Introduction to Linguistics

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CHAPTER 4
The sound patterns of language

Instructor: Lam Hoang Phuc

4.1. Phonology – Some important concepts

 Phonology
 Phonology: the study of the systems and patterns of
speech sounds in a language.
 Phonology is concerned with the abstract or mental aspect
of the sounds in language (meaning) rather than the actual
physical articulation of speech sounds.
 Phonology is the underlying design (blueprint) of each
sound type that serves as the basis of all the variations in
physical articulations of that sound.
4.1. Phonology – Some important concepts

 Phonemes
 Phoneme: a sound unit in a language that allows us to
distinguish meanings (contrastive property).
 A phoneme is presented in slash marks /t/ rather than
square brackets [t] like phonetic segments.
 The features of a phoneme are marked with a plus sign (+)
if present and a minus sign (-) if not present.
E.g. /p/  [-voice, +bilabial, +stop]
 If two sounds share some features, they can be described
as members of a natural class of sounds.
4.1. Phonology – Some important concepts

 Phones and allophones

 Phones: different versions of a phoneme that are regularly
produced in actual speech.
 Allophones: all of the phones of a phoneme.
 Phonemes can be used to contrast meanings, whereas
allophones cannot.
 Whether a phonetic segment is treated as phoneme or
allophone depends on each language.
4.2. The sequences of sounds

 Minimal pairs and sets

 Minimal pair: two words that are identical in form except
for a contrast in one phoneme, occurring at the same
position.
 If we have more than two words of this type, we have a
minimal set.
 Minimal pairs and sets are traditionally used in
pronunciation teaching.
4.2. The sequences of sounds

 Phonotactics
 Phonotactics: the sequences or arrangements of sounds
that are permitted in a particular language.
 e.g. /sfɪg/ is a possible arrangement in English while /fsig/
is not.
 Phonotactics are part of every speaker’s phonological
knowledge.
4.2. The sequences of sounds

 Syllables
 Syllable: a unit of sound that contains a vowel or vowel-
like sound (compulsory) and consonant(s) before or after
(optional).
 Structure of a syllable:
4.2. The sequences of sounds

 Syllables
 Open syllable: has no coda.
 Closed syllable: has a coda.
 Common syllable structures in English:
V (eye)CV (tie)
VC (aim) CVC (time)
CCV (fly) VCC (ink)
CCVC (claim) CVCC (mend)
 Consonant clusters: combinations of consonants
 Consonant clusters are usual in English but not in many
other languages
 Consonant clusters may be reduced in casual conversation.
4.3. Coarticulation effects

 Coarticulation: the process of making one sound almost at

the same time as the next sound.
 Two popular coarticulation effects:
o Assimilation: when two sound segments occur in
sequence and some aspect of one segment is copied by
the other.
o Elision: the process of not pronouncing a sound
segment that might be present in the deliberately
careful pronunciation of a word in isolation.
 Assimilation and elision are features of normal speech, not
mistakes.
REFERENCES

Yule, G. (2010). The study of language (4th ed.).

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.