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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary Distinctive Features How Do Phonetics and Phonology Differ?

Phonetics Phonology The /k/ in call [khAl] and in key The /k/ in call and key have the h [kff i] are phonetically distinct. same mental representation. /kAl/ → [khAl] h /ki/ → [kff i]

Darrell Larsen Phonology Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary Distinctive Features How Do Phonetics and Phonology Differ? Letter Analogy

a A

Pseudo-phonetics Pseudo-phonology The symbols above are distinct. The symbols above belong to a single mental representation of the letter ‘a’.

Darrell Larsen Phonology Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary Distinctive Features From Phonology to Phonetics

Phonology is the starting point, while phonetics is the ‘output’ of phonology. Phonological rules change sounds from mental representations (phonemes) into phonetic forms.

Darrell Larsen Phonology Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary Distinctive Features From Phonology to Phonetics

Letter Analogy The single letter ‘a’ is written as hai or hAi in accordance with the following (simplified) set of rules: Use hAi at the beginning of a sentence. Use hAi at the beginning of a proper noun. Use hai elsewhere.

Darrell Larsen Phonology Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary Distinctive Features From Phonology to Phonetics

Actual Example The single phoneme /k/ is pronounced as [k] or [kff] in accordance with the following (simplified) set of rules: Use [kff] in front of the vowel /i/. Use [k] elsewhere.

Darrell Larsen Phonology Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary Distinctive Features Phonemes and Allophones Notation

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

Darrell Larsen Phonology Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary Distinctive Features From Phonology to Phonetics Phonemes &Allophones

Native speakers generally think of sounds at the phonemic level.

Phoneme Allophone Example [t] ‘stop’ [t^] ‘cat’ [P] ‘cat’ /t/ [th] ‘tie’ [R] ‘atom’ [tS] ‘train’

Darrell Larsen Phonology Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Not Minimal Pairs [bin] ‘bean’ [min] ‘mean’ [sænd] ‘sand’ [stænd] ‘stand’ [m2d] ‘mud’ [T2d] ‘thud’ [bin] ‘bean’ [bæm] ‘bam’ [læf] ’laugh’ [khæf] ‘calf’ [khæt] ‘cat’ [khæP]

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

Sounds in complementary distribution... 1 never occur in the same environment 2 occur 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 Basics Understanding Phonology Phonology vs. Phonetics Doing Phonology Distribution of Sounds Summary 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary Writing Phonological Rules Korean [s] and [S] Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 1: Make a chart Data [son] s S s S [som] # o # i # o # i [Sihap] # o # i Simplify → [Silsu] l u # i l u [sos@l] # o # i [sEk] o @ a i o @ a i [isa] # E o i # E o i [sal] i a i a [Sipsam] # a # a [Sinho] p a p a [maSida] [oSip] Darrell Larsen Phonology Understanding Phonology How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary Writing Phonological Rules Korean [s] and [S] Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 2: Look for patterns on preceding / following sounds. Data [son] [som] s S [Sihap] # o # i [Silsu] l u a i Helpful order for searching: [sos@l] o @ o i 1 C, V, # [sEk] # E 2 Voicing on consonants [isa] i a 3 Vowel features [sal] # a 4 Other consonant features [Sipsam] p a [Sinho] [maSida] [oSip] Darrell Larsen Phonology Understanding Phonology How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary Writing Phonological Rules Korean [s] and [S] Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 2: Look for patterns on preceding / following sounds. Data [son] [som] s S [Sihap] # o # i [Silsu] l u a i [sos@l] o @ o i [sEk] [S] appears in front of [i] # E [isa] [s] does not appear in front of [i] i a [sal] # a [Sipsam] p a [Sinho] [maSida] [oSip] Darrell Larsen Phonology Understanding Phonology How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary Writing Phonological Rules Korean [s] and [S] Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 3: Decide what the phoneme is. Data [son] [som] s S [Sihap] # o # i In general, the allophone [Silsu] l u a i occurring in the greatest number [sos@l] o @ o i of distinct environments is the [sEk] # E phoneme. [isa] i a Here, /s/ will be our phoneme. [sal] # a [Sipsam] [S] and [s] are both allophones of p a [Sinho] /s/ [maSida] [oSip] Darrell Larsen Phonology Understanding Phonology How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary Writing Phonological Rules Korean [s] and [S] Determine Complementary Allophone Distribution

Step 4: Write a rule showing the distribution. Data [son] [som] s S [Sihap] # o # i [Silsu] l u a i [sos@l] Start with ‘opposite’ sound(s). o @ o i [sEk] /s/ → [S]/ i # E [isa] Do the ‘same’ sound. i a [sal] /s/ → [s] / elsewhere # a [Sipsam] p a [Sinho] [maSida] [oSip] Darrell Larsen Phonology Understanding Phonology How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary Writing Phonological Rules

The rule below says that a vowel becomes nasalized when it occurs 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary 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 How to Solve a Phonology Problem Doing Phonology Example Phonology Problem Summary 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) h /p/ → [p ]/[ ...]σ[+stress] (i.e. beginning of a stressed syllable) /p/ → [p] / elsewhere

Thus, ‘pat’ [pæt] → [phæt], ‘superb’ /supôb/ → [suphôb], 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