Phonemic Analysis in Linguistics

Phonemic Analysis: Sounds Different Yet the Same

• English speakers group t-sounds in words like "tuck," "stuck," and "cut" as similar, although they recognize phonetic differences.
• T-sounds in "tea," "steam," and "sit" differ; "tea" is aspirated, "steam" is unaspirated, and "sit" may be unreleased.
• Groupings exist where sounds are both the same and different.
• English has p-sounds ('pea', 'spin', 'sip') and k-sounds ('key', 'skin', 'sick') that vary phonetically but are grouped together.
• Native English speakers may not notice the differences between [p], [ph], and [p'] sounds.
• Thai speakers perceive [p] and [ph] as distinct sounds, exemplified by [pàa] 'forest' vs. [phàa] 'to split'.
• The unity and diversity of sounds like [t], [th], and [t'] are addressed through two representation levels.
• On a concrete level, these sound groups have different phonetic properties.
• Abstractly, grouping them together is useful, reflecting a native speaker's 'same sound' intuition.

Abstract vs Concrete Sounds

• Abstractly, English has a 't' sound, but its concrete pronunciation depends on context.
• 'T' at the start of a word is [th], after [s] in a cluster is [t], and at the end may be [t'] or [?] or [t].
• Similarly, English 'p' has concrete forms: [p], [ph], and [p'].
• Square brackets [ ] enclose concrete speech sounds, while slashes / / represent abstract elements.
• The p-sounds can be represented abstractly as /p/, pronounced concretely as [p], [ph], or [p'] based on word position.
• Similarly, k-sounds are represented by /k/, pronounced [k], [kh], or [k'].
• Differences between surface sounds and underlying organizing systems need to be distinguished.
• Knowing that one is referring to underlying /p/, one can predict which phonetic p-sound will happen in English.
• Abstract underlying units are phonemes, while predictable surface elements are allophones.
• The phoneme /p/ is realized as the allophone [ph] word-initially, [p] after [s], and [p'] at the end of a word.

Phonemes and Allophones

• Viewing speech sounds distinguishes between underlying representations and actual sounds.
• Speakers produce a relatively small inventory of underlying phonemes relating to a greater number of sounds.
• Phonologists focus on the systematic relationships of speech sounds in languages.
• The phoneme/allophone distinction reveals patterns in speech sound distribution.
• Knowing that English contains [b], [p], [ph], and [p’] in list form provides no phonological relationships between the sounds.
• [p], [ph], and [p'] are allophones of the phoneme /p/, while [b] is an allophone of contrasting phoneme /b/.
• It is important to realize that this abstraction from concrete to the underlying is a familiar concept like that of water.
• Water is H₂O, which can appear as ice below 0°C, liquid between 0°C and 100°C, and steam above 100°C.
• P-sounds [p], [ph], and [p’] are underlyingly /p/, while water, ice, and water vapour are underlyingly H₂O.
• Phonologically and physically, /p/ and H₂O are single entities occurring in various forms in specific environments.
• Not viewing phonology in this way would suggest [p], [ph], and [p’] are not related to a single abstract entity, like saying water, ice, water vapour are not related to H₂O.
• Representing speech sounds (allophones), as related to single abstract notion (the phoneme) provides insight into speech sound organization.
• A phoneme is an abstract representation, not something pronounced itself, but a symbolic representation that relates specific speech sounds to each other.
• Determining the underlying system of speech sounds helps with why English native speakers have difficulty seeing phonetic difference between [t] and [th].
• While phonetically different, that difference is obscured by their underlying phonological sameness.
• Knowing the difference between [t] and [th] takes learning, something that is self-evident to Thai native speakers.
• Sound systems are organized differently between English and Thai.
• In English, [t] and [th] goes with a single phoneme /t/, whereas in Thai the same sounds are allophones of two different phonemes /t/ and /th/.

Identifying and Distinguishing Sounds

• A way is still needed in order to identify clearly groups of related sounds and distinguish these sounds from others.
• Determine phonemes, then relate allophones.
• Phonemes are established by finding contrast between speech sounds and can be easily seen in minimal pairs.

Minimal Pairs and Contrastive Distribution

• The clearest contrast is a minimal pair; words differ by one sound with different lexical items.
• "car" and "automobile" (American English) / "football" and "soccer" (British English) are different lexical items.
• Comparing the words 'bat' and 'mat', it can be seen that two lexical items differ by their initial sounds; [b] and [m].
• [b] and [m] contrast since “bat” and “mat” are different words.
• [b] and [m] are allophones of separate phonemes, /b/ and /m/.
• Comparing the initial sound in 'fat' helps contrast with both [b] and [m], and because 'fat', 'bat', and 'mat' are different lexical items, by one sound.
• [f] contrasts with [b] and [m].
• [b], [m] and [f] are each allophones of separate phonemes, /b/, /m/ and /f/ respectively.
• Minimal pairs contrastive distribution; the initial consonants in 'fat', 'bat' and 'mat' contrast with each other.
• This contrast is observed through a commutation test; substituting one sound for another yields a different lexical item.
• Contrastive distribution can show a contrast everywhere in the word, not just initially.
• 'rub' and 'rum', or 'robed' and 'roamed' minimal pairs as 'bat' and 'mat'.
• The sounds in question appear in identical phonetic environments and constitute the only phonetic difference between the two lexical items.
• Except for the sounds in question, [b] and [m], the phonetic structures of the words are the same.
• Sometimes there are no minimal pairs to contrast for a specific pair of sounds, yet phonemes can still be established.
• Consider the [[] of 'shoe' and the [3] of 'leisure'; in English [3] does not occur word-initially (apart from few loanwords).
• Word-finally occurrences of [3] are limited, though words such as “beige” do contain the sound.
• Word-medially both sounds occur: [[]] 'fissure', 'usher', [3] ‘measure', 'leisure'.
• Even in this position there a true minimal pair is not found; two lexical items differing by only one speech sound.
• Only a near minimal pair is found however, consider examples such as 'mission' and 'vision'.
• The pair contain the immediate phonetic environment of the two sounds concerned [∫] and [3], is identical.
• Not a true minimal pair as lexical items differ by more than one speech sound, it is a convincing evidence in phonetic environments.

Complementary Distribution

• A minimal pair or commutation test won't help with sound groups as the p-sounds, the k-sounds, t-sounds given where one of p-sounds is found will not find any of other p-sounds.
• [ph] found word beginnings in words and not clusters following [s].
• [p’] found at word ends and not word-initially.
• When two sounds do not occur in the environment it is referred to as complementary distribution.
• Because the p-sounds contrast with each other one knows they belong to the same phoneme as the allophones of a single phoneme.
• At the temperature where water is found will not find ice and same with temperature where ice is found, water steam is not found.
• H₂O manifestations (three), and the p-sounds related, do not appear in the environment. Contrasts are found between members of the groups and [kh] contrast.
• Allophones predictable; that is now known due p-sounds, [ph] word-initially [p] in clusters following [s]; it can be predicated that a sound will be in a context.
• Predicting an allophone is not an easy task, take the following word of English which is missing the initial consonant: [_et].
• The initial consonant can’t be guessed, not knowing if the consonant should be [m], [b], [ph], or [l], [g].
• The blank has to be filled with a p-sound.
• Predicting the phoneme is unpredictable but allophone is known once involved; e.g [ph].

Variation of Sounds in Speech

• While allophones and phonemes are clearly different, there are some phenomena to obscure.
• The so-called free variation is one of them.
• Many times, a number is indicated that a voiceless stop may be at word's end; [mæt’].
• /t/ has other realisations at word end; unaspirated release [mæt] and glottal stop [mæ?]
• There are phonetically speaking three speech sounds in the same position; are related to different phonemes.
• Don’t contrast different since involve the same lexical item is what three pronunciation’s of the item.
• The tree sounds are in free variation, they also don't have minimal pairs.
• Allophones are used maintain as the single phoneme.

Overview

• The commutation test identified where speech sounds contrast and those in complementary distribution or free variation, its possible to start to see the systematic phonological grammar.
• Two phones; contrastive distribution allophones different phonemes, Complementary; allophones a single phoneme.
• Commutation test results aren't always problem-free with words with initial [i:] or initial [e], or [i:] and [e] are in free variation in this word.
• Consideration of shows is not the case, and with [i:] and [ɛ] can contrast in the majority; See the discussion of English [h] and [ŋ].
• Must result must be treated caution to consider for phonemic analysis for those considered.
• Phonemes help determine how these phonemes are realized, go well beyond lists; the is to see the difference between phonetics and phonology.
• Phonetics; speech sounds themselves, phonology with speech sounds organisation, gaining understanding.

Phonemic Levels

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Linking Levels

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