LING 100 - Review on Phonological Analysis

Introduction
Recognizing Allophones and Phonemes
Syllable Structure
Phonological Analysis
LING 100 2013W: Tutorial T02/T04
Meagan Louie
2013-10-11
Meagan Louie Phonological Analysis

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
Core Subdomains: Phonology
Linguistics: The study of Language
Phonetics
Phonology
Morphology
Syntax
Semantics
Pragmatics

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
Basic Concepts: Contrastiveness/Distinctiveness
1. What is a phoneme?

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
A: The smallest unit of sound that is capable of distinguishing meaning

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
2. What is a minimal pair/set?

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
A: A pair/set of morphemes, which
. (i) only differ in one sound segment (eg., [sit] and [fit] ), and
. (i) differ in meaning (eg., ’seat’ = ’feet’)

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
3. What is a an allophone? A phonetic variant?

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
A: The phonetic variants of a phoneme are the various ways of actually
pronouncing phonemes; allophones are phonetic variants of a phoneme
that pattern in complementary distribution.

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
A: The phonetic variants of a phoneme are the various ways of actually
pronouncing phonemes; allophones are phonetic variants of a phoneme
that pattern in complementary distribution.
4. Examples?

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
More Concepts: Contrastiveness/Distinctiveness

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
1. What is a ’distinctive feature’?

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
A: An articulatory/acoustic parameter that (eg., voicing, nasality,
aspiration, etc.,), where the parameter settings correlate with diﬀerent
phonemes.

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
phonemes.
2. What is a phonemic inventory? How is it diﬀerent from a phonetic
inventory?

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Basic Concepts
phonemes.
2. What is a phonemic inventory? How is it diﬀerent from a phonetic
inventory?
A: A phonemic inventory is the set of phonemes a language has. A
phonetic inventory is the set of phones a language has (i.e., a set that
contains each allophonic variation of each phoneme in the language)

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Case Study: Japanese
Case Study: Canadian English

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Q1. How can you recognize phonemes?

Introduction
Syllable Structure
A1. With minimal pairs

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Q. How can you recognize allophones?

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Q. How can you recognize allophones?
A. By their complementary distribution

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Phonological Analysis
How to Approach the Question: Phonemes or Allophones?
QUESTION:
Are [X] and [Y] (distinct) phonemes, or allophones of the same phoneme?
1. Look for minimal pairs
2. Found some? Good. Then say something like:
ANSWER
”[X] and [Y] are distinct phonemes. This can be illustrated with the
following minimal pair: [Xat] ’water oxen’ and [Yat] ’radio’ diﬀer only in
that one begins with [X] and the other begins with [Y], yet they have
distinct meanings.

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Distinct Phonemes: Cantonese Example
1. [g2w3] ”enough”
2. [gaw3] ”teach”
3. [tS2w3] ”stinky”
4. [tSaw2] ”stir-fried”
5. [maj5] ”buy”
6. [m2j5] ”rice (uncooked)”
7. [saj3] ”excessive”
8. [s2j3] ”small”
[Q:] Are [aw] and [2w] separate phonemes, or allophones?
[Q:] Are [aj] and [2j] separate phonemes, or allophones?
(FYI: The numbers indicate tones, 1=high level, 2=high rising, 3=mid
level, 4=low falling, 5=low rising, 6=low level)

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Distinct Phonemes: Cantonese Example
1. [g2w3] ”enough”
2. [gaw3] ”teach”
3. [tS2w3] ”stinky”
4. [tSaw2] ”stir-fried”
5. [maj5] ”buy”
6. [m2j5] ”rice (uncooked)”
7. [saj3] ”excessive”
8. [s2j3] ”small”
→Minimal pairs, ∴ can conclude these are distinct phonemes.

Introduction
Syllable Structure
QUESTION: Are X and Y (distinct) phonemes?
or allophones of the same phoneme?
1. Look for minimal pairs
2. Didn’t find any? Good! Then you get to do a phonology puzzle!
3. Look for complementary distribution between X and Y
i. Look at the phonological contexts where you find X, and the
phonological contexts where you find Y (hint: make a chart!)
ii. Generalise over the contexts where you find X and Y (use distinctive
features!)
iii. If the environments that you found for X and Y are complementary
(i.e., do not overlap), then you’ve found evidence that X and Y are
allophones

Introduction
Syllable Structure
[Q:] Are [s] and [S] separate phonemes, or allophones?
1. [sakana] ”ﬁsh”
2. [aSita] ”tomorrow”
3. [sukoSi] ”little bit”
4. [senaka] ”back”
5. [soko] ”there”
6. [asa] ”morning”
7. [Sigoto] ”work”
8. [tesuto] ”test”
9. [Siawase] ”happy”
10. [soSite] ”then”

Introduction
Syllable Structure
How to Approach This Type of Problem
[Q:] Are [s] and [S] separate phonemes, or allophones?
1. [sakana] ”ﬁsh”
2. [aSita] ”tomorrow”
3. [sukoSi] ”little bit”
4. [senaka] ”back”
5. [soko] ”there”
6. [asa] ”morning”
7. [Sigoto] ”work”
8. [tesuto] ”test”
9. [Siawase] ”happy”
10. [soSite] ”then”
Step 1: Look for minimal pairs (evidence of phonemes)
- none in this data set.
Step 2: Try to establish complementary distribution (evidence of allophony)

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Determining Allophony
Finding Complementary Distribution
Step 2: Try to establish complementary distribution

Introduction
Syllable Structure
2a: Make a chart of where [s] occurs vs where [S] occurs

Introduction
Syllable Structure
2b: Try to generalize over the environments for each sound
Environments where [s] occurs Environments where [S] occurs
# akana a ita
# ukoSi suko i
# enaka suko i
# oko # iawase
a a so ite
te uto # igoto
Siawa e
# oSite

Introduction
Syllable Structure
2b:Try to generalize over the environments for each sound
# akana a ita
# ukoSi suko i
# enaka suko i
# oko # iawase
a a so ite
te uto # igoto
Siawa e
# oSite

Introduction
Syllable Structure
2b:Try to generalize over the environments for each sound
# akana a ita
# ukoSi suko i
# enaka suko i
# oko # iawase
a a so ite
te uto # igoto
Siawa e
# oSite a, u, e, o i

Introduction
Syllable Structure
# akana a ita
# ukoSi suko i
# enaka suko i
# oko # iawase
a a so ite
te uto # igoto
Siawa e
Generalization: [S] occurs when preceding [i], [s] occurs otherwise

Introduction
Syllable Structure
# akana a ita
# ukoSi suko i
# enaka suko i
# oko # iawase
a a so ite
te uto # igoto
Siawa e
This suggests that [s] and [S] are allophones of the same phoneme

Introduction
Syllable Structure
# akana a ita
# ukoSi suko i
# enaka suko i
# oko # iawase
a a so ite
te uto # igoto
Siawa e
This suggests that [s] and [S] are allophones of the same phoneme
s → S / i (s becomes s when preceding [i])

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Case Study: Canadian English I
1. [k2wtS] ”couch”
2. [tawn] ”town”
3. [bôaw] ”brow”
4. [2wt] ”out”
5. [@lawz] ”allows”
6. [lawd] ”loud”
7. [p2wt] ”pout”
8. [@ôawnd] ”around”
9. [h2ws] ”houseN”
10. [m2wT] ”mouthN”

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Case Study: Canadian English II
1. [k2jt] ”kite”
2. [tajm] ”time”
3. [baj] ”buy”
4. [b2jt] ”bite”
5. [lajz] ”lies”
6. [lajd] ”lied”
7. [p2jp] ”pipe”
8. [ôajnd] ”rind”
9. [m2js] ”mice”
10. [m2jT] ”might”

Introduction
Syllable Structure
Syllable Structure
σ
Onset Rhyme
Nucleus Coda
1. Identify the nucleus (usually a vowel).
2. Every consonant after the nucleus forms part of the coda
3. Every consonant before the nucleus forms part of the onset

LING 100 - Review on Phonological Analysis

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