phonology
Partido
State University
College
of Education
Goa, Camarines Sur
A/Y 2012-2013
Phonology
Jovelyn O. Del Castillo BSED 2B
Email:
jhovelynz08@gmail.com
"Hence, a generative grammar must be a system of rules that can iterate to generate an indefinitely large number of structures. Thi s system of rules can be analyzed into the three major components of a generative grammar: the syntactic, phonological, and semantic components."
(Noam Chomsky)
"Hence, a generative grammar must be a system of rules that can iterate to generate an indefinitely large number of structures. Thi s system of rules can be analyzed into the three major components of a generative grammar: the syntactic, phonological, and semantic components."
(Noam Chomsky)
Phonology
v is a
branch of linguistics concerned
with the systematic organization of sounds in languages. It has traditionally focused largely on
study of the systems of phonemes in particular languages, but it may also cover any linguistic analysis either at a level beneath the word (including syllable, onset and rhyme, articulatory gestures, articulatory features, mora, etc.) or at all
levels of language where sound is considered to be structured for conveying linguistic meaning. Phonology also
includes the study of equivalent organizational systems in sign languages.
v The word phonology (as in the phonology of English) can also refer to
the phonological system (sound system) of a given language. This is one of the
fundamental systems which a language is considered to comprise, like its syntax and its vocabulary.
v is about patterns of sounds, especially different patterns of sounds
in different languages, or within each language, different patterns of sounds
in different positions in words etc.
v the science of speech sounds including especially the history
and theory of sound changes in a language or in two or more related languages.
o
Phonological skill develops in a
predictable progression.
Ø “Paulson
(2004) confirmed the hierarchy of phonological skill acquisition in 5-year-olds
entering kindergarten. Only 7 percent of 5-year-olds who had not yet had
kindergarten could segment phonemes in spoken words. The production of rhymes
was more difficult for 5-year-olds than commonly assumed, as only 61 percent
could give a rhyming word for a stimulus. Only 29 percent could blend single
phonemes into whole words. Although some young students will pick up these
skills with relative ease during the kindergarten year — especially if the
curriculum includes explicit activities — other students must be taught these
metalinguistic skills directly and systematically.
o
When one language borrows sounds
from another language, the borrowing language must often adapt the words to fit
the set of possible sounds in its inventory. For example, observe the following
data, which illustrate borrowings into Hawaiian from English:
English
|
||
rice
| ||
wine
| ||
brush
|
||
ticket |
||
Albert
|
o
The following chart shows the sound
inventory of Hawaiian:
o
However, besides the replacement of
one sound for another, there are other differences between the English and
Hawaiian words. In the Hawaiian forms, vowels are inserted that do not exist in
the English forms. For example, you may note that in all the examples, a final
vowel is added in the Hawaiian forms (eg. [wam] > [waina).
o
This suggests that Hawaiian not only
has restrictions on what sounds can occur in the language, but also conditions
on how those sounds can be used in the formation of words. Based on the data
above, we can propose three conditions on the interaction of sounds in
Hawaiian:
- Words in Hawaiian must not end in a consonant
- Words in Hawaiian must not have two consonants in a row
- Words in Hawaiian must begin with a consonant
o
A thorough study of Hawaiian words
would show that these restrictions are not just restrictions on borrowed words,
but also on all words in Hawaiian.
o
One of the goals of phonology is to
describe the rules or conditions on sounds and sound structures that are
possible in particular languages.
Tohono O'odham
o
Another major goal of phonology is
to account for the similarities among human languages. That is, even though the
different languages have different sets of sounds and different ways of
arranging and patterning those sounds, there are a number of similarities
across human languages. The following are a few of these similarities, often
called universals:
- All consonant inventories have voiceless stops
- All languages have syllables
- All inventories can be split into vowels and consonants
There are also some near-universals,
such as the following:
- Only two languages in the University of California Segment Inventory Database (UPSID), Rotokas and Mura, have no sonorant consonants
- All languages in UPSID have some kind of [t],
except Hawaiian
- 91.5% of the languages in UPSID have [i]
One of the goals of phonology is to
define the space of possible sounds and sound structures that all human
languages draw from.
Phonological
Rules
o
A phonological rule is a
formal way of expressing a systematic phonological or morph
phonological process or diachronic sound change in language. Phonological rules are commonly used in
generative phonology as a
notation to capture sound-related operations and computations the nhuman brain
performs when producing or comprehending spoken language. They may use phonetic notation or distinctive
features or both.
o
John
Goldsmith (1995) defines phonological rules as
mappings between two different levels of sound representation.
o
Bruce Hayes (2009) describes them as
"generalizations" about the different ways a sound can be pronounced
in different environments.
- Assimilation: When a
sound changes one of its features to be more similar to an adjacent sound.
This is the kind of rule that occurs in the English plural rule described
above—the -s becomes voiced or voiceless depending on whether or not the
preceding consonant is voiced.
- Dissimilation: When a
sound changes one of its features to become less similar to an adjacent sound,
usually to make the two sounds more distinguishable. This type of rule is
often seen among people speaking a language that is not their native
language, where the sound contrasts may be difficult.
- Insertion: When an
extra sound is added between two others. This also occurs in the English
plural rule: when the plural morpheme -s is added to "bus,"
"bus-s" would be unpronouncable, so a short vowel (the schwa,
[ə]) is inserted between the two [s]s.
- Deletion: When a
sound, such as a stressless syllable or a weak consonant, is not
pronounced; for example, most American English speakers do not pronounce
the [d] in "handbag".
References:
1. Lass, R. (1984) Phonology: an introduction to basic concepts. Cambridge University Press.
Jakobson, R. (1962) The phonemic concept of distinctive features. In A. Sovijärvi and P. Aalto, eds. Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Mouton & Co. 440-455.
Jakobson, R. and M. Halle (1956) Fundamentals of Language. Mouton.
Kelly, J. (1974) Close vowels in Fang. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 37, 119-123. ( http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/jcoleman/PHONOLOGY1.htm)
Jakobson, R. (1962) The phonemic concept of distinctive features. In A. Sovijärvi and P. Aalto, eds. Proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of Phonetic Sciences. Mouton & Co. 440-455.
Jakobson, R. and M. Halle (1956) Fundamentals of Language. Mouton.
Kelly, J. (1974) Close vowels in Fang. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 37, 119-123. ( http://www.phon.ox.ac.uk/jcoleman/PHONOLOGY1.htm)
2. Nikolai Trubetzkoy, 1920s (.://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/phonology)
Prepared by:
Jovelyn Del Castillo
BSED 2B
Prepared to:
Dr. Myrna C. Bigueja
Associate professor 1
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