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Phonology, pt. 2Dialects and Registers, pt. 1

LIN200, Lecture 6Thursday, October 15, 2009

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Midterm test: in tutorial, Oct. 19 & 20 Extended office hours today (if people are still there at 2:30) until 4:30. Help Lab: Tonight, 6–8 pm in NB 160. Drop in, leave early, etc. Bring

questions, this will not be an extra lecture. Format of midterm: mix of problem types, T/F, multiple choice, and

problem solving like what you’ve done on your morphology, syntax andphonetics HW.

A short “sample test” will be posted on website by tomorrow morning,will hopefully have it tonight.

Phonology will be on test, BUT: No large phonology problem (like whatyou had in your HW) Could ask you to look for minimal pairs and complementary distribution in a

very small, straightforward data set. Terminology used in the chapter, and how things like complementary

distribution, allophones and minimal pairs relate to one another; thedifference between the phonetic and phonemic levels or underlying & surfaceforms, definitions of different types of phonological rules (assimilation, etc).

Read the summary at the end of the chapter.

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Types of phonological rules

Feature changing rulesAssimilation (ex. English nasal rule)Dissimilation (ex. fifth [fɪft], [fɪfƟ] sixth [sɪkst], [sɪksƟ])Why to such processes happen?

- Ease of articulation- Ease of perception (to make the contrast between segmentsstronger)

Feature addition rules (Ex. English aspiration)Insertion/epenthesis: (Ex. film [fɪləm])Deletion: (Ex. sign – signature: g Ø / nasal in the same syllableMetathesis: (Ex. ask /æsk/ [æks], breakfast “brefkast”)

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/Underlying/ vs. [surface] formsFlapping: attitude, writer have a flap when spoken (transcribed [ɾ] or [D]), not [t] or [d]:[æɾətud], [rajɾər]

“Flap” = a voiced, alveolar C, quicker than a stop (sometimes called a “tap”).This alternation found in pairs like writer/rider, liter/ leader, seater/seeder,rooter/ruder.No flap: toot, dud(e), tatóo adéptFlapping rule: alveolar stop (voiced) flap / V __ unstressed V

This interacts with vowel length in English. Do a broad /phonemic/ transcription ofthe minimal pairs: write/ride, neat/need, treat/treed, lack/lag

/rajt/ ~ /rajd/ /nit/ ~ /nid/ /trit/ ~ /trid/ /læk/ ~ /læg/Now compare the vowel length in each pair. Give a narrow [phonetic] transcription

[rajt] ~ [raj:d] [nit] ~ [ni:d] /trit/ ~ /tri:d/ /læk/ ~ /læ:g/V V: / __ C [+voice]The variants of the vowels here (longer vs. shorter) are allophones; there are nominimal pairs in English with a vowel length distinction

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Morphophonology: phonology intersects withmorphology (pp. 275–80)

Morphemes can have multiple phonetic forms, different pronunciations indifferent contexts. Allomorphs of a single morpheme.in- prefix means "not"inaccessible not accessible [ɪn-] vowelinefficient not efficient [ɪn-]inoffensive not offensive [ɪn-]insecure not secure [ɪn-] alveolarintolerant not tolerant [ɪn-]indecent not decent’ [ɪn-]impolite not polite [ɪm-] bilabialimbalance not balance [ɪm-]immoral not moral [ɪm-]illegible not legible [ɪl-] liquidirreplaceable not replaceable [ɪr-]incomprehensible not comprehensible [ɪŋ-] velarinconclusive not conclusive [ɪŋ-]ingenuous not genuous [ɪŋ-]infeasible not feasible [ɪɱ-] ??

A feature-changingassimilation rule,homorganic nasalassimilation: changethe place of articulationof a nasal consonant sothat it agrees with theplace of articulation ofa following consonant.

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Rule orderingDerivation Writer Rider (length diff. p. 120)

Underlying form /rajtər/ /rajdər/Length. Rule DNA a:Derived form [rajtər] [ra:jtər]Flapping rule ɾ ɾSurface form [rajɾər] [ra:jɾər]

BUT! Different phonetic outputs can result, depending on how rules are ordered:

Derivation Writer Rider (length diff. p. 120)

Underlying form /rajtər/ /rajdər/Flapping rule ɾ ɾDerived form [rajɾər] [rajɾər]Length. Rule a: a:*Surface form [ra:jɾər] [ra:jɾər]

Also see the Canadian Raising rule (p. 272) that affects diphthongs before [–voiced].That will probably help you with one of your HW questions.

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Rule ordering in morphophonology:English (regular) plurals

2 rules:epenthesis: insert [ə]before the plural morpheme when the root ends in a sibilantassimilation: voiced /z/ becomes voiceless [s] when preceeded by a voiceless C.

Derivation bus (pl.) butt (pl.) bug (pl.)Underlying form /bʌs + z/ /bʌt + z/ /bʌg + z/epenthesis rule ə N/A N/ADerived form [bʌsəz] [bʌt +z] [bʌg + z]assimilation rule N/A /z/ -->[ s] N/ASurface form [bʌsəz] [bʌts] [bʌgz]

• What happens if we apply the rules in a different order?

Underlying form /bʌs + z/assimilation rule /z/ -->[ s]Derived form [bʌs + s]epenthesis rule ə*Surface form [bʌs + əs]

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Idiolects and Dialects Idiolect: The unique characteristics of the language of an individual

speaker. Dialect: mutually intelligible forms of a single language that differ, or

vary, in systematic ways. Other definitions? Carver (1987:1) “A dialect is a variety of language distinguished from

other varieties by a set of grammatical, phonetic, and lexicalfeatures. When these features are distributed geographically over arestricted and relatively uniform area, it is a regional dialect. When they areshared by speakers of a social grouping, it is a social dialect.”

Crystal (1991:102) Dialect: “A regionally or socially distinctivevariety of language, identified by a particular set of words andgrammatical structures.” The distinction between ‘dialect’ and‘language’ seems obvious: dialects are subdivisions of languages.”

Finegan and Besnier (1989:526) Dialect: “A language variety used by aparticular social group, such as a regional, ethnic, socioeconomic, orgender group.”

Francis (1983:1) Dialects are “...varieties of a language used by groupssmaller than the total community of speakers of a language.”

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More “dialect” definitions Hock (1986:380) “Put very simply, varieties of speech which are

relatively similar to each other, whose divergences are relatively minor,are called ‘dialects’ of the same ‘language’. A language, then, is theensemble of such dialects – whether they are standard or vernacular,urban or rural, regional or supra-regional. Varieties which differ fromeach other more noticeably, whose divergences are major, are calleddifferent ‘languages’.” “Unfortunately, ... [a] mutual-intelligibility testdoes not always lead to clear-cut results.”

In a jestful manner, it has been said that the difference between alanguage and a dialect is that a language is a dialect with an army anda navy. (Max Weinstein, in Pinker 1994)

Italian dialectologists, including Ascoli (sorry, no reference), claim that asystem is a language only if it has a large body of written literature,otherwise it is a dialect.

An interesting operational definition of a dialect is the second languagean adult can learn to speak without a foreign accent. (ScovelLanguage Learning XIX.4:245-253, p. 249)

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Language vs. Dialect

Possible criteria Mutual intelligibility Sociopolitical boundaries

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Autonymy vs. Heteronymy

Autonymy = people are politically separated,therefore they view their speech varieties asdifferent languages

Heteronymy = people are politically unified,therefore they view their speech varieties asthe same language

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Mutual Intelligibility vs.Sociopolitical Factors

Four possibilities: Mutually intelligible, same language Mutually intelligible, different languages NOT mutually intelligible, same language NOT mutually intelligible, different languages

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Regional and social dialects

Regional dialects: Regional phonological or phoneticdistinctions like those are often called different“accents.” arise through gradual changes in the grammar of different

speech communities, some of which slowly spread to otherareas, while others do not.

Dialect differences tend to increase in proportion to theamount of communicative isolation between groups.

Dialect leveling seems to be less likely.

Social dialects: dialects that are used by particularsocial groups or by many people in different socialsituations.

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Sociolinguistics• Formal linguistics• Social theory: cultural history, sociology, anthropology and

the study of identity• Research methodology: project design, data collection,

linguistic analysis, statistics, and interpretation of findingsbased on current sociolinguistic theory.

• Study of sociolinguistics also includes examining the humanlife span—how we learn to talk as babies, influence languagechange as teenagers, and accommodate to the linguisticmarketplace as adults.

• Sociolinguists study the relationshipbetween linguistic factors and socialfactors

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Sociolinguistics

The study of variation Within a language

• Within the language, what varies? How? When?

Across languages (within a community)• Who uses what language when?

Across communities

We still need rules to describe what's going on.

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Some Basic Principlesabout Language All language varieties are rule-

governed, systematic All language varieties are qualitatively

equivalent Language varies synchronically Language changes diachronically

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(TH): % use of stop variant

Labov (1972: 113)

(TH)

[t, d] [† , ∂ ]

A = casual speech

B = careful speech

C = reading paragraph

D = reading word list

Lower classWorking class

Lower middle classUpper middle class

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(R) % use of [r] variant

Labov (1972: 114)

(R)

[r] [Ø]

A = casual speech

B = careful speech

C = reading paragraph

D = reading word list

D' = reading minimalpairs

D'

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Some Basic Principlesabout Language All language varieties are rule-governed,

systematic All language varieties are qualitatively

equivalent Language varies synchronically Language changes diachronically

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Language vs. Dialect

Possible criteria Mutual intelligibility Sociopolitical boundaries

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Some Basic Principlesabout Language All language varieties are rule-governed,

systematic All language varieties are qualitatively

equivalent Language varies synchronically Language changes diachronically

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Variable (ing) in English dialectsWhat is the variation? walking vs. walkin’, something vs. somethin’Known to vary by a number of social factors.

Percent of "-ing" Suffix Pronounced as /ɪŋ/ by class and styleNorwich New York City

Social Casual Reading Social Casual Reading class style style class style style

MMC 72 100 UMC 95 100LMC 58 90 LMC 68 99UWC 13 85 WC 51 89MWC 5 56 LC 29 78LWC 0 34

Pronunciation of "-ing" among New England schoolchildren/ɪŋ/ /ɪn/

Girls 10 2Boys 5 7

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Variable (l)-deletion in Montreal FrenchPercent of /l/-deletion in Montreal French

Professionals Laborers'he' il 72 100'she' elle 30 82'they' (dir. obj.) les 19 62'her' (dir. obj.) la 13 38

Percent of /l/-deletion in Montreal FrenchWomen Men

'he' il 84 94'she' elle 60 67'they' (dir. obj.) les 41 53'her' (dir. obj.) la 23 31

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Why is there variation in theEnglish language?

“People who speak with one another tend to speaklike one another.”

Speaking a particular dialect is a way of identifyingwith other people who are similar, geographically,ethnically, socially (age, gender, class).

Think of examples when your speech changeddepending on who(m) you were talking to. What ifyou've moved?

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Why is it still around?

The power of languageAs an independent nation, our honor requires us to have a system of ourown, in language as well as government. Great Britain, whose children weare, and whose language we speak, should no longer be our standard; for thetaste of her writers is already corrupted, and her language in the decline.

One can unify the language of a great nation in such a manner that all itscitizens can, without obstacle, communicate their thoughts to each other.This enterprise [...] is worthy of the French people [...] who should be eagerto completely devote themselves, in a Republic which is one and indivisible,to the unique and invariant usage of the language of liberty. [...] It is, aboveall, ignorance of the national language which keeps so many people at sucha great distance from the truth. [...] In order to perfect agriculture and allthe branches of the rural economy the knowledge of the national languageis equally indispensable. [...] All that has just been said leads to theconclusion that, in order to rid ourselves of prejudices, develop all truths,all talents, all virtues, blend the citizens into a national whole, simplify themechanism and facilitate the actions of the political machine, a commonlanguage is necessary [...]

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Why are there regional dialects inNorth America?

Settlement patterns

Migration routes

Geographical factors

Language contact

Political boundaries

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Settlement Patterns

Only 400 years of settlement by Englishspeakers in North America

Settlements began as separate, isolatedcommunities

Four major regions emerged: Canada, U.S. (North, Midland, South)

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Migration routes/Geography

Settlers moved primarily westward in bands, towardsthe Mississippi River and Great Lakes, from theoriginal settlements on the east coast

Mountains and rivers both enabled and restrictedmigration, affecting dialect contact (St. LawrenceRiver, Ohio River, Shenandoah River, CumberlandGap)

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Loyalist settlement from the U.S.