Linguistics 3 Final Exam
Properties of a word: 1. A lexical meaning (ex: table, come) or function (ex: the, to). 2. A
morphological structure (ex: tables, coming). 3. A syntactic category (noun, verb, etc). 4. A
form (written language, spoken language). 5. A phonological structure (syllables).
Phonology
The unconscious knowledge of a language by a native speaker contains semantic, syntactic,
and phonological knowledge.
Phonetics = the study of speech sounds.
Phonology = the study of systems / patterns of speech sounds. SSBE is Standard Southern
British English. GA is General American.
Distribution = the range of places in a word which a sound may occur in.
Complementary distribution = the place where sounds occur are never the same (ex: the
distribution of unaspirated and aspirated stops is mutually exclusive: where you get one kind,
you never get the other).
Parallel distribution = when there’s at least one place in which either sounds may occur.
Phoneme = each meaning-distinguishing sound (/ /). They function contrastively (/f/ - /v/).
When 2 sounds share features (/p/ - /k/), they’re members of a natural class of phonemes.
Allophone = the sounds that are actually produced in speech ([ ]) (realization of the
phoneme).
Phonological generalization = when it’s predictable which allophone will occur in a given
context. We can express this in a phonological rule.
Minimal pair = when 2 words are identical in form except for one phoneme occurring in the
same position (ex: fan – van).
The Phonemic Principle = 2(+) sounds are realizations of the same phoneme if they are in
complementary distribution and are phonetically similar. 2(+) sounds are realizations of
different phonemes if they are in parallel distribution and serve to signal a semantic contrast.
Aspiration [h] = a puff of air after a sound (ex: ‘p’ in pin (ph)).
English nasal place assimilation = a speech process where a nasal consonant changes
its POA to match a nearby consonant, making it easier to pronounce (ex: /n/ in "ten bucks" -
> /m/ te[m] bucks).
Syllables
Syllable = σ, a unit containing an obligatory centre part (usually a vowel).
Nucleus = middle part of the syllable, often the vowel.
Onset = consonants before the nucleus.
Coda = consonants after the nucleus.
Rhyme = nucleus + coda.
Open syllable = a syllable with no consonants in coda position (ex: buy).
Closed syllable = a syllable with 1 or more consonants in coda position (ex: bile).
Monosyllabic morpheme = morphemes which contain 1 syllable (ex: bile).
Polysyllabic morpheme = morphemes which contain more than 1 syllable (ex: rider).
Empty onset = a syllable with no onset. You don’t write it down when there’s no coda.
Branching onset = an onset with multiple consonants.
Branching nucleus = a nucleus with multiple vowels, often diphthongs (ex: buy). A long
vowel can also be shown by a branching nucleus.
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, Light syllable = syllables in which there’s no branching in the rhyme.
Heavy syllable = syllables which have branching anywhere in the rhyme. These are often
stressed in English.
Timing position = C (consonants) and V (vowels).
Phonotactic constraints = language-specific constraints on the sequences of segments
which may be combined in syllable structure. English only has 1 type of 3 consonant onset
structure: /s/ + consonant + /j/, /w/, or /r/.
Epenthesis = vowel insertion (ex: a Japanese who pronounces screw as ‘sukuru’).
Syllabic consonants [,] = when consonants form the nucleus of a syllable (ex: bottle).
Re-syllabification = a consonant, which is in coda position, becomes the onset of the next
syllable (ex: an eye).
Sonority scale = (most sonorous) low vowels – high vowels – approximants – nasals –
voiced fricatives – voiceless fricatives – voiced stops – voiceless stops (least sonorous). The
most sonorous element in a syllable will be in the nucleus.
Maximal Onset Principle = consonants always prefer the onset position.
Evidence that CV is the most basic syllable structure:
- CV-type syllables are the first which children utter & the first which post-stroke patients
(aphasia) speak when they recover their speech.
- Languages which have both onset and coda consonants typically allow for a wider range of
consonants to occur in onset position than in coda position.
- Coda consonants are more likely to undergo loss of articulation in historical development of
languages than onset consonants. Weakening of articulation can lead to elision (non-
pronunciation of a consonant).
Morphology
Morphemes = a minimal unit of meaning / grammatical function (ex: talks, talker, talking).
Morphologically complex = a word with more than one morpheme.
Root = the main word in the morpheme (ex: talk).
Alternation = variation of phonetic forms (ex: the phonological form of ‘in’ is /in/, but has 4
phonetic forms: [im], [ing], etc).
Neutralization = the suspension of phonemic contrasts in one or more contexts.
Features
- [+/-consonant]: for consonants.
- ! [+/-sonorant]: + is nasals and approximants, - is plosives, affricates, fricatives.
- ! [+/-voice]: + is when there is vibration, - when there isn’t.
- [+/-labial]: for labial sounds: /p b f v m w/.
- ! [+/-coronal]: sounds produced by raising the tip / blade of the tongue.
- ! [+/-anterior]: + is for sounds produced in front of (/θ, ð/) or at the alveolar ridge (/t d s z n
l/). – is for sounds produced behind the alveolar ridge.
- ! [+/-dorsal]: sounds produced by raising the body / back of the tongue.
- ! [+/-continuant]: continuous airflow through the mouth, like fricatives and approximants.
- [+/-sibilant]: noisier than their non-strident counterparts (/s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/).
- [+/-nasal]: lowering the velum and passing air through the nose (/m n ŋ/).
- [+/-lateral]: formed with a tongue shape allowing airstream to flow along/over it (/l/).
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Properties of a word: 1. A lexical meaning (ex: table, come) or function (ex: the, to). 2. A
morphological structure (ex: tables, coming). 3. A syntactic category (noun, verb, etc). 4. A
form (written language, spoken language). 5. A phonological structure (syllables).
Phonology
The unconscious knowledge of a language by a native speaker contains semantic, syntactic,
and phonological knowledge.
Phonetics = the study of speech sounds.
Phonology = the study of systems / patterns of speech sounds. SSBE is Standard Southern
British English. GA is General American.
Distribution = the range of places in a word which a sound may occur in.
Complementary distribution = the place where sounds occur are never the same (ex: the
distribution of unaspirated and aspirated stops is mutually exclusive: where you get one kind,
you never get the other).
Parallel distribution = when there’s at least one place in which either sounds may occur.
Phoneme = each meaning-distinguishing sound (/ /). They function contrastively (/f/ - /v/).
When 2 sounds share features (/p/ - /k/), they’re members of a natural class of phonemes.
Allophone = the sounds that are actually produced in speech ([ ]) (realization of the
phoneme).
Phonological generalization = when it’s predictable which allophone will occur in a given
context. We can express this in a phonological rule.
Minimal pair = when 2 words are identical in form except for one phoneme occurring in the
same position (ex: fan – van).
The Phonemic Principle = 2(+) sounds are realizations of the same phoneme if they are in
complementary distribution and are phonetically similar. 2(+) sounds are realizations of
different phonemes if they are in parallel distribution and serve to signal a semantic contrast.
Aspiration [h] = a puff of air after a sound (ex: ‘p’ in pin (ph)).
English nasal place assimilation = a speech process where a nasal consonant changes
its POA to match a nearby consonant, making it easier to pronounce (ex: /n/ in "ten bucks" -
> /m/ te[m] bucks).
Syllables
Syllable = σ, a unit containing an obligatory centre part (usually a vowel).
Nucleus = middle part of the syllable, often the vowel.
Onset = consonants before the nucleus.
Coda = consonants after the nucleus.
Rhyme = nucleus + coda.
Open syllable = a syllable with no consonants in coda position (ex: buy).
Closed syllable = a syllable with 1 or more consonants in coda position (ex: bile).
Monosyllabic morpheme = morphemes which contain 1 syllable (ex: bile).
Polysyllabic morpheme = morphemes which contain more than 1 syllable (ex: rider).
Empty onset = a syllable with no onset. You don’t write it down when there’s no coda.
Branching onset = an onset with multiple consonants.
Branching nucleus = a nucleus with multiple vowels, often diphthongs (ex: buy). A long
vowel can also be shown by a branching nucleus.
1
, Light syllable = syllables in which there’s no branching in the rhyme.
Heavy syllable = syllables which have branching anywhere in the rhyme. These are often
stressed in English.
Timing position = C (consonants) and V (vowels).
Phonotactic constraints = language-specific constraints on the sequences of segments
which may be combined in syllable structure. English only has 1 type of 3 consonant onset
structure: /s/ + consonant + /j/, /w/, or /r/.
Epenthesis = vowel insertion (ex: a Japanese who pronounces screw as ‘sukuru’).
Syllabic consonants [,] = when consonants form the nucleus of a syllable (ex: bottle).
Re-syllabification = a consonant, which is in coda position, becomes the onset of the next
syllable (ex: an eye).
Sonority scale = (most sonorous) low vowels – high vowels – approximants – nasals –
voiced fricatives – voiceless fricatives – voiced stops – voiceless stops (least sonorous). The
most sonorous element in a syllable will be in the nucleus.
Maximal Onset Principle = consonants always prefer the onset position.
Evidence that CV is the most basic syllable structure:
- CV-type syllables are the first which children utter & the first which post-stroke patients
(aphasia) speak when they recover their speech.
- Languages which have both onset and coda consonants typically allow for a wider range of
consonants to occur in onset position than in coda position.
- Coda consonants are more likely to undergo loss of articulation in historical development of
languages than onset consonants. Weakening of articulation can lead to elision (non-
pronunciation of a consonant).
Morphology
Morphemes = a minimal unit of meaning / grammatical function (ex: talks, talker, talking).
Morphologically complex = a word with more than one morpheme.
Root = the main word in the morpheme (ex: talk).
Alternation = variation of phonetic forms (ex: the phonological form of ‘in’ is /in/, but has 4
phonetic forms: [im], [ing], etc).
Neutralization = the suspension of phonemic contrasts in one or more contexts.
Features
- [+/-consonant]: for consonants.
- ! [+/-sonorant]: + is nasals and approximants, - is plosives, affricates, fricatives.
- ! [+/-voice]: + is when there is vibration, - when there isn’t.
- [+/-labial]: for labial sounds: /p b f v m w/.
- ! [+/-coronal]: sounds produced by raising the tip / blade of the tongue.
- ! [+/-anterior]: + is for sounds produced in front of (/θ, ð/) or at the alveolar ridge (/t d s z n
l/). – is for sounds produced behind the alveolar ridge.
- ! [+/-dorsal]: sounds produced by raising the body / back of the tongue.
- ! [+/-continuant]: continuous airflow through the mouth, like fricatives and approximants.
- [+/-sibilant]: noisier than their non-strident counterparts (/s, z, ʃ, ʒ, tʃ, dʒ/).
- [+/-nasal]: lowering the velum and passing air through the nose (/m n ŋ/).
- [+/-lateral]: formed with a tongue shape allowing airstream to flow along/over it (/l/).
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