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Phonology 2
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Index Page
12.0 Phonology 3
12.1 Complementary Distribution 3
12.2 Free variation 5
12.3 Distinctive Features of Phonemes 7
12.4 Contrastive Distribution 7
12.5 Feature Values 8
12.6 Nondistinctive Features
(redundant or predictable) 9
12.7 Phonemic Patterns May Vary across
Languages 9
12.8 Natural Classes of Speech Sounds 10
12.9 Features Specification for American
English Consonants and Vowels 11
12.10 Phonetic Features 17
12.11 Phonological Rules in English
(Rules or processes) 18
Complementary Resources 21
Bibliography 22
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12.0 Phonology
Phonology classifies sounds within the system of a particular language or
languages.There are a lot of definitions which are necessary to know to
understand phonology. Among them, we have Complementary Distribution, free
variation, phonological rules, etc.
Table 1
Distribution of Aspirated Voiceless Stops .
In this chart we can see that the aspirated [ph] and the unaspirated [p] are in
complementary distribution because they work in different environments or in
different contexts.
The aspirated sound [ph] always has an initial position. It is its environment, On
the other hand. The unaspirated sound [p] always goes after the phoneme /s/.
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Both are allophones of the phoneme /p/. When you know the complementary
distribution of these two allophones [ph] and [p] you know the pronunciation of
them. Note that the replacement of one sound for the other will not change the
meaning of the word. Tommy Hilfiger. You can pronounce Tommy /ˈtɒmi/ or
/ˈtɑːmi/ with un aspirated [th] or with an unaspirated [t] Although it might not
sound like a typical English pronunciation with the unaspirated [t] it will be
understood.
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https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch
%3Fv
%3D37q8Xi_aHZo&psig=AOvVaw3kIZLoizlAp3R8Mc8SggYa&ust=1628728974905000&
source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCKjyhbPep_ICFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
According to Fromkin et al. ( 2014, 233) where oral vowels occur, nasal
vowels do not occur, and vice versa. It means that the phones complement
each other or they are in complementary distribution.
Table 2
Distribution of Oral and Nasal Vowels in English Syllables.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.masteryourfrench.com%2Ffrench-pronunciation%2Fnasal-vowels-
liaisons
%2F&psig=AOvVaw2OwH1vyrkB1PQ7iGhtJMYf&ust=1628727402773000&sou
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rce=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCOjfxuLYp_ICFQAAAAAdAAAAAB
AD
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.vowelsandconsonants3e.com
%2Fchapter_15.html&psig=AOvVaw2OwH1vyrkB1PQ7iGhtJMYf&ust=1628727
402773000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCOjfxuLYp_ICFQA
AAAAdAAAAABBT
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Two sounds are in contrastive distribution if replacing one with the other
in the same phonological environment results in a change in meaning. If a
sound is in contrastive distribution, it is considered a phoneme in that language.
For example, in English, the sounds [p] and [b] can both occur word-initially, as
in the words pat and bat (minimal pairs), which are distinct morphemes.
Therefore, [p] and [b] are in contrastive distribution and so are phonemes of
English.
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Note that two sounds that are in contrastive distribution in one language can be
in complementary distribution or free variation in another. These sounds occur
in English, as in the word team [tʰiːm] and steam [stiːm], but their occurrence is
purely dependent upon phonological context. Therefore, in English, [tʰ] and [t]
are not in contrastive distribution but in complementary distribution
(https://n9.cl/on8p).
We provide another example. In English, the sounds [p] and [b] appear at the
beginning of a word, as in pat and bat, bit and pit; bat, pat, blaze, plays, bride,
pride, pub, pup, blade, played, braise, prays, etc( minimal pairs ), which are
different morphemes. Hence, [p] and [b] are in contrasting distribution, as are
the phonemes of the English language (https://n9.cl/q9r8 ).
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consonants. Examples of nasals in English are [n], [ŋ] and [m], in words such as
nose, bring and mouth (https://n9.cl/tjjj1 ).
- However, in Akan and French nasalization is a distinctive feature for vowels.
- Aspiration is a nondistinctive feature for voiceless stops in English. For
Example, like the sounds /p/, /t/, and /k/ (https://n9.cl/5xkc4 ).
Take into consideration that the same phones may occur in two
languages but pattern or are formed differently because the phonologies of the
languages are different.
Although aspiration is not distinctive in English, It is distinctive in Thai:
Figure 4. Thai and English Voiceless Unaspirated and Aspirated Examples. Source:
https://n9.cl/5xkc4
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Bear in mind that Phonological rules often apply to these natural classes of
sounds.
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Table 3
Feature Specifications for American English Consonants.
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Source : https://n9.cl/5xkc4
We will provide again the definitions of the feature specifications to help you
understand more about this table.
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Consonatal
Obstruents sounds, nasal stops and liquids are classified by linguists as
consonantal sounds because there is some degree of restriction to the airflow
in producing these sounds (Fromkin et al., 2014,209).
Sonorant
Sonorants are the sounds which are not obstruents. Examples of obstruents
sounds are vowels, nasal stops /m/, /n/, and /ŋ/, liquids /l/ and /r/ and glides
/j/=/ɪ/ and /w/= /ʊ/ are all sonorants. When we pronounced sonorant sounds
there is much less blockage to the flow of air than obstruents. It permits the air
to resonate. It is worth noting that Nasal stops are sonorants. Although the air is
blocked in the mouth. The air continues to resonate in the nasal cavity. (Fromkin
et al., 2014, 209)
Syllabic
Syllabic Sounds
They are sounds which are the core of a syllable.Vowels are syllabic sounds.
Liquids and nasals may be syllabic too. e.g. the words dazzle [dæzl̩ ], faker
[fekr̩], rhythm [rɪðm̩ ], and wagon [wægn̩]. (The diacritic mark under the [l̩ ], [r̩],
[m̩ ], and [n̩] is the notation for syllabic.) “Placing a schwa [ə] before the syllabic
liquid or nasal also shows that these are separate syllables. The four words
could be written as [dæzəl], [fekər], [rɪðəm], and [wægən]. We will use this
transcription. Similarly, the vowel sound in words like bird and verb are
transcribe these words using the schwa—[bərd] and [vərb]—the only instances
Nasal
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“Nasal, in phonetics, speech sound in which the airstream passes through the
nose as a result of the lowering of the soft palate (velum) at the back of the
mouth. In the case of nasal consonants, such as English m, n, and ng (the final
sound in “sing”), the mouth is occluded at some point by the lips or tongue and
the airstream is expelled entirely through the nose. Sounds in which the
airstream is expelled partly through the nose and partly through the mouth are
classified as nasalized” (https://n9.cl/x4qfy ).
Voiced
“Sounds which are made with the vocal cords vibrating are voiced and sounds
made with no vibration of the vocal cords are voiceless (Avery & Ehrlich, 1992,
24)”
Continuant
Nasal stops are also considered continuants although air flows continuously out
the nose.
The rest of consonants and vowels are continuants. It means that the air flows
Labial
Labials [p] [b] [m] [f] [v] [w] [ʍ] Labial sounds are produced with the involvement of
the lips. They include the class of bilabial sounds [p], [b], and [m]
Alveolar
Alveolars [t] [d] [n] [s] [z] [l] [r]
These seven sounds are called alveolar because the tip of the tongue is raised
in different ways to the alveolar ridge i.e. the roof of your mouth just behind your
upper teeth. (Fromkin et al., 2014, 197) (Avery & Ehrlich, 1992, 14). The
phonetic symbols for the alveolar sounds are the same as the English letters.
Velars [k] [g] [ŋ] Back of the tongue and soft palate (velar)
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These sounds are produced by raising the back of the tongue to the soft palate
or velum.
[k] cat, coat, card, cub, cry, climb, comb, cute, cool, car, come, came, cottage,
etc.
[g] GOD, goat, goal, get, got, goose, gorilla, gopher, dog, gum, gut, bug, bag,
[ŋ] strongly, strong, brings, paintings, things, length, something, thing, young,
Palatal
[ʃ] she, sure, show, she’s, shoulder, should, shield, shower, ship, wish, etc.
[ӡ] television, usually, version, luxury, decisions, usual, conclusion, beige, etc.
[ʧ] church, channel, chop, cherish, children, child, check, cheek, choose, etc.
[ʤ] damage, huge, judge, jug, justice, Joseph, jet, John, joke, joker, Justine, etc
[j] yoyo, your, yours, yield, yellow, yet, yummy, York, yahoo, yacht, etc.
The narrowing occurs by raising the blade of the tongue to the hard palate just
Anterior
Anteriors [p] [b] [m] [f] [v] [θ] [ð] [t] [d] [n] [s] [z] Anterior sounds are consonants
articulated in the front part of the mouth, that is, from the alveolar area forward.
They include the labials, the interdentals, and the alveolars.
Velar
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“ A velar consonant is a consonant that is pronounced with the back part of the
tongue against the soft palate, also known as the velum, which is the back part
of the roof of the mouth. Velar consonants in English are [k], [g] and [ŋ]. The
consonant [k] is the most common in all human languages
(https://n9.cl/nde9m )” .
Coronal
Coronal sounds are produced by raising the tongue blade. Coronals consider
the interdentals [θ] and [ð], the alveolars [t], [d], [n], [s], and [z], the palatals [ʃ]
and [ӡ], the affricates [ʧ] and [ʤ], and the liquids [l] and [r].
Sibilant
Sibilants [s] [z] [ʃ] [ӡ] [ʧ] [ʤ] This class of consonantal sounds is characterized
by an acoustic rather than an articulatory property of its members. The friction
created by sibilants produces a hissing sound, which is a mixture of high-
frequency sounds. (Fromkin et al., 2014, 209)
It is worth noting that obstruents and glides are not syllabic sounds because
they are always accompanied by a vowel and the vowel is the core of the
syllable (Fromkin et al., 2014, 210).
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vowels). Phonetic features that are non distinctive in one language may be
distinctive in another. Aspiration is distinctive in Thai and non distinctive in
English” (https://n9.cl/9406t ).
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There are several phonological rules however we will emphasize seven. They
are classified by the kind of process they involve.The most important are
assimilation, dissimilation, Insertion, deletion or elision, metathesis,
strengthening, and weakening or lenition.
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“This also occurs in the English plural rule: when the plural morpheme z is
added to "bus," "bus-z" would be unpronounceable for most English speakers,
so a short vowel (the schwa, [ə]) is inserted between [s] and the [z]
(https://n9.cl/v7zl)”.
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Semitic languages, among others. This has the result of reducing the
markedness of the sounds [θ] and [ð] (https://n9.cl/ls5qy )”.
Complementary Resources
● Video about Phonological Rules
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2pg0Q77dWE
Bibliography
Avery, P., & Ehrlich, S. (1992). Teaching American English
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se/exportProduct/pdf/9781405130837
https://www.freethesaurus.com/deictic+word
https://n9.cl/lwlb7
https://n9.cl/clb1g
https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095
415248
https://n9.cl/f3wla
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