> different languages can have different syllable structures

  · Language specific phonotactic constrains

  ↳ e. g. English doesn't allow for [kn]& [ps]

  (although possible in sonority sequencing principle

  does allow for [Sk]and [st])