Andrew Radford - Linguistics An Introduction [Second Edition]

(e) existentialism.

5.

In General American English, photograph, photography would be pro-

nounced [ˈfouɾəˌgræːf], [fəˈtɑgɹəˌfiː] where [ɾ] represents the ‘flap’ or

Phonemes, syllables and phonological processes

93

‘tap’. Here we see that the sound written ‘t’ represents two sounds

[t ɾ]. Assume that one of the two is the basic, underlying form. Then,

using the data below, formulate a rule which will account for the

distribution of these two sounds. Justify your choice of the underlying

form for [t ɾ].

sit

[st]

sitting

[sɾɪŋ]

sitter

[sɾɚ]

satire

[sǽtaɹ]

satirical

[sətɹɪkl̩]

tone

[toún]

atone

[ətoún]

teatime

[tːtam]

6.

We can describe vowels using distinctive features, too. Here is one

common way of doing this (you may find other systems of features in

the research literature):

back

[+back]

front

[−back]

low

[+low]

mid or high

[−low]

high

[+high]

mid or low

[−high]

rounded

[+round]

unrounded

[−round]

Notice that in this system a mid vowel is defined as one which is

neither high (i.e. it is [−high]) nor low (i.e. it is [−low]). This allows us to characterise a reasonably large set of vowels using the feature

matrix in table 13 (this is essentially the vowel system of Finnish), Enumerate all the vowels from those in table 13 which have the following feature characterisations:

(a) [−high, +round]

(b) [−low, +round]

(c) [+high, −back, +round]

(d) [−low, −back, +round]

(e) [+back, –low, –round]

Table 13 A distinctive feature matrix for some common vowels

i

y

e

ø

a

ɑ

o

u

high

+

+

−

−

−

−

−

+

back

−

−

−

−

−

+

+

+

low

−

−

−

−

+

+

−

−

round

−

+

−

+

−

−

+

+

(Hint: the last example is a trick question!)

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sounds

Model answer for (6a) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In order to determine this class, we simply examine table 13, seeking vowels that have a − in the row labelled high and a plus in the row

labelled round. There are several vowels that are [−high], but of these,

only two are also [+round]. These are [ø o]

7.

A: Enumerate all the vowels in table 13 which have the following feature characterisations:

(a) [+high, −round]

(b) [−high, +back, −low, +round]

(c) [+back, +low, +round]

(d) [+high, −back, +low, −round]

(e) [−back, −round]

(f) [+back, −low]

(g) [+back, +round]

B. In certain cases there may be no vowels corresponding to the

particular feature set. When is this an accident of the language

and when is there a principled reason for it?

C. The feature set given in table 13 fails to provide a description for the following types of vowel contrasts: tense v. lax, long v. short,

nasal v. oral, central vs. front/back. What is the simplest way of

enriching the feature system so as to be able to describe all these

vowel types?

8.

Using the vowel matrix in table 13, identify which of the following sets constitute natural classes and give a feature characterisation for

those that are natural classes. Be careful to ensure that your feature

characterisation includes all the vowels in the given set and, especially,

that it excludes any sounds not in the set:

(a) i e æ

(b) ø o u

(c) i y e ø

(d) æ ɑ o u

(e) i y e ø æ ɑ o

9.

The following examples illustrate a common phonological process

in English. Firstly, write as accurate a phonetic transcription of these

phrases as you can. Try to transcribe the way they would be pro-

nounced in ordinary casual conversation, rather than in carefully

enunciated speech. Then, identify what the phonological process

consists of and determine what conditions the change. (Pay particular

attention to the end of the first word of each phrase. Not all the

examples illustrate a change as such – some are included in order to

help you figure out the basic form of the first word.)

Phonemes, syllables and phonological processes

95

in April

in May

in September

in November

in December

in Britain

in Paris

in Europe

in July

on course

on paper

on beta-blockers

on trust

on average

thin cakes

thin girls

thin boys

thin material

thin dress

thin excuse

10.

(a) Produce a tableau which correctly identifies /sp=in/ as the only

possible pronunciation of the word spin in English.

(b) In French, the words sport ‘sport’ and port ‘port’ are both pro-

nounced with unaspirated /p/, namely as /sp=ɔʁ/, /p=ɔʁ/ respec-

tively. Account for this by modifying figure 28 in the appropriate fashion.

6

Child phonology

One of the tasks facing a child learning his or her language is to figure out the sound system. This involves learning how to distinguish all the linguistically important differences, and also how to produce them. It’s rather easier to record what small children say than to determine what they understand, so most systematic research has examined production. At the same time, it is widely believed that children’s phonological perception runs ahead of their productive abilities, and this mismatch between perception and production will take on considerable significance as our discussion proceeds. Because most of the relevant research has been conducted on English-speaking children, we shall restrict ourselves to the acquisition of English.

Early achievements

It is remarkable that children seem to be innately disposed to

perceive the sounds of language. In an ingenious series of experiments,

Peter Eimas and his colleagues have shown that very young babies can hear

the sorts of distinctions that are often used in languages and to which we have given some attention in the previous section. The techniques revolve around one idea: a baby quickly gets bored unless something different happens in

its environment. Experimenters therefore play a series of identical sounds to a baby, say the syllable [pa]. At first the baby is interested and turns its head to the sound. As the sounds are repeated, it loses interest and stops turning its head. But when a slightly different sound, say [ba] or [pha], is presented, the baby notices this difference and turns its head to the sound. In other experiments, the baby’s heart rate is measured, or the baby starts sucking on a

dummy (pacifier). In each case, perceptual sensitivity to what are phonemic

distinctions in many languages has been established for children as young as four days old.

Children are also innately disposed towards producing speech sounds. In the

early months babies babble, that is, they produce a whole series of speech-like noises. These often contain a host of sounds which are not part of the language surrounding the baby. Moreover, it is clear that the child isn’t learning to produce these sounds from the speaking population surrounding it. Babies born pro-foundly deaf also go through a normal period of babbling.

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Child phonology

97

A little later, usually towards the end of the first year of life, a child will start to try to use sounds meaningfully. Often the child will apparently invent its own little ‘language’ at this stage. The British linguist Michael Halliday has described in detail how between the ages of nine and fifteen months his son Nigel used quite specific vocalisations in particular contexts with identifiable communicative intents.