Phonology Example PDF

Another Example of Predictability Question: — In English, can we predict where we will get [s] and where we will get [ʃ]? — To figure this out, we can look at a minimal pair like seep [sip] sheep [ʃip] — This shows us that given the ending of a word [-ip], there is no way to predict which of the two...

Another Example of Predictability Question: — In English, can we predict where we will get [s] and where we will get [ʃ]? — To figure this out, we can look at a minimal pair like seep [sip] sheep [ʃip] — This shows us that given the ending of a word [-ip], there is no way to predict which of the two sounds the word started with. Both sounds are equally plausible. 17 Another Example Of Predictability Not so in Japanese! — In Japanese, we can predict where will get [s] and where we will get [ʃ]! — The surrounding sounds (or sound environment) tell us when we can have [s], and when we can have [ʃ]. — if there is an [i], it will be preceded by a [ʃ] instead of [s] — [s] cannot appear before [i] [suʃi] sushi [satoko] (proper name) [ʃiro] white [sake] sake — therefore, anytime we see an [i] we know that of the pair [ʃ , s] the sound before it must be an [ʃ] and cannot be an [s] 18 Another Example Of Predictability — English and Japanese are alike in that they both contain [s] and [ʃ] in their inventories. — But they differ in that in Japanese we can predict the occurrence of one sound versus the other, and in English we cannot predict which sound will appear. 19 ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF PREDICTABILITY — Another difference: if an English speaker learning Japanese used [s] instead of [ʃ] before an [i], it would not change the meaning of the word. Rather a native Japanese speaker would just think that person has an L2 accent. — Now imagine a learner of English making a similar substitution: I really need to shave some more money (save). — In the English case, the meaning of the word changes! We can check: [sit] [sin] [sir] [ʃit] [ʃin] [ʃir] 20