Phonology: Differences between languages

1. Phonology: Differences between languages LING 400 Winter 2010

2. Overview • Phonological typology • Phonological rules and foreign accents • For further learning about sounds of spoken languages: LING 450 please turn off your cell phone

3. Phonological typology • = Different types of phonological systems • Variation in phoneme inventories • Variation in phonological rules • Variation in consonant, vowel sequences

4. Japanese vowels

5. Japanese vowel qualities • [ki] ‘tree’ • [ke] ‘hair’ • [ka] ‘mosquito’ • [ko] ‘child’ • [kɯ] ‘phrase’ • (Not transcribed: final predictable [ʔ]: • 0  ʔ / V __ # ) Prof. Toshiyuki Ogihara, a native speaker from Tokyo

6. Liquids in Japanese One liquid phoneme, /ɾ/ (apico-alveolar tap) • Medial • [iɾo] ‘color’ • [kaiɾjɯ:] ‘ocean current’ • Initial • [ɾiŋgo] ‘apple’ • [ɾjo:] ‘quantity’

7. Mandarin (Chinese) vowel inventory [y] = high front rounded vowel [ɤ] = mid back unrounded vowel

8. Mandarin vowels Chia-Hui Huang, Taiwanese and Mandarin speaker [ ̂] = high falling tone

9. Mandarin tones • From http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/publications/files/lf10/lf10_sounds.html male and female speakers

10. Korean vowels

11. Korean vowels Sophie Ahn, from Pusan, but speaking here in Seoul (standard Korean) accent

12. Korean vowel length: prescriptive only

13. Korean glides High vowels and glides: [u] : [w] :: [i] :: [j] Korean /w/  [ɥ] / C ___ i [ɥ] = high front rounded glide  [ø̯] / C ___ e [ø̯] = mid front rounded glide [y] : [ɥ] :: [ø] : [ø̯] [ø] = mid front rounded vowel [wi] ‘upper part; stomach’ [tɥi] ‘behind’ [weka] ‘maternal family, house’ [k’ø̯e] ‘idea, scheme; quite’

14. Korean consonants C’ = “tense” or “fortis” (small glottal opening) p p’ ph t t’ th k k’ kh ts ts’ tsh s s’ h m n ŋ l w j

15. Korean tense consonants [pul] ‘fire’ [tɑl] ‘moon’ [p’ul] ‘horn’ [t’ɑl] ‘daughter’ [phul] ‘grass’ [thɑl] ‘face mask’ [ki] ‘flag’ [sɑl] ‘flesh, skin’ [k’i] ‘meal’ [s’ɑl] ‘raw rice’ [khi] ‘height’ /s/ = [sh]

16. Liquids in Korean Like Japanese, one liquid phoneme /l/  [ɺ] / ___ V [ɺ] = alveolar lateral or retroflex flap Rule does not apply to /l:/ (long [l]).

17. Korean liquids [ɺ] [l] [uɺi] ‘we’ [mul] ‘water’ [kɑɺu] ‘powder’ [ilkop] ‘seven’ [ɺupi] ‘ruby’ [l:] [tal:e] ‘wild garlic’ /l/  [ɺ] / ___ V (does not apply to long /ll/)

18. Foreign accents and borrowed words • Foreign accents • much < learner’s phonology • especially if language learned as adult • Borrowed words • codified foreign accent: borrowed words pronounced according to phonology of borrowing language

19. The original shibboleth • Judges 12:5-6

20. Spanish consonants p b t d k g ʧ f s x m n ɲ l w ɾj Notice: no /h/ /x/ = voiceless velar fricative

21. Spanish rhotics [ɾ] = alveolar tap [pɑɾɑ] ‘for’ [r] = alveolar trill = /ɾɾ/ [pɑrɑ] /paɾɾɑ/ ‘vine’ Word-initially, no contrast between [ɾ], [r]; [ɾ] usually  [r] there

22. Spanish loans into English [ɣ] = voiced velar fricative

23. Where an English speaker can go wrong • Misapplying English phonology to Spanish • Aspiration (not in Spanish): [thɑkoʊ] • Plural suffix –[z]: [phɑdɹeɪz] • Mid back rounded vowel not a diphthong in Spanish: [bəɹiɾoʊ] • Failing to learn Spanish phonology • voiced fricative, not stop, after vowel: [pɑðɾes] • Failing to learn Spanish phonetics • [burito] as [bəɹiɾoʊ]

24. General Roca, Argentina [xeneɾal|roka]

25. No aspiration [peso] (monetary unit of Mexico) [beso] ‘kiss’ [tono] ‘tone’ [dono] ‘I donate’ [koðo] ‘elbow’ [goðo] ‘goth’ No mid vowel diphthongs [rejno] ‘kingdom’ vs. [reno] ‘reindeer’

26. Phonetics vs. phonology