phonology homework

Doing a Phonological Analysis

Phonemes and Allophones

� Once we know what sounds appear in a given language, phonologists want to know more

– Which sounds are used to distinguish different words?

– What patterns determine which sounds can appear in which positions?

� The concept of the phoneme helps us understand phonological patterns

– The phoneme is an abstract contrastive category

– A language’s segment inventory consists of a number of phonemes

– Each phoneme has an underlying form: the sound that is stored in speakers’ mental lexicons

– Each phoneme has a number of surface forms, called allophones

* These surface forms represent how the phoneme is pronounced in a particular context

* At least one of the surface forms is the same as the underlying form

* We write a rule to describe which surface form appears in which context

� Every pair of sounds in a language is in one of two possible relationships

– They are allophones of separate phonemes

⇒ Alternatively, we say they are separate phonemes * For at least some context, either sound could appear in that context: the sounds are in contrastive distribution

* There may be a minimal pair: two words with different meanings that are exactly the same except that one word has the first sound where the other word has the second

– They are allophones of the same phoneme

⇒ Alternatively, we say they are allophones * In every context, only one of the two sounds is possible: the sounds are in complementary distribution

* In other words, in every context, it is possible to predict which of the two sounds can appear and which cannot

* It follows from this that there cannot be a minimal pair for the two sounds

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Procedure for Phonemic Analysis

Are X and Y allophones of the same phoneme, or allophones of separate phonemes?

1. Are there any minimal pairs in the data for X and Y?

Yes: The sounds are in contrastive distribution. They are allophones of separate phonemes. You’re finished.

No: Go on to step 2.

2. Make charts showing the environments where X and Y appear. Is there a pattern such that one sound always appears in one context, while the other sound appears everywhere else?

⇒ You aren’t required to include these charts in the write-up that you turn in, but it’s a good idea to write them out for yourself.

Yes: The sounds are in complementary distribution. They are allophones of the same phoneme. Go on to step 3.

No: The sounds are probably in contrastive distribution; they are allophones of sepa- rate phonemes. You’re finished.

3. Write a rule that accounts for the distribution of X and Y.

(a) Determine which sound is the underlying form (that is, which sound is the phoneme).

⇒ The sound that appears ‘elsewhere’ is the underlying form.

(b) Write a rule that describes when the underlying sound should be changed to a different allophone

Format of Phonological Rules

/X/ → [Y] / A B

X: The sound(s) affected by the rule

� If your rule applies to a single underlying sound, put the IPA symbol between forward slashes

� If your rule applies to a natural class, list all the features necessary to define the class in square brackets

⇒ When defining a natural class in a rule, use as few features as possible

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Arrow: Indicates that the underlying form changes to something different in some environ- ments

Y: The allophone that the underlying form changes into

� If your rule applies to a single sound, put the surface allophone in square brackets

� If your rule applies to a natural class, list the features that the rule changes in square brackets

⇒ Any feature not listed here stays the same as it was in the underlying form

Forward Slash: Separates the change from the environment where the change occurs

A, B: The environment where the change occurs; A and B may be any of the following

� An IPA symbol

� A list of features that defines a natural class

� A boundary

– Word boundary: #

– Morpheme boundary: -

– Syllable boundary: [σ or ]σ

� Nothing

Underscore: A placeholder showing the position of the phoneme that changes relative to its conditioning environment

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