Linguistics: Quiz 1 Study Notes

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1 Linguistics: Quiz 1 Study Notes Linguistics: Interdisciplinary (science) whose field of study is human or more generally natural language is called linguistics. 1) Structure and mechanisms - the way string of sounds/words is structured and not random. 2) Principles of use - we convey more than we physically say, deeper meanings, metaphors, similes (implications) 3) The way language is acquired - adults pick up language slower than children 4) How language changes over time - Shakespeare to now, changes are not random 5) How language is instantiated in the brain - what areas of the brain are responsible for language 6) Its interaction with other cognitive systems - influenced by psychological models like attention, memory etc 7) Its biological bases - how and when did language arise in humans and not animals The task of linguistic research is to understand what these principles (rules) are and how they are instantiated in language or individual languages. Linguistic = related to language. Linguistic Knowledge Knowing a language = ability to speak and be understood Produce sounds that can be understood by others Understand what linguistics constructions are possible/not possible Linguistic knowledge is unconscious knowledge - know construction but don t know why it s like that Arbitrary: Things are not named based on their properties. The relationship between sound/word (form) and its meaning is arbitrary. In spite of arbitrariness; there is creativity Creativity Discreet Infinity - infinite amount of sentences from a finite amount of words. Creativity is regulated by systematic constraints or rules. Ex: Nouns used as verbs. Making words, creates a new word. There are limits: Jail the robber NOT prison the robber. 1

2 Ex: A constraint is that nouns used as verbs can only be used when they are describing extended periods of time. Some words in a sentence can be repeated as many times as needed. Ex: Old, old. Sentences can be expanded by adding other sentences. Ex: He said that she said... Competence is a speaker s unconscious knowledge of what can/can t be said in their language. Performance is how the speaker actually uses his/her linguistic competence to produced and understand speech. You can test this by putting a string of letters together and seeing if it sounds right. Ex: Mbood Prescriptive/Descriptive Grammar Prescriptive grammarians tell you how to use a language (English). Ex: Rules, should and shouldn ts. Descriptive grammarians analyze how people use language (linguistics). Mental Grammar Certain sounds can only occur in certain positions and we know which ones Mental lexicon: The correspondence between a sequence of sounds and a meaning is stored in a speaker s mental lexicon. This is arbitrary. Syntactic Rules Rules for combining words to form sentences. Rules are finite and unconscious - we can know them. They allow for creativity of language. Characteristics of Grammar Generality: All languages have a grammar but the structure of the grammar is different. Parity: All grammars are equal. One language is not worse than the other. Mutability: Grammar changes over time. Inaccessibility: Grammatical knowledge is unconscious. Universality: All grammars are alike in basic ways. Ex: No language puts question words at the end of a sentence. 2

3 Universal grammar: The laws/rules that pertain to all human languages. Language faculty: Part of human biological and genetic makeup specifically designed for language acquisition and use. Areas of Linguistic Study main areas of linguistics Phonetics: Description of sound properties. Structure of the sounds of speech. Phonology: Classification of sound systems. Morphology: Principles of word structure. Syntax: Analysis of sentence formation. Chapter 2 Articulatory phonetics: What organs produce speech sounds and how. Acoustic phonetics: Measuring sound waves produced in speech. IPA: Universal system for transcribing the sounds of speech. Purpose is to represent each sound with a symbol. Symbols of alphabets do not always correspond to the same sound. Ex: GH - F, U, O IPA does not represent the spelling system of any language. Segments: Individual speech sounds (phones). When we speak we combine segments (phones). Slips of the tongue prove we have individual segments (phones). Ex: Melcome wat. Humans have a sound producing system. Formed of: Air supply - Lungs Sound source - Larynx Set of filters - Pharynx, oral cavity, nasal cavity Lungs Intercostals - muscles raise the ribcage to allow air to flow into lungs Diaphragm - sheets of muscles separating chest cavity from abdomen and maintains release of air Larynx - contains vocal folds/chords, boxlike organ of cartilage and muscle 3

4 Trachea - windpipe Airflow: Lungs -> Trachea -> Vocal folds of larynx -> tongue -> lips Larynx: a) Thyroid cartilage b) Cricoid cartilage c) Vocal folds d) Arytenoids e) Glottis Glottal states Voiceless - Vocal folds pulled apart, air passes right through Voiced - Vocal folds brought close together, sound produced as they vibrate Whisper - Similar to voiceless but anterior close together while posterior fall apart Murmur/breathy voice - Voiced sounds produced, but while vocal folds are relaxed allowing air to escape. Sound classes: Grouping of sounds based on shared phonetic characteristics. Ex: All voiced sounds form a class as do voiceless sounds. Vowels: Usually voiced, sonorous, basis of syllables, little obstruction of vocal tract. Consonants: Voiced or voiceless, less sonorous, some are basis of syllables, closure or narrowing of vocal tract. Glides: Share properties of both vowels and consonants. Can never form nucleus. Tongue: Primary articulatory organ. 5 areas: Tip - narrow area at the front Blade - behind the tip Body - main mass of tongue *Body + Back = dorsum Back - the hindmost part/back of the mouth Root - lies in the pharynx Places of articulation Tongue and lips produce sound modification at specific places or points of articulation. Tongue and lip sounds Labial: Sound produced by lips Bilabial: Sound produced by both lips 4

5 Labiodental: Sound produced by lips and teeth Interdental: Sound produced by tongue between teeth Alveolar: Sound produced when tongue moves to alveolar ridge Alveopalatal: Sound produced when tongue moves to alveopalatal area Palatal: Tongue in centre of the mouth Velar: Using the part of the tongue which is further in the back (velum) Within oral cavity Uvular: Sounds produced at the back of the throat *not in English In the pharynx Pharyngeals: Sounds produced in pharynx *not in English At the glottis Glottals sounds produced with vocal fold as primary articulator Manner of Articulation Oral = Velum raised, cutting off airflow through nasal passages Nasal = Velum is lowered and allows air to pass through nasal passages Stops Produced by stopping airflow Continuants Airflow out of mouth is continuous not stopped All language sounds can be classified as stops or continuants Fricatives Noisy, friction causing sounds voiced or voiceless Affricates Stops w/friction Stridents and sibilants Noisier fricatives are called stridents (sibilants) [s] [z] [g] [dʒ] [Ʒ] [ʃ] Liquids Are continuants, air passing more freely Lateral liquid L - air passes through sides of tongue Retroflex liquid R - tongue is curled back towards alveolar 5

6 Flap R - tongue tip strikes alveolar ridge no real friction Types of L are: Velarized (Dark L) Alveolar L Voiceless liquids come after voiceless consonant and are indicated with a circle Glides are voiced continuants (except ʍ but that is not English) Palatal glide (j) Labiovelar glide (w) 6

7 Lecture 3, 4, and chapter 2 Phonetics (parts II, III) Vowels: -sonoric -syllabic -sounds made with the vocal tract more open than consonant and glide productions (no blocking/little blocking of airflow). Vowel Qualities: Rounded vowels: produced by protruding the lips Nasal vowels: produced by lowering velum (passing airflow to the nasal cavity) Vowels may be tense or lax, depending on the vocal tract constriction during their articulation. Simple vowels: no noticeable change in quality during articulation Complex vowels: (ex. diphthongs) change in quality within a single syllable Diphthongs: changes in vowel quality due to tongue movement away from initial vowel articulation towards a glide position -made up of a vowel + glide Ex. [baj] starts from one position, and ends up in a different one Note: always count as 1 sound, even if written as 2 Major diphthongs: radical change from vowel to glide Ex. [sawnd] Minor diphthongs: change is not as radical Ex. [gow] Major Parameters in vowel Production: -height (high/mid/low) -place of articulation in oral cavity (front/back) -tense/lax -rounded/unrounded (lips) (tongue) how high the tongue is in the mouth, and whether it s in the front or back of the mouth Tense vowels are longer in duration, and higher in tongue position and pitch than lax vowels. [ʌ] -> only appears as stressed vowel [ə] -> (schwa/reduced vowel) only occurs as unstressed vowel In English 7

8 Besides inherent features, phones have specific suprasegmental or prosodic properties. Suprasegmental properties: -pitch -loudness -length -stress (combined term of pitch, loudness, and length) Pitch: auditory properties of sound enabling speakers to place it on a scale from low to high Ex. [s] is higher pitched than [ʃ] -done by controlling tension of vocal folds and amount of air passing through the glottis Tense vocal folds greater air pressure higher pitch Less tense vocal folds lower air pressure lower pitch Pitch Tone and Intonation: -Tone: not all languages use (in the same way) -Intonation: all languages use Human languages in which differences in word meaning are conveyed in pitch Tone languages Ex. ma in Chinese Level tones: when a tone language has high, mid, and low level tones to indicate difference in meaning -indicated by H (high), M (mid), and L (low) are connected to their tones by an association line Ex. H [miɬ] Register tones: level tones that signal meaning difference (usually tone languages have 2 or 3, but sometimes more) Tones can have multiple syllables associated with the same tone Ex. H [pélé] Pele Contour tones: tones which change pitch within a single syllabic element (moving tones) Ex. Mandarin Chinese: MH *ma+ hemp (mid rise) In some languages, tone can be used to signal differences in the tense of a verb Ex. L[ima] L I show L*ima+ H I showed Pitch movement not related to differences in word meaning Intonation Ex. cat. & cat? doesn t change meaning Terminal (intonation) contour: falling pitch at the end of a statement Ex. This is a cat. Non-terminal (intonation) contour: rising pitch (often signalling incompleteness) Ex. This is a cat? 8

9 -Non-terminal is often for questions (except who, what, where, when questions) -punctuation indicates intonation patterns Note: Tone and intonation are NOT mutually exclusive. Tone languages can have all types of intonation. Tones are not absolute, but relative (relative to the level one is speaking in before the rise/fall in pitch). Downdrift: pitch distinctions are maintained if this relative difference is maintained. Loudness: -some sounds are louder than others Length: -articulation of some sounds takes longer than others -indication [ː] Ex. Italian: casa *kasa+ house & cassa *kasːa+ box Stress: -some syllable which is more prominent -combined term of pitch, loudness, and length -marked by primary [ˊ] (and secondary [ˋ] which is not tested in this course) -also important for distinguishing between lexical forms Ex. (a) présent [prɜˊzənt] (to) presént [prəzɜˊnt] Insert Chart Here: 9

10 Speech Production: -not a series of isolated events -as a result of processes, the articulation of one sound affects the surrounding sounds -more than one articulator is active in order to allow the production of fast speech Ex. [pl] the tongue tip starts to move toward alveolar ridge before lips separate This is called coarticulation Coarticulation: articulation of one sound affects the articulation of other(s) (articulatory) processes Processes: -NOT the same for ALL languages -assimilation -dissimilation -(segment) deletion -epenthesis (segment insertion) -metathesis -flapping -vowel reduction Assimilation: makes neighbouring segments more similar to each other Ex. English vowel assimilation rule *b n] [a] gets nazalized because of the nasal [n] Regressive assimilation: one feature is transmitted back Ex. *b n] [a] gets nazalized because of the nasal [n] Progressive assimilation: one feature is transmitted forward (not in nasalization, but for sonorant devoicing) Ex. Voicing assimilation: liquids and glides become voiceless after voiceless stops Assimilation in place of articulation: Ex. in + possible => impossible Dissimilation: makes neighbouring sounds less alike Ex. fifths [fifθs] => fifts [fifts] breaks up 3 fricatives with a stop Deletion: removes a segment Ex. suppose *səpoz] => rapid speech: [spoz] Epenthesis: when a segment is inserted Ex. warmth *wormθ] => [wormpθ] 10

11 Metathesis: moves segments from one place to another Ex. ask *ask+ [aks] Flapping: a dental/alveolar stop articulation changes to a flap articulation [ɾ] Ex. butter, bitter, father, waiter (flaps are always voiced) Vowel reduction: articulation of vowels may move to a more central position when the vowels are unstressed thdssssss Note: devoicing can occur for both liquids (l, r) and glides (j, w) because they are sonorants after voiceless stops Therefore, the devoicing of sonorants is a consequence of its phonetic environment Insert Chart Here: Phonetics: explains the mechanisms of sound production Phonology: determines selection of speech sounds and governs both sound patterns and systematic phonetic variation how sounds pattern, looking at structure and patterns, organization of sounds 11

12 Phonology: 2 major tasks: -unveiling and describing systematic sound patterns found across languages -discovering general principles underlying the patterning of sounds across languages -phonological knowledge operates at different levels: feature, segment, syllable -largely subconscious Segments in contrast (distinctive/in opposition: -change in segment leads to change in meaning Ex. sip *sip+ and zip *zip+: *s+ and *z+ contrast, as the sound change results in change in meaning Minimal Pair Test: lets us determine whether sounds contrast in a specific language or not Minimal pairs: two words which are identical with the exception of one sound in the same position (can have different meanings or not) Ex. loose *lus+ and lose *luz+ this is a minimal pair with a meaning difference Note: minimal pairs established through sound, NOT spelling The phonetic context in which a sound occurs is labelled in phonology as the environment. Ex. at the beginning of a word, after a liquid, after a nasal, etc. In order to see whether or not 2 sounds are in complementary distribution, we need to analyze the environments in which each of the 2 sounds occurs. (V_V in between vowels, C_C in between consonants) Near Minimal Pairs: when 2 pairs of segments contrast can also be used to establish contrastive segments Ex. assure *əʃʊˊr+ and azzure *aeˊʒər] author *aˊθər+ and either *iˊðər] Phonemes vs. Phones: Phonemes: segments that contrast with each other in a particular language (are in the speaker s head) -represented with / / Phones (allophones): come out of the speaker s mouth notational devices -represented with [ ] Note: whether segments contrast with each other is determined on a language-particular basis. Ex. in English, [bɜn] and [baen] trigger a change in meaning, while in Turkish [bɜn+ and *baen+ I, don t. 12

13 Phonetically Conditioned Variation: -there is a lot of phonetic variation when speakers pronounce the sounds of their language arising from fatigue, excitement, sickness, etc. This is not part of the domain of Phonology, but a few systematic ones are Complementary Distribution: Ex. since voiceless [l] cannot occur in the same phonetic environment as voiced [l], the 2 variants of [l] are in complementary distribution. Since the voiced [l] has a wider range of uses than the voiceless [l], we call the voiced [l] the elsewhere segment. Despite the phonetic differences of the 2 *l+ s, they are instances of the same segment, since they are not contrastive and they are predictable. Therefore, they are phonetically distinct, but phonologically the same (because of their predictability, non-contrastiveness, and phonetic similarity) (Look on the assignment exercises for clarification and examples). Allophones of the same/one phoneme: when 2 or more segments are phonetically distinct, but share are phonetically the same. Allophones: not learned (predictable variants) Phonemes: mental representations, the ways in which sounds are stored in the mind (contrastive phonological unit) Levels of Representation: Phonemic representation (phoneme) /l/ Phonetic representation (allophones) *l ] [l] Free variation: when allophones of the same phoneme can switch without any meaning difference to the word. More Examples of Allophonic Variation: Canadian Raising: [ʌj] and [ʌw] raise to [aj] and [aw] before voiceless consonants. Aspiration of Voiceless Stops: voiceless stops are aspirated when the stop is word-initial (at the beginning of the word) or before a stressed vowel. They do not occur when they follow [s]. Phonemic representation contrastive elements broad transcription / / Phonetic representation non-contrastive elements narrow transcription [ ] 13

14 Deciding whether segments constitute independent phonemes or variants of the same phoneme: Step 1: Are there any minimal pairs? YES NO 14