Linguistic Anthropology: Phonetics - PDF

INTO TO LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY: PHONETICS R A C H E L M C G R AW THE PLAN What is phonetics? The vocal tract Voicing The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Consonants and vowels  Phonetics: the study of speech sounds When we speak, HOW is so...

INTO TO LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY: PHONETICS R A C H E L M C G R AW THE PLAN What is phonetics? The vocal tract Voicing The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) Consonants and vowels  Phonetics: the study of speech sounds When we speak, HOW is sound, and specific sounds, produced? This is the study of articulatory phonetics Other subfields of phonetics: ○ acoustic properties of speech sounds in the air: acoustic phonetics WHAT IS ○ how we perceive speech sounds: auditory phonetics PHONETICS?  THE VOCAL T R A C T/ S P E E C H ORGANS THE LARYNX Source: Contemporary Linguistic Analysis, 2020: 18 THE LARYNX AND VOICING The larynx, which contains the glottis, produces voicing through vibration of the vocal folds. FYI: THE VIDEO LINK SHOWS PHONATION (production of sound) INSIDE THE LARYNX (camera sent down the throat) ○ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bowRggzZ2q4 Most vowels and nasals are voiced: [ɑ] [m] [mæn] Many speech sounds can be either voiced or voiceless ○ E.g.: [v] vs. [f] or [z] vs. [s] Voicing pairs  VOICING PRACTICE Are the following sounds voiced or voiceless? g [g] in go m [m] in Sam c [k] in candy n [n] in no sh [ʃ] in share t [t] in today dg [dʒ] in judge d [d] in today Can you identify the voicing pairs?  Does English (or any spoken language’s) spelling accurately and consistently represent pronunciation? No ○ White, night (silent letters) THE ○ Read (present) [ɹid] vs. read (past) [ɹɛd] INTERNATIONAL ○ The sound [i] can be spelled numerous ways: cheap, cheep, PHONETIC silly, ALPHABET (IPA ) The IPA allows linguists to represent speech sounds from any language in a systematic way 1 symbol=1 sound  In groups, think of as many ways you can spell the following sounds. Start with English, and if you know other languages, you can also talk about how these sounds are spelled in other languages. Work for about 10 minutes. Be prepared to share some of your findings with the class. GROUP DISCUSSION: [i] (like “ee” in see) SPELLING VS. [ej] (like “ay” in say) SOUND [ow] (like “o” in bone) [u] (like “u” in flu) [k] (like “k” in kite) [s] (like “s” in say) [f] (like “f” in fight) IPA CHART Full IPA chart (all attested human speech sounds) 10 CONSONANTS ○ Place of articulation ○ Manner of articulation CONSONANTS AND VOWELS Name some consonants and vowels of English. What is the main distinction between consonants and vowels? Vowels: [ej æ ɑ ʊ ow u i ɪ], unrestricted air flow through the vocal tract Consonants: [p b t k s ʃ f v θ dʒ ʔ], constriction of airflow in a particular place in the vocal tract CONSONANTS: PL ACE OF ARTICUL ATION We use the anatomical terms to refer to place of articulation, or where a speech sound is produced. Where is the constriction in the vocal tract? CONSONANTS: MANNER OF ARTICULATION state of airflow through and out of the vocal tract Oral: velum is raised and closed, air flows through the oral cavity Nasal: velum is lowered and open, air flows through the nasal cavity CONSONANTS: MANNER OF ARTICULATION state of airflow through and out of the vocal tract Stop= complete closure characterized by a burst of air at the release of the closure [p b t d k g ʔ] Fricative= partial closure causing audible friction [f v s z θ ð ʃ ʒ h] Affricate= a stop immediately followed by a fricative; a sequence of two sounds [tʃ dʒ] CONSONANTS: MANNER OF ARTICULATION Liquids= less constriction; voiced by default ○ Lateral liquid [l]: tongue makes alveolar contact while allowing air to escape over the sides ○ Retroflex liquid [ɹ]: tongue curls back near the alveolar ridge without making contact Glides [w j]= least possible constriction in consonants; can behave like vowels or consonants; can appear in diphthongs; voiced by default  Consonants are described in term of their voicing (glottal state), place of articulation, and manner of articulation. Voicing + place + manner CONSONANT [p] = voiceless bilabial stop DESCRIPTION [z] = voiced alveolar fricative [ŋ] = (voiced) velar nasal RESOURCES TO SEE SPEECH IN ACTION (MRI) Seeing Speech, University of Glasgow this one has an animation feature as well as MRI Speech Production and Articulation Knowledge Group, University of Southern California this one has some full passages of speech, not just isolated sounds  Labio- Alveo- Bilabial dental Dental Alveolar palatal Palatal Velar Glottal VL p t k ʔ IPA CHART - Stop ENGLISH V b d g CONSONANTS VL f θ s ʃ h Fricative V v ð z ʒ VL tʃ Affricate V dʒ Nasal V m n ŋ V l ɫ lateral Liquid V ɹ retroflex * /w/ is actually, labial- VL ʍ velar (or labiovelar) – Glide that’s why it’s listed again V w* j w* 19 in the velar column. Sample seat Transcription of axe beast Consonants quickly yellow Identify the consonants and write their IPA symbol and complete phonetic moon freed description voicing + place + manner hoop gush  Sample Transcription of Consonants Seat [s] voiceless alveolar fricative, [t] voiceless alveolar stop Beast [b] voiced bilabial stop, [s], [t] Yellow [j] voiced palatal glide, [l] voiced lateral liquid Freed [f] voiceless labiodental fricative, [ɹ] voiced retroflex liquid, [d] voiced alveolar stop Gush [g] voiced velar stop, [ʃ] voiceless alveopalatal fricative Hoop [h] voiceless glottal fricative, [p] voiceless bilabial stop Jeans [dʒ] voiced alveopalatal affricate, [n] alveolar nasal, [z] voiced alveolar fricative Moon [m] bilabial nasal, [n] Quickly [k] voiceless velar stop, [w] voiced labiovelar glide, [k], [l] WHAT CONSONANT IS IT? Voiced labiodental fricative /v/ WHAT CONSONANT IS IT? Voiceless interdental fricative /θ/ WHAT CONSONANT IS IT? Air flow (Voiced) alveolar nasal (stop) /n/ WHAT CONSONANT IS IT? (Voiced) palatal glide /j/ WHAT CONSONANT IS IT? Voiceless velar stop /k/  Vowels have no substantial constriction in the vocal tract, unlike consonants. Vowels are produced on a continuum, unlike consonants Vowels are described according to their height, VOWELS frontness, (lip) rounding, and tenseness. ○ Height: eat, ate, at ○ Frontness: cap, cup, cop ○ Rounding: seen vs. soon ○ Tenseness: seen vs. sin (both high, front, unrounded vowels)  FRONTNESS H E I G H T CANADIAN ENGLISH VOWELS IPA examples IPA examples [i] see, funny, bead [ʊ] pull, good, would [ɪ] bit, sing, rib [ ow ] go, boat, pole, sew [ ej ] haze, great, obey [ oj ] coy, toil, groin [ɛ] bet, send, affect [ɑ] cot, don, father [æ] stamp, pack, yeah [ʌ] shut, come, bug [u] loon, flute, who [ə] about, Alberta, element [ aj ] try, idle, glide [ aw ] hound, brown, proud IPA VOWELS OF CANADIAN ENGLISH 29 VOWELS: Diphthongs [dɪfθɑŋz] Diphthongs: Vowels which are a sequence of two sounds from Greek di- ‘two’ phthongos ‘sound’ a vowel followed by a glide: [aj] [oj] [ej] [ow] [aw] some conventions use two vowels: [aɪ] [oɪ] [eɪ] [oʊ] [aʊ] IPA examples TIP: ALL diphthongs [ aj ] hide, eye, sigh are TENSE vowels [ aw ] how, round [ oj ] boy, avoid [ ej ] fate, day [ ow ] go, grow, boat 30  VOWELS: TENSE VS. LAX Tense vowels: [i ej aj aw ɑ oj ow u] Tense vowels are usually longer than lax All diphthongs are tense In English, tense vowels can occur at the end of a word, but not lax vowels: ○ see [si], saw [sɑ], boy [boj], bow [bow] ○ *[sɪ], *[sɛ], *[sæ], *[sʊ] * unattested  Schwa [ə] Mid-central articulation of UNSTRESSED vowels Stress is where the emphasis falls on a word vowel [’vawəl] Indicated with an apostrophe before the stressed syllable unstressed vowels are often phonetically reduced in rapid (typical) speech – E.g. banana [bə’nænə], Canada [’kʰænədə]  Vowels + [ɹ] IPA examples [ ɛɹ ] hair, cared, where, bear Transcribing vowel + [ɹ] can be tricky [ɹ] has a strong effect on the [ iɹ ] here, weird, ear, beer vowel sound making it difficult to [ ɑɹ ] barred, far, arm identify [ oɹ ] born, store, pour, shore This effect is known as rhoticization [ uɹ ] tour, lure [ ʌɹ ], [ əɹ ], [ ɹ̩ ] or her, bird, father, butter [ɚ] 33  Think about the sounds and articulation Main Tip for when you say or hear a word, not the Transcription spelling. 34 TRANSCRIBE CONSONANTS Identify the consonants in the following words by giving their phonetic symbol and complete description: Jeans [dʒ_nz] Although [_lð_] Phonetics [f_n_t_ks] Laughter [l_ft_ɹ] Think [θ_ŋk] Consonant [k_ns_n_nt] Pleasure [pl_ʒ_ɹ] Vowel [v_w_l] Comb [k_m] _ represents a vowel NOW ADD VOWELS Fill in your transcriptions with the vowels and now you’ve transcribed whole words. Jeans [dʒinz] Although [ɑlðow] Phonetics [fənɛtɪks] Laughter [læftəɹ] Think [θɪŋk] Consonant [kɑnsənɛnt] Pleasure [plɛʒəɹ] Vowel [vawəl] Comb [kowm]  Transcription Practice Transcribe your own or another name compare your transcription with your peers’ (turn your camera) and practice reading the trascriptions of your names does the phonetic articulation of the names in the group align with expectations about spelling? is the pronunciation of your name important to you? why? If you need to know a speech sound from another language, you can access the full IPA chart here or ask me or Emily [ɹejtʃəlməgɹɑ] More Transcription Practice Transcribe: Practice makes perfect, you can do this. Transcribe Practice [pɹæktis] Makes [mejks] Perfect [pʌɹfɛkt], [pʌɹfɪkt], or [pʌɹfəkt] You [ju] Can [kæn] Do [du] This [ðɪs] Transcription Practice “mustache” “dove” (the bird) “cough” “dove” (past tense of dive) “though” “move” “vision” “wove” “morning” “thing” “weather” “clapped” “breathe” “patience” “breath” “rhythm” “bat” “pushed” “bit” “riding” “bite” 40 Transcription Practice Answers “Mustache” [mʌstæʃ] “dove” (the bird) [dʌv] “Cough” [kɑf] “dove” (past of dive) [dowv] “Move” [muv] “Though” [ðow] “Wove” [wowv] “Vision” [vɪʒən] “Morning” [moɹnɪŋ] “Thing” [θɪŋ] “Weather” [wɛðəɹ] “Clapped” [klæpt] “Breathe” [bɹið] “Patience” [pejʃəns] “Breath” [bɹɛθ] “Rhythm” [ɹɪðəm] “Bat” [bæt] “Pushed” [pʊʃt] “Bit” [bɪt] “Riding” [ɹajdɪŋ] “Bite” [bajt] 41 MORE ACTIVITIES See these additional resources and activities: Consonant inventory (turn into a matching or flashcard activity) Transcription practice and answers Focused vowel transcription practice and answers NATURAL CLASSES OF SPEECH SOUNDS Natural classes are groups of speech sounds that share common features Some natural classes in phonetics we have already learned: ○ Consonants ○ Vowels  Labio- Alveo- Bilabial dental Dental Alveolar palatal Palatal Velar Glottal VL p t k ʔ IPA CHART - Stop ENGLISH V b d g CONSONANTS VL f θ s ʃ h Fricative V v ð z ʒ VL tʃ Affricate V dʒ Nasal V m n ŋ V lateral l ɫ Liquid V ɹ retroflex * /w/ is actually, labial- VL ʍ velar (or labiovelar) – Glide that’s why it’s listed again V w* j w* 44 in the velar column. NATURAL CLASSES – [ð] and [θ] interdental fricatives – [m], [n], and [ŋ] Do they share a nasals glottal state (voicing)? Identifying Do they share a – [p], [t] and [k] natural manner of classes: articulation? voiceless stops Do they share a place of articulation? – [m], [b], [p], [w] bilabial consonants 45 Identify the natural class: [p, b] Bilabial stops [ɹ, l] Liquids/alveolar approximants [v, ð, z, ʒ] Voiced fricatives 46 NATURAL CLASSES OF VOWELS IDENTIFY THE NATURAL CLASS /ow, ɑ, ʊ, u/ –back vowels /i, ɪ, aj, ɛ/ –unrounded vowels /ɪ, ɛ, æ/ –unrounded lax vowels SOUTHERN TUTCHONE PHONETICS Source: http://ynlc.ca/languages/stutchone.html  TOTONAC PHONETICS ts tʃ ʃ ʃ’ Source: Ualberta UNT Project http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/totonaco2/?page_id=1582 APPLICATIONS OF PHONETICS Why should we bother to learn about phonetics? – language learning and teaching – language revitalization – speech pathology and audiology – Sociolinguistics: tracking the relationships between linguistic and social variables Phonetic symbol chart - English (for LING 101) Consonants Labio- Alveo- Bilabial dental Dental Alveolar palatal Palatal Velar Glottal voiceless p t k ʔ Stop voiced b d g voiceless f θ s ʃ h Fricative voiced v ð z ʒ voiceless tʃ Affricate voiced dʒ Nasal voiced m ɱ n ŋ voiced lateral l ɫ Liquid voiced retroflex ɹ voiceless ʍ Glide voiced j w Vowels Front Central Back i u High ɪ ʊ ej ə oj ow Mid ɛ ʌ Vowel key: Bold = tense æ Plain = lax Low aj aw ɑ Black = unrounded Purple = rounded  THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET (revised to 2015) CONSONANTS (PULMONIC) © 2015 IPA Bilabial Labiodental Dental Alveolar Postalveolar Retroflex Palatal Velar Uvular Pharyngeal Glottal Plosive Nasal Trill Tap or Flap Fricative Lateral fricative Approximant Lateral approximant Symbols to the right in a cell are voiced, to the left are voiceless. Shaded areas denote articulations judged impossible. CONSONANTS (NON-PULMONIC) VOWELS Clicks Voiced implosives Ejectives Front Central Back Close Bilabial Bilabial Examples: Dental Dental/alveolar Bilabial Close-mid (Post)alveolar Palatal Dental/alveolar Palatoalveolar Velar Velar Open-mid Alveolar lateral Uvular Alveolar fricative OTHER SYMBOLS Open Voiceless labial-velar fricative Alveolo-palatal fricatives Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. Voiced labial-velar approximant Voiced alveolar lateral flap Voiced labial-palatal approximant Simultaneous and SUPRASEGMENTALS Voiceless epiglottal fricative Primary stress Affricates and double articulations Voiced epiglottal fricative can be represented by two symbols Secondary stress joined by a tie bar if necessary. Epiglottal plosive Long Half-long DIACRITICS Some diacritics may be placed above a symbol with a descender, e.g. Extra-short Voiceless Breathy voiced Dental Minor (foot) group Voiced Creaky voiced Apical Major (intonation) group Aspirated Linguolabial Laminal Syllable break More rounded Labialized Nasalized Linking (absence of a break) Less rounded Palatalized Nasal release TONES AND WORD ACCENTS Advanced Velarized Lateral release LEVEL CONTOUR Extra Retracted Pharyngealized No audible release or high or Rising Centralized Velarized or pharyngealized High Falling High Mid rising Mid-centralized Raised ( = voiced alveolar fricative) Low Low rising Syllabic Lowered ( = voiced bilabial approximant) Extra Rising- low falling Non-syllabic Advanced Tongue Root Downstep Global rise Rhoticity Retracted Tongue Root Upstep Global fall Typefaces: Doulos SIL (metatext); Doulos SIL, IPA Kiel, IPA LS Uni (symbols) INTO TO LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY: PHONOLOGY D R. R A C H E L M C G R AW THE PLAN Speech processes Variation Phonemics Allophonic variation Phonological analysis Prosody BROAD AND NARROW TRANSCRIPTION How much detail to transcribe? Narrow transcription is a more detailed transcription of the sounds in casual speech ○ Aspiration [Cʰ], tapping [ɾ], velarization [ɫ], nasalization, tone, voicing and devoicing, phonetic reduction [ə] ○ These speech processes are transcribed in narrow transcription using other symbols and diacritics  A change in pronunciation, often occurring in rapid, casual (typical) speech ○ Efficiency (deletion, vowel reduction, consonant harmony) ○ Ease of production ○ Coarticulation of neighbouring segments Anticipation of coming sounds: nasal assimilation [θɪŋk] [bæɱf] [ɪndajɹɛkt] [ɪmpɑsɪbəl] Lagging effects of sounds already articulated: leaving the velum open=nasalization [mæ̃n] SPEECH PROCESSES  English speakers typically have weak unstressed vowels that are articulated as schwa [ə] in the middle of our vowel space in casual/fast/normal speech Why do we reduce vowels? VOWEL ○ Ease of production and efficiency some vowels are reduced to [ɪ] or as either, REDUCTION for example [vɪʒən] or [vɪʒɪn] What words are transcribed here? [kən’vɪkʃən] [‘kænədə] [kə’nejdiən] Peter fitter fiddle [‘piɾəɹ] [‘fɪɾəɹ] [‘fɪɾəl]  TAPPING alveolar stops (what are they?) are pronounced as a tap [ɾ] before unstressed vowels in Canadian and American English Why do we tap alveolar stops? What could be the motivation for this speech process? [‘wɑɾəɹ] [‘bʌɾəɹ] [‘ɹajɾəɹ] [‘læɾəɹ] “water” “butter” “writer” “ladder” 7 turtle kind apart [‘tʰʌɹɾəl] [‘kʰajnd] [ə’pʰɑɹt]  Aspiration (C h) Aspiration: the puff of air that follows voiceless stops before a stressed vowel (but not if the syllable begins with [s] Place your hand in front of your mouth and say these words. In narrow transcription, aspiration is represented by a superscript h – [ph] [phæt] [spæt] [bæt] [kʰænədə] “pat” “spat” “bat” “Canada” 9 ASSIMILATION Assimilation: a sound change that occurs under the influence of a nearby sound, making the sounds more alike Motivated by co-articulation and ease of articulation Anticipating coming sounds or lagging effects of past sounds VOICING ASSIMILATION voicing assimila [d] / elsewhere [de’ðonde] ‘from where’ #_o e_# n_e The sounds [d] and [ð] are allophones of the same phoneme in complementary distribution. /d/ is realized as an interdental fricative [ð] after vowels while [d] occurs elsewhere.  PRACTICE PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: Canadian Raising Are [aj] & [ʌj] phonemic or allophonic in Canadian English? [taj] “tie” [hʌjk] “hike” [tɹʌjp] “tripe” [ʌjs] “ice” [ɹajð] “writhe” [tɹajb] “tribe” [ɹʌjt] “right” [əlajv] “alive” [lʌjt] “light” [lajm] “lime” [fajɫ] “file” [lʌjf] “life” What about [aw] & [ʌw]? [sʌwθ] “south” [kʌwʧ] “couch” [haw] “how” [bɹawz] “browse” [mawnt] “mount” [fawnd] “found” [hʌws] “house” [gawʤ] “gouge’” [spʌwt] “spout” 35 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx-gOWhPMLE  [aj] [ʌj] Some conventions: t_# #_s __ target sound # word beginning or end f_l ɹ_t ɹ_ð h_k l_m l_f l_v ɹ_p ɹ_b l_t [taj] “tie” [hʌjk] “hike” [tɹʌjp] “tripe” [ʌjs] “ice” [ɹajð] “writhe” [tɹajb] “tribe” [ɹʌjt] “right” [əlajv] “alive” [lʌjt] “light” [lajm] “lime” [fajɫ] “file” [lʌjf] “life”  PRACTICE PHONOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: Canadian Raising /aj/ ---> [ʌj] / ___ C [aj] [ʌj] [-voice] tʰ__ # [taj] #__s [ʌjs] ---> [aj] / elsewhere f__ɫ [fajɫ] ɹ__t [ɹʌjt] The low central tense unrounded diphthong /aj/ is raised to [ʌj] before ɹ__ð [ɹajð] h__k [hʌjk] a voiceless consonant, and is realized as [aj] elsewhere. l__m [lãj̃m] l__f [lʌjf] tɹ__b [tɹajb] tɹ__p [tɹʌjp] l__v [əlajv] l__t [lʌjt] 37  Phonotactics Phonotactic constraints describe how the segments/sounds in a particular language can combine into (possible) words Words and syllables must contain at least one vowel or vowel-like thing (syllabic liquid or nasal) in English Possible words: spink [spɪŋ̃ k] – could be a word of English (well-formed) *[tftkt] – violates this constraint of English (ill-formed) [tftkt] ‘to suffer a strain’ is a word in Tashlhiyt Berber, North Africa (well-formed) 38 PRACTICE: POSSIBLE WORDS Which words are well-formed possible words? What makes the ill-formed words impossible in English? 1. pɹil √ 6. lsig x 2. skɹɪck √ 7. towsp √ 3. blæft √ 8. mglæ x 4. ɹmut x 9. dnawm x 5. θowl √ 10. flɪtʃ √ 39 UNCOVERING Phonotactic Patterns Actual sequences: sequences which occur (attested) – e.g. /stɪk/, /flæg/, etc. Accidental gaps: sequences which could occur (possible well-formed words, but unattested) – e.g. /stɪn/, /flɛg/, etc. Systematic gaps: sequences which cannot occur because they violate the phonotactics of the language, ill-formed – e.g. /ptawfm/, /btajmt/, etc. 40 DIAGNOSING STRUCTURE: TRANSPOSITION TEST What words and possible words can be made from re-arranging these sounds [p], [t], [æ]? “pat“ [pæt] “tap” [tæp] “apt“ [æpt] *means the form is not attested *[ æ t p ] Why are these strings unattested? *[ p t æ ] There are phonotactic constraints. *[ t p æ ] What are the phonotactic constraints? 41 WRITE THE PHONOTACTIC CONSTRAINT: Describe the pattern Phonotactic Constraint: No stop+stop clusters in English (*[pt] in pterodactyl). But: clapped [klæpt], apt [æpt], and act [ækt] Revised Phonotactic Constraint: No stop+stop clusters in English onsets But: *[ætp] Further Phonotactic Constraint: English Coda stop+stop clusters must end in an alveolar 42  ENGLISH PHONOTACTIC CONSTRAINTS: SYLLABLES Syllables follow the sonority hierarchy in a wave shape: low sonority consonants, high sonority vowel nucleus, low sonority consonants low to high onset (consonants before the nucleus), peak nucleus (vowel), high to low coda (consonants after the nucleus) [stɹit] ENGLISH PHONOTACTIC CONSTRAINTS: SYLLABLES Possible syllables in English: V=vowel, C=consonant V (eye), CV (go), CVC (cat), CCV (spy), CCVC (spat), CCCV (straw), CCCVC (spring), VCCC (asked), etc. Syllable onsets (before the V nucleus) can be: one C / p, t, k, b, d, g, f, v, … / two Cs (e.g. /flɪŋ/, /smɑɹt/) most stops and some fricatives followed by approximants [l], [ɹ], [w], and sometimes [j]: “play” [pl], “clay” [kl], “flay” [fl], “blew” [bl], “glue” [gl], “Vlad” [vl], “vroom” [vɹ], “shrapnel” [ʃɹ], “quick” [kw] but *[tl] and *[dl] ENGLISH PHONOTACTIC CONSTRAINTS What possibilities does English offer for combining three consonants in onsets? Remember that we're talking about sounds (transcriptions), not letters (spelling). “street” /stɹit/ “spray” /spɹej/ “scrawny” /skɹɑni/ “splat” /splæt/ “skew” /skju/ English Phonotactic CONSTRAINTS Same place of articulation for nasal+stop sequences: bilabial: [spɪmp] is possible, but not *[spɪmt] alveolar: [spɪnt], but not *[spɪnp] velar: [spɪŋk], but not *[spɪŋt] or *[spɪŋp] 46 ENGLISH PHONOTACTIC CONSTRAINTS: SYLLABLES In English, [h] only occurs as the onset of a syllable: “hi” [haj], “ahead” [ə.’hεd], “Brumhilda” [bɹũm.’hɪl.də] The velar nasal [ŋ] can only occur in coda position: “dung” [dʌŋ ̃ ], “singing” [sɪŋ̃.ɪŋ̃ ], “think” [θɪŋ̃ k]  Phonotactic constraints are language-specific E.g. Christmas in Hawaiian kalikimaka Phonotactics Consonant clusters are allowed in English but not in Hawaiian epenthetic vowels are used to break up consonant clusters when English words are borrowed into Hawaiian Hawaiian doesn’t distinguish [k] and [t], does not have alveolar fricatives [s, z] or retroflex liquid [ɹ] 48 Syllable Structure in Malay Phonotactics What observations can be made about the distribution of consonants & vowels in Malay (spoken in Malaysia)? – What are the possible syllable types in Malay? – Are coda consonants allowed? – Are consonant clusters allowed? kapaʔ ‘axel’ gəlaʔ ‘laugh’ kətil ‘pinch’ buka ‘open’ anak ‘child’ lawat ‘visit’ tapaʔ ‘palm’ kəɹan ‘rough’ kaɹaŋ ‘reef’ təgoh ‘firm’ pitəɹ ‘disk’ baɹu ‘new’ kətaʔ ‘fold’ taɹek ‘pull’ muɹid ‘pupil’ 49  Consonant clusters are not allowed within a syllable Consonant clusters across syllable boundaries (in the middle of words - coda of first syllable, onset of second syllable) have to have the same place of articulation for nasal + stop/fricative sequences Some [tom.bo] ‘dragonfly’ or [kaŋ.kee] ‘relation’, not *[tom.do] Japanese Phonotactics Words must end in a vowel or a nasal (in other words, only nasals can be in codas) English words borrowed into Japanese must be adapted to Japanese phonotactics e.g. Kurisumasu ‘Christmas’ 50 PHONOTACTIC CONSTRAINTS ACROSS LANGUAGES More evidence that phonotactic constraints are real comes from second-language learners First language phonotactic constraints (subconscious) often exert influence when a speaker is learning a second language that has different phonotactic patterns 51 PHONOTACTIC CONSTRAINTS ACROSS LANGUAGES Consonant Clusters In Japanese, consonant clusters not allowed within syllables In Mandarin and Cantonese, no consonant clusters In English, consonant clusters are allowed What might happen when Mandarin or Cantonese speakers are learning English? 52 Phonotactics and Second Language Acquisition For children in the early stages of language learning, English productions are altered to match the phonotactics of the first language. For adults, first language phonotactic effects can be persistent. CHI: I know how to play london bridge is falling down. [bɪdʒ] [pej] Source: Tessier, Sorenson Duncan & Paradis (2013) PHONOTACTIC CONSTRAINTS ACROSS LANGUAGES Onsets = no first language effects, except for consonant clusters All languages have onsets Codas = first language effects English allows codas South Asian languages, like Hindi, allow codas Chinese languages, like Mandarin, only allow [n] and [ŋ] as codas most English codas are not allowed in Mandarin What might happen when South Asian language speakers are learning English vs. Mandarin speakers? 54 Phonotactics and Assessment of Language Learning Phonological short-term memory Involved in learning the phonological form of new words Children with language learning impairments perform poorly on these measures Assessments usually involve repeating a series of numbers, words, or nonwords Nonwords = Possible but not attested words in the language, e.g., chasedolid. Why? To avoid, an interaction with words children already know. Key Point: Nonwords follow the phonotactic patterns of the target language being learned (e.g. English). 55  NON-WORD PRODUCTION: Onsets vs. Codas 56 Source: Sorenson Duncan & Paradis (2015)  Prosody is the musical qualities of language Rhythmic patterns of segment (sound) WHAT IS PROSODY? combinations Stress Syllable length and structure Pitch and tonal contours  Syllable: sonorant unit, a beat Stress: prominence, the longest and loudest PROSODY: sonorant unit (beat) of a word or phrase SYLLABLES Each syllable carries either prominent stress or less prominent stress. AND STRESS The vowels in English stressed syllables are higher in pitch, longer, and louder than those in unstressed syllables 58 PROSODY: SYLLABLES Source of image: Ladefoged 2001, p. 186 frequency time  PROSODY: Stress Stress= Prominence= longest and loudest syllable Stress can be phonemic (ie. lexically meaningful) in English: distinguishes words with different meanings Remember, unstressed vowels tend to reduce in English (an) address [‘ædɹɛs] (to) address [ə’dɹɛs] (a) present [‘pɹ̥ ɛzə̃nt] (to) present [pɹə’zɛn ̃ t] (a) decrease [‘dikɹis] (to) decrease [də’kɹ̥ is] (a) discount [‘dɪskãw̃nt] (to) discount [dɪ’skʰãw̃nt] affect (emotion) [‘æfɛkt] (to) affect [ə’fɛkt] More examples: http://www.english-at-home.com/pronunciation/noun-and-verb-syllable-stress/ 60 PROSODY: Identifying Stress and Syllables “birthday” How many syllables? What are they? Syllables are difficult to define but fairly easy to identify “yesterday” In ANTH 170, a syllable will consist of a sonorant vowel or vowel-like nucleus and accompanying “linguistics” onset and coda consonants Think about the way the word is pronounced, not the spelling “happy” 61 PROSODY: Pitch and Tone Pitch: a gradable auditory property of a sound that enables a listener to place it on a scale from low to high – High pitch – more tense vocal folds and higher air pressure – Low pitch – less tense vocal folds and lower air pressure Tone: not found in English – when pitch is used to distinguish words tone is phonemic in Mandarin – [ma\] with a falling pitch = “scold” – [ma/] with a rising pitch = “hemp” 62 PROSODY: PITCH AND INTONATION Phrasal intona