Mahnoor Jamal

LINA02 Applications of Linguistics

Tutorial Exercises Week 3

1. First language acquisition: Phonological processes

List of processes (the bolded names)

Substitution:
• Stopping (sing  [tɪŋ])
• Fronting (ship  [sɪp])
• Gliding (drip  [dwɪp])
• Denasalization (Sam  [sæb]): nasal is replaced by a non-nasal
Assimilation:
• Consonant harmony (duck  [gʌk])
• Voicing assimilation (tell  [dεl])
Syllable simplification:
• Consonant cluster simplification (please  [piz])
• Syllable deletion (telephone  [tɛfo])
• Final consonant deletion (cat  [kæ])
• Reduplication (water  [wawa])
Other:
• Voicing (key  [ɡi])
• Devoicing (go  [ko])

First, transcribe the adult pronunciation in IPA. Second, identity the specific phonetic processes
in each of the following child pronunciations. There may be more than one process applied to
each word.
Word Adult Child Processes
pronunciation pronunciation
Consonant cluster simplification
(a) Sky [skaj] [kaj] (sk[k])
Gliding (l[w]),
(b) Laugh [læf] [wæp] Stopping (f [p])
Consonant cluster simplification
(tw[t]),
(c) Twig [twɪg] [tɪk] Devoicing (g[k])
Fronting (n[m]),
(d) Knife [najf] [majp] Stopping (f [p])
Consonant harmony (l[g]),
(e) Leg [lɛg] [ɡɛk] Devoicing (g[k])

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 Skip question
because its info
2. Acquiring word meanings wasn’t covered
in lecture

i) Suppose a child used the word tunnel when driving through a tunnel and also when
driving under an overpass, and finally, when hiding under a table. Is this overextension or
underextension? What might account for this error? Think about the perceptual properties
that these instances have in common.

ii) Suppose another child used the word fish only for goldfish. Is this overextension or
underextension? What might account for this? Think about what might be the prototype
or core member of this category.

3. First language acquisition: Phonology

A child (2 years; 9 months) pronounces the following words differently than an adult does.
Examine the consonants in the following production.
Word Adult Child Rule
pronunciation pronunciation
(a)
[tɛtent
nt] [tɛt] Nasal + Voiceless C  Delete Nasal

[pɪpink
ŋk] [bik]
(b) hand
[hænd] [æn] Nasal + Voiced C  Delete Consonant

[fɪfinger
ŋgər] [fɪŋəә]
(c) [pɪn]
[spspin
ɪn] [s] + C  Delete [s]
stand [tæn]
[stænd]
Nasal + Voiced C  Delete C[wit]
sweet
[swit]
[brɛd] [b] + liquid  Delete liquid
(d) bread [bɛd]

blow [blow] [bo] Stop + liquid  Delete liquid

i) Transcribe in IPA how an adult would produce the words above.

a) [tɛnt], [pɪŋk]
b) [hænd], [fɪŋgər]
c) [spɪn], [stænd], [swit]
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d) [brɛd], [blow]
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 ii) Explain what happens to the consonant clusters in each set above. Is the child producing
the consonant clusters? How does he pronounce them? State the rule that applies in each
set.

1) Nasal + Voiceless C  Delete Nasal

2) Nasal + Voiced C  Delete Consonant
3) [s] + C  Delete [s]
4) [b] + liquid  Delete liquid

iii) Based on the rules you came up with, how would the child pronounce the following
two-word utterances?
(e) Please mommy

[piz] [mamo]

(f) Grandma stay

[gæn.me] [tej]

(g) Want stop

[wat] [tɑp]

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