Phonology II

1. Phonology II Gareth Price – Duke University

2. Recap: Syllables • Satsuma • Where are the syllables in English? • Where in Japanese?

3. Phonemes • Phonemes • Smallest unit of meaning conveyed in sound • So: • tip – pit • bip – pin • bip – nap • bin – ban • Minimal Pairs: only one phoneme different in each word. • As the phoneme changes, so does the meaning. • At least in English!

4. Allophones • Allophone: a sound that can replace another sound in a language, but which doesn’t change the meaning. • wɔtər • [t] = [ɾ] [t] [?] • treinsteiʃən • [t] = [tʃ] • In Taiwan Mandarin: • fʊ hʊ • Importantly, it’s native speakers of the language that don’t perceive the difference. • Children often have real difficulty spelling ‘train’ and ‘chain’ • In different languages, the same sound can make a big change in meaning. • Eg. Warlpiri = (rr is trilled [r], r is approximant [r] and rd is a retroflex flap [ɾ]) • Marru – house • Tjarra – flame • Maru – black • Tjaru – fat • Mardu – wooden bowl • Tjarda - sleep

5. More Allophones • Vowels can also have allophones: • Moon, cool, moon, whose • The vowels are slightly different for each one. • What are the differences? • But do we perceive the difference? • Man /mad /map • We can perceive the differences if we think about it. But most people, in normal situations, can’t!

6. Aspiration • Allophones of a phoneme can vary depending on whether they are aspirated or not – that is, whether there is a puff of air immediately following the unvoiced consonant. Pit vs Spit • Keep • Cart • Coot • Seek • Scoop • Keep /kip/ • The place of articulation is fronter in the mouth [k+h] • Cart /kt/ • The place of articulation is not so front in the mouth [kh] • Coot /kut/ • The place of articulation is backer, and the lips are rounded [khw] • Seek /sik/ • There is less aspiration than in initial position • [k`] scoop /skup/ There is no aspiration after /s/ [k]

7. Aspiration • In English, the voiceless aspirated/unaspirated difference doesn’t necessarily change the meaning (though voicing does). • Voiceless/aspirated: ph thkh f s ð h • Voiced/unaspirated: b d g v z θ • But: different patterns are found in other languages. • In Classical Greek a three-way distinction was made between stops:  •  Voiceless/aspirated ph thkh • Voiced/unaspirated p t k • Voiced (and unaspirated) b d g • In Hindi-Urdu a four-way pattern is found, at five places of articulation:  • Voiceless aspirated ph th + h chkh • Voiceless unaspirated p t + c k • Voiced unaspirated b d d f g • Voiced aspirated bhthdh fhgh

8. Contrast vs non-contrast • Contrastive • Where interchangeability alters meaning • Non-Contrastive: • Where interchangeability does not alter meaning • However ... • Even within dialects of the same language, allophones can be very different. • Fizzy water • Fuzzy wahwah?

9. Distribution • Sounds can be in contrastive distribution: that is, when they appear, they change the meanings of words. • They are in complementary distribution when either sound will do but they appear to follow certain rules about where one will appear. • So: • tip / tick / pit / pick • Tape / take / cape / cake • Tep / teck / ket / peck • What are the rules? • Vowels before [k] are longer and lower in the mouth than elsewhere ... • Spat / pat / spool / pool / speak / peek • After [s] we get no aspiration [p] • Word initially, we get [ph] • We never get [p] in word-initial position • Are there any words where [p] and [ph]

10. Getting phonological data ... • tip – pit • bip – pin • bip – nap • bin – ban • Justin was always prepared. His motto was "Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy." His bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires, bent tennis rackets, deflated basketballs, and games with missing pieces that you could barely get in the door. His parents pleaded with him to clean out his room."What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?" his father asked. But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto, "Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.“ • Danger of death!