BBNAN04000 English Phonology lecture course (sávos) BBK 2016 The internal structure of segments (melody)
Are speech sounds atomic? the "atomic hypothesis" but: processes affecting part of sound segments only: e.g.: nasal place assimilation: place of articulation affected only obstruent devoicing: voicing affected only
Are speech sounds atomic? the "atomic hypothesis" but: processes affecting part of sound segments only parts of sound segments revealing themselves: e.g.: (a) plosive insertion: prince -> prin(t)s
prince = prints
Are speech sounds atomic? the "atomic hypothesis" but: processes affecting part of sound segments only parts of sound segments revealing themselves: e.g.: (a) plosive insertion: prince -> prin(t)s /n/ /t/ /s/ voiced voiceless voiceless nasal oral oral stop stop fricative alveolar alveolar alveolar
Are speech sounds atomic? the "atomic hypothesis" but: processes affecting part of sound segments only parts of sound segments revealing themselves: e.g.: (a) plosive insertion: prince -> prin(t)s (b) vowel nasalisation: nasality spreading from consonant onto vowel sound segments decomposing: lenition
Lenition (weakening) Strength/weakness hierarchy: certain sounds are closer to zero (= getting deleted) than others: Frequently deleted, or Frequently replaced by another that is frequently deleted, or Frequently replaced by another that is frequently replaced by a third one that is frequently deleted...
Lenition scales e.g., t > s > h > zero t > s Liverpool English letter s > h dialects of Spanish estamos 'we are' h > zero standard E find 'im, non-standard E 'Enry 'Iggins, Romance e.g. Fr. hache 'h', Hungarian cseh 'Czech' (Steps may be skipped: t > h Liverpool English but)
Lenition scales e.g., t > s > h > zero t > s Liverpool English letter s > h dialects of Spanish estamos 'we are' h > zero standard E find 'im, non-standard E 'Enry 'Iggins, Romance e.g. Fr. hache 'h', Hungarian cseh 'Czech' (Steps may be skipped: t > h Liverpool English but)
Lenition scales e.g., t > s > h > zero t > s Liverpool English letter s > h dialects of Spanish estamos 'we are' h > zero standard E find 'im, non-standard E 'Enry 'Iggins, Romance e.g. Fr. hache 'h', Hungarian cseh 'Czech' (Steps may be skipped: t > h Liverpool English but)
Lenition scales e.g., t > s > h > zero t > s Liverpool English letter s > h dialects of Spanish estamos 'we are' h > zero standard E find 'im, non-standard E 'Enry 'Iggins, Romance e.g. Fr. hache 'h', Hungarian cseh 'Czech' Why should this be so? Sounds gradually decomposing?
Lenition scales e.g., t > s voiceless voiceless coronal coronal > h > zero voiceless stop Evidence for segment-internal structure: components = features!
Other lenition processes in the accents of English: /t/ > /ɾ/ voiceless alveolar stop alveolar /t/ > /ʔ/ voiceless stop alveolar stop
Are speech sounds atomic? the "atomic hypothesis" but: processes affecting part of sound segments only parts of sound segments revealing themselves: e.g.: (a) plosive insertion: prince -> prin(t)s (b) vowel nasalisation: nasality spreading from consonant onto vowel sound segments decomposing: lenition natural classes: natural class: a group of sounds that share at least one phonological feature, e.g. nasals, voiceless plosives vs. /p l n/ phonological processes never affect random groups of sounds
=> the answer is NO one possible model: binary features, e.g.: [±voiced], [±nasal], [±aspirated] (or: [±spread glottis]), [±continuant], [±sonorant], [±high], [±low], etc. ([+high, -low], [-high, +low], [-high, -low], *[+high, +low]) redundant (predictable, non-distinctive, nonphonemic) features vs. non-redundant, distinctive features: nasalisation of vowels, English vs. French [voiced]: distinctive for English obstruents but redundant for sonorants redundancy rules e.g.
Formulate rules with reference to natural classes
An alternative model binary features: +/- or: unary (monovalent/privative) both divide sounds into two classes: [+nasal] vs. [-nasal] / [nasal] vs. zero e.g., [õ] vs. [o] but: binary features imply that the classes should behave symmetrically this is not true
An alternative model the classes do not behave symmetrically: markedness phonological activity these observations support a unary model + theoretical gain: a privative model of phonological oppositions is more constrained
An example of unary models: Element Theory Unary primes: elements like chemical elements or colours: independent interpretation + compounds
Elements for vowels
Elements for vowels
Examples of fusion operation
Elements for vowels
Elements for vowels me [j] and you / you [w] and me spreading the "one-mouth" principle
Elements for vowels spreading
Elements for vowels
Elements for vowels
Elements for vowels composition = fusion
Elements for vowels decomposition = fission
Elements for vowels
Elements for consonants the "one-mouth" principle A, I, U complexity + recall: lenition
Lenition (weakening) Strength/weakness hierarchy: certain sounds are closer to zero (= getting deleted) than others: Frequently deleted, or Frequently replaced by another that is frequently deleted, or Frequently replaced by another that is frequently replaced by a third one that is frequently deleted...
Elements for consonants
Where does this structure manifest itself? E.g. lenition processes mūsasōn > mūsarōn (Cl.Greek > Latin) pʊt > pʊɾ ɪt (English) sɪti: > sɪɾi: / sɪʔi: (English) Typical lenition trajectories/scales: t > s > r > zero t > s > h > zero t > ʔ > zero etc.
Elements for consonants
Where does this structure manifest itself? E.g. lenition processes Complexity
Complexity = sonority
Where does this structure manifest itself? E.g. lenition processes Complexity Sonority: less sonorous = more complex
blind
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