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Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary

Phonology

Darrell Larsen Linguistics 101

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary

Outline

1 Understanding Phonology

Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

2 Doing Phonology

How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

3 Summary

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

What Is Phonology?

Definition

the study of the sound systems of languages and the mental representation of sounds sound system = inventory of sounds + rules + constraints

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Why Do We Need Phonology?

to account for how sounds are groups together despite being phonetically distinct. to explain regular sound alternations (e.g. aspiration of /p t k/) to explain how we extend these alternations to novel words to explain how we extend these alternations to mistakes like spoonerisms

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Why Do We Need Phonology?

to explain how we pronounce loan words to explain how we determine what possible words of our language are to save storage space etc

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

How Do Phonetics and Phonology Differ?

Phonetics:

concerned with actual pronunciation concerned with articulation

Phonology:

focuses on mental representations of sounds has rules mapping mental representations to pronunciations

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

How Do Phonetics and Phonology Differ?

Phonetics

The /k/ in call [khAl] and in key [k

ff

hi] are phonetically distinct.

Phonology

The /k/ in call and key have the same mental representation. /kAl/ → [khAl] /ki/ → [k

ff

hi]

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

How Do Phonetics and Phonology Differ?

Letter Analogy

a A

Pseudo-phonetics

The symbols above are distinct.

Pseudo-phonology

The symbols above belong to a single mental representation of the letter ‘a’.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

From Phonology to Phonetics

Phonology is the starting point, while phonetics is the ‘output’

• f phonology.

Phonological rules change sounds from mental representations (phonemes) into phonetic forms.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

From Phonology to Phonetics

Letter Analogy

The single letter ‘a’ is written as a or A in accordance with the following (simplified) set of rules:

Use A at the beginning of a sentence. Use A at the beginning of a proper noun. Use a elsewhere.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

From Phonology to Phonetics

Actual Example

The single phoneme /k/ is pronounced as [k] or [k

ff] in

accordance with the following (simplified) set of rules:

Use [k ff] in front of the vowel /i/. Use [k] elsewhere.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Phonemes and Allophones

The Basics

A speech sound in isolation is a phone. The mental representation of a sound is a phoneme. Allophones are phonetic realizations of phonemes. Allophones are generally minimally distinct from phonemes. A phoneme consists of one or more allophones. Every speech sound we produce is an allophone of some phoneme.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Phonemes and Allophones

Notation

Allophones are written between square brackets [ ]. Phonemes are written between forward slashes / /.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

From Phonology to Phonetics

Phonemes & Allophones

Native speakers generally think of sounds at the phonemic level. Phoneme Allophone Example /t/ [t] ‘stop’ [t^] ‘cat’ [P] ‘cat’ [th] ‘tie’ [R] ‘atom’ [tS] ‘train’

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Types of Distributions

When comparing the speech sounds of a language, we can classify their relative distribution as one of the following:

1

contrastive

2

complementary

3

free variation

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Contrastive Distribution

Two sounds are contrastive when:

1

they occur in the same environment, and

2

replacing one sound with the other can change a word’s meaning

Question

Are [s] and [z] contrastive in English? Are [k] and [kh] contrastive in English?

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Contrastive Distribution

Two contrastive phones are allophones of different phonemes. Two non-contrastive phones are allophones of the same phoneme.

Question

Do [s] and [z] belong to the same phoneme or different phonemes in English? How about [k] and [kh]?

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Contrastive Distribution

Minimal Pairs

Minimal pairs provide evidence that two phones are in contrastive distribution A minimal pair is two words...

1

with the same number of sound segments, and

2

which differ in segment only, and

3

which have different meanings

Minimal Pairs

[bin] ‘bean’ [min] ‘mean’ [m2d] ‘mud’ [T2d] ‘thud’ [læf] ’laugh’ [khæf] ‘calf’

Not Minimal Pairs

[sænd] ‘sand’ [stænd] ‘stand’ [bin] ‘bean’ [bæm] ‘bam’ [khæt] ‘cat’ [khæP]

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Complementary Distribution

Sounds in complementary distribution...

1

never occur in the same environment

2

• ccur in predictable environments (with respect to each other)

Sounds in complementary distribution are allophones of the same phoneme.

Question

Are [p] and [ph] in complementary distribution in English? How about [t] and [d]?

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Free Variation

Two sounds are free variation when:

1

they occur in the same environment, and

2

replacing one with the other does not change the meaning

Sounds in free variation are allophones of the same phoneme.

Question

Are released [b] and unreleased [b^] in free variation word-finally? Are released [b] and unreleased [b^] in free variation word-initially?

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Crosslinguistic Variation

The distribution of any two sounds is language-specific. English [su] ‘sue’ Finnish [ku:si] ‘six’ [zu] ‘zoo’ [ku:zi] ‘six’ English [pi]

• Korean

[pi] ‘rain’ [phi] ‘pee’/‘pea’ [phi] ‘blood

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Multiple Distributions

The distribution of two sounds may vary depending on the environment. Consider the sounds [t], [t^] and [P] in English ‘cat’ [kæt] [kæt^] [khæP] ‘stop’ [stap] *[st^ap] *[sPap]

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Multiple Distributions

A phone may be allophones of more than one phoneme. E.g., [R] can be an allophone of /t/ or /d/. ‘atom’ [æR@m]

• cf. ‘atomic’

[@thamIk] ‘addict’ [æRIkt]

• cf. ‘addictive’

[@dIktIv]

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Distinctive Features

A distinctive feature is a feature which, when changed, may create minimal pairs. Any feature may potentially be distinctive. Which features are distinctive is language-specific.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Distinctive Features

Examples

Voicing, [±voice], is a distinctive feature in English, but not in Korean.

[p] and [b] are contrastive in English. [p] and [b] are in complementary distribution in Korean.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary Basics Phonology vs. Phonetics Distribution of Sounds Distinctive Features

Distinctive Features

Examples

Aspiration, [±aspirated], is a distinctive feature in Korean, but not in English.

[p] and [ph] are contrastive in Korean. [p] and [ph] are in complementary distribution in English.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Doing Phonology

Given a set of data from a language, how can we determine the distribution of two sounds in that language?

1

Determine the distribution type (contrastive, complementary, free variation).

2

If complementary distribution, determine distribution of each allophone.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Determine the Distribution Type

1

Are there any minimal pairs for the sounds in question?

Yes? They are contrastive and allophones of different

• phonemes. You are done.

No? They are allophones of the same phoneme. Continue to next step.

2

Are they in free variation?

Yes? You are done. No? They are in complementary distribution. Continue to next step.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

To find the distribution of allophones in complementary distribution...

1

Make a chart of the environment in which each allophone in question appears. Exclude duplicate environment.

2

Look for patterns.

3

Decide what the phoneme is.

4

Write a rule showing the distribution.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Korean [s] and [S]

Determine Distribution Type

Given the Korean data below, determine the distribution of [s] and [S]. First, determine the distribution type. [son] ‘hand’ [som] ‘cotton’ [Sihap] ‘match, game’ [Silsu] ‘mistake’ [sos@l] ‘novel’ [sEk] ‘color’ [isa] ‘relocating’ [sal] ‘skin’ [Sipsam] ‘13’ [Sinho] ‘signal’ [maSida] ‘drink’ [oSip] ‘50’ They are in complementary distribution. Continue to next step.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Korean [s] and [S]

Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 1: Make a chart Data [son] [som] [Sihap] [Silsu] [sos@l] [sEk] [isa] [sal] [Sipsam] [Sinho] [maSida] [oSip] s

S

# o # i # o # i l u # i # o # i

• @

a i # E

• i

i a # a p a Simplify → s

S

# o # i l u

• @

a i # E

• i

i a # a p a

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Korean [s] and [S]

Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 2: Look for patterns on preceding / following sounds. Data [son] [som] [Sihap] [Silsu] [sos@l] [sEk] [isa] [sal] [Sipsam] [Sinho] [maSida] [oSip] s

S

# o # i l u a i

• @
• i

# E i a # a p a Helpful order for searching:

1

C, V, #

2

Voicing on consonants

3

Vowel features

4

Other consonant features

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Korean [s] and [S]

Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 2: Look for patterns on preceding / following sounds. Data [son] [som] [Sihap] [Silsu] [sos@l] [sEk] [isa] [sal] [Sipsam] [Sinho] [maSida] [oSip] s

S

# o # i l u a i

• @
• i

# E i a # a p a [S] appears in front of [i] [s] does not appear in front of [i]

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Korean [s] and [S]

Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 3: Decide what the phoneme is. Data [son] [som] [Sihap] [Silsu] [sos@l] [sEk] [isa] [sal] [Sipsam] [Sinho] [maSida] [oSip] s

S

# o # i l u a i

• @
• i

# E i a # a p a In general, the allophone

• ccurring in the greatest number
• f distinct environments is the

phoneme. Here, /s/ will be our phoneme. [S] and [s] are both allophones of /s/

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Korean [s] and [S]

Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 4: Write a rule showing the distribution. Data [son] [som] [Sihap] [Silsu] [sos@l] [sEk] [isa] [sal] [Sipsam] [Sinho] [maSida] [oSip] s

S

# o # i l u a i

• @
• i

# E i a # a p a Start with ‘opposite’ sound(s).

/s/ → [S] / i

Do the ‘same’ sound.

/s/ → [s] / elsewhere

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

When two sounds are in complementary distribution, we can show the distribution through the use of rules. Phonologist argue that these rules are psychologically real.

Example 1

V

→

V[+nasal] / C[+nasal] pre-change becomes post-change when environment

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

The rule below says that a vowel becomes nasalized when it

• ccurs immediately in front of a nasal consonant.

Example 1

V

→

V[+nasal] / C[+nasal] ‘mom’ /mAm/ → [m˜

Am]

‘mop’ /mAp/ → [mAp] (rule does not apply because [p] is not nasal.)

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

In Korean, /p/ becomes voiced intervocalically. We can write a sound-specific rule as follows:

Example 2

/p/

→

[b] / V V ‘idiot’ /papo/ → [pabo]

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

In fact, Korean has four voiceless stops /p t c k/, and they all become voiced intervocalically. If we write four sound-specific rules, it doesn’t capture the general pattern. Instead, we can write rules with features.

Example 3

/+stop/

→

[+voice] / V V The above rule subsumes the following: /p/ → [b], /t/ → [d], /c/ → [é], /k/ → [g] Note that we only need to write the feature that changes after the arrow. Everything else stays the same.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

English voiceless stops /p t k/ become aspirated word-initially (and at the beginning of stressed syllables, which we will ignore for now)

Example 4

/-voice, +stop/

→

[+aspirated] / # The # stands for a word boundary. # means ‘at the beginning of a word’, while # means ‘at the end of a word’.

Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary How to Solve a Phonology Problem Example Phonology Problem Writing Phonological Rules

Rules come in sets. The final rule is always the ‘elsewhere rule’. Consider aspiration in English. For ease of presentation, I’ll use sound-specific rules for /p/. /p/ → [ph] / # (i.e. beginning of a word) /p/ → [ph] / [ ...]σ[+stress] (i.e. beginning of a stressed syllable) /p/ → [p] / elsewhere Thus, ‘pat’ [pæt] → [phæt], ‘superb’ /supô

"b/ → [suphô "b], and

‘spot’ /spAt/ → [spAt]

(Don’t waste your time trying to understand the stressed-syllable rule. You won’t need such rules in this course.) Darrell Larsen Phonology

Understanding Phonology Doing Phonology Summary

Summary

Key Words and Concepts

phonology vs phonetics phoneme vs allophone distribution types

contrastive complimentary free variation

minimal pair distinctive feature phonological rules solving phonology problems

Darrell Larsen Phonology