Phonetics and

phonology

Introduction

Szczecin University

March 1, 2014

Issues to be discussed



Language – definition



Features of language



Duality of patterning



Phonemes and allophones



Distinctive features



Complementary distribution and free variation

Language



Language - an organised system of
speech used by human beings as a
means of communication among
themselves.



Language – a tool for communication.

Grammar



Grammar - a subconscious linguistic system
that makes possible the production and
comprehension of potentially unlimited number
of utterances.



Grammar – the way smaller elements (e.g.
speech sounds or words) are combined into
larger elements (e.g. words).



Phonetics



Phonology



Morphology



Syntax



Semantics

Features of language

1. The vocal auditory channel
2. Rapid fading
3. Broadcast transmission and directional

reception

4. Interchangeability
5. Total feedback
6. Specialisation
7. Semanticity
8. Arbitrariness
9. Discretness
10. Displacement
11. Productivity
12. Traditional transmission
13. Duality of patterning

Duality of patterning



[k], [t], [æ]



[kæt], [ækt], [tæk]



*[ktæ], *[tkæ], *[ætk]



*[tæt], *[kæk]

Phonetics



Phonetics deals with the physical aspects of
speech sounds.



A branch of linguistics that deals with the
production, transmission and perception of
speech sounds.



Articulatory phonetics – production of speech
sounds



Acoustic phonetics – physical properties of
speech sounds



Auditory phonetics – perception of speech
sounds

Phonology



Phonology deals with the contrastive units of
speech (phonemes) and the patterns in which
they are arranged and distributed in different
languages.



/m, n, ŋ/ - some – sun – sung.



/ŋ/ - is never found in word-initial position



[m, n, ŋ] - masz – nasz – bank.



[ŋ] is a positional variant of /n/, found before
velar obstruents [k, g, x]



Phonologists are concerned with providing
models of speakers’ representations of the
sound system of their language.

Reasons for studying phonetics

and phonology



Studying the sounds of the world’s
languages



Studying pathological speech



Studying different accents of a language



Speech synthesis



Speech recognition



In order to properly describe these
phenomena, one has to find out what
people are doing when they are talking.

Phonetics vs. phonology



A phonetic study tells us how speech sounds are
made and what their physical properties are.



A phonological study study tells us how these sounds
(and their physical properties) are used to convey
meaning.



Speakers have mental representations of sounds
which are not identical with their physical
properties.



Speakers also have mental representation of words
that differ from their physical realisation(s).



Speech sounds have a physical as well as
psychological aspect.



Jan Baudouin de Courtenay

Phonemes and allophones



Speech sounds that distinguish words of

different meaning, e.g. /teɪk/ and /keɪk/.



The phoneme is defined in terms of

oppositions in a phonological system (The
Prague School of Linguistics).



Minimal pairs

Examples of phonemes and allophones



/k/ → [kʰ] as in keep

/l/ → [l] as in late



→ [kʷ] as in quick

→ [ll̥] as in plate



→ [kˡ] as in climb

→ [ɫ] as in cool



→ [k̚ ] as in take

→ [lʷ] as in loo



→ [ʔ] as in pick



→ [k] as in computer

Two allophones of /s/



Miss has two realisations: [mɪs] and [mɪʃ] as in miss
you.



Because speakers of English produce either [s] or
[ʃ], depending on the context, the language is said to
have an alternation between the two sounds.



There is a need for two distinct levels of analysis:
phonological and phonetic.



The example shows that the phonological /s/ is
sometimes realised phonetically as [s] and
sometimes as [ʃ].

Phonemes as bundles of features



Phonological features – the smallest units

of phonological analysis that can be
thought of as individual articulatory
characteristics of a segment, e.g. [+Nasal]
or [- Voice].



Phonological features are binary.



Each phoneme can be analysed into a

number of features that distinguish it from
the other phonemes of a language.

The need for distinctive features



Phonological rules apply to classes of
phonetically related segments, i.e. natural
classes.



The change of [s, z, t, d] to [ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ]



Alveolar → Alveopalatal / _ j



Alveolar → Alveopalatal / _ Palatal



The rule is phonetically motivated (conditioned).

Redundant and distinctive features



pin [pʰɪn] vs. spin [spɪn]



Aspiration is predictable from the place a

plosive occupies within a word and the feature
is said to be redundant in English



In Thai, aspiration is used to mark differences

between words because aspiration is not
predictable.



The words [pʰàa] ‘to split’ vs. [pàa] ‘forest’

constitute a minimal pair.



The difference in aspiration is sufficient to

signal the difference in meaning.



Aspiration is a distinctive property in Thai.

Pure vowels of English

Feature matrix for English vowels

Feature matrix of English consonants

Derivation of surface forms



A phonological rule applies if the appropriate input is present.



More than one rule may be involved in a derivation.



The output may serve as the input to the following rule.



Where a rule fails to apply, the form remains unchanged.



When all rules relevant to the derivation in question have applied,
a phonetic form is provided.



Phonological rules fail to apply when an impermissible form would
result.



Allophonic variation is the result of processes that apply in the
course of language use.

Example

Formal notation of rules



General statements about allophonic

distribution are formalised as rules.



A → B / X ̲ Y



A becomes B between X and Y.



A – the underlying representation



B – the phonetic representation



X, Y – the conditioning environment



̲ (focus bar) shows the position of the

segment undergoing the rule.

Liquid-glide devoicing in English



Rule and feature notation represents the

origin of allophones in phonetic processes
that arise in speech.

- syllabic - voice /

ϭ

- syllabic

_____

+ sonorant

+ consonantal

+ voice

- continuant

- nasal

- voice

- delayed release

Feeding order and

unordered rule application



Two (or more) phonological rules are said to

be unordered with respect to each other
when the order in which they are applied
does not change the final outcome.



Rules are said to be in feeding order when

the application of one rule creates an
environment that makes possible the
application of another rule that could
otherwise not apply.

Examples



[stændpɒɪnt] > [stænpɒɪnt] >

[stæmpɒɪnt]

Underlying forms and surface
structures



Underlying form (intention) is a mental
representation of a word or phrase (style-
independent).



Surface form (phonetic representation) – the
actual, physical realisation of a given word
(style-dependent).



Surface forms are derived from underlying
forms by means of phonological rules.

Phonostylistics

Thank you