UNIT 2 Phonetics Study questions What is phonetics? How are articulatory, acoustic and auditory phonetics different?

How are the parts of the mouth related to the way consonants are categorized? How is the International Phonetic Alphabet useful? Introduction Human languages are primarily a compilation of sounds. (Sign languages are an ex ception, but they use hand shapes and movements in a comparable way). These spee ch sounds are made in a relatively small area of the human body and in a relativ ely restricted way. Thus, of all the noises that people can make, only a small s ubset is actually used in language. Despite the prejudice that leads people to s ay that a particular language is only grunts or that it sounds like birds chatterin g, human languages all work which the same small set of tools to make speech soun ds. Phonetics studies these speech sounds. Definitions Phonetics is the study of linguistic sounds. We will contrast phonetics and phon ology in the next chapter. For the moment we can say that phonetics is a tool fo r discovering how sounds are made and phonology is a tool for learning which of these many sounds end up being significantly different in the mind of native spe akers of a particular language. The larger field of phonetics can be divided into several specialty areas: acous tic phonetics, auditory phonetics, and articulatory phonetics. Acoustic phonetics is the study of the physical properties of speech sounds. Auditory phonetics is the study of the perception of speech sounds. Articulatory phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are made. We will emphasize articulatory phonetics in the remainder of this chapter. Components of speech production Human speech sounds involve a relatively small set of body parts: the respirator y system, the larynx, the vocal tract, and the parts of the mouth (e.g. tongue, teeth, lips). We will use a face diagram or sagittal sections to compare and con trast speech sounds. Sounds can be described in terms of the source and directio n of the airstream and the degree and location of any impedance of the airstream . Here is a diagram of the vocal apparatus to help us get started: All languages distinguish between consonant and vowel sounds. OGrady, et. al. 199 3:18 presents the following chart distinguishing these two major types of sounds : Vowels Consonants Are produced with relatively little obstruction in the vocal tract Are prod uced with a narrow or complete closure in the vocal tract Are more sonorous Are less sonorous Are syllabic Are generally not syllabic A doctor might tell you to say ah, but certainly not p or k when he or she wants to lo ok in your mouth or at the back of your throat. The vowel [ a ] is a very open s ound, there is very little obstruction of the air that is coming up from your lu ngs. The sounds [p] and [k]. On the other hand, temporarily stop all the air as some part of the mouth gets in the way of the airstream. Vowels are also typically sonorous, they are noisier than most consonants. Compare [a] and [s] or [o] and [n]. Syllables by definition contain a vowel. Sometimes a consonant (or more) can pre cede the vowel or follow it, but the vowel will be the main part or nucleus of the

syllable. There are also sounds such as [w] called glides that are like consonants in some ways and like vowels in other ways; they are also referred to as semi-vowels. I f you say [ua] slowly it sounds like a series of two vowels; if you say it more rapidly, it begins to sound like [wa], a consonant followed by a vowel. Note tha t [w] and [u] are produced in approximately the same way: the lips are rounded a nd the back of the tongue is near the velum. The vowel [i] and the palatal conso nant (semivowel) [j] are likewise similar. Consonants All consonants can be distinguished in terms of where and how the sound is produ ced. A chart of consonants is an analog of a face diagram: it shows where and ho w sounds are made. The columns of a consonant chart are analogous to the various places of articula tion (bilabial, labiodental, etc.); i.e. the where. Thus, sounds on the left sid e of the chart are produced in the front of the mouth (e.g., bilabial sounds) an d sounds more to the right are produced further back. In actual fact, the chart would be better in more of an inverted L shape since the last two columns refer to places within the throat, not in the mouth itself. The rows of a consonant chart indicate the manner of articulation; i.e. sounds are made (stop, fricative, etc.). This order is also significant: sounds towards the top of the chart obstruct the airstream more than sounds towards th e bottom of the chart. Thus, the very top line is stops. Fricatives allow air to k eep escaping and are lower of the chart; glides hardly impede the air at all, an d are on the very bottom. WHERE? Lips Teeth Hard Palate Velum Throat HOW? Air completely blocked Air partially blocked

The following chart is a partial list of the consonants of English using the Int ernational Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Where the textbook differs from IPA, we will note the alternate symbols. WHERE Bi-labial Inter-dental Labio-dental Alveolar Paltal a nd Alveo-palatal Velar Uvular Glottal HOW Stop Voiceless p t c k q Voiced b d g Nasal m n Fricative Voiceless f Voiced v Sibilant Voiceless Voiced Affricate / z

s / z

Liquid Glide w

l j

We can sort consonants by similar features or characteristics: voicing, place of articulation, manner of articulation, aspiration, air direction, and air mechan ism. Voicing voiced voiceless b d g p t k Place of articulation bilabial p b m labiodental f v interdental alveolar alveo-palatal t d s

velar k g uvular q glottal Manner of articulation stop/plosive fricative f v s z sibilant s z affricate nasal liquids glides w j Aspiration unaspirated p m n l aspirated/ ph

p b t d k g

Vowels All languages distinguish between consonant sounds, in which the air stream is c onstricted, and vowel sounds, in which the air stream is basically unconstricted . Vowels are also distinguished in terms of how and where each sound is produced , but they involve fewer parts of the overall vocal apparatus. In fact, all vowe ls sounds are made between the palatal and the velar columns of the consonant ch art. Thus the highest, most front vowel [ i ] would occur just under the glide [ j ] if the two charts were placed next to each other. Likewise, [ u ] would be ju st under the glide [ w ]. The consonant version of each pair is somewhat shorter is duration and the vowel more syllabic. Consider the following vowel chart: Vowels present a major difficulty to learners because there are no clear places o f articulation as there are in consonants. A student has to hear and mimic the re lative differences between similar vowels, more like a sliding whistle than a fl ute. Tongue height Vowels can be grouped by the relative height of the tongue: high, mid, low. High vowels are produced with the tongue close to the top of the mouth; low vowels a re produced with the tongue almost flat against the bottom of the mouth.

Height Symbols high i u beat bit boot foot mid bet but bought ou low a bat bot(fly) boat

English examples

ei

bait

Tongue advancement Vowels can also be grouped by the relative front-back relationship to other vowe ls. The front vowels are produced with the tongue blade under the hard palate; b ack vowels are produced with the back of the tongue under the velum. front central back i u e o a Lip rounding Vowels can be grouped by the shape of the lips: rounded (as in [ o ] and [ u ]) and unrounded (as in [ i ] and [ e ]). unrounded rounded i o e u (Notice that in English there are unrounded front vowels and rounded back vowels . Other languages, including French and German, have these sounds plus rounded f ront vowels and unrounded back vowels.) Tenseness Some languages have pairs of vowels that are produced in the same area of the mo uth (e.g., high and front) that are distinguished by the fact that one sound is more tense and the other more lax. English is such a language. The following example s show the importance of this difference in English: tense lax English examples i beat bit e bait - bet u boot - foot o boat - bought In some varieties of English the following examples illustrate 14 distinct vowel s and 9 distinct diphthongs: Who would know aught of art must learn, act, and then take his ease. Fear the poor outside the door; beware of power, avoid desire.

One way to remember the main phonetic symbols for vowels is to use the following phrase in English: Eat it, may get fat. But, ah, you look so awesome! If we put these English words in a phonetic chart format, they remind us of the values of the vowels. i eat u you it look e but

may o

so

get awesome fat

ah

Heres a summary chart of English vowels:

tense i Lax Tense e o Lax u

Tense Lax

The IPA The International Phonetic Alphabet is useful as a tool to describe the speech s ounds of any human language. Phoneticians from around the world have agreed on ( and continue to discuss) separate symbols for each sound known thus far. The IPA symbols provide a fairly accurate representation of speech if properly used. Al though the writing systems of languages may vary, a transcription of the speech sounds in IPA will be understandable by any linguist who knows the system. It is also important to recognize the difference between phonetic transcription and o rthography. Phonetic transcription is a tool for description and analysis; ortho graphy is a socially acceptable means of encoding the (significant) sounds of a language for common use. Phonetic writing is helpful because orthographic writing is often ambiguous or u nclear. In English the sequence ough can have six different pronunciations. Can y ou think of some of them? Likewise, the same sound can have numerous spellings, as in the sound [ si ]: ce cedar cea cease cei ceiling cy juicy sce scenic

se sea see sei sie sy

senile sea see seize siege glossy

Other phonetic symbols There is also an Americanist tradition in phonetics that has slightly different symbols for certain speech sounds. Note that the Language Files textbook uses no n-IPA symbols for six consonants. We will explain the differences between the IP A and the textbook symbols as they occur. Pullum and Ladusaws book (1983) provides a cross-reference between the several sy stems of phonetics symbols. Suprasegmentals Certain aspects of human speech are described as occurring above the other sound s; i.e. as suprasegmental. These suprasegmental features include length, intonat ion, tone, and stress. Length Length is a phonetic feature that affects vowels and consonants within a syllabl e. In phonetics length refers to the duration of the sound. This is not the same as talking about a long A or a long O in learning to read the English writing syste m. In Finnish there are long and short vowels and consonants. tulen I come present tu:len of wind genitive singular tu:l:en I may blow potential 1 singular tu:l:e:n of the blown one active II participle tule:n into fire illative singular tul:en I may come potential 1 singular tul:e:n of the one who has come active II participle

Intonation Intonation is a phonetic feature involving changes of pitch over a phrase or sen tence. Intonation normally adds emotional rather than lexical meaning. In Englis h, a simple statement can be transformed into a Yes/No question by a change in i ntonation: Jan went to the store. Jan went to the store? Draw lines above the words to indicate where the intonation goes up or down. One particular difficulty native English speakers have in learning other languag es is that they try to ask questions by using the English question intonation rath er than following the patterns of the foreign language. This is especially hazar dous when the foreign language has tone differences as in Mandarin, Thai, etc. Tone or pitch Tone refers to changes in pitch at a syllable or word level. It is estimated tha t up to one half of the worlds languages use pitch/tone differences to differenti ate words. Mandarin, Thai, Vietnamese and many other languages of Asia are tone la nguages. There are also tone languages in Mexico (e.g., Mixtec, Mazatec) and in Africa (e.g., Zulu, Luganda, Yoruba, Kikirewe). Some languages (as illustrated by Thai below) use a change in pitch to distingui sh words which have the same pronunciation otherwise (i.e., the same consonants and vowels). [naa] with low tone a nickname [naa] with mid tone rice paddy [naa] with high tone young maternal uncle or aunt

[naa] with falling tone face [naa] with rising tone thick Stress Stress is a combination of several phonetic features that may include increased volume, higher pitch and longer length depending on the particular language. In English stress follows certain basic patterns and is predictable (to a native sp eaker). A few noun/verb pairs have contrastive stress patterns: import (n) Theyre in imports. import (v) They import silk. Russian has pairs of words that have different meanings depending on the stress: zamok castle zamok lock ruki hands ruki hand (GENsg) How to take phonetic notes Phonetic transcription is a useful tool for describing and analyzing language. I t can help you improve your pronunciation in a foreign language. Taking accurate phonetics notes is challenging, even for experienced linguists. A key factor is accurate observation of how the sound is made. This involves not only listening, but also watching the speakers mouth. You can often see articula tory elements that you cannot hear (e.g., interdental versus dental articulation ). Listen carefully several times. Watch the speakers mouth. Mimic the sounds you hear. Write the word or phrase as best you can at the moment. Listen again to catch sounds that you may have missed the first time. Watch the speaker again for additional clues. Mimic the word or phrase again. Correct your transcription. Keep experimenting with the mimicry and the transcription to determine the exact pronunciation. Key points Speech sounds can be described in terms of how they are produced. Phonetic charts are analogs of speech production. The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) can help you transcribe and reproduce speech sounds accurately. All languages use only a finite set of speech sounds. Phonetics can help you speak another language more accurately.

Phonology Study questions What is phonology? How is phonology related to phonetics? What is a phoneme? How are minimal pairs useful in phonology? What is an allophone? Give an example from English. Introduction The sounds of human languages can be described by phonetics. A linguist can take exacting notes of the minute differences between how different individuals spea k and even of the ways in which the same speaker varies his or her speech. These

differences do not always carry over to a difference in meaning. The same meani ng can be conveyed by a variety of pronunciations. Phonological studies take pho netic data and add the dimension of meaning to our discussions of language.

Definitions Phonology is the study of how speech sounds are organized and how they function. Note the differences between phonetics and phonology in the chart below: Phonetics Phonology Main focus How sounds are made (e.g., voiceless, unaspirated, nasalized) How sounds are used (pit vs. bit in English) Normal scope All languages A particular language Role of native speaker Native speaker pronunciation of sounds (variation even b y the same speaker and especially between speakers) Native speaker reactions to sounds (Does a change in phonetics create a change in meaning, a different w ord?) Role of linguist Record sounds accurately (Detailed transcription of soun ds) Describe significance of sounds and sound changes Position in relation to language Outsider Etic Insider Emic Phonetics can use machines to distinguish sounds; phonology uses meaning to dist inguish significant sounds or phonemes in a particular language. Phonetics looks at etic material; phonology or phonemics looks for emic material . Phonology looks for the sound system within a particular language. In every language there is variation, even within one speakers pronunciation. The same word may be pronounced in a number of ways and still be considered to be t he same word; i.e., there is variation around some norm. I said [bt] vs. I said [bth] In the example above, the presence or absence of word final aspiration does not change the meaning of the word bat. However, in I said [bd ] the change in the final consonant from [t] to [d] would change the meaning of th e word. Minimal pairs such as [bt] and [bd] are useful in phonology to determine which sound s are distinctive in a particular language; i.e., which sounds distinguish meani ng. Note the list of words in English that shows contrasts between the different vow el sounds: beat boot bite bout bit but (put) bait boat bet bought bat bot (fly)

Contrastive sounds Within each language there are phonetically similar sounds that prove to be cont rastive phonemically; i.e., the phonetic difference between them is linguistical ly meaningful in that language. Minimal pairs are frequently used to prove that so unds are phonemic or contrastive: [p] [pIg] pig [b] [bIg] big [p] [ped] paid [b] [bed] bade [s] [sIp] sip [ ] [ ip] ship Words that rhyme are good illustrations of contrast, especially one-syllable words like those above. Other pairs of words show a contrast in vowels: [I ] [sIp] sip [ i ] [sip] seep [] [pn] pan [ ] [p n] pen Normally, only phonetically similar sounds are contrasted; vowels and consonants are not usually contrasted since they often do not occur in the same position i n a word. Likewise, sounds that are already phonetically quite distinct are not considered as variants of one sound; they are assumed to be two separate sounds (e.g., [m] and [r]). These phonetically similar pairs are sometimes called "susp ect pairs." Complementary distribution Some phonetically similar sounds are used as variant shapes of the same sound or phoneme. Each of these occurs in a distinct location or environment; they never occur in contrast. These variants are called allophones. For those of you familiar with the stories of Superman and Batman, allophones mi ght be seen as the Clark Kent versus Superman guise on the one hand or the Bruce Wayne versus Batman guise on the other. The particular shape that occurs depend s on the situation (e.g., when someone needs help, the superhero appears.) We ca n also consider water in its three forms: /H20/ [steam] / temp = 212 and above [ice] / temp = 32 and below

A phoneme is a distinctive sound unit of a language. In linguistics we distinguish phonemes from phones by placing phonemic forms between slashes /fonimIk/ phonetic forms between square brackets [fon rIkh]. Three possible relationships There are three basic relationships possible between two phonetically similar so unds: Explanation Example in English contrast Two sounds that are similar make the difference between two diff erent meanings; e.g. rhyming words, words that are all the same except for one c onsonant sound or one vowel sound. tie vs. die bus vs. buzz put vs. putt complementary distribution Two sounds that are similar that never occur in the same phonetic environment (e.g., one occurs at the beginning of a word, but the other never does; one occurs after an [s] but the other never does). The p sound in pot vs. the p sound in spot The nasalized vowel in bean vs. the non-nasalized vowel in bee free variation Two sounds that are similar that may be substituted for one anot her in the same word without changing the meaning. For some people, the k sound at the end of kick may vary between an aspirated k and an unreleased k

[water] / elsewhere. The phoneme /p/ in English, if studied phonetically, has several different phone tic shapes depending on where it occurs in a word. At the beginning of a word, /p/ occurs with aspiration [ phIn ] After an /s/ the /p/ is unaspirated [ spIn ] As the last sound of a word, the /p/ sound can be either aspirated or unreleased (indicated with a small bracket after the symbol []. [ sIph ] or [ sIp] But the presence or absence of aspiration never changes the meaning of an Englis h word; it is not phonemic.

Other allophonic variation can be caused by the location of word stress, by the surrounding vowels or consonants, etc. In the following examples, note where [s] and [z] occur. Remember that the data is written in phonetic symbols, not in th e normal Spanish writing system. Spanish (Data from Burquest and Payne 1993:22) [sapo] toad [mizmo] same [poso] well [azno] donkey [pas] peace [izla] island [listo] ready [kozmos] universe Since [s] and [z] never occur in the same type of position in a word in Spanish (e.g., only [z] occurs before a nasal or a lateral), we can say that the two sou nds are mutually exclusive or that they are in complementary distribution. Free variation Other phonetically similar sounds can be used interchangeably without changing t he meaning of a word; they are not phonemic. In English, the last consonant of a word may be pronounced more or less emphatic ally or with an extra degree of aspiration without changing the meaning of the w ord. For example, the final /p/ in the word stop. Notice that the examples look like minimal pairs, but that the meaning does not change when the pronunciation is changed. Natural classes When linguists write phonological rules to explain a phonetic change, they look for the broadest generalizations they can make about the data. Rather than say [ p] changes to [b] and [t] changes to [d], they would want to make a rule about a ll stops. Stops are a natural class of sounds. Classes of sounds typically cha nge in the same ways. Thus, /p/, /t/, and /k/ in English, all of which are voice less stops, are all aspirated at the beginning of words and unaspirated when the y come after an /s/: /p/ [ph] word initial [p] after [s] /t/ [th] word initial [t] after [s] /k/ [kh] word initial [k] after [s] Nasals, as another example, may all cause preceding vowels to become nasalized, as in English. Linguists do not expect only one nasal to cause such a change whe n the other nasals do not. The following chart shows five major natural classes of sounds. Each class is di stinguished by binary features that are either true (+) or not true (-) about that set of sounds. Obstruents Vowels Glides Liquids Nasals [consonantal] + + + [vocalic] + [sonorant] + + + +

Examples: i a e j w m n

p b z t l

Obstruents Sounds produced with an obstruction of the airstream are called obstruents. This class of sounds includes stops [ p b ], fricatives [ z ] and affricates [ t ]. Sonorants Sounds made with a relatively open passage for the airstream are called sonorant s. This class of sounds includes all vowels and the nasal, liquid, and glide con sonants. Sibilants A shared auditory feature makes a natural class of sibilants in English. This cl ass feature helps explain why the English plural marker on words such as house, rose, bush and rouge (that all end on a phonetic sibilant sound) is not the same as the plural marker on nouns such as dog or cat. We will look at this at t he end of the chapter on morphology.

Distinctive features To discuss the distinctive or meaningful sounds of a particular language, we can use a set of distinctive features much as contrastive features are used in sema ntics to distinguish words with similar meanings. The set of distinctive feature s may vary from language to language. In choosing distinctive features, linguists look for natural classes of sounds; gr oups of sounds that make sense phonetically. Voiced stops, for example, often unde rgo similar changes when they are the last sound in a word (pre-pause), and so a description of the consonants might group voiced stops as a natural class. Symmetry The sound system of a particular language will exhibit some form of symmetry. A linguist or a language student can anticipate a symmetrical set of vowels or con sonants in any language he or she studies. No language, for example, has only fr ont vowels; the vowels will tend to be evenly distributed front and back, high a nd low. Likewise, no language has only bilabial consonants; consonants will typi cally be spread across the available range of places of articulation (e.g. [p t k], rather than only [p] and [k]). Vowel systems typically make up a symmetrical pattern. Spanish, for example, has 5 vowels: [ i ] and [ e ] in the front, [ u ] and [o ] in the back and [ a ] on the bottom: i u e o a The symmetry of vowel sounds tends to place sounds in such a way that they are m ore readily distinguished from each other rather than in relative close proximit y. This feature of vowel patterns helps hearers distinguish the vowels more easi ly. As the number of vowels in a particular language increases, of course, the s pace between vowels becomes smaller. English, for example, has more vowels than Spanish and the difference between some English vowels is hard for Spanish speak ers to hear (e.g., the vowels in hip and heap and in bad and bed ). Phonological rules Phonological rules are used to express phonetic changes that occur in language ( e.g., Spanish voiced stops become fricatives between vowels). The phonological r ules are expressed as simply and as meaningfully as possible; only the salient f eatures are mentioned in the rule. The general shape of a phonological rule is:

original sound

changed sound / environment

where the original sound is expressed in terms of its phonological class and the phonetic change is described using only the distinctive features that undergo a change (i.e., features which stay the same are not listed). The environment or location which causes the change is explained in terms of the significant features of the sound or syllable. In English, vowels become nasalized before a nasal consonant. This can be expres sed: V [+ nasal] / ______ [+ nasal]

Note that this rule implies that English vowels are normally non-nasal. Note also that the change occurs only before sounds that are nasal. There are a number of basic phonological changes, including the following: assimilation C [- voice] [+ voice] / V ___ V A voiceless consonant becomes voiced between two vowels. weakening [+voice] [+continuant] / V ___ V [-continuant] A stop becomes a continuant between two vowels (e.g., in Spanish). Solving phonological problems 1. Organize the data, putting similar words together. Look for minimal pairs in wh ich only one sound is different between the two words and there is a difference in meaning. Such pairs of words prove that the two sound being compared are contra stive in the language being studied. We call these contrastive sounds phonemes. 2. If there are two words that have all but one sound the same and still have th e same meaning, the sounds being compared are in free variation. 3. Look at the other pairs of similar sounds that are not in contrast nor in fre e variation. These sounds may be allophones or alternative shapes of the same phon eme. Look at the location where each sound occurs. Try to explain the change fro m one sound to the other in terms of where each one occurs (e.g. between vowels, before a nasal consonant). 4. Write a phonological rule that summarizes the changes in the allophones. For example, in Spanish: /d/ [ ] / V ___ V The phoneme /d/ has a variant pronunciation [ ] between vowels. This rule cou ld also be expressed in terms of features; e.g. [-continuant] [+continuant]. Prosody As in phonetics, certain features of language are best described as occurring on a larger unit than the phoneme. Such features as stress and intonation are call ed prosody or prosodic features. Stress can differentiate word classes, as in English: subject (noun) import (noun) subject (verb) import (verb) Stress can also be used in predictable positions in words; e.g. always on the fi nal syllable or always on the syllable just before the last syllable. In Spanish , most words have the main stress on the syllable just before the last syllable:

Phonotactics

ro deo casa a migo friend

rodeo house

Every language system has rules about which sounds can begin and end a syllable or a word and which sounds can occur next to each other. A native speaker knows these patterns as a part of their linguistic knowledge. English allows multiple consonants [ C ] to occur together within a syllable, as in: CCCVCC strength Note that the last four letters represent only two phonetic sounds [ ] CCCVC splash Note that the last three letters represent only one phonetic sound [ t ] stretch scratch

Note, however, that if the first consonant is [ s ] the second consonant is a vo iceless stop/plosive and the third consonant is a liquid. Other English examples include: CCVC CCVCC spoon spoons stool stools scoot scoots Other languages may allow only homorganic consonants (those pronounced at the same place of articulation) to occur next to each other and then only when they end and begin different syllables, as in Ambai, an Austronesian language of Indonesi a: em.bai moon ran.do banana agadi coconut Many languages also restrict consonants in particular environments, such as word final position. Ambai allows only the velar nasal [ N ] in word final position. [ ra ] path

Hawaiian has relatively few consonants and vowels and normally has CV syllables. Thus, there are often very long words, such as humuhumunukunukuapua a, the Hawa iian word for triggerfish.

Hierarchy in phonology Phonological forms can be discussed in relation to smaller and larger units. We might begin with the feature as a part of a phoneme. Phonemes can be combined to mak e syllables, and syllables can be put together into phonological phrases. At a r ather large level, we recognize such phonological units as limericks and haiku, each of which has a structured shape. A limerick has a certain number of syllabl es and a prescribed rhythm pattern in each of the five lines. Lines one, two and five rhyme, and lines three and four rhyme with each other. For example: A flea and a fly in a flue Were caught, so what could they do? Said the fly, "Le t us flee." "Let us fly," said the flea. So they flew through a flaw in the flue .

A haiku (in Japanese) has five syllables in the first and third lines and seven in the middle line. The lines do not need to rhyme. Heres an English example in t his traditional format although many people think haiku in English should not be bound to the 5-7-5 pattern: Working vacation Checking e-mail by the pool An oxymoron. Universals of phonology Despite the many variations among languages, there are still certain general pat terns (often called universals ) that are evident. Implicational universals predict that a certain pattern or sound will occur if a nother similar pattern or sound is present in a given language. Such implication al universals include generalizations about sound inventories, the distribution of sounds, the acquisition of sounds by infants, and the process of language cha nge. The following table gives some examples of implicational universals. Sound inventories If a language uses an uncommon sound such as a nasalized v owel or an interdental obstruent, there will also be a more common sound similar to it (e.g., a non-nasalized vowel, an alveolar obstruent). Distribution of sounds Sounds that are less common will occur in a more restric ted set of positions in a syllable or word. Acquisition of sounds Uncommon sounds are mastered later than the more common sounds. Sound change Less common sounds tend to be less stable than common sounds and are more susceptible to change. Substantive universals posit that every human language will have certain feature s or sounds. For example: All languages distinguish vowels from consonants. All languages also have at least one stop consonant. English Tongue Twisters 1. A big black bug bit a big black bear. 2. A bitter biting bittern bit a better brother bittern, and the bitter better b ittern bit the bitter biter back. And the bitter bittern, bitten by the better b itten bittern, said, Im a bitter biter bit, alack! 3. A bootblack blacks boots with a black blacking brush. 4. A critical cricket critic. 5. A cup of proper coffee in a copper coffee cup. 6. A tree toad loved a she-toad that lived up in a tree. She was a three-toed tr ee toad, but a two-toed toad was he. The two-toed toad tried to win the she-toads friendly nod, For the two toed toad loved the ground on which the three toed to ad trod. But no matter how the two-toed tree toad tried, he could not please her whim. In her tree-toad bower, with her three-toed power, the she-toad vetoed hi m. 7. Barbara burned the brown bread badly. 8. Beth believes thieves seize skis. 9. Blame the big bleak black book! 10. Blue black bugs blood. 11. Cheap ship trips. 12. Copper coffeepot. 13. Double bubble gum bubbles double. 14. Herr Hurd hurt his head as he herded his herd. Herr Hurds heir, airing her ha ir, heard Herr Hurd err ere Herr Hurd heard her. 15. I said, a knapsack strap, not a knapsacks strap. 16. If a weary witch wished a weird wish with a withered wizards whip, where is t he withered wizards whip, with which the weary witch wished? 17. Shave a thin cedar shingle. 18. She sawed six slick sleek slim slender saplings. 19. She says she shall sew a sheet. 20. Six shaved sheep shivered sheepishly. 21. Soldiers shoulders shudder when shrill shells shriek.

Key points Phonology is the study of how speech sounds are organized and how they function. Phonological analysis language. Speech sounds tend to Speech sounds tend to The sound system of a Phonological analysis e. can determine which sound differences are significant in a adjust to nearby sounds in systematic ways. vary around a norm. language tends to be symmetrical. is an essential part of determining how to write a languag

22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. es 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34.

Sure the ships shipshape, sir. The bootblack brought the book back. The seething sea ceaseth seething. The sixth sheiks sixth sheeps sick. The sow s stout snout snores snorts. Thin tinsmith Tim thinks Tillies thin twin thinks Tims twin thinner than Gilli thin twin. Three tree twigs. Tie twine to three tree twigs. Tuesday is stew day. Stew day is Tuesday. Unique New York. When wicked witches whisk switches, which witch whisks switches swiftest? Where is the big black bear the big black bug hit? Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?