Notes from This Week's Lecture (Chapter 3)
Phonological Rules
Phonological Rules are statements of phonological processes that show how sounds are influenced by neighboring sounds)
States as: A --> B / X__Y
· A = Sound segment
· B = Result of change
· / = "in environment of"
· X__Y = environment (here, bw X and Y)
Any rule has three elements:
1. Sound effected
2. Change made
3. Environment
Some Common Rules:
· Assimilation: Liquids and glides devoiced after voiceless stops at beginning of syllables. (fig 3.14, p. 93) (eg, please)
· Deletion: schwa in open syllable (no coda) is deleted when followed by stressed syllable. (fig 3.15, p. 93) (eg, parade)
o If this produces an impossible combination, rule does not apply (eg, debate).
o But what about syringe, surrender? /sr/ is not a permissible combo in Eng--does rule only apply to liquids and glides?
o Interesting - does this apply? or is the "ter" a stressed syllable? When you delete the schwa, it certainly becomes unstressed.
· Scwha Insertion/Epenthesis: In some Eng dialects, schwa added after /l/ when /l/ followed by another cons in the coda. Eg, milk, film. (fig 3.16, p. 94) Possible correlaton w/ Dutch "milek."
Syllables
All languages have syllables. Syllables are suprasegmentals, composed of segments. They consist of a sonorous element and surrounding nonsyllabic (less sonorous) elements.
General Rules:
1. Nuclei generally consist of one vowel.
2. Syllables generally begin with onsets.
3. Syllables often end w/ codas. A syllable with no coda is an open syllable; a syllable with a coda is closed.
4. Onsets and codas usually consist of one consonant (consonant clusters are not common in all languages).
Syllable = Onset (usually a consonant) + Rhyme
Rhyme = Nucleous (syllabic element, usually a vowel) + coda (usually a consonant)
Language Specific Patterns
Phonotactics - Set of constraints on how sequences of segments pattern to form syllables, part of tacit undertanding of phonology of one's native languge)
· Most common pattern in most languages: CV or CVC
· English words can have complex onsets and codas consisting of more than one consonant. Longest clusters are 3, except for "sixths." Other exceptions? Bursts -- r is not transcribed as a consonant.
· Permissible combinations in one language may not be permissible in others.
· Accidental Gaps - combinations that are permissible, but never occur: [glajp] Also called "legal non-words."
Onsets
Universal constraints: found in all languages that allow complex onsets:
· Consonant combinations are dependent on manners of articulation.
· Sonorant consonants will be closer to the nucleus than stops or fricatives.
· Because syllables generally begin with onsets, onsets tend to be as large as possible.
· If a syllable starts and ends w/ a vowel, the consonant is still considered the onset of the latter, rather than the coda of the former (see identification steps below).
· Onsets "gather up" as many consonants as possible before the coda can be considered to be formed.
To identify a syllable:
1. Find the nucleus--generally a vowel.
2. Find the onset--biggest group of consonents to the left of the nucleus that doesn't violate the languages phonotactic constraints.
3. Find the coda--whatever's left to the right of the nucleus.
4. Label it a word.
Syllabic Phonology
· Analysis of allophones depends on how syllables are set up, eg, voiceless stops aspirated at beginning of syllables, not necessarily a word (pan, upon).
· Vowels are long when followed by voiced consonant in the coda of the same syllable; shorter followed by unvoiced cons. Eg, bad, bat. [rI gard] - I is short, even though followed by voiced cons, bc g is onset of next syllable.