phonology: contrast, complementary distribution
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Phonology:contrast, complementary distribution
LING 200
Spring 2003
Reading: Files 4.1-4.3
Some acoustic phonetics
b ywaveform
spectrogram
energy
frequency
time
dark bands in spectrogram are ‘formants’ (F1, F2, etc.), characteristic frequencies of resonator (vocal tract shape)
frequency
timeF1
F2
F3b y
voicing
English vowels—an acoustic plotF2
F1
English vowels—an acoustic plotF2
F1
Aspiration in Englishp h y
aspiration
Aspiration in English• The sequence of events in [ph]:
[p] [h] []
lips labial closure apart apart
vocal cords
apart (voiceless)
apart (voiceless)
vibrating (voiced)
Broad vs. narrow transcription
• When should aspiration be included in a transcription of English?
• How much detail should a transcription contain?– Relatively a lot of detail: narrow
• e.g. [kh] ‘cot’ [gt] ‘got’
– Relatively less detail: broad• e.g. [kt] ‘cot’ [gt] ‘got’
Predictable vs. unpredictable information
• List-like information– unpredictable
• e.g. In English, [kæt] – represented in dictionary
• Rule-like information– predictable
• e.g. In English, voiceless stops are aspirated (in one context)
– represented in grammar• e.g. phonological rule of Aspiration
Broadest transcription
• Represents only unpredictable information• Phonemic representation: /kæt/
phonological rules e.g. assign aspiration kh
phonetic representation [khæt]
• Phonemes: the elements of a phonemic representation
When to use broad vs. narrow transcription?
• Typically, transcription is as broad as possible– Symbols in consonant, vowel charts are
phonemes
• In English, transcribe aspiration only in a phonetic study of aspiration
Phonemic vs. phonetic representations
• Phonetic representation– directly observable– contains measurable properties
• Phonemic representation– inferred, not observed– abstract, streamlined representation of sound
Inferring the phonemic representation
• Evidence from:– Minimal pairs/sets (‘contrast’)– Distributional properties of sounds
• When aspects of pronunciation are predictable, due to influence of– Neighboring sound– Position of sound
Minimal pairs• Two words which differ in meaning and along only one
phonetic parameter– A minimal pair for voicing
• [kræbi] vs. [kræpi]
• therefore, /p b/ in English
– A minimal pair for labio-dental vs. interdental place• [n] vs. [fn]
• therefore, / f/ in English
• Minimal pairs – contain phonemes
– are a guide to the phoneme inventory
Minimal sets
• A minimal set for vowel height– [hid]– [hd]– [hed]– [hd]– [hæd]
A near-minimal set
• [tyd]
• [hyd]
• [hwd]
Distributional properties of sounds
• Aspiration in more detail /p/ /t/ /k/
aspirated [pt] [tt] [kt]
[yupk]
[yut] [yukn]
unaspirated [spy] [sty] [sky]
[sp] [rt] [sk]
[sps] [rts] [sks]
( [ ] = primary stress; [ ] = secondary stress )
Distribution of [ph], [p]
•[by]•[phy]•[spy]•?•=[py]
Distribution of [ph], [p]
[ph] [p]
[pt] [spt]
[yu.pk] [sp]
[sps]
Observation: [ph] occurs at the beginning of a syllable; [p] occurs everywhere else voiceless stops can occur in English
Syllable: grouping of consonants and vowels. 1 syllable words: [rk], [brk], [brks]; 2 syllable word: [kn]. [.] = syllable boundary
Distribution of [ph], [p]
All the places /p/ can occur in English
[phe]
[phle] [ræpt]
[phre] [ræsp]
[spe] [ræps]
[sple] [ræp]
[spre]
Distribution of aspiration
• [p t k] and [p t k] do not contrast– there are no minimal pairs for aspiration
• [p t k] and [p t k] are in complementary distribution; i.e.– the distribution of [ph] complements that of [p]– i.e. [ph] and [p] don’t occur in the same place
• the distribution of aspiration is predictable and can be stated in a rule:– Voiceless stops are aspirated when syllable initial
In English,
Allophones• The pronunciations of phonemes which
contain predictable properties– E.g., [ph] and [p] are allophones of /p/ in
English.
• Phonemic vs. phonetic transcription phonemic phonetic (aspiration transcribed)
/pt/ [pt]/yupk/ [yupk]
/spt/ [spt]
/sp/ [sp]
/sps/ [sps]
Cross-linguistic similarities and differences
• Spoken languages differ– in phoneme inventories– in rules for the pronunciation of phonemes
• Phonological rules usually apply to, are conditioned by– natural classes of sounds
• e.g. Aspiration applies to /p t k/ (all voiceless stops)
• not /p r /
• State of glottis in Hindi
– [] = voiced aspirated palatal affricate
– [ch] = voiceless aspirated palatal affricate
– [] = voiced palatal affricate
– [c] = voiceless palatal affricate
Aspiration in Hindi
Aspiration in Hindi
• [cl] ‘turn’• [chl] ‘bark’• [l] ‘net’• [l] ‘cymbals’
[cl] ‘turn’, [l] ‘net’ are a minimal pair for voicing
[cl] ‘turn’, [chl] ‘bark’ are a minimal pair for aspiration
/ c ch/ are all phonemes in Hindi
Voicing in Mohawk• Iroquoian family; spoken in Quebec, Ontario,
New York
• Suspicion: [p t k b d g] are all sounds of Mohawk, but there are no minimal or near-minimal pairs for voicing– Is stop voicing phonemic or predictable?
Mohawk phonetic data
[oli:de] ‘pigeon’ [oy:gl] ‘shirt’
[zhset] ‘hide it!’ (sg.) [ohyotsh] ‘chin’
[g:lis] ‘stocking’ [lbhbet] ‘catfish’
[odhs] ‘tail’ [sdu:h] ‘a little bit’
[wisk] ‘five’ [iks] ‘fly’
[degeni] ‘two’ [desdn] ‘stand up!’ (sg.)
[plm] ‘Abram, Abraham’
[de:zekw] ‘pick it up!’ (sg.)
[V:] = long vowel, [C] = voiceless consonant
Stop distribution
[p] [b]
___l ___ h___e
[t] [d]
e___# i:___e
o___s o___ s___u:
#___e
#___e:
s___[k] [g]
s___# #___ :i___s e___e
e___w :___
# = word edge
Summarized contexts[p t k] [b d g]
___ C ___ V
___ #
[p t k] and [b d g] are in complementary distribution in Mohawk.
Writing the phonological rule
• Which rule?– Mohawk has /p t k/. Voicing: Stops are voiced
before vowels.or?
– Mohawk has /b d g/. Devoicing: Stops are voiceless word finally or before a consonant.
Writing the phonological rule• Choose Voicing. Why?
– Voicing is simpler than Devoicing• Voicing: “...before vowels.”• Devoicing: “...word finally or before a consonant.”
– If Voicing, then Mohawk consonant inventory contains /p t k/. If Devoicing, then /b d g/. But there are no languages with /b d g/ which lack /p t k/.
• i.e. voiced stops voiceless stops (an implicational universal)
Mohawk consonant inventorylabial alveolar palatal velar glottal
stop p t k
affricate c
fricative s h
nasal n
liquid r
glide w y
Voicing applies to all of the voiceless stops in Mohawk.
Writing the rule
•In Mohawk,
Stops are voiced before vowels.
(sentence formulation)
/p t k/ [b d g] / ___ V
(‘arrow’ notation)
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