LLCM40AN English Phonetics and Phonology
1. Phoneme and allophone
Week 3: Phonetics and phonology, phoneme and allophone, distinctive features (continued)
Phonemes in different languages
T. Kamiyama, Université de Marne-la-Vallée 2007-2008
Nasalized vowels and nasal vowels in English and French
Phonemes in different languages • In a given language, you can make list of the phonemes that make up a phonological system of the language. • In English:
• In English (here, the case of an American speaker), oral [æ] in /kæt/ and nasal [01] in /kæn/ are allophones of the phoneme /æ/.
• /p b t d k ! f v " # s z $ % h t$ d% m n & r l j w/ • /i' (' )' *' u' + e æ , - . +/ e/ ./ e+ a+ *+ a. /. // • The choice and the boundary of phonemes may be different from one language to another: e.g. French does not have the same system. 11/02/2008 T. Kamiyama
LLCM40AN English Phonetics and Phonology 2007-2008 Week 3
• But to French speakers, they sound differently. In French /a/ and /01/ are different phonemes: minimal pair /!a/ and /!01/. 3
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French /R/
In Moroccan Arabic, however …
• In French there are various realizations (allophones) of /R/
• [p*2]
• 1. • 2. • 3.
• -> /p*2/ «!port!»
• [p*4] • [p*3] • [p*r] • [p*5]
• [2 4 3 r 5 V'(/)] are all allophones of the phoneme /2/ in French.
• [p*'(/)] 11/02/2008 T. Kamiyama
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«!s’est effondré!» «!s’est absenté!» «!être déçu!»
11/02/2008 T. Kamiyama
In Moroccan Arabic, however …
LLCM40AN English Phonetics and Phonology 2007-2008 Week 3
In English … • In the onset of a stressed syllable, you have [p] after /s/ (as in [spe+s]), and [p6] in other contexts (as in [p6e+s]): the two allophones of the phoneme /p/, namely [p] and [p6] are in complementary distribution.
• 1. /rab/ «!s’est effondré!» • 2. /2ab/ «!s’est absenté!» • 3. /3ab/ «!être déçu!»
-> /r/, /2/, and /3/ are 3 different phonemes 11/02/2008 T. Kamiyama
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In Korean …
Summary • Two sounds (or “phones”: to be transcribed between [ ] square brackets) may be two allophones of the same phoneme in one language, but two different phonemes in another.
• [pa&] “bread” • [p6a&] “bang” (onomatopoeia) • /p/ and /p6/ are two different phonemes in Korean, unlike in English and in French.
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Phonetics and phonology 2. Phonetics and phonology
• Both phoneticians and phonologists study speech sounds of human languages.
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Some examples of topics treated in phonetics and phonology
Phonetics and phonology: in the structuralist tradition • Phonetics deals with concrete physical realizations of speech sounds (articulatory, acoustic, and perceptual characteristics). 11/02/2008 T. Kamiyama
• Phonology deals with the sound system of languages: how phonemes function, how they are used in a given language.
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• Phonetics deals with concrete physical realizations: wordfinal /l/ in RP is “dark” (articulatory, acoustic, perceptual characteristics). It is not the case in French. 11/02/2008 T. Kamiyama
• Phonology deals with the sound system of languages: /l m n & r/ can be the nucleus (peak) of syllables in English. It is not the case in French.
LLCM40AN English Phonetics and Phonology 2007-2008 Week 3
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Natural class 3. Some tools of phonology: natural class and distinctive feature analysis
• The consonants of English can be grouped into some groups according to their behaviours in the language. • - /l m n & r/ can be nucleus (peak) of syllable • - Others cannot.
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Distinctive features
Natural class: some other examples
• Theory formalized first by Roman Jakobson.
• The vowels /i y u/ in Canadian French show common behaviours, unlike others. • They may be devoiced.
• Phonemes should be regarded: not as independent and indivisible unit but instead as combinations of different binary features (+ or -).
• They are realized as lax allophones [+ 7 .] in closed syllables. • - /i y u/ form a natural class of high vowels.
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LLCM40AN English Phonetics and Phonology 2007-2008 Week 3
• A distinctive feature makes it possible to distinguish phonemes. 17
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LLCM40AN English Phonetics and Phonology 2007-2008 Week 3
Distinctive features: some examples
Distinctive features: some examples
• /p b m f v/ are all labial consonants: one or both lips are involved. -> [+ labial]
• Phonemes are represented in terms of combination of features.
• /b d ! v # z % d%/ are all voiced. -> [+ voice]
• /v/ [+continuant, +voice, +labial] • /p/ [-continuant, -voice, +labial]
• /f v " # s z $ % h/ are fricatives: the airstream is not blocked completely and flows out continuously. -> [+ continuant]
• /!/ [-continuant, +voice, +velar] • /k/ [-continuant, -voice, +velar]
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Distinctive features
Distinctive features
• With 1 binary feature, we can distinguish 2 phonemes at most (2 = 21). t d [voice]
-
• With 3 binary features, we can distinguish 8 phonemes at most (8 = 23: “two cubed”, or “two to the third power”).
+
• With 2 binary feature, we can distinguish 4 phonemes at most (4 = 22: “two squared”). [voice] [labial] 11/02/2008 T. Kamiyama
t
d
p
b
s
z
f
v
[voice]
-
+
-
+
-
+
-
+
t
d
p
b
[labial]
-
-
+
+
-
-
+
+
-
+ -
+
+ +
[continuant]
-
-
-
-
+
+
+
+
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A distinctive feature analysis of the English consonant system
Distinctive features • In reality, it is not always perfectly economical (or efficient). • To distinguish the 24 consonants and the 20 vowels of English, we need more than 5 (cf. 32 = 25) features respectively.
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Spencer (1996) 24
LLCM40AN English Phonetics and Phonology 2007-2008 Week 3
A distinctive feature analysis of the English vowel system
Application of features • In generative phonology, we explain sound changes with rules involving features. • /kæn/ [kæ1n] • [-consonantal] -> [+nasal] / _ [+nasal] • Vowels ([-cons]) become nasal ([+nasal]) in the following context (/): before a nasal.
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Roach (1991) 25
LLCM40AN English Phonetics and Phonology 2007-2008 Week 3
End of Class 2 Class 3: Stress, rhythm and weak forms
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