This document discusses key concepts in phonology, the study of sound systems in language. It defines phonology and phonetics, with phonology dealing with how sounds are organized in a language and phonetics concerning physical properties of sounds. Phonemes are classes of sounds perceived as the same, while allophones are variant realizations of the same phoneme. Contrastive sounds distinguish meaning, while complementary and free variant sounds do not. Distribution and minimal pairs are used to determine if sounds are contrastive.

1. PhonologyPhonology
Study of the
sound system of a language

2. Phonetics vs. PhonologyPhonetics vs. Phonology
 both deal with speech sounds
 phonetics: deals with physical properties of speech
sounds
 phonology: deals with the organization of speech
sounds in a particular language
– Which sounds are predictable? Which are unpredictable?
– What context allows us to predict the occurrence of
certain sounds?
– Which sounds affect the meaning of words?

3. English has the sounds [s] and [š].
sue [su] shoe [šu]
see [si] she [ši]
- [s] and [š] can occur before any vowel.
- changing from [s] to [š] affects the meaning of the
word

4. Japanese also has the sounds [s] and [š].
– sushi [suši]
– Satoko [satoko] (proper name)
– shiro [širo] ‘white’
– sha'kkuri [šak:uri] ‘hiccup’
– shuukan [šu:kan] ‘habit’
But [š] can only occur in certain contexts
– It can only occur before [i]. There are no
Japanese words with the sequence [si].
– When speaking other languages, natives speakers
of Japanese may have difficulty producing and
perceiving [s] before [i].

5. Same sound or different sound?Same sound or different sound?
• Within a given language, some sounds are
considered to be the same sound, even
though they are phonetically distinct.

6. Same sound or different sound?Same sound or different sound?
• Within a given language, some sounds are
considered to be the same sound, even
though they are phonetically distinct.
• Same or different?
• pool [pul] spool [spul]

7. Same sound or different sound?Same sound or different sound?
• Within a given language, some sounds are
considered to be the same sound, even
though they are phonetically distinct.
• Same or different?
• pool [pul] spool [spul]

8. Same sound or different sound?Same sound or different sound?
• Within a given language, some sounds are
considered to be the same sound, even
though they are phonetically distinct.
• Same or different?
• pool [ph
ul] spool [spul]
• phonetically different (aspirated vs. unaspirated)
• native speakers perceive the same sound

9. • mitt, Tim, metal, mitten
• phonetically different
• all perceived as ‘t’ by English speakers

10. ContrastivenessContrastiveness
• Two sounds are said to be contrastive if
replacing one with the other results in a
change of meaning.
• E.g., [s] and [š] are contrastive in English.
• [su] and [šu] mean different things

11. • Two sounds are said to be noncontrastive if
replacing one with the other does not result
in a change of meaning.
• E.g., aspirated and unaspirated stops are not
contrastive in English
• [tep] and [teph
] mean the same thing

12. • Note that the notion of contrastiveness must
be determined within a given language.
• In some languages (e.g., Hindi), difference
between aspirated and unaspirated stops is
contrastive (can make a difference in meaning).
• [kap] ‘cup’
• [kh
ap] ‘phlegm’

13. Phonemes and AllophonesPhonemes and Allophones
• Phoneme:
• class of speech sounds judged by native speakers to
be the same sound.
• a mental entity
• E.g., The /t/ sounds in mitt, Tim, metal, mitten
corresponds to one phoneme.
• Note: often revealed in spelling systems.

14. • Allophone:
• one of a set of non-distinctive realizations of the
same phoneme.
• Corresponds to something physical produced by a
speaker
• E.g., [th
] is an allophone of /t/.
• See p. 72 for a helpful schematic.

15. Bracketing conventionBracketing convention
slashes enclose phonemes: /t/
square brackets enclose allophones: [t]
This is an important distinction!

16. Distribution of speech soundsDistribution of speech sounds
• Distribution of a speech sound: the set of
phonetic environments in which it occurs.
• E.g., In English, aspirated consonants occur
syllable-initially.
• Two types: contrastive distribution and
complementary distribution.

17. Contrastive distributionContrastive distribution
• A pair of speech sounds (or phones) is in
contrastive distribution if interchanging the two
can result in a change in meaning.
• [s] and [š] are in contrastive distribution in English

18. Are [p] and [b] in contrastiveAre [p] and [b] in contrastive
distribution in English?distribution in English?
• To answer this question, construct a
minimal pair.
• Minimal pair: two words that differ only by
a single sound in the same position and
have different meanings.

19. Are [p] and [b] in contrastiveAre [p] and [b] in contrastive
distribution in English?distribution in English?
• To answer this question, construct a
minimal pair.
• Minimal pair: two words that differ only by
a single sound in the same position and
have different meanings.
• E.g., [pag] ‘pog’ [bag] ‘bog’

20. Complementary distributionComplementary distribution
• Speech sounds in complementary distribution are
allophones of the same phoneme.
• Sounds in complementary distribution occur in
non-overlapping environments.
• Non-technical meaning of complementary:
supplying parts to make up the whole.
• E.g., [ph
] and [p] are in complementary distribution
in English.
spit [spIt] pit [sph
It]
spied [spayd] pied [ph
ayd]
spool [spul] pool [ph
ul]

21. Free variationFree variation
• Term used to refer to two sounds that occur
in overlapping environments but cause no
distinction in the meaning of their
respective words.
• E.g.,
• released/unreleased word-final stops (top, pot)
• ash-tensing (bat)