Phoneme

Phoneme: the smallest sound unit that serves to contrast/distinguish words, giving them different meanings. Whenever a phoneme changes the meaning of the word changes

E.g. /p/ and /b/ are two phonemes. If one replaces the other in a word, the meaning of the word changes. pit vs. bit, pat vs bat pet vs bet

Another example is the phonemes /n/ and /m/ nap vs map, net vs. met, sum vs. sun

There are 44 phonemes in English: 24 consonants and 20 vowels.

Allophone: the variation/representation of a phoneme E.g. the phoneme /t/ has different allophonic realizations: 1- Aspirated /t/ transcribed [tʰ] as in time [tʰ ɑim] 2- Unreleased /t/ transcribed [t̚] as in hat [hat̚] 3- Neutral /t/ transcribed [t] as in stay [stei]

E.g. 2 the phoneme /n/ in the prefix un- may also have different allophonic variations: Unarmed

[n]

neutral

Unpleasant

[m]

labialized

Unfavorable

[ɱ]

labio- dentalized

Unthinkable

[n̪]

dentalized

Instable

[n]

Uncomplicated [nˠ]

neutral velarized

Note: an allophone doesn’t change the meaning of words. Only a phoneme can change their meanings. Minimal pairs: pairs of words that differ in only one phoneme. They are called minimal pairs because: 1) they are pairs (i.e. two words) 2) because they differ minimally (only one sound/phoneme).

Examples of minimal pairs: pet vs bet nap vs map cat vs. hat

Exercise: which of the following sounds is an allophone and which is a phoneme? /l/, /ɹ/,[ l ̴] (dark/ velarized l as in the word pill, tall)

Answer: /l/ and /ɹ/ are phonemes because they contrast words. E.g. rip vs. lip, rot vs. lot [l ̴] is an allophone: a variation of the phoneme /l/. It doesn’t change the meaning of the word when it is used. I.e. the phoneme remains the same: Pill [p ɪ l ̴], tall [t ɒ l ̴]

Distinctive Features: phonological features that serve to establish a contrast between phonological units. E.g. [+/- voicing] is a distinctive feature, because when voicing changes the meaning of the word

changes. Pit (p is a voiceless phoneme. If voicing changes, the meaning changes too: bit. Redundancy Rules: rules that include useless repetitions. E.g. /p/

-voice -nasal +labial -alveolar

redundant features

+stop

(lack of economy)

-fricative -approximant +central

There should be more economical feature system. Feature Matrix

The three major class features are:

1[+syllabic]: all vowels. Liquids /l/, /r/ and nasal /m/, /n/, /ŋ/ can sometimes be syllabic depending on the phonological environment. consonant are described as [-syllabic] 2[+ consonantal] all phonemes but glides /j/, /w/ and vowels

3[+sonorant] vowels, nasals, and all approximants. All sonorants are voiced. [- sonorant] are oral stops and fricatives (they are called obstruents, which may be voiced or voiceless)

These three major class features allow distinguishing four major classes of segments/phonemes:

Vowels [+ syllabic, -consonantal, +sonorant]

Glides (j, w) [- syllabic, -consonantal, +sonorant]

Liquids (r, l) and nasals (m, n) [- syllabic, +consonantal, +sonorant]

Oral stops and fricatives (obstruents) [+ syllabic, + consonantal, -sonorant]

Manner of Articulation Features:

1-

[+ Nasal] nasal Sounds

2[+ Continuant] All but the stops which are [- continuant] because the airflow stop completely in the vocal tract. 3[+delayed release] applied on to affricates [tʃ] and [dʒ]: there is first a complete obstruction of the airflow i.e. a stop, followed by a release of the air i.e. fricative.

Generating Rules: Consider the phoneme /n/ in the prefix un- in the following words: Unarmed

[n]

neutral

Unpleasant

[m]

labial

Unfavorable

[ɱ]

labiodental

Unthinkable

[n̪]

dental

Instable

[n]

neutral

Uncomplicated [nˠ]

Velar

The place of the phoneme /n/ changes depending on the phonological environment it occurs in. For example, when it is followed by the bilabial sound /p/, its place moves from the alveolar ridge to the lips, and it becomes bilabial. As in the word Unpleasant The rule would be as follows

Another example is when /n/ is followed by a dental sound, such as / θ/ it become dental; As in the word Unthinkable. Thus, the rule is:

The problem with this system feature is that it has some redundant rules. Therefore there should be a rule that holds all the rules together. A rule that accounts for all the rules: The phoneme /n/ simply shares the place of articulation the consonant that follows it:

The alveolar nasal /n/ matches the place of the following segment.

Economical features for place of articulations:

1[+ Anterior] sounds articulated at the alveolar ridge or further forward, which also includes dental, labiodental, bilabial. [- Anterior] are produced further back in the vocal tract starting from the post-alveolar area. 2[+ Coronal] sounds are those produced by the tongue tip, blade, or front. I.e. the dental, the alveolar, the post-alveolar, and the palatal consonants. [-coronal] are the sounds that do not involve any of the above- mentioned parts of the tongue. E.g. bilabial, labiodentals, velars, uvulars, and glottal.

3[+ strident] sounds are produced by forcing air through a constricted passage. [+ strident] sounds are [f, v, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ]. In other words, [+ strident] groups the fricatives and the affricates together. All the other consonants are [- strident] Exercise: The phoneme /k/ voiceless velar stop becomes palatal when followed by the front vowel [i], as in the word key [ki]. Write down a rule using the feature matrix that accounts for the phonological environment in which /k/ occur.

Natural classes: Any group of phonemes which show the same behavior in the same contexts, and which share the same features constitute a natural class. E.g. although the phonemes /p/, /t/, /k/ have different places of articulation, they share some common features: they become aspirated [pʰ], [tʰ], [kʰ] when they occur at the beginning of stressed syllables. (pill, till, kill). Their aspiration is neutralized when they are preceded by the phoneme /s/ (spill, still, skill).

This natural class is the voiceless stops. Other natural classes include liquids, nasals, etc.

Exercise 3 p. 52:

Exercise 5 p.51