Transcript Sounds in Use

[bnik]
Knowledge of Sounds
Phonology: The study of sound
patterns in language
Part 1: Phonemes and Allophones
©2000, Andrew Carnie
Phonology
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The study of the mental organization of
a language’s sound system.
Units of organization:
– Biggest: syllables, metrical feet, words
– Middle: segments (phonemes and
allophones)
– Smallest: features
Segmental Phonology
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There are hundreds of possible speech
sounds
Each language only uses a few of these.
What is of interest to phonologists is which
sounds contrast.
Sounds contrast when their presence alone
distinguishes forms with different meanings
The Minimal Pair Test
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Two sounds contrast (or are distinctive)
if you can find a pair of words that differ
in only that sound, that mean different
things.
• [pæd]
[bæd]
minimal pair
• Mean different things: /p/ and /b/ contrast
• [pæt]
[pæth]
not minimal pair
• Mean the same thing: [t] and [th] do not contrast
Crucial concept 1: Phoneme
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When two sounds contrast they are part
of different phonemes.
• /p/ and /b/ are different phonemes
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Phonemes are abstract mental units
that represent sounds.
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Be careful! Phonemes are not sounds
themselves, they are mental units
representing sounds!!!
Crucial Concept 2: Allophones
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Phonetic forms that don’t contrast (make a
difference in meaning) are called allophones
• [t] and [th] are allophones of the phoneme /t/
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Allophones are the various pronunciations of
a phoneme.
Phonemes & Allophones
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Phonemes are written between / / brackets
Allophones are written between [ ] brackets
/t/
[t]
phonemic (abstract/mental) category
in your mind
[th] allophonic (phonetic) realizations
what you actually say
Language Specificity
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In English, [ph] and [p] are allophones of
the same phoneme (/p/), meaning that a
word doesn’t change its meaning if you
substitute one sound for the other.
For example: [phaj] vs. [paj] ‘pie’
Language Specificity
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But in Thai, [ph] and [p] are not allophones of
a single phoneme; each is an allophone of a
separate phoneme.
For example: [pAA] ‘aunt’ vs. [phAA] ‘cloth’
This is a minimal pair: two words that differ
only in the pronunciation of a single sound.
A minimal pair’s existence tells you that the
sounds in question are separate phonemes in
that language.
Language Specificity
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The status as a phoneme is a language
specific matter
• English
/p/
[p]
[ph]
Thai
/p/
/ph/
[p]
[ph]
File 4.4, Exercise 1.1 Sindhi
[p´nu] leaf
[b´dZu] run
[b´nu] forest
[b´tSu] be safe
[ph´nu] snake hood
There is a minimal pair (trio) between ‘leaf’,
‘forest’ and ‘snake hood’. Therefore /p/, /b/ and /ph/
are all different phonemes in Sindhi.
There is a minimal pair between ‘run’ and ‘be
safe’. Therefore /dZ/, /tS/ are different phonemes
in Sindhi.
Sounds in context
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The pronunciation of a phoneme is
often determined by the other sounds
around it.
The nearby sounds around a phoneme
are called the environment of that
phoneme.
E.g. in the word [pæt], [p__t] is the
environment for the [æ].
Crucial concept 3:
Complementary Distribution
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When two phones are mutually exclusive, i.e.,
they appear in different environments
– [spæt]
– [spul]
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[phæt]
[phul]
*[sphæt]
*[sphul]
*[pæt]
*[pul]
[ph] and [p] are in complementary
distribution (which means they are
allophones of the same phoneme).
When sounds are in complementary
distribution, you can predict where you get
each sound.
Complementary Distribution
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Another example:
– [blu]
– [glim]
– [slIp]
– [flAg]
blue
gleam
sleep
flog
[pl6aw]
[kl6Qp]
[pl6ej]
After voiceless stops
Elsewhere
plow
clap
play
[l]
[l6
]
no yes
yes no
The mental
concept of
“supermanhood”
(phoneme)
In complementary distribution: never seen in the
same place at the same time. Allophones!
NOT in complementary distribution: can both be present at the
same time: allophones of different phonemes
Crucial Concept 4:
Free Variation
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When two sounds appear in the same
environment, but don’t make a difference in
meaning:
[lip] leap
[lip|] leap
[sowp] soap
[sowp|] soap
Perceived as the same sound: another kind of
allophony. This is called free variation.
How can I tell if two sounds are
phonemes or allophones? Method 1
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Check for minimal pairs. If there is a pair then
the sounds are separate phonemes
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Check for complementary distribution. Are the
sounds found in the same phonetic
environment? If not, they are allophones of
the same phoneme.
How can I tell if two sounds are
phonemes or allophones? Method 1
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If two sounds are in complementary
distribution then (a) figure out which one is
predictable and which one is the “elsewhere”
variant. The elsewhere variant is the symbol
that we use for the phoneme
/X/
[X]
elsewhere
Phoneme (in your mind)
[Y]
predictable
same symbol
Allophones (what you say)
How can I tell if two sounds are
phonemes or allophones? Method 1
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and (b) write a rule that spells out where the
predictable variant is found.
• /X/  [Y] / environment ____ environment
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A fairly rare situation: If the two sounds are in
the same phonetic environment (and there
were no minimal pairs!) Then they are
possibly in free variation.
Method 2
data
No
List the
environments
of the sounds
same environment?
The sounds are in
complementary distribution
and are allophones of the
same phoneme
Yes
Yes
The sounds are
in free variation
and are allophones
of the same phoneme
same meaning?
No
Minimal Pair:
The sounds are
different phonemes
Sample problem: English long vowels
Question: are long and short vowels in English allophones of
single phonemes, or are they separate phonemes?
(a vowel followed by the symbol [:] is a long vowel)
[phæ:d] ‘pad’
[phæt] ‘pat’
[hu:d] ‘who’d’
[hut] ‘hoot’
[mi:d] ‘mead’
[mit] ‘meet’
[row:m]‘roam’
[rowp] ‘rope’
[ti:D]
[tiT] ‘teeth’
teethe
[flu] ‘flew’
V:
_d
_m
_D
V
Is there any
overlap
between the
columns?
_ t
_p
_T
_#
Are there any minimal pairs? NO!
(There are no examples that differ in ONLY one
sound!)
Do long and short vowels occur in
the same phonological
environment? NO!
Therefore, these are in
complementary distribution and
each long/short vowel pair
represent allophones of same
phoneme.
English long and short vowels, continued...
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What is the rule for vowel lengthening in
English, based on the data we just saw?
To answer this question, we must make
a generalization about the environment
in which we find long vowels.
The generalization is…
– English vowels are long before a voiced
consonant.
Phonological Rules
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When the distribution is predictable, we
can write a rule that represents this
distribution.
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These rules are part of your knowledge
of language.
Phonological Rules
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The rules take the form:
elsewhere  predictable / environment
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English long vowels:
/V/  [V ] / ___ Cvoiced
This rule expresses a generalization
about what the speaker of English
knows about their language.
Sample Problem:Classical Arabic
1. kalb
2. qari:b
3. kubba
4. kuds
5. qalb
6. quds
7. kari:m
8. qubba
dog
near
meatloaf
heat
heart
sanctity
noble
dome
Near minimal pair
Minimal pairs
are [k] and [q] allophones of the same phoneme?
Sample Problem: Tojolabal
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1. kisim
my beard
2. k'iSin
warm
3. sak
white
4. ?ak'
read
are [k] and [k'] allophones of the same
phoneme?
No, we have 2 near-minimal pairs here. (Same
environment for sound)
File 4.4, exercise 0.0 Mokilese
[pi6san] full of leaves
[dupu8kda] bought
[pu8ko] basket
[ki6sa] we two
[su8pwo] firewood
[kamwçki6ti] to move
[i6]
p_ s
k_s
k_t
[i]
t__#
p_l
p_d
k_#
[u8
]
[u]
#_d
p_k l_dZ
s_p
d_k
d_p
dZ_k
[uduk] flesh
[kaskas] to throw
[poki] to strike something
[pil] water
[apid] outrigger support
[ludZuk] to tackle
same distribution?
NO!
therefore complementary
distribution and allophones
of same phoneme
/i/,/u/  [i6],[u8] / C8
_____ C8
File 4.4, Exercise 1.4 Russian
more predictable
(Data corrected)
[at´m] atom
[dAlÚ] he gave
[dva] two
[pA:…k´] stick
[dar] gift
[ukrA…´] she stole
[mazj]
[brA…] he took
[mjat´]
ointment
mint
a
A
#_t
p_
…
v_#
d_r
m_zj
mj_t
same environment?
no
therefore in complementary
distribution and allophones of the
same phoneme
d_
…
r_
…
less predictable:
elsewhere
/a/
[a] [A]
/a/[A]/___…
Summary
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Phonemes, abstract mental unit of
sound
• Distinctive/contrastive: minimal pairs
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Allophones: variant forms of a phoneme
• Complementary distribution: different
environments
• Free variation: same environment but no diff in
meaning
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Forms in complementary distribution are
predictable by rules.