CHAPTER 3PHONOLOGY

Outline

IntroductionPhonology vs. phonetics

1. Segments and phonemes 1.1 Minimal pairs (p. 9)1.2 Allophones and complementary distribution 1.3 Free variants

2. Distinctive features 2.1 Hierarchical feature structure 2.2 Natural class2.3 Redundant features2.4 Framework of phonology

3. Phonological rules3.1 Rule formats3.2 Types of phonological

rules

4. Syllable and stress

5. Optimality Theory

6. Summary

Phonology vs. phonetics

Introduction

Phonology vs. Phonetics

is concerned with how to produce a sound or sounds

has a main focus on the place and the manner of articulation

is concerned with sound system or the distribution of a sound in the language system

aims to find or sort our rules for sound derivation

Phonetics Phonology

Example: /ian/ in Mandarin

the production of each sound :/i/: a high front vowel/a/: a low vowel/n/: a nasal consonant

/ian/ is phonetically [ien], in which case the low vowel /a/ becomes [e].

Phonetics Questions: (a) Why should /ian/ be pronounced [ien]?

(b) If it is phonetically [ien], why should it be transcribed /ian/ ?

(c) What motivates the difference between /ian/ and [ien]?

PHONOLOGY

Phonology would treat the derivation of /ian/ to [ien] due to the phonological rule:

/a/ [e]/ [i]__[n]

/ian/ in Mandarin

The sound in slashes // refers to the underlying

representation or phonemic representation .

It reads: The low vowel /a/ becomes [e] if it occurs between [i] and [n]

The sound in brackets [ ] means the phonetic representation or

surface representation.

(a) Why should /ian/ be pronounced [ien]?

/ian/ in Mandarin

Every dialect of the Chinese language family shares a certain phonological property.

From the rhyme of Chinese popular songs, we find that /ian/ rhymes with /uan/ and /an/.

(b) If it is phonetically [ien], why should it be transcribed /ian/ ?

This strongly implies that /ian/ is the underlying representation of [ien].

/ian/ in Mandarin

There is certain correspondence among each dialect of the Chinese language family.

Take [ien] ‘smoke’ for instance, it is [ian] in Hakka, and it is [en] in Southern Min. The rules in (2) make it transparent for the different phonetic representation of /ian/ in each dialect.

(c) What motivates the difference between /ian/ and [ien]?

1.1 Minimal pairs 1.2 Allophones and complementary distribution1.3 Free variants

1. Segments and phonemes

1. Segments and phonemes

The basic unit for sound is phone, which is also called segment.

Phones can be phonemic or non-phonemic. A phoneme or a phonemic phone is distinctive,

while not all phones are phonemic.

1.1 Minimal pairs

By distinctive, we mean in the same context different segments would give rise to different semantic meanings.

Consider:

A case of (3) is called minimal pair.A minimal pair is used to distinguish two phonemes.

In (3), both [b] and [ph] occur at the same context, both preceding [t]. However, their presence differentiates the meanings of (3a) and (3b).

Minimal pairs

Minimal pairs also occur in coda:

(6) a. bed [bd]b. bet [b t]

Vowel difference also results in minimal pairs:

(7) a. bed [b d]b. bad [bd]

To be brief, a phone that is distinctive is a phoneme. Whether it is a phoneme can be identified by minimal pairs. If two sounds are in minimal pairs, they are phonemes.

VOICED VOICELESS

1.2 Allophones and complementary distribution

A phoneme might appear as different phones, each of which is in complementary distribution.

By complementary distribution, we mean that when a phone occurs in a certain environment, its allophones never appear there.

English has Rule (9) for voiceless stop consonants.

ASPIRATED UNASPIRATED

The aspirated and unaspirated stops are in complementary distribution.aspirated : syllable-initial position (O)unaspirated: syllable-initial position (X)

The rule means that /p, t, k/ surface as [ph, th, kh] when they are at syllable-initial position. In other circumstances, /p, t, k/ remain unaspirated [p, t, k]. The aspirated and unaspirated voiceless stop consonants are therefore allophones of the same phonemes.

Complementary distribution of [b, l, g] and [m, n, ] in Southern Min

In Southern Min, the voiced stops [b, l, g] only occur before oral vowels (V), while nasals [m, n, ] only occur before nasal vowels (v)).

Voiced stops [b, l, g] and nasals [m, n, ] are in complementary distribution. They are allophones of the same phonemes.

(11)

No such syllables!

Complementary distribution of [ts, tsh, s ] and [t, t, ] in Hakka

In general, [t, t h, ] and [ts, ts h, s] are in complementary distribution: [t, t h, ] ] only occur before the high front vowel [i], while [ts, ts h, s] occur elsewhere.

No such syllables!

Question: Which is the underlying representation?

Answer: When in competition, the one occurs in more contexts is the underlying representation. [t, t h, ] only before [i]: limited [ts, ts h, s] occur in more contexts: wider distribution underlying representation.

Not all phones in complementary distribution are allophones.

For example, in English [h] and [] are in complementary distribution: [h] never occurs at the end of a syllable, while [ ] never occurs at the beginning of a syllable.

Nevertheless, [h] and [ ] are not considered to be allophones, because [h] and [] do not form a natural class (to be discussed in 2.2).

Complementary distribution of [h] and [] in English

1.3 Free variants

Once in a while, the same words or syllables might be pronounced differently depending on individuals or on settings.

button (English) ‘house’ (Hakka)

Free variation[b/n] [vuk]

[btn] [luk]Free variants [/] and [t] [v] and [l]

For most American native

speakers

On a few formal occasions

Some variations of a certain sounds are subject to regions.

often (English) ‘pigs’ (Southern Min)

variations[@ftn] Southern US

[ti]Taiwan

[@fn]Middle East

[t]Penghu

These are not free variations. Instead, they are dialectal, or regional dialects. Such variations are predictable because they are due to different accents.

2.1 Hierarchical feature structure 2.2 Natural class2.3 Redundant features2.4 Framework of phonology

2. Distinctive features

2. Distinctive features

The theory of distinctive features:

a segment or a phone is composed of a bunch of distinctive features.

2.1 Hierarchical feature structure

Distinctive features are given the basis of place and manner of articulation, each feature marked plus (+) or minus (—).

b p ph m f v[labial] + + + + + +

[continuant]

— — — — + +

[b, p, ph, m, f, v] are produced with lips in one way or another, so they all share [+labial] feature.

In contrast, [b, p, p h , m] are marked [-continuant] because they are stop consonants, which are produced with a closure somewhere so that the airstream cannot continue.

[f] and [v] are specified [+continuant] because

they are fricatives, without stopping the

airstream from coming out.

Theoretically, features are organized hierarchically.To begin with, sounds are classified into supralaryngeal and laryngeal categories by larynx.

The features [voiced] and [aspirated] are put under the larynx node. (larynx = two vocal cords + a glottis) When the vocal cords are close, the airstream from the lungs would vibrate the vocal cords, resulting in voiced sounds. In contrast, when vocal cords are open to such an extent that the airstream would run out without causing vocal cords to vibrate, the results are voiceless consonants.

In terms of place, the supralaryngeal dominates [labial], [coronal], and

[dorsal].

The place feature [labial] is specified for bilabials [b, p,

ph, m] and labio-dentals [f, v] in the traditional phonetics.

The feature [coronal] is further decomposed into [+anterior] ([t, d, ,, s, z, n, l, r]) and [-anterior] ([, , t, d]).

The feature [dorsal] is used for vowels and velar consonants [g, k, kh, ]. Given vowels can be differentiated by [high], [low], and [back], they are put under the feature [dorsal].

Except for place, some distinctive features are based on manners of articulation.

[sonorant] plays a major role in differentiating sonorants from obstruents.

Within sonorants, the four major categories, namely, vowels, liquids, glides, and nasals, are distinct by the following features.

vowels consonants glides liquids nasals[syllabic] + — — + —[consonantal]

— + — + +

[sonorant] + +/— + + +[nasal] +/— +/— — — +

Vowels are distinct from consonants by the feature [syllabic], vowels being [+syllabic] and consonants [-syllabic].

[nasal] is an important feature for differentiating nasals from orals: Nasal consonants [m, n, ] and nasalized vowels are [+nasal], but [b, d, g, o, i,…] are [-nasal].

There are two liquids in English, [l] and [r], which differ in the feature [lateral]. The [l] is [+lateral], while [r] is [-lateral]. Given that the feature [lateral] has nothing to do with any other sounds, it is directly associated to the root node.The feature [continuant] is adopted for the distinction between stop consonants ([-continuant] for [b, d, , p, t, k, ph, th, kh, m, n, ]) and fricatives ([+continuant] for [f, v, , , s, z, , ])

Manner features like [sonorant], [nasal], [continuant], and [lateral] are directly associated to the root node.

The tree structure in (19) is the hierarchical structure of distinctive features. It implies that a sound change involved with place does not necessarily affect voicing or aspiration, because place features are independent of the laryngeal features.

[sonorant] plays a major role in differentiating sonorants from obstruents.

[nasal] is an important feature for differentiating nasals from orals: Nasal consonants [m, n, ] and nasalized vowels are [+nasal], but [b, d, g, o, i,…] are [-nasal].

English Place Assimilation (20)

a. in + port import

b. en + bed embed

c. con + fort comfort

The /n/ of each prefix becomes [m] because it is followed by a labial consonant. the place of articulation of /n/ is assimilated to the following [+labial] consonant, resulting in [m], whether the labial is voiceless ([p] (20a)) or it is voiced ([b] and [m] in (20b) and (20c).

The change of place of articulation does not affect voicing, suggesting that [place] and [voiced] are independent of each

other.

2.2 Natural class

For instance, [p, t, k, b, d, g] all share the [-continuant] feature, and thus form a natural class.

Among them, [p, t, k] constitute another natural class because they are common in the feature [-voiced]. From the perspective of [-voiced], [p, t, k] is a natural class.

Sounds that share a common feature constitute a natural class.

English past tense suffix -ed Sounds of a natural class are subject to

the same sound change.

The past tense suffix –ed can be pronounced [d], when it is preceded by a voiced sound (21a), [t] if it is preceded by a voiceless consonant (21b), and [d] if it is preceded by /t/ or /d/ (21c).

Question: What makes /t/ and /d/ behave the same?

Answer: /t/ and /d/ are of a natural class in terms of [+alveolar, － continuant]

Grimm’s Law in the history of Indo-European languages

(22)*p > f (*p changed to f) *t > (*t changed to ) *k > h (*k changed to h)

Questions: (1) Why were only /p, t, k/ engaged in sound change?(2) Why are the target sounds limited to /f, , h/?

Answer: /p, t, k/ constitute a natural class in terms of the features [-voiced, -continuant]. Likewise, /f, , h/ form another class by the features [-voice, +continuant].Feature changed: [-voiced, － continuant] [-voiced, ＋ continuant]

English C-cluster in the onset

It is allowed to have consonant cluster in the onset of an English syllable, e.g. blue, tree, spring, stick, etc.

However, there is no syllable with consonant cluster like pm, mp, mv, fm, mf, vm, pv, pf, nor is there any consonant cluster like tl, td, dt, dl, dn, etc in English.

HOW

SO??

--The explanation for this observation would be very complicated if there were no idea of natural class. --Under the notion of natural class, *[+labial] [+labial] or *[+alveolar] [+alveolar] (in words, no consonant cluster is allowed to have more than one labial or alveolar consonants) would help account for all the problems.

2.3 Redundant features

There are two types of distinctive features: One is predictable, and the other is unpredictable.

(23) a. cat [kht] b. can [khn]kh t kh n

[－ cont][+low]

[－ cont] [－ cont][+low]

[－ cont]

[－ voiced] [－ bk] [－ voiced] [－ voiced] [－ bk][+voiced]

[＋ velar] [＋ velar] [＋ velar] [＋ coronal]

[＋ asp] [＋ asp] [＋ nasal] [＋ nasal]

Q1: Why [kht] for ?? A: This is absolutely ARBITRARY! Q2: Why should the sound [k] get the features [－ cont, －voiced, ＋ velar]? A: It is entirely UNPREDICTABLE & ARBITRARY!

BUT it is predictable to have the voiceless stop at the beginning of a syllable to be aspirated in English, because in the mind or brain there is a rule requiring that [p, t, k] would be pronounced [ph, th, kh]. The rule is part of their language competence, which can be psychologically reflected in second language acquisition.

LIKEWISE , the nasality of the vowel of can [khn] is predictable. There is no phonemic nasalized vowel in English. The nasality comes from the nasal consonant following the vowel.

Briefly speaking, features like [+velar, -voiced] for [k] is unpredictable, while the [+asp] of the [kh] in (23a) and (23b) is predictable. This is also true of the feature of [+nasal] for the vowel of [ ] in (23b). All the predictable features are redundant, for they will be specified by rules. Redundant features are not necessary in rule writing or formation.

2.4 Framework of phonology

The basic framework of Generative Phonology is :It follows that the tenet of phonological studies is to find out phonological rules to account for the derivation of underlying representation (UR) to surface (phonetic) representation (PR).

Why should there be two levels (UR and PR) instead of one single level?

UR is also called phonemic or phonological representation, because it represents the phonemic form. Phonetic

representation is what is heard in our daily conversation.

If there were no two-level framework, it would be very difficult to account for why /ian/, though phonetically pronounced [ien], rhymes with /an/ and /uan/.

On the phonological level (UR), the rhyme is obvious, because all the rimes are composed of /an/.

However, we need a PR level; otherwise we fail to know how to pronounce it correctly.

Why should there be two levels (UR and PR) instead of one single level?

Back to /ian/ and [ien] in Mandarin…

(25) A B

a. column /klm/ columnist /klmnst/

b. bomb /bm/ bombasity /

bmbæsti/

A two-level framework helps understand why there is a /n/ or /b/ deletion in (25A). It cannot be assumed that there is no /n/ or /b/ at the end of (25a) and (25b). Otherwise, it would be very difficult to explain why the /n/ and /b/ (25B) are still there when there is another syllable following it.

3.1 Rule formats3.2 Types of phonological rules

3. Phonological rules

3.1 Rule formats

Phonological rules are usually written in the following way:

a. A B / C____ b. A B / _____C c. A B / C____D d. A B / #____ e. A B / ____ #

A becomes B when it is after C.

A becomes B when it is before C.

The underline indicates where the original form occurs.

A becomes B when it is between C and D. The # indicates the boundary of a syllable (the beginning or the ending).

In general, phonological rules are expressed with distinctive features.

Example: English aspiration rule

The rule for /p, t, k/ to become [ph, th, kh] at the beginning of a syllable is written in the following way.

The two features in (27) are good enough to confine the related segments to [p, t, k].

Beginners to the world of phonology are highly encouraged to use features.

3.2 Types of phonological rules

Roughly speaking, there are merely two types of rules: assimilation and dissimilation.

Assimilation refers to rules that try to make the two adjacent segments be produced in the same place or manner of articulation.

Dissimilation refers to the situation in which the two adjacent segments conflict in one way or another.

Assimilation There are two types of assimilation, in terms of

order or position: regressive and progressive. Regressive assimilation means A B / _____B,

the preceding one becomes the following one. (28) In (28a), the /n/ of the prefix

becomes [l], because it is followed by a /l/.In (28b), the /n/ becomes [r], because it is before /r/.

Both (28a) and (28b) are also called complete assimilation or total assimilation, because the /n/ has become the segment that follows.

The /n/ in (28c) does not become /p/, but it becomes [m], which has the same place of articulation of /p/, both being [+labial]. In order, it is still regressive, but it is called partial assimilation due to the fact that there is only partial (place, in this case) assimilation.

If the order is reversed… A B / B___ , then it is called progressive

assimilation. The reading of –s (the plural noun suffix) in

English:It reads voiced [z] if it is suffixed to a voiced ending (29a), but it is voiceless [s] if it is preceded by a voiceless ending (29b).

Mutual assimilation When two segments are adjacent, it is

also possible that they assimilate to each other, resulting in mutual assimilation.

(30)a.

n pe m me ‘not selling’

b.

ka pi kam pi ‘river side’

c.

mo m mo ‘yellow hair’

d.

an phi am mi ‘red nose’In (30a), the first segment /n/ becomes [m], sharing the same place of articulation of the following /b/. The interesting one is that the /p/ becomes [m] because it gets the [+nasal] of the preceding segment. This is a typical case of mutual assimilation.

Dissimilation When two adjacent segments conflict, for the ease

of articulation, dissimilation emerges.

Three possibilities are employed in dissimilation: deletion, insertion, or metathesis.

Deletion Deletion happens if two segments are of

the same manner or place of articulation. In (31a) the/n/

next to /m/ gets deleted because /n/ and /m/ are both nasal consonants. The same is true of /b/ in (31c). Both /m/ and /b/ are labial.

The appearance of /n/ and /b/ in (31b) and (31d) justifies that they get deleted in (31a) and (31c).

Insertion For instance, the short vowel [] is inserted

between [t] and [d] in the pronunciation of the English past tense suffix –ed:

Metathesis Metathesis: to change the order of the two

adjacent segments For example, in Old English, wasp was [wps]， ,

but now it is [wsp]. It is obvious that [p] and [s] have switched in order.

Another kind of metathesis can be reflected in the difference between theatre vs. theater, centre vs. center.

4. Syllable and stress

4. Syllable and stress

A syllable is hierarchically structured as follows:

The importance of syllable

We can identify the importance of syllable from three perspectives:

-phonological domains-internal structure-phonotactics

Phonological domains

The deletion of [n] after [m] occurs only when [n] and [m] are within the same syllable (31a). If the [n] is of another syllable (31b), then the [n] remains.

Syllable domains also play a key role in aspiration of voiceless stop consonants.

In a syllable like atomic [thamk], the /t/ is at the beginning of the second syllable (a-tom-ic), so it gets aspirated in phonetics [th]. However, in a very similar syllable atom [tm], the /t/ is not aspirated, because it is underlyingly syllabified as at-om.

Internal structure

Syllable structure is closely related to stress placement.

Usually, only a heavy (closed) syllable can be stressed, while a light (open) syllable is unstressed.

Based on this, although Canada and banana look similar in appearance (CVCVCV), but they are syllabified differently due to the different stress patterns: Can-a-da, ba-nan-a

Closed syllable refers to any syllable closed with at least one segment, e.g., CVC, CVV (C= consonant, V=vowel).

Canada:The stress of Can-a-da falls on the first syllable, so the first syllable must be heavy and hence n is syllabified to the first syllable.

banana:In contrast, in ba-nan-a, the stress is on the second syllable, so it must be heavy. To make the second syllable of banana heavy, the n cannot be syllabified to the first syllable (otherwise it is heavy, and hence it should be stressed.)

From the stress placement, we know the importance of syllable structure.

Phonotactics

By phonotactics, we mean what makes a syllable sound good.

For instance, the onset of an English syllable may be a consonant cluster, e.g., play, prize, spring. However, any English native speaker would refuse syllables beginning with mb, fm, pm in English, because they know intuitively that English does not allow two labial consonants at the onset.

In the same way, any Southern Min speaker would know that syllables like pam, map, bam, etc. are not possible in Southern Min.

What makes the native speakers know which type of syllables are impossible or possible is

called phonotactics.

Three arguments for syllable Syllable domains:

Some phonological rules are confined within a syllable, but not beyond it.

Syllable internal structure:The internal structure of a syllable, in particular, the rime structure plays an important role in the placement of stress.

Phonotactics:Phonotatics helps us recognize which type of syllable is possible in our language.

5. Optimality Theory

5. Optimality Theory

Optimality Theory (OT) was first proposed by Allen Prince and Paul Smolensky (1994), which was not published until 2004.

The basic revolution of OT is that phonology is filtered or selected but not generated.

OT framework

It is assumed that there is GEN (Generator),

which generates all the possible candidates.

The candidates are filtered out by EVAL (evaluator), in which there are a set of

constraints, ranked in order of importance.

In EVAL, there is a set of constraints, in charge of filtering out. The

constraints are part of Universal Grammar. They are organized in a ranking order such that the higher

the less violable.

The candidate that survives (not being filtered out) is the optimal one, which is usually the

phonetic sound.

Past tense suffix –ed in English

The input of the past tense suffix in English is assumed to be the voiced /d/. It is read voiceless [t] if it follows a voiceless consonant (35a, b), but it is [d] if it follows a voiced consonant (35c, d).

Why does /d/ become a voiceless [t]?

For this, we propose a constraint, which prohibits a voiced obstruent from occurring. (36) Voiced Obstruent Prohibition (VOP ） No voiced obstruents are allowed.

The voicing of –ed depends on its preceding sounds: When the preceding sound is voiceless, then –ed is read [t]; when the preceding sound is voiced, then –ed is read voiced [d]. We therefore propose an OVH (Obstruent Voicing Harmony), which requires that the adjacent sounds should be identical in voicing.

(37) Obstruent Voicing Harmony (OVH ）The two adjacent obstruents must be identical in voicing.

Within the OT framework, there are some constraints of the Faithfulness family, which ask the output must be identical with the input. In our case, we need an Ident-IO

(38) Ident-IO(voice) (Indent = indentical, IO= input and output)The voicing of the output must be identical with that of the input.

How to rank the constraints?

Ident-IO(voice) vs. OVHThe OVH requires the two adjacent obstruents to be identical in voicing so that [wɔkt] wins over [wɔkd]. In contrast, Ident-IO(voice) asks that the input be identical with the output in voicing. This would give rise to a violation if [wɔkd] does not come out.

Therefore, the OVH must be ranked higher than Ident-IO(voice).

(39) OVH >> Ident-IO(voice) (「 >>」 denotes: higher than or more important than)

VOP ??VOP requires that voiced obstruents are not allowed, which seems impossible because in any language there are some voiced obstruents.

Therefore, Ident-IO(voice) must be ranked higher than VOP to save the voiced input.

(40) Ident-IO(voice) >> VOP

The ranking of the three constraints comes out as:(41) OVH >> Ident-IO(voice) >> VOP

(41) OVH >> Ident-IO(voice) >> VOP

(42)/wɔk-d/ OVH Ident-IO(voice) VOP

a. wɔk-d *! *

b. wɔ-d * *!*

c. wɔk-t *

The *! indicates a fatal violation.

The star (*) indicates a violation.

The symbol *!* means that there are two violations (there are two voiced sounds [g] and

[d]) and that it is fatal.

When there is a fatal violation, that candidate is blocked out. The shadowed part indicates that it

is not necessary to be counted any more, for there is a fatal violation ahead.

The hand indicates that it is the optimal one.

(41) OVH >> Ident-IO(voice) >> VOP

(43)/ b -d/ OVH Id-IO(voice) VOP

a. b-d ***

b. b-t *! * **

c. bk-t *!* *

The candidate [bg-t] violates OVH, which brings out a fatal

violation, and it is blocked out. The other violations of

(44b) do not need to be counted.

The candidate [bk-t] violates Id-IO(voice) twice,

resulting in a fatal violation.

It is (44a) that is optimal this time, although it violates VOP three times.

6. Summary

6. Summary

The target of phonology is the system of sounds. Changes concerning with sounds are the field of phonology.

Basic ideas: segments, phonemes, allophones, minimal pairs

Framework of generative phonology:UR (phonemic) phonological rules SR (phonetic)

Two general types of rules: assimilation, dissimilation

Since 1994, Optimality Theory (OT) has taken the place of traditional Generative Phonology by using constraints (which are ranked and violable) instead of rules.

Infinite candidate sounds are generated from the input and evaluated by the ranked constraints in Evaluator.

The higher ranked the constraints are, the more inviolable they are.

The candidate that violates the lowest ranked constraints is the optimal one, which constitutes the phonetic sound.