Abdellah Erraji

Group: B2

Introduction To Core Linguistics

Phonetics: description of speech sounds.

Place of articulation
Phonetics

Manner of articulation
Voicing

1. Place of articulation:
Lips
Teeth

Mouth

Tongue

Alveolar ridge
Hard palate

The
roof
Of the
mouth

Soft palate/Velum

Tip of the tongue

Blade of the tongue

Tongue
body

Front of the tongue

Back of the tongue
Uvula
Pharynx
Glottis

Vocal tract

Larynx
Lungs

Articulators

Active: tongue; lips; soft palate (velum)

Articulators

Airflow

Passive: teeth; alveolar ridge; Hard palate

Oral

Central

Oral

Nasal

Lateral (sides)

Air flows either from the oral or from the nasal cavity.
Oral: air flows either from the centre or from the sides of the mouth.
Ex: r (central); l (lateral)
Nasal: the velum lowers and blocks off the oral cavity to let the air out of the nostrils.
Ex: m; n;

Lips
Teeth

Lips

Teeth

Bilabial
(p;b;m;
w)
Labiode
ntal
(f;v)

Labiodental
(f;v)

Tongue
Alveolar
ridge
Hard
palate
Soft
palate/V
elum
Uvula
Pharynx
Glottis

Tongue

Alveolar
ridge

Hard
palate

Soft
palate/
Velum

Uvula

Pharynx

Glottis

Alveolar
(t;s;z;d;n;
l;r)

Palatal
(;;t;d
;j)

Velar
(k;g;)

Uvular
(q;;x)

Pharyng
eal
(;)

Glottal
(;h)

Interden
tal/Dent
als
(;)
Interdental
/ Dentals
(;)
Alveolar
(t;s;z;d;n
;l;r)
Palatal
(;;t;d;
j)
Velar
(k;g;)
Uvular
(q;;x)
Pharyng
eal
(;)
Glottal
(;h)

Postalveolar/alveopalatal=hard palate + front of the tongue.

Ex: d - t - -
Retroflex=Tongue tip + Hard palate
Ex :

Speech sounds

Consonants
Vowels
Glides (Semi consonants/vowels)

Consonantal sounds cause an obstruction of airflow in the vocal tract.

Ex: d; t; b; k; p
Vowel sounds cause little to no obstruction of airflow in the vocal tract.
Ex: [i:] [a:] [:] [:] [u:]
Glides are sounds pronounced with approximately open vocal folds.
Ex: j; w

2. Manner of articulation:
Plosives/stops: sounds produced with the lips. (Complete obstruction of the air).
Ex: b; p; t; d; k; g
Nasals: sounds produced through the nasal cavity.
Ex: m; n;
Trills: sounds produced with the tip of the tongue flapping repeatedly the alveolar ridge.
Ex: r (rrrrrr)
Tap/flap: sound produced with one single flap by the tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge.
(Mostly used by the Americans)
Ex: (Better) (Ladder)
Fricatives: sounds produced with a partial obstruction of the air causing a friction.
Ex: f; v; s; z; ; ; ;
Lateral fricative/Lateral approximant/Alveolar lateral approximant/Lateral liquid: sound
produced with the airflow released from the sides.
Ex: l
Liquids: sounds produced with an obstruction of the air + frictionless airflow.
Ex: l;
Glides: sounds pronounced with approximately open vocal folds. (Frictionless open
approximation)
Ex: w; j
Affricates= stops + fricatives
Ex: t = t+
d=d+
Approximants= liquids+glides
Ex : l ; ; w ; j
Palatal approximant: is made by raising the tongue body up to the hard palate.
Ex: j
Labiovelar approximant: an open approximation at the lips and the tongue back is raised
towards the velum.
Ex: w
Alveolar approximant/Retroflex liquid: to produce this sound, the tongue tip or
blade is raised up towards the alveolar ridge and curved. Ex:
Primary articulation
Features of consonants (monophthongs): they are three.
Consonant
b
p
m

Voicing
Voiced
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiceless

Place of articulation
Bilabial
Bilabial
Bilabial
Interdental

Manner of articulation
Stop/Plosive
Stop/Plosive
Nasal and Stop
Fricative


f
v
t
d
s
z
n
l
r

t
d
j
k
g

Note: all nasals are stops.

Voiced
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiced
Voiced
Voiced
Voiced
Voiced
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiced
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiced
Voiced
Voiced

Interdental
Labiodental
Labiodental
Alveolar
Alveolar
Alveolar
Alveolar
Alveolar
Alveolar
Alveolar
Alveolar
Alveolar
Palatal
Palatal
Palatal
Palatal
Palatal
Velar
Velar
Velar
Uvular
Uvular

Fricative
Fricative
Fricative
Stop/Plosive
Stop/Plosive
Fricative
Fricative
Nasal and Stop
Liquid
Trill
Liquid
Tap/Flap
Fricative
Fricative
Affricate
Affricate
Glide
Stop/Plosive
Stop/Plosive
Nasal and Stop
Trill
Fricative

Voiced
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiceless
Voiceless
Voiced
Voiceless

Uvular
Pharyngeal
Pharyngeal
Glottal
Glottal
Labiovelar
Labiovelar

Stop/Plosive
Fricative
Fricative
Fricative
Stop/Plosive
Glide
Glide

Features of vowels: they are four.

Vowel
i

Height of the
tongue
High
High
Mid
Mid
Mid
Low
Low
Mid
Mid
Mid
Low

Frontness/backness Tenseness/laxness Rounded/unrounded

of the tongue
of the tongue
Front
Tense
Unrounded
Front
Lax
Unrounded
Front
Tense
Unrounded
Front
Lax
Unrounded
Central
Lax
Unrounded
Front
Lax
Unrounded
Back
Tense
Unrounded
Central
Lax
Unrounded
Back
Tense
Rounded
Central
Lax
Unrounded
Front
Tense
Unrounded

Low
Mid
Mid
High
High

Back
Front
Back
Back
Back

Tense
Lax
Lax
Lax
Tense

Rounded
Rounded
Rounded
Rounded
Rounded

Centring diphthongs
Diphthongs (complex vowels)

Closing diphthongs

Centring diphthongs end with a schwa as a central vowel.

Ex: e chair [te] hear [h] sure []
Closing diphthongs end in or as closed vowels.
Ex: e play [ple] a fly [fla] toy [t] grow [gr] a now [na]
Triphtongs: they contain one more vowel than the diphthongs.
Ex: a hire [ha] a power [pa] royal [rl]

3. Voicing:
Voicing is whether a sound is voiced or voiceless. When the vocal folds are approximated, they
produce vibration; therefore, the sound is voiced.
Ex: d; g; l; m; n
When the vocal folds are apart, no vibration is produced, the air flows freely so the sound is
voiceless. (f; s; p; k; t)
How do we distinguish between voiced and voiceless sounds?
Put your fingers on your throat to see if it vibrates.
Plug your ears with your palms and pronounce the sound. You will hear a loud voice for the
voiced sounds.
Choose a word ending with the consonant you wish to know whether it is voiced or voiceless,
and add an s at the end of the word. The voiced sound will make you pronounce s [z] and vice
versa.
The sound story:
Each sound has its own story, that is before being pronounced, each sound goes through some
steps. These steps are as follows:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Airstream mechanism / pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism (where the air comes from)
The larynx (glottis, vocal folds, voicing)
The phonation process (air flows through the oral or nasal cavity)
Place of articulation (what articulators are involved)
Manner of articulation (how the two articulators come into contact)

Ex: the sound []

This is a voiced alveolar nasal stop. The air starts from the lungs and goes up to the glottis; that is
the pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism. The air passes through the glottis between
approximate vocal folds causing vibration. In the phonation process, the air flows through the
nasal cavity while the tongue back comes into contact with the velum that lowers and blocks off
the oral cavity making a plosive sound. Finally, we get a nasal sound out the nostrils.
Secondary articulation:
It is the addition of an approximant or vowel-like articulation to a primary one occurring at the
same time. This has many types:
Labialization: to labialize a consonant is to make it bilabial by adding a bilabial sound directly
after it.
Ex: K + W = [kw] as in queen
[K] is a sub-script.
[W] is a super-script.
The sub-script is not bilabial but the super-script is; so the fact that they occur at the same time
makes of [K] a bilabial sound.
Another example is r when followed by a round vowel sound like [u], it becomes round too as
in root [rwut]
Nasalization: generally, when pronouncing a nasal sound, the velum lowers to let the air
through the nasal cavity. The same process happens by placing a tilde ~ above the nasalized
vowel.
Ex: pin [pn] kin [kn]
Palatalization: one of the palatal sounds we have seen is [j]. It is used as a super-script to
indicate that the preceding sound is palatalized or rather dark. The best example for this is l
Ex: lead [ljid] leaf [ljif]
Velarization: the tongue back raises and comes into contact with the velum. A tilde is put
through the velarized sound. Velarized sounds can also be represented by a small velar symbol
Ex: kill [k] [kl] heal [hi] [hil]
Pharyngealization: when a sound is pharyngealized, the tongue back is pushed as downwards
and as backwards as possible, as if swallowing. Arabic and some other languages have
pharyngeal sounds. Here are some Arabic examples:
h becomes []
t becomes [t ]
d becomes [d]
Major phonetic classes
As we can divide life forms into larger or smaller classes, we can divide speech sounds similarly.
-

Noncontinuants: are stops (including nasals) and affricates. (total obstruction of the
airstream in the oral cavity)
Continuants: All other consonants, and all vowels, are continuants. (the stream of air
flows continuously)

Obstruents: include the non-nasal stops, the fricatives, and the affricates. (the airstream
may be fully or nearly fully obstructed)
Sonorants: are vowels, nasal stops, liquids, and glides. (much less obstruction)
Consonantals: are the obstruents, the nasal stops, the liquids, and the glides. (there is
some degree of restriction to the airflow)
Labials: are the bilabials, the labiodentals, and the labiovelars. (involvement of the lips)
Coronals: contain the interdentals, the alveolars, the palatals, the affricates, and the
liquids. (raising of the tongue blade)
Anteriors: consist of labials, interdentals, and alveolars. (from the alveolar area forward)
Sounds produced from the alveolar area backward, are posterior sounds.
Sibilants: produce a hissing sound. [s] [z] [] [] [t] [d]

PHONOLOGY
Phonology: is the study of the sound system of a language.
First, one should be able to distinguish between phonetics and phonology. Second, one should
realize what both the studies have in common.

Phonetics deals with physical properties of speech sounds.

Phonology deals with the organization of speech sounds in a particular language.
What is common between them is that they both deal with speech sounds as when
pronouncing a word or when listening to someone speaking.

Distribution/patterning of speech sounds:

The distribution is where a speech sound occurs in a set of phonetic environments.
We have the sound [p] and we want to know where it occurs. Before going any further, we
should know that the sound [p] consists of two allophones (It has two ways of pronunciation);
we can simply pronounce it [p] as in spring [spr] or [ph] as in port [ph:t]. We call the small h
aspiration because when we pronounce the bilabial stop [ph], we produce aspiration as soon as
the air is released; so, we say that [p] and [ph] are allophones of the same phoneme /p/.
English phonemes:
A phoneme is the minimal unit of sound which is significant in a language and capable of
distinguishing meaning. Phonemes are known to be distinctive, contrastive, phonemic, or
non-redundant for they are able to change the meaning of a word. That is what we call
contrastiveness.
- Contrastiveness: is a change in meaning by replacing one sound with another.
Consider these words:
Kit
Sit
They have the same pattern but their meaning is different. The responsible is the phoneme that
occurs at the beginning of each word. Therefore, we would say that /k/ and /s/ are different
phonemes and are in contrastive distribution.
If we want to know that two sounds are in contrastive distribution, we construct a minimal pair
by interchanging one sound with the other, which result in difference in meaning. Then, we can
say that the two sounds are in contrastive distribution.
E.g. Dig Pig /d/ and /p/ are in contrastive distribution because the meaning is different.
Allophone: is a phonetic realization of a phoneme. They are the same as phonetic transcriptions.
Allophony: unlike allophones, allophony is a multiple realization of a phoneme and it has two
types: Complementary distribution and free variation.
[p] Allophone 1
Phoneme/p/

[ph] Allophone 2

Now, we have two allophones for the same phoneme. /p/ is phonetically distinct (aspirated vs.
unaspirated) but it is the same sound.
Again, allophones are known to be non-distinctive, non-contrastive, phonetic, or redundant
for they are not able to change the meaning of a word especially the ones that are aspirated.

[p] and [ph] are in complementary distribution (They both unite to give us one phoneme) so
the first one is basic and the second one is derived by the application of a rule.
Not all allophones are aspirated!
Aspiration does not change meaning in English. Here is a rule of aspiration:
For the occurrence of [ph] it is always word initially before a vowel (It occurs at the beginning
of a word before a vowel sound)
E.g. port [ph:t] ; pull [phl]
time [tham] ; tell [thel]
As for unaspirated sounds, they occur elsewhere (They are either preceded or followed by a
consonant)
E.g. spring [spr] ; sport [sp:t]
curtain [k:tn] ; forest [frst]
Now that we know the rule of aspiration, we say that it is predictable (It has a rule and we know
how to use it)
In some other languages, aspiration is contrastive (It can change meaning). Here is an example of
the Hindi language:
[kap] Cup [kp]

[khap] Phlegm [flem]

Free variation: consists of different allophones for the same phoneme, occurring in the same
environment with no difference in meaning. This word can be pronounced in three different
ways: Bottle [btl] , [bl] or [bl]
The phoneme /t/ has three different allophones [t], [] and []. They all represent one phoneme
and occur in the same environment with no change in meaning. We can of course add [th] as
another allophone of /t/ if it is word initially.
Note: phonemes use slashes /p/ while allophones use square brackets [p]
Phoneme
- The same sound in normal spelling.
- Abstract mental entity (In the mind)

VS

Allophone
- Similar to phonetic transcriptions.
- Related to what is said

- Minimal pair test:

Two words that differ only by a single sound in the same position and have different meanings.
E.g. Kit
Sit
Do not confuse a minimal pair with a minimal trio.
- Minimal trio:
A minimal trio has the same rule as a minimal pair except that to a minimal trio adds one more
word.
E.g. Kit
Sit
Pit
A minimal pair or a minimal trio can occur anywhere but in the same position.
E.g. Bark; Bask
Lad; Lap
Him; Hit; Hid

10

Sometimes, two different sounds occur in the same pair by changing their meanings; that is a
near minimal pair.
E.g. Bring; Blink
Drink; Blink
Nasalized vowels in English
Vowels can also be phonemes like the consonants but this time, with nasalization not with
aspiration. As we have seen in phonetics lessons, when a vowel appears before a nasal sound, it
is nasalized. Otherwise, it is not nasalized.
E.g. Bean [bn]
Bead [bid]
Lame [lem]
Lace [les]
Song [s ]
Sought [s t]
Each vowel phoneme has two allophones: a nasalized vowel vs. an oral vowel.
[i]
[e]
[]
/I/
/e/
/ /
[]
[e]
[ ]
Is vowel length contrastive in English??
Of course it is. Let us consider the following examples:
fit vs. feet
hill vs. heal
bit vs. beat
sit vs. seat
full vs. fool
pull vs. pool
Both short and long vowels change meaning in each pair.
Natural class
A group of sounds in a language that share one or more articulatory or auditory property
excluding all the other sounds in that language. They are three in English: /p/ /t/ /k/
/p/: voiceless bilabial stop
/t/: voiceless alveolar stop
/k/: voiceless velar stop
They are all voiceless stops. Therefore, they form a natural class.
Distinctive features
We know that a phoneme is the smallest unit capable of distinguishing meaning. Yet, distinctive
features are even smaller; they give you an idea about the bundle of features that a phoneme
has.
Syllable
- Syllabic [syl]: phonemes are known to be either consonants or vowels. A syllable is a
division of a word made by vowels; so, vowels are the ones that make syllables and are
referred to as +syllabic [+syl]. Consonants cannot make syllables without vowels; so
they are referred to as syllabic [-syl]
[+syl]=vowel
[-syl]=consonant

11

Consonantal [cons]: the [+cons] sounds are the obstruents, the nasals, and the liquids.
The opposite are the vowels and the vowel like consonants which are the glides [cons]

Sonorant [son]: the vowels, the glides, the liquids, and the nasals [+son] or [+approx].
The [son] are the plosives, the affricates, and the fricatives

Noncontinuant[cont]: the plosives, and the nasals.

Continuant[+cont]: All other sounds (including fricatives) are continuants.

Coronals[+coronal]: the interdentals, the alveolars, the palatals, the affricates, and the
liquids.

Strident [strid] (noisy sound): the fricatives and the affricates included in
labiodentals, sibilants and uvulars are [+strid]; all other fricatives and affricates are
[strid].

Delayed Release[del rel]: only the affricates are [+del rel]

Nasal [nas]: nasal stops and nasalized vowels are [+nas]

Lateral [lat]: the sound [l] is [+lat]

Anterior [ant]: labials, labiodentals, interdentals, and alveolars [+ant]. The posteriors
are the retroflex and the palatals [-ant]

Voiced [voiced]: sonorants, including vowels, are all voiced. [+voiced]

Aspiration [asp]: aspirated sounds are [+asp]. Otherwise, they are [-asp]

High [high]: this feature concerns vowels that are pronounced with the tongue body
raised close to the roof of the mouth [+high]. Low vowels are referred to as [-high]

Back [back]: vowels that are pronounced with the dorsum brought backward are
[+back]. Those pronounced with the dorsum brought forward are [-back]

Low [low]: low vowels are the opposite of high vowels.

Rounded [rounded]: sounds pronounced with rounded lips are [+rounded]

Feature matrix

Consonants

Syl
Cons
Approx
Son
Cont
Coro
Strid

b
+
-

p
+
-

m
-/+
+
+
-

+
+
+
-

+
+
+
-

12

f
+
+
+

v
+
+
+

t
+
+
-

d
+
+
-

Del rel
Nas
Lat
Ant
Voice

+
+

+
-

+
+
+

+
-

+
+

+
-

+
+

+
-

+
+

Syl
Cons
Approx
Son
Cont
Coro
Strid
Del rel
Nas
Lat
Ant
Voice

s
+
+
+
+
+
-

z
+
+
+
+
+
+

n
-/+
+
+
+
+
+
+

l
-/+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

r
-/+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+

+
+
+
+
-

+
+
+
+
+

t
+
-/+
+
+
+
-

d
+
-/+
+
+
+
+

j
+
+
+
+
+

Syl
Cons
Approx
Son
Cont
Coro
Strid
Del rel
Nas
Lat
Ant
Voice

k
+
-

g
+
+

-/+
+
+
+
+

+
+
-

+
+
+
+
+

Vowels
High
Mid
Low
Back
Central
Round
Tense

i
+
+

+
-

e
+
+

+
-

+
+
-

+
-

a
+
+
+

+
+
-

High
Mid

a
-

a
-

+
-

u
+
-

13

o
+
+
+
+

Low
Back
Central
Round
Tense

+
-

+
+

+
+
+
+

+
+
-

+
-

+
+
-

+
+
+

Syllable structure
A syllable is the division of a word; it divides it into many parts. A word can have one or more
syllables. Here, we are not going to deal only with syllables but also with the structure of a
syllable.
Syllable
Onset

Rime
Nucleus

Coda

This hierarchy presents what a syllable consists of. The onset is the beginning of the syllable (the
first sound) which is normally a consonant. The rime contains the nucleus and the coda that
constitute a subsyllabic unit. The nucleus is the centre of the syllable and is normally a vowel
that makes the syllable. The coda represents the final sound of the syllable.
Big
B

Rime

B is the onset, I is the nucleus, and G is the coda.

Of
Rime
O
F
This word does not have an onset; it has a vowel which is the nucleus followed by a final segment
which is the coda. We notice that the same rime is used in both words BIG and OF:
vowel/consonant.
Plain English: this is a rule that has a form of a mathematical notation.
Let us take any rule that we have already seen and apply this formal rule to it.
Aspiration: we are going to explain how [p] becomes [ph] when it is word initially before a
vowel.
C
C
V
[-asp]
[+asp]/ [+syl]
port [ph:t]
-aspirated consonant becomes +aspirated consonant when it is word initially before a vowel.

14

The [-asp] (unaspirated [p])

(becomes)
[+asp] (aspirated [ph])
/ (when it is)
(word initially)
(before)
[+syl] (a vowel)
Nasalization: explanation of how vowels become nasalized.
When a vowel occurs before a nasal sound.
V
V
C
[-nas]
[+nas]/ [+nas]
Bean [bn]
-nasal vowel becomes +nasal vowel when it occurs before a nasal consonant.
Vowel length: explanation of how a short vowel becomes long.
In English, a vowel becomes long when it occurs before a voiced consonant word finally
V
V
C
[-long]
[+long]/[+voice]
Or
V
V
C
[+syl]
[+long]/[+voice]
Types of phonological rules.
There are seven major types:
Assimilation
Dissimilation
Insertion
Metathesis
Strengthening (fortition)
Weakening (lenition)
Deletion/elision
Assimilation: is the absorption of one sound to the other so that they have the same sound.
Progressive assimilation: a consonant changes to be like the one that precedes it.
E.g.
dogs [dgz]
labs [lbz]
lids [ldz]
Normally, /s/ is a voiceless sound; because it is preceded by the voiced consonant /g/, it
becomes voiced, too.
C
C
C
[-voice]
[+voice]/ [+voice]
Regressive assimilation: a consonant changes to be like the one that follows it.
E.g.
give me
gimme
let me
lemme
Assimilation has three other types:
The assimilation of voice and tension: voicing assimilation occurs in three ways.
It occurs either with plural (s), with third person, or with possessive (s)
Plural (s)
The sound [s] depends on the nature of the sound preceding it. Therefore, it can be pronounced
[s] [z] or [z]. These are called allomorphs.

15

If the final sound is voiceless non-sibilant, it takes a voiceless alveolar fricative [s]
E.g. belief
beliefs [bli:fs]
If the final sound is a voiced non-sibilant, it takes a voiced fricative [z]
E.g. kid
kids [kdz]
If the noun ends in one of the sibilants, it takes [z]
E.g. church
churches [t:tz]
Third person
This concerns verbs conjugated in the third person singular He and it follows the same rule as
the plural (s)
E.g. work
works [w:ks] dig
digs [dgz] miss
misses [msz]
Possessive (s)
Again, the same rule applies in this type of voice assimilation.
E.g. Jeffs dog
Bobs computer
Joshs book
Note: when /s/ is preceded by a vowel, it is always pronounced as a voiced sound [z]
The assimilation of place: has the same rule as the regressive assimilation.
We notice that there is stress where assimilation occurs.
E.g. meat pie
meappie [mi:pa]
ten men
temmen [temen]
In the first example, /p/ is the affecting sound and /t/ is the affected sound.
The assimilation of manner: voicing plays an important role in this rule, too.
This rule concerns manners of articulation only for the plosives, the fricatives, and the affricates.
When they come before a voiceless consonant, they are devoiced (i.e. they become voiceless as
well). That is what we call devoicing.
E.g. his [hz] fist [fst]
his fist [hs fst]
with [w] sympathy [smp]

with sympathy [wsmp]

Both /s/ and // lose their voicing.

Dissimilation: is a process in which one sound becomes different from the neighboring sound.
E.g. chimney [tmn] some natives pronounce it [tml].

/m/ and /n/ are both nasals. /n/ turns into /l/ which is alveolar.
Insertion: includes a sound that is not present phonemically but is present phonetically
between two vowels.
E.g. blue eyes [blu: az] is pronounced [blu:waz]

w/VV
the apples [ plz] is pronounced [jplz]

j/VV
Nothing becomes [w] or [j] when it is intervocalic.
Metathesis: is a change in sounds order; a words segments are inverted in this process.
E.g. first and bird were pronounced [frst] and [brd] in old English.
Strengthening (fortition): process by which a sound is made stronger.
E.g. bit [bt] vs. bid [bd]

hiss [hs] vs. his [hz]

Although they are phonetically similar, the ones on the right are a little bit longer.

16

Weakening (lenition): process by which a sound is made weaker.

Should have is pronounced shouldve [dv]
Could have is pronounced couldve [kdv]
Would have is pronounced wouldve [wdv]
Alveolar flapping: /t/ and /d/ are the only sounds changed from alveolar stop to alveolar flap
[] mostly by the Americans. They must occur between vowels and the stress needs to be placed
on the syllable preceding /t/ or /d/.
E.g. writer [rat] rider [rad]
[t] and [d] are different phonemes having the same transcription for [rar]
Deletion/elision: in this process, some sounds like coronal stops are no longer pronounced.
E.g. hand[hnd] becomes [hn]
sandwich [sndwt] becomes [snwt]
list [lst] becomes [ls]
For vowels, they become less strong when they follow /p/ /t/ or /k/
E.g. potato [ptet]
today [tde]
connect [knekt]
How to deal with the phonology of foreign languages
Examine the following data set of the Spanish language:
[drama]
drama
[komia]
food
[dolor]
pain
[anda]
scram
[dime]
tell me
[sweldo]
salary
[kaa]
each
[durar]
to last
[lao]
side
[toldo]
curtain
[oio]
hatred
[falda]
skirt
First, we need to know if [d] and [] are allophones of one phoneme, or are separate phonemes.
We should study the distribution of each sound (how they are distributed) and our study will tell
us what kind of sounds they are.
1. Draw a vertical line putting one sound at the top.
d

2. Find all the words in which the sounds occur and identify their environment.
[drama], [dolor], [dime], [anda], [sweldo], [durar], [toldo], [falda]
d

17

C
C

C
C

V
V
V
V
V
V
V

3. Find all the words in which the sound occur and identify its environment.
[kaa], [lao], [oio], [komia]

V
V
V
V

V
V
V
V

What do you notice? If we apply a rule for this, it will be easy.

[]/VV

//

/d/

[]/ VV

[d] elsewhere

[] occurs between two vowels whereas [d] occurs elsewhere.

We conclude that the sounds are allophones of one phoneme.
We know that the sound [d] occurs in different environments. Suppose that [] occurred in a
different environment, too. What would be the correct analysis for that?
Look at the following data set of the Southern Kongo:
tobola
nselele
tina
lolondi
kesoka

to bore a hole
termite
to cut
to wash
to be cut

zevo
nokoi
adimola
zenga
nzwetu

then
lion
alms
to cut
our house

dima
kunezulu
kasu
tanu
tiba

to stretch
to heaven
emaciation
five
banana

As we did with the Spanish data set, we should first state the distribution of [t, t],[s, ], and [z, d]
t

t
V
V
V

V
V
V

s
C
V
V

[t]/ V [+high]
V
V

/ /

[t] elsewhere
[]/ V [+high]

V
[

/ /

18

[s] elsewhere

C
V

d
V
V
V
V

C
V

V
V
V

/ /

[d]/ V [+high]
[z] elsewhere

It seems that [t] [] and [d] are derived (they have a rule) but there is something wrong with
[d]. In this case, we cannot identify the rule of each sound unless their distribution becomes
equal. Even if the environment preceding them is different, they have the same distribution at
the end (followed by vowels). Yet, we still cannot put a rule to that (simply by saying that they
occur before a vowel) only if we give a description of what type of vowels they are. If we go back
to the data set, we will find out that they all precede a high front unrounded vowel which is [i]

19

Morphology: is the study of internal words structure.

What does a word consist of ?
A word consists of one, two, or more morphemes.
Morpheme: is the smallest unit that has either a meaning or serves a grammatical function.
E.g. teacher
teach-er
teachers
teach-er-s
This word has two morphemes: teach+er. Teach is the root or the base, er refers to the doer of
the action also called the agent, and if we add s, the word will take a third morpheme serving a
grammatical function which is the plural form.
Classification of morphemes
Monomorphemic: is a one-word morpheme.
E.g. secure
Polymorphemic: a word containing two or three morphemes.
E.g. beautifully
beauti-ful-ly
Free morpheme: a morpheme that stands on its own as one word.
E.g. table
beauty
secure
Bound morpheme: a morpheme that cannot stand alone and that is attached to a free
morpheme.
E.g. tables table is a free morpheme, and s is a bound morpheme.
Derivational and inflectional morphemes
Derivational morphemes derive a new word with a change in meaning or lexical category.
E.g. able
unable
able
ability
The first example makes a change in meaning while the second example makes a change in the
lexical category (it is changed from an adjective to a noun)
Inflectional morphemes make a change in the grammatical function.
E.g. take
takes (the third person singular)
easy easiest (the superlative form)
Stems and Affixes
The stem (root, base) is the main morpheme bearing the major meaning in a morphologically
complex word.
Consider this: disestablishment this is a word of three morphemes whose root is establish

20

Affixes are many types among which there are: prefixes, suffixes, infixes, and circumfixes.
They are attached to free morphemes or to other affixes to add extra information. This process is
called affixation.
Prefixes occur at the beginning: E.g. disagree
Suffixes occur at the end: E.g. agreement
Infixes occur in the middle of the root morpheme. In English, infixation is present mostly in
informal words.
E.g. fanflamingtastic fan-flaming-tastic , absobloominlutely
abso-blooming-lutely
E.g. in Tagalog, sulat means write. If we add the infix mu within the root, we will get sumulat
meaning to write.
Circumfixes/circumfixation occur at the beginning and at the end. One portion appears before
the root and the other after.
E.g. enlighten
dishearten
Affixation
Prefixation: is the addition of a prefix before the stem.
prefix stem
Suffixation: is the addition of a suffix after the stem.
stem suffix
Infixation: is the addition of an infix within the stem.
st infix em
Circumfixation: is the addition of a circumfix before and after the stem.
circum stem fix
Note: morphology uses curling braces

instead of slashes or square brackets.

Inflectional affixes of English

Affix

Grammatical function

Example

-s
-ed
-ing
-ed, en
-s
-s

3rd pers. Sing. pres

Past tense
Progressive aspect
Past participle
Plural nouns
Possessive

-er
-est

Comparative
Superlative

He proves
He proved
He is proving
He has proved/proven
Houses
The houses window is
broken.
John is taller than Jim.
Mike is the tallest

21

Number of
morphemes
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

student.
Note: for verbs that do not change or nouns that do not have a plural form, they are also
considered to having two morphemes when transformed to that grammatical function.

The hierarchical structure of English morphemes

Morphology
Morphemes
Free morphemes
Lexical
words
Nouns,
Adjectives,
Verbs,
Adverbs

Bound morphemes

Grammatical
words
Conjunctions,
Prepositions,
Articles,
Pronouns,
Auxilary verbs

Affix

Derivational
Prefix
PreUnCon-

Suffix
-ly
-ist
- ment

Inflectional
Suffix
-ing -er -s
-est -est -s
-en -ed

Allomorphy
Allomorphs: are inflectional suffixes having a certain rule of pronunciation.
- The plural s
This morpheme is pronounced in three ways:
[s]: the basic comes after a voiceless consonant
caps backs cuffs
[z]: the derived comes after voiced consonant
cabs bags gloves
[Iz]: the vowel insertion comes after a sibilant
buses bushes garages

Plural
M

C
[-s]/ [-voice]
C
[-z]/ [+voice]
C
[-Iz]/[+sibilant]

or

[]

or

[s]

or

[s]

- The past ed
This is also pronounced in three ways:
[d]: the basic comes after a voiced consonant
[t]: the devoicing comes after a voiceless consonant
[Id]: the vowel insertion comes after a voiced consonant

22

C
[s]/ [-voice]
C
[z]/ [+voice]
C
[Iz]/ [+sibilant]

lived combed named

cooked laughed danced
wanted decided started

Past
M

C
[-d]/ [+voice]
C
[-t]/ [-voice]
C
[-Id]/ [+voice]

or

[]

or

[d]

or

[d]

C
[d]/ [+voice]
C
[t]/ [-voice]
C
[Id]/ [+voice]

For the vowel insertion, nothing becomes a vowel when it is inter-consonantal.

Word-formation processes

V/ CC

Reduplication: process in which a word or a part of it is doubled to make a change in one of the
grammatical functions.
E.g. okey-dokey zig-zag ping-pong easy-peasy
In Indonesian, the plural is made by doubling the whole word.
E.g. lalat means fly the plural is lalatlalat meaning flies
Alternation: changing internal modifications of morphemes to form words.
E.g. foot (sing) feet (pl); mouse mice; analysis analyses
Compounding: two separate words join to produce one single word.
E.g. sun+tan=suntan, workbook basketball notebook
Clipping/backformation: changing the lexical category of a word, usually from a noun to a verb,
by deleting or replacing one of its morphemes with another.
E.g. television televise opinion opine lighter light emphasis emphasize
Blending: producing a new term by combining two separate forms.
E.g. breakfast+lunch=brunch
blot+botch=blotch
swear+curse=swurse
Acronyms: a set of words whose initial letters stand for a word.
E.g. UNESCO stands for United Nations of Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organizations
RAMED stands for Rgime dAssistance Mdicale aux Economiquement Dmunis
Coinage: invention of new terms originating from trade names.
E.g. Kleenex Xerox aspirin
Borrowing (loan words): using other languages words.
E.g. hashish (Arabic) crche (French) Gesundheit (German) spasiba (Russian) grazie (Italian)
Calque (loan translation): direct translation of foreign terms into the borrowing language.
E.g. gratte-ciel (scrape-sky) from English skyscraper
power-politics (macht-politik) from German machtpolitik
How to deal with the morphology of foreign languages
kiman
canoe
nikiman
my canoe
soniya
money

23

nisoniya
emihkwan
nitemihkwan
astotan
nitastotan

my money
spoon
my spoon
hat
my hat

Languages whose morphemes and roots make one word are called agglutinative languages like
Arabic, Turkish.
Languages whose morphemes are separate from their roots are called isolating languages such
as French, English
Here we have the first type of language. (The agglutinative)
Look the first word kiman, read it many times so that you learn it by heart and look at its
meaning in English. (canoe)
Now look at the second word nikiman, and see in what the two words differentiate. Take a pencil
and try to circle the morpheme that makes the difference ni. Look at the whole meaning (my
canoe) and without thinking much about it, you will certainly recognize the possessive
morpheme making the difference. Do the same thing with the others.
Sometimes we can find exceptions. Consider the following example.
emihkwan is the root meaning spoon; but if we add a possessive morpheme, it will be
nitemihkwa. Why?? How come that ni becomes nit?
This has a rule.
[ni-]/ C
Possessive
M
[nit-]/ V
Ni occurs before a consonant while nit occurs before a vowel.
[ni-]
[nit-]/ V

24