Phonology is the study of sound organization and usage in languages, distinct from phonetics, and relates to morphology, syntax, and pragmatics. It analyzes phonemes, the smallest sound units, and their interaction, employing various models like generative, autosegmental, metrical, and lexical phonology. Lexical phonology discusses the interaction between phonology and morphology, distinguishing between lexical and post-lexical rules applied within and across word boundaries.

1. PHONOLOGY

2. WHAT IS PHONOLOGY?
• Phonology is the study of how sounds are
organized and used in natural languages.
• Phonology is just one of several aspects of
language.
• It is related to other aspects such as phonetics,
morphology, syntax, and pragmatics.

3. THE PHONOLOGICAL
SYSTEM OF A LANGUAGE
• an inventory of sounds and their
features, and
• rules which specify how sounds
interact with each other.

4. PHONETICS VS. PHONOLOG
Y
P H O N E T I C S
 Is the basis for
phonological analysis.
 Analyzes the production of
all human speech sounds,
regardless of language.
P H O N O L O G Y
 Is the basis for further work in
morphology, syntax, discourse,
and orthography design.
 Analyzes the sound patterns of a
particular language by determining
which phonetic sounds are
significant, and explaining how
these sounds are interpreted by
the native speaker.

5. WHY ARE PHONETICS IMPORTANT?

6. WHAT IS A PHONEME?
A phoneme is the smallest
contrastive unit in the sound
system of a language.

7. PHONOLOGISTS HAVE DIFFERING VIEWS OF THE PHONEME.
FOLLOWING ARE THE TWO MAJOR VIEWS CONSIDERED HERE:
In the American structuralist tradition, a phoneme is defined according to its allophones and
environments.
In the generative tradition, a phoneme is defined as a set of distinctive features.

8. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PHONE AND
PHONEME
P H O N E
One of many possible sounds in the
languages of the world.
The smallest identifiable unit found
in a stream of speech.
Pronounced in a defined way.
Represented between brackets by
convention.
Example:
[b], [j], [o]
P H O N E M E
One of many possible sounds in the
languages of the world.
A minimal unit that serves to distinguish
between meanings of words.
Pronounced in one or more ways,
depending on the number of allophones.
Represented between slashes by
convention.
Example:
/b/, /j/, /o/

9. MODELS OF PHONOLOGY
In classical phonemics, phonemes and their possible combinations are central.
In standard generative phonology, distinctive features are central. A stream of
speech is portrayed as linear sequence of discrete sound-segments. Each
segment is composed of simultaneously occurring features.
In non-linear models of phonology, a stream of speech is represented as
multidimensional, not simply as a linear sequence of sound segments. These
non-linear models grew out of generative phonology:
 autosegmental phonology
 metrical phonology
 lexical phonology

10. GENERATIVE PHONOLOGY
Generative phonology is a component of
generative grammar that assigns the correct
phonetic representations to utterances in such a
way as to reflect a native speaker’s internalized
grammar.

11. LEVELS OF PHONOLOGICAL REPRESENTATION
An underlying representation is the most basic form of a
word before any phonological rules have been applied to
it. Underlying representations show what a native
speaker knows about the abstract underlying phonology
of the language.
A phonetic representation is the form of a word that is
spoken and heard.

12. DISTINCTIVE FEATURES
Distinctive features make it possible to capture the
generalities of phonological rules.

13. LINEARITY
A stream of speech is portrayed as a sequence
of discrete sound segments. Each segment is
composed of simultaneously occurring features.

14. WHAT IS AUTOSEGMENTAL
PHONOLOGY?
 Autosegmental phonology is a non-linear approach to
phonology that allows phonological processes, such as tone
and vowel harmony, to be independent of and extend beyond
individual consonants and vowels.
 Autosegmental phonology treats phonological representations
as multi-dimensional, having several tiers. Each tier is made
up of a linear arrangement of segments. The tiers are linked to
each other by association lines that indicate how the segments
on each tier are to be pronounced at the same time.

15. WHAT IS METRICAL
PHONOLOGY?
 Metrical phonology is a phonological theory concerned with
organizing segments into groups of relative prominence.
Segments are organized into syllables, syllables into
metrical feet, feet into phonological words, and words into
larger units.
 This organization is represented formally by metrical trees
and grids.

16. WHAT IS LEXICAL
PHONOLOGY?
 Lexical phonology is an approach to phonology that
accounts for the interactions of morphology and
phonology in the word building process.
 The lexicon plays a central, productive role in the
theory. It consists of ordered levels, which are the
domain for certain phonological or morphological
processes.

17. CRUCIAL COMPONENTS OF LEXICAL
PHONOLOGY
L E X I C A L R U L E S …
• Apply only within words.
• Are prone to exceptions.
• Require morphological information.
• Must be structure-preserving.
• Will not be blocked by pauses.
• Apply first.
P O S T - L E X I C A L R U L E S …
• Apply within words or across word
boundaries.
• Do not have exceptions.
• Require syntactic information, or
no grammatical information at all.
• Are not necessarily structure-
preserving.
• Can be blocked by pauses.
• Apply later.

18. HALLE AND MOHANAN PROPOSE THE FOLLOWING FOUR LEVELS OF MORPHOLOGY IN THE LEXICON:
Level 1: Class 1 derivation, irregular inflection
Level 2: Class 2 derivation
Level 3: Compounding
Level 4: Regular inflection

19. L E V E L 1
Affixes include:
 -ate, -ion, -ity, -ic, sub-, de-, in-
Affixation causes stress
shift:
 photograph/photographic
Trisyllabic shortening occurs:
 divine/divinity
L E V E L 2
Affixes include:
 -ly, -ful, -some, -ness, re-, un-, non-
Affixation does not affect
stress:
 revenge/revengeful
No trisyllabic shortening occurs:
 leader/leaderless
LEVELS OF AFFIXATION

20. LEVELS OF AFFIXATION
L E V E L 1
Nasal assimilation occurs:
 in + legal -> illegal
Affixes may attach to stems:
 re-mit, de-duce
Affixation is less productive
and more exception
ridden.
L E V E L 2
Nasal assimilation is blocked:
 un + ladylike -> unladylike, not
*ulladylike
Affixes attach only to words:
 re-open, de-regulate
Affixation is more productive
and less exception ridden.