phonetics and phonology

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34 | Introduction to Linguistics

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3.

PHONETICS

3.0 Introduction An obvious way of beginning an analysis of spoken

language is by studying its sounds which is called phonetics

(Crane et al., 1981:57). Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that

studies the material aspects of speech sounds. What is meant

by ―material aspect‖? And what other features exist which

characterize sounds? Well, material aspects of sounds are those

aspects that make for the physical production, transportation

and comprehension of the sound. Another aspect of a sound is

its function within a language. The function of sounds is,

however, examined by another linguistic discipline, namely

phonology. Please take note of the fact though that this

represents the European (including the English) categorization

of these linguistic disciplines and that Americans follow a

different convention. Americans use the term ―phonology‖ to

refer to our understanding of both phonetics and phonology.

They refer to what we call ―phonetics‖ also as ―phonetics‖, but

refer to what Europeans call ―phonology‖ as ―phonemics‖. So

if you ever come across the American terminology, do not be

confused. In any way, in this textbook we will stick to the

European terms.

The modern alphabet does not suffice to transcribe all

sounds on a one-to-one basis. There are many instances

though, when we need an internationally comprehensible code

for the detailed transcription of sounds, such as in linguistic

research, as well as in foreign language teaching. A special

alphabet devised by the International Phonetic Association

http://www.uni-kassel.de/fb8/misc/lfb/html/text/8frame.html

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(IPA) is then used. Phonetic characters refer to the actual

utterance of a sound. In phonetic writing, the symbols for these

sounds are put within brackets, such as: [θ].

Back to phonetics, we stated above that there are three

different physical aspects of a sound. These are the articulatory

aspect of the speaker, the acoustic aspect of the channel, and

the auditory aspect of the hearer.

Articulatory phonetics researches where and how

sounds are originated and thus carries out

physiological studies of the respiratory tract, trying to

locate precisely at which location and in which manner

a sound is produced.

Acoustic phonetics examines the length, frequency and

pitch of sounds. Special instruments are required to

measure and analyze the sounds while they travel via

the channel.

Auditory phonetics studies what happens inside the ear

and brain when sounds are finally received. It also

interested in our ability to identify and differentiate

sounds.

3.1 How speech is produced Everyday, we always speak to other people without

any consciousness why we are able to produce the sound of

utterances. How and where sounds are produced within our

vocal tracts determines the acoustic properties of those sounds.

Gleason and Ratner (1998:113) noted three major systems for

speech production: (1) the vocal tract, (2) the larynx, and (3)

the subglottal system.

Let us first identify the body parts that are involved in

speech production. Figure 3.1 is a diagram of most of the

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organs used in speech production that shows the places of

articulation for English consonants. Starting at the bottom of

figure 3.1, we can see the glottis, which is part of the larynx.

The larynx contains vocal folds, and the glottis is the opening

between the vocal folds where the folds meet when they

vibrate to produce voice or phonation. We can also see the

pharynx, the nasal cavity, and the various parts of the oral

cavity. These include the uvula, the velum (or soft palate), the

hard palate, the alveolar ridge, tongue, teeth, and lips. The area

from the larynx to the lips is called the vocal tract.

The subglottal system includes the lungs and

associated muscles needed for inhalation and exhalation and

the trachea or the windpipe. The subglottal system provides the

air support for speech, which is produced on exhalation.

Vowels and consonants are produced differently. The major

difference is that consonants are produced with more

articulatory movement and more constriction – narrowing in a

location in the vocal tract – than are vowels.

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Figure 3.1. A schematic drawing of the vocal tract

Places of articulation: 1, bilabial; 2, labiodental; 3, dental or

interdental; 4, alveolar; 5, palatoalveolar; 6, palatal; 7, velar; 8,

uvular; 9, glottal.

Source: An introduction to Language (4th

ed.) Fromkin, V. and

Rodman, R. (1988:36)

Lip

2 1

9

8 7

6 5

4 3

Hard palate Alveolar ridge

NASAL CAVITY

Velum

(soft palate)

Uvula

Epiglotis

Back Front

Lip

Teeth

TONGUE

Glottis

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The larynx is in the neck; it has several parts, as can

be seen in figure 3.2. Its main structure is made of cartilage, a

material which is similar to bone but less hard. The larynx‘s

structure is made of two large cartilages. These are hollow and

are attached to the top of the trachea; when we breathe, the air

passes through the trachea and larynx. The front of the larynx

comes to a point and we can feel this point at the front of our

neck – especially for men. This point is commonly known as

the Adam‘s Apple.

Figure 3.2. The larynx

Inside the box made by these two cartilages are the

vocal folds which were previously known as vocal cords. They

are two thick flaps of muscle rather like a pair of lips. Figure

3.3 shows the most important parts of vocal folds. At the front,

the vocal folds are joined together and fixed to the inside of the

thyroid cartilage. At the back they are attached to a pair of

thyroid cartilage

tracheal rings

cricoid cartilage

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small cartilages called the arytenoid cartilages so that if the

arytenoid cartilages move, the vocal folds will move too.

Figure 3.3. The inside of the larynx seen from above

The arytenoid cartilages are attached to the top of the

circoid cartilage but they can move the vocal folds apart or

together. The movement can be seen in figure 3.4. This

movement is commonly called glottis, the opening between the

vocal folds. If the vocal folds are apart, we say that the glottis

is open (Figure 3.4b); the glottis is said closed when the vocal

folds are joined together (Figure 3.4a).

Figure 3.4. Arytenoid cartilages causing closing and

opening of the glottis

a. b.

Vocal folds

Arytenoid cartilages

front

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The movement of closing and opening of the glottis

seems quite simple; however, this movement can, in fact,

produce a very complex range of changes in the vocald folds

and their positions. These changes are often important in

speech as they help humans to produce varieties of consonant

sounds. The two movements above are developed into more

different positions of vocal folds.

3.1.1 Wide apart

The vocal folds are wide apart for normal breathing

and usually during voiceless consonants like p, f, s.

Figure 3.5. Wide apart

3.1.2 Narrow glottis

If air is passed through the glottis when it is narrowed,

the result is a fricative sound for which the symbol

used is h. The sound is not very different from a

widespread vowel. It is called a voiceless glottal

fricative. The sound ahahahahaha can be an

appropriate example of narrow glottis.

Figure 3.6. Narrow glottis

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3.1.3 Position for vocal fold vibration

When the edges of vocal folds are touching each other,

or nearly touching, air passing through the glottis will

usually cause vibration. Air is pressed up from the

lungs and this air pushes the vocal folds apart so that a

little air escapes. As the air flows quickly past the

edges of the vocal folds, the folds are brought together

again. This opening and closing movement happens

very rapidly and is repeated regularly, averaging

roughly between two and three hundred times per

second in a woman‘s voice and about half that rate in

adult men‘s.

Figure 3.7. Position for vocal fold vibration

3.1.4 Vocal folds tightly closed

The vocal folds can be firmly pressed together so that

air cannot pass between them. When this happens in

speech we call it a glottal stop or glottal plosive, for

which the symbol ―Ɂ‖ is used.

Figure 3.8. Vocal folds tightly closed

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3.2 Articulatory phonetics - consonants Sounds in language are divided into two broad

classifications: consonants and vowels. Both constitute larger

structures of language, including words, phrases, clauses,

sentences, and so on. The main difference between the two

relies on the presence of the obstacle in releasing the air

passage. Consonants are produced by blocking the air passage

either completely or partially; vowels, on the other hand, are

produced by releasing the air passage without any obstacles.

Consonants are discussed earlier as they have more

complicated way of production.

Generally, consonants are different in terms of place

and manner of articulation. Place of articulation classifies

consonants based on the organs of speech involved in the

production of consonants. Meanwhile, manner of articulation

identifies consonants based on the way of organizing the air

passage. Nevertheless, it is impossible to classify consonants

based only on place of articulation without the involvement of

manner of articulation, and vice versa. Both are integrated

whenever every single of consonant sound is produced.

3.2.1 Place of articulation

Place of articulation refers to the horizontal

relationship between organs of speech, also known as

articulators. Articulators are both active and passive. Active

articulator is the one which is frequently involved in producing

consonant sounds. Passive articulator is less involved but

typically gives its name to consonant classification viewed

from place of articulation. What follows is classification of

consonants based on place of articulation.

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Bilabials are consonants that are articulated by

pressing the lips, like [m].

Labiodentals are consonants articulated by bringing

the lower lip to the upper teeth, like [f]. As the lower

lip experiences some movement, it is categorized as

active articulator and the upper teeth are passive

because they do not show any movement.

Nevertheless, the name is taken from the combination

of the two articulators.

Interdentals or Dentals are the sounds at the

beginning of ―thin‖ and ―then‖, in IPA: [θ] and [ð]. In

order to articulate these, the tongue must be pressed

between the teeth.

Alveolars are consonants articulated by raising the tip

of the tongue to thealveolar ridge (a linguistic term for

teeth ridge), like [d]. The name of the group, alveolar,

is taken from the passive articulator, alveolar ridge.

Post-alveolars are consonants articulated by raising

the tip of the tongue to the space between alveolar

ridge and hard palate. They are neither alveolar as the

tongue position is not in the area of alveolar ridge nor

palatal as the tongue fails to reach the exact area of

hard palate. Sounds [ʧ], [ʤ], and [r] are examples of

post-alveolars.

Palatals as in the middle of the word ―wash‖ are

produced by the contact of the front part of the tongue

with the hard palate just behind the alveolar ridge. An

example is [ʃ].

Velars are sounds which are articulated by raising the

back of the tongue to the soft palate, linguistically

known as velum. An example is [g].

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Glottals are produced by involving the glottis in which

the vocal cords or vocal folds are widely open.

The classification of consonants based on place of

articulation can be shown in the following table.

Table 3.1 Consonants based on place of articulation

Place of

articulation

Active

articulator

Passive

articulator Examples

Bilabial Lower lip Upper lip b, p, m, w

Labiodental Lower lip Upper teeth f, v

Interdental Tongue tip Teeth θ, ð

Alveolar Tongue tip Alveolar ridge t, d, s, z, n, l

Post-alveolar Tongue

blade

Between

alveolar ridge

and hard palate

ʧ, ʤ, r

Palatal Tongue front Hard palate ʃ, ʒ, j

Velar Tongue back Soft

palate/Velum

k, g, ŋ

Glottal Vocal cords Vocal cords h

3.2.2 Manner of articulation

Another fundamental distinction of consonants is made

between so-called manner of articulation. If place of

articulation focuses on horizontal relationship between

articulators, manner of articulation refers to vertical

relationship between the active and passive articulators, i.e. the

distance between them. In other words, manner of articulation

refers to how articulators manage the release of air passage.

When the articulators are pressed together, the air

passage is completely blocked and cause the air pressure to

build up behind the blockage. When the blockage is opened,

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the air is released in rush, the sounds which are produced

through this way are called stops, also known as plossives, e.g.

[t]. But, when the blockage is kept and the air is released

through the nose, we call the resulting consonant is a nasal, as

in [m].

When the articulators are closed together, but without

complete closure, the air passage is forced to go through the

narrow space of articulators. This action results in friction, a

sound turbulance. As the sound produced is followed by the

presence of friction, the sound is named fricative. Other

sounds that are followed by friction are affricates. However,

they are different from fricatives in the way that the sounds, in

the beginning of production, must have a complete closure of

articulators. This means that the air passage is blocked before

it is released through narrow space of articulators, such as in

[ʧ]. These sounds are also known as a result of fricative-stop

combination.

The other two types – liquids and glides – let the air

passage go freely through oral cavity. However, the exact

manner of articulation is obviously different. Liquids, also

known as laterals, block force the air passage to go through

each side of the oral cavity. Some part of the tongue that is

pressed onto the alveolar ridege blocks the the middle part of

the oral cavity. Meanwhile, liquids, also known as semi-

vowels, shape the articulators wide apart and let the air flow

out freely. It seems that they resemble vowels in the manner of

―free release without blocking‖; however, the involvement of

articulators, such as lips and front tongue make themselves

consonants.

The classification of consonants based on manner of

articulation can be shown in the following table.

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Table 3.2 Consonants based on manner of articulation

Manner of

articulation Air Passage Examples

Stop Comple closure and

release in rush

p, b, t, d, k, g

Fricative Incomplete closure and

release through narrow

space of articulators

f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ,

ʒ, r, h

Affricate Complete closure and

release through narrow

space of articulators

ʧ, ʤ

Nasal Complete closure and

release through nasal

cavity

m, n, ŋ

Liquid Free release through

each side of oral cavity

l

Glide Free release almost no

obstacles

w, j

The two classifications of consonant sounds are

combined in the following table to see how they are similar or

different in the way of production. This will also show how

some sounds are similar in the place of articulation but

different in the manner of articulation, or vice versa.

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Table 3.3. English consonants

Stop Affricate Fricative Nasal Liquid Glide

BILABIAL p, b _ _ m _ w _

LABIO-

DENTAL

_

_

f, v _ _ _

DENTAL _ θ, ð _

ALVEOLAR t, d s,z n_ l _ _

POST-

ALVEOLAR

_ ʧ, ʤ r _ _ _

PALATAL _ __ ʃ, ʒ_ _ _ j

VELAR k, g _ ŋ _ _

GLOTTAL _ _ h _ _ _

3.2.3 Distinctive Features

Looking at a chart of consonants in Table 3.3, it seems

that some consonants, such as /p/ and /b/ are pronounced in the

same way. In fact, it is impossible to produce different sounds

through similar place and manner of articulation. Therefore,

there must be specific features that can distinguish one sound

from another. These features are known as distinctive features.

These features show that all segments or sounds must be

characterizable in terms of some unique combination of

features. There are three requirements in the use of distinctive

features:

1. The features should be capable of characterizing

natural segment classes.

2. The features should be capable of describing all

segmental contrasts in the world‘s languages.

3. The features should be definable in phonetic terms.

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The first type of distinctive features is anterior. It

belongs to a group of place features as it characterizes certain

consonants by referring to their place of articulation. Anterior

distinguishes between sounds produced in the front of the

mouth and other sounds. The front of the mouth includes lips,

teeth, and alveolar ridge; therefore, all sounds which are

produced by involving these speech organs belong to anterior.

The other feature that refers to the place of articulation is

coronal. Unlike anterior, coronal distinguishes between sounds

produced by involving the front of the tongue and other

sounds. The front of the tongue is involving such sounds as

dentals, alveolar, post-alveolar, and palatal.

Furthermore, types of distinctive features can also be

seen from the use of manner of articulation, known as manner

features. The first type is continuant. This feature

characterizes the sounds in which there is free airflow through

the oral cavity. In other words, after the sounds are produced,

the airflow must still be let free. Next is nasal which

distinguishes between sounds produced through nasal cavity

and other sounds. Another type of manner features is strident.

This feature characterizes the sounds in which there is a

friction (hiss sound). The friction is a result of forcing the air

passage through narrow space of articulators.

Besides, the features can also be seen from

consonantal features that are divided into two types. The first

type, consonantal, distinguishes between sounds produced

with the presence of blockage in the air passage and other

sounds. All of consonants must be consonantal, except /w/ and

/j/. The second type, voice, characterizes the sounds produced

cause the vibration in the vocal cords from other sounds. The

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other sounds, the ones that do not cause vibration in the vocal

cords, are known as voiceless.

The last type of distinctive features is seen from the

major class features. Sonorant is the only type of major class

features. It distinguishes glides, liquids and nasal from stops

and fricatives. This feature shows a clear formant pattern of

sounds. The following table shows the classification of

consonants based on their distinctive features.

Table 3.4. Chart of Distinctive Features

b ʧ d f g h ʒ ʤ k l m n ŋ

Consonantal + + + + + + + + + + + + +

Continuant - - - + - - + - - + - - -

Sonorant - - - - - - - - - + + + +

Strident - + - + - - + + - - - - -

Voiced + - + - + - + + - + + + +

Anterior + - + + - - - - - + + + -

Coronal - + + - - - + + - + - + -

Nasals - - - - - - - - - - + + +

p r s ʃ t θ ð v w j z

Consonantal + + + + + + + + - - +

Continuant - + + + - + + + + + +

Sonorant - - - - - - - - + + -

Strident - + + + - - - + - - +

Voiced - + - - - - + + + + +

Anterior + - + - + + + + + - +

Coronal - + + + + + + - - + +

Nasals - - - - - - - - - - -

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By using the distinctive features, each of consonants

can be described, and the description is, of course, different

from one another. Look at how some consonants are described

below.

m =

p =

The number of features needed to describe a sound is

various, depending on whether those features have already

represented a single sound. Nevertheless, every sound certainly

needs more than one distinctive feature to be described.

3.3 Articulatory phonetics - vowels In contrast to consonants, where manner and place of

articulation serve as descriptive categories, vowels are

differentiated by their position of the tongue and the lips.

These categories are indicative of the different ways in which

the two sounds are produced - while consonants are produced

with the help of many organs, vowels depend only on the

position of the tongue and the lips. The positioning the tongue

and the lips allow for a great amount of variation, enabling us

to voice many more vowels than the familiar five vowels a, e,

i, o, u. English has more than a dozen different vowels, varied

into different dialects. Nevertheless, in this book, the

classification of vowels presented is based on Received

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Pronunciation (RP). Besides, in English, as in other world‘s

languages, several diphthongs are introduced.

Vowels can be produced by raising the tongue high,

keeping it in the middle, or low in the mouth; also, the tongue

can be moved to the front, center or back. The lips can be

rounded or unrounded. If you try to articulate while moving

your lips and your tongue around, you will notice how many

folds the resulting vowel-like sounds are. In addition to these

ways of vowel production, vowels are also distinguished in the

term of tense and lax (-tense). A general chart of the vowels of

English looks as follows:

Table 3.5 Chart of English vowels

The preceding chart shows a single vowel sound, also

known as monophtong, used in English. Some familiar sounds,

such as /ɛ/ and /o/, seem to be missing from English vowels.

These two sounds are no longer monophtongs as they are more

appropriate to serve as diphtongs. /ɛ/ is represented by

æ

i:

ʌ

a

ә

u:

e ↄ:

ʊ ı

ɑ:

high

middle

low

front central back

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diphtong /eә/ and /o/ is represented by diphtong /әʊ/.

According to RP, English diphtongs are as follows:

/eı, aı, aʊ, ↄı, әʊ, ıә, eә, ↄә, ʊә/

What follows are examples of words and their

pronunciation in which vowels are used.

see /si:/, this /ðıs/, sell /sel/, bag /bæg/

arrive /ә ‗raıv/, cut /kʌt/, bath /baθ/

too /tu:/, book /bʊk/, bought /bↄ:t/, car /kɑ:(r)/

may /meı/, why /waı/, cow /kaʊ/, toy /tↄı/, post /pәʊst/

tear /tıә(r)/, wear /weә(r)/, bore /bↄә/, sure /ʃʊәr/

3.4 Conclusions Phonetics is the study of how sound is produced by

humans. In order to produce sounds, organs of speech or

articulators are functioned. Human‘s organs of speech are

found in three parts of body: chest, throat, and head. English

sounds are divided into two: consonants and vowels.

Consonants are sounds produced by blocking –either

completely or partially—the air passage. While vowels are

produced without blocking the air passage. Consonants are

distinguished in terms of place of articulation, manner of

articulation, and distinctive features. Vowels are characterized

by three processes involving tongue and lips. Tongue is

advanced and retracted to produce front and back vowels;

tongue is raised and lowered to produce high and low vowels;

and lips are rounded to produce round vowels, and unrounded

to produce unround vowels. Vowels are both monophtongs and

diphtongs.

3.4.1 Suggested Readings

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Crane, L. Ben et al. 1981.An Introduction to Linguistics.

Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

Fromkin, V.A. and R. Rodman. 1988. An Introduction to

Language. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Gleason, J.B., and N.B. Ratner. 1998. Psycholinguistics. New

York: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.

Lass, R. 1994. Phonology: An Introduction to Basic Concepts.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Mc Mahon, A. 2002. An Introduction to English Phonology.

Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

3.4.2 Questions for Discussions

1. How do you define phonetics?

2. What are the differences between consonant and vowel?

3. How are fricative consonants produced? Give examples.

4. List classifications of consonants based on place of

articulation. Elaborate your answers by providing

examples.

5. Complete the sentences by choosing one of the following

features: [+continuant], [+sonorant], [+anterior],

[-coronal], [-consonantal].

a. The labiodental, interdental, and alveolar are

……………..

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b. The interdental, alveolar, post-alveolar, and palatal are

…………

c. The bilabial, labiodental, and velar are

…………………….

d. The lateral and semivowel are ………………..

e. The nasal, lateral, and semivowel are ………………..

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4.

PHONOLOGY

4.0 Introduction Previous chapter was mainly concerned with matters

of phonetics – the comparatively straightforward study of

describing the sounds that we use in speaking. When we talk

about how phonemes function in language, and the relationship

among the different phonemes, we are studying a related but

different subject that we call phonology.

Phonology deals with the function of sounds within a

language. Let us have a close look at these functions. Every

language has a precisely defined set of sounds. This set

consists of the so-called distinctive sounds. The system of the

speech sounds and their usage is defined as duality of

patterning: with a given set of components, we may construct

an unlimited number of new arrangements of the components.

In other words, our language provides us with a limited set of

sounds, but we can arrange these to ever new utterances.

Crane et al. (1981:72) say that phonology is the study

of how sounds are organized and how they function in

language. Phonology is divided into two concentrations:

structuralist phonology and transformational-generative

phonology. Structuralist phonology focuses only on the

structure of sound. It recognizes three major independent

phonological levels: morphophonemes, phonemes, and

phonetic representation (the last two levels are discussed in

this book). Transformational-generative phonology, on the

other hand, focuses on series of rules that directly relate

underlying representations to observed phonetic

representations. The central mechanisms in transformational

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generative phonology are underlying representations and

phonological rules.

4.1 Phonemes and allophones By calling a sound distinctive, we refer to its capability

of changing the meaning of a word. Naturally, single sounds

cannot carry any meaning. ―b‖ or ―p‖, for example, are

meaningless utterances. But when several distinct sounds are

assembled to a word, each of them suddenly contributes to a

meaning. And by exchanging individual distinct sounds, we

may change this meaning. We call these sounds phonemes, the

smallest distinctive elements of a language. Phonemes have no

meanings but they can distinguish the meanings when they are

combined into a larger unit of a language (i.e. word).

Čermák (2001) translated in Bičan (2005)

characterizes a phoneme in the following manner: (i) a

phoneme is the minimal non-semantic (or ―subsemantic‖) unit

of the system, yet functional, capable of distinguishing the

meaning (i.e. in combination with others in upper levels); (ii)

the ability of the phoneme to distinguish the meaning is

understood as minimal and it is sufficient if it is realized at

least between two words (minimal contrast); from the

functional point of view this ability is understood as distinctive

function; and (iii) a phoneme is a functional unit defined by a

bundle of distinctive features, is of the twofold kind, segmental

and suprasegmental; both are of the abstract nature.

The idea mentioned above indicates that the key point

of defining phoneme is its ―distinctive function‖. The

distinctive function of the phoneme is likewise easy to

understand: it is a minimal unit with capability of

distinguishing the meaning between at least two words.

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Compare two words which differ only by one sound, e.g.,

―pin‖ and ―bin‖. By replacing the beginning consonants, the

meaning of the word changes. We call such pairs minimal

pairs. Minimal pair is two words that (i) have the same number

of segments, (ii) have only one different segment, and (iii)

have different meaning. The test we just performed to locate

the phonemes is called Commutation Test. The phonemes

thereby discerned are then put within slashes, such as /p/, /b/,

for phonological transcription. These are, of course, ideal units

of the sound system of a language. They should not be

confused with the sounds of actual utterances examined by

phonetics. Phonetics tries to differentiate among the sounds

with the highest possible degree of accuracy. It does so without

regard for the influence of a sound may have on the meaning

of an utterance.

However, not all sounds of a language are necessarily

distinctive sounds. Let‘s take the Indonesian word ―kemana

(where)‖, for example, which is pronounced either [kәmᴧnᴧ]

or [kæmᴧnᴧ]. Although there are obviously different sounds in

the pair, the meaning does not change. Thus, /ә/ and /æ/ are not

phonemes in the Indonesian language. We call this

phenomenon free variation. The two sounds can be referred to

as allophones. These sounds are merely variations in

pronunciation of the same phoneme and do not change the

meaning of the word. Nevertheless, these two different sounds,

―/ә/ and /æ/‖, may act as phonemes in another language such as

English. Let‘s take the pair of words ―were‖ and ―where‖ as

the example. These words are respectively pronounced [wә(r)]

and [wæ(r)]. Different sounds in this pair reslt in different

meaning which; therefore, belong to phonemes. By using these

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two examples, a conclusion may be drawn: phonemes in one

language may not be phonemes in another language.

Free variation can also be found in various dialects of

the same language. In this case, the different pronunciations of

words throughout a country do not change the meaning of

those words. Compare the English and American

pronunciations of ―dance‖: [dɑ:ns] versus [dæns]. Although

there are different sounds in the pair, the meaning does not

change. Thus, /ɑ:/ and /æ/ are not phonemes in this case.

Another example of sounds which are not phonemes

are those which occur in complementary distribution. A

phoneme is called to have complementary distribution when it

occupies different position in words. This means that where

one sound of the pair occurs, the other cannot. An example for

complementary distribution are the aspirated, unaspirated, and

unreleased sounds of /p/. Aspirated sounds are those which

contain audible puff of the air. When the voiceless stops (/p/,

/t/, and /k/) begin the word and are followed by stressed vowel,

there is likely to be an audible puff of the air following the

release. The initial consonant as in ―pill‖ is aspirated. The

initial consonant in ―pacific‖ is unaspirated. The final

consonant as in ―sheep‖ is unreleased. The respective

transcriptions would be [phil], [pæsi:fik], and [ʃi:p

-] where [

h]

indicates aspiration and [-] indicates unreleased. Aspirated [p

h],

as can be seen in this example, occurs before the stressed

vowel; [p-] takes place in the final position of the word. [p

h],

[p], and [p-] are only allophones of the same phoneme /p/.

Another example of the occurence of complementary

distribution is in the pronunciation of /æ/ in ―back‖ and ―bag‖.

Everybody will find it difficult to identify the difference in

vowel length. As it is known, English has a very general

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pattern of lengthening vowels before voiced consonants. That

is, the allophone of a vowel phoneme before a voiced

consonant will be produced longer than the allophone of the

same vowel phoneme before a voiceless consonant. We can

represent the pattern of occurrence (distribution) of these two

allophones of the phoneme /æ/ as the following phonological

rule: When the phoneme /æ/ occurs before a voiceless

consonant, it is pronounced as its allophone [æ]; when it

occurs before a voicedconsonant it is pronounced as its

allophone [æ:]. It means that /æ/ is pronounced longer only

before a voiced consonant, but in another environment, it is

not.

Nasalized vowels can also contribute to the occurence

of complementary distribution. Note that the phoneme /u:/ in

―tool‖ and ―tone‖ is pronounced differently – even though,

sometimes, we are anware of this difference. /u:/ is pronounced

[ũ:] when it is followed by nasal sound /n/, but this cannot

occur before other consonants. In fact, the rule is much more

general than this, because it is applied to all vowels and all

nasals. Therefore, a general statement can be issued: In

English, all vowels are nasalized when they occur before nasal

consonants. This generalization should be made because one

of the objectives in studying a language is to be able to

describe the sound patterns, i.e., to be able to specify, in as the

most general terms as possible, the phonetic environments in

which each allophone occurs.

As mentioned earlier, we can use a minimal pair to

determine whether a sound is a phoneme, an allophone, or a

complementary distribution. How a minimal pair works to

classify such variations of sounds is illstrated in the figure 4.1.

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Figure 4.1 Phoneme, allophone, and complementary

distribution

4.2 Suprasegmental Phonemes In addition to finding the consonant and vowel

segments (the segmental phonemes), the linguist must also

identify the suprasegmental phonemes used in a language

sound system. They are divided into four: pitch, stress,

intonation, and juncture. They are called suprasegmental

because they occur in two words with exactly similar

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segments; instead, they are imposed on the segmented

phonemes. Unlike minimal pair that must contain two words

with one different segment, suprasegmental phoneme occurs in

pair of words without any different segments. Pitch and stress

may occur in a single word or a sentence, while intonation can

only be found in a sentence.

4.2.1 Pitch

Pitch can be defined as a degree of highness or

lowness of a sound. In linguistics glossary, it is defined as the

difference in the relative vibration frequency of the human

voice that contributes to the total meaning of speech. As it may

contribute to the total meaning of a word or a speech, it may be

categorized as a phoneme. Pitch is not necessearily distinctive

sound in all of languages. In English, for example, pitch is not

considered as a phoneme as it does not distinguish meaning.

Unlike English, Chinese includes pitch as a phoneme as it can

distinguish meaning. For example, if you say /ʧu/ with a high

level of pitch, it means ―pig‖; but if you say /ʧu/ with a low

level of pitch, it means ―lord‖. Therefore, for people who

began to study Chinese, they tend to produce misleading

utterance. Instead of saying ―Forgive me, Lord‖; they say

―Forgive me, Pig‖.

4.2.2 Stress

Stress can be translated as emphasis. In scientific term,

stress is the degree of loudness given to some syllables in

relation to others. Stress can also be defined as the emphasis

placed on the sound or syllable spoken most forcefully in a

word or phrase. All of languages use stress; however, some of

them do not put stress as a phoneme. The proper use of stress

http://www.orbilat.com/General_References/Linguistic_Terms.html#speech

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can indicate the fluency of performing a particular language. In

English, stress is considered as a phoneme as it may

distinguish meaning. Study these pairs:

Phonemic transcription Noun Verb

/impo:t/ ʹimport imʹport

/insens/ ʹincense inʹcense

/insᴧlt/ ʹinsult inʹsult

In these pairs, the different position of stress causes different

meaning.

There are two kinds of stress in English: fixed stress

and variable stress. It is called a fixed stress as it will always

be put in the same place wherever and whenever the word is

used. Fixed stress is further divided into two types: prominent

stress and weak stress. This stress is found in the word with

more than one syllable. Variable stress, on the other hand, is

found in the word with one syllable. All of words with one

syllable do have stress when they stand alone; however, when

they are put into a sentence, their presence depends on the

emphasis of the sentence; that is why they are called variable

stress.

The use of variable stress in a sentence depends on the

importance of a particular word. The more important a word is

in a sentence the stronger its stress is. These four sentences

place variable stress in different position. Identify the meaning

produced by each.

a. I ʹnever gave him that ʹbook

b. I ʹnever gave him ʹthat book

c. I ʹnever gave ʹhim that book

d. ʹI ʹnever gave him that book

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Consider the meaning of each sentence: (a) I ever gave

him another thing, but not the book; (b) I ever gave him a

book, but not that one; (c) I ever gave that book to someone

else; but not to him; and (d) Someone has ever given him that

book, but I never did.

4.2.3 Intonation

Intonation is the rise or the fall of voice produced by

someone while speaking. In English, intonation is included as

a phoneme since different intonation used by the speaker in

delivering their message will affect the meaning of his/her

utterance. There are four kinds of intonation: rising intonation,

falling intonation, dipping intonation, and peaking intonation.

Rising intonation means the voice increases over time, and is

commonly symbolized []. It usually indicates questioning or

seeking the truth of a particular information. Falling intonation

means the voice decreases with time, and is commonly

symbolized []. It usually gives an impression of finality: no

more idea to be said. Dipping intonation means ―falls and then

rises‖ and is commonly symbolized []. It usually shows

limited agreement, response with reservation, offering choice,

uncertainty, or doubt. Peaking intonation means ―rises and

then falls‖, and is commonly symbolized []. It is used to

convey strong feelings of approval, disapproval or surprise.

The statement ―You are a doctor‖, for example, demonstrates

how the use of rising and falling intonation results in different.

(a) [Budi is a doctor]

(b) [Budi is a doctor]

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Sentence (a) demonstrates the use of rising intonation

that carries meaning of questioning. The speaker questions or

seeks the information whether Budi is a doctor or not.

Meanwhile, sentence (b) demonstrates the use of falling

intonation. The sentence contains information that has been

complete.

4.2.4 Juncture

Juncture is a joining or a joint; it is a type of

connection or pause we get between syllables or words. In

addition, it is also a point or line in which two bodies are

joined: it is used to refer to the manner of transition from one

vowel or consonant to another. In English, for example,

syllables may be connected together very closely without

pause (close juncture) or very loosely (open juncture); so that

there seems to be a pause between them in pronunciation. The

two types of juncture can be illustrated by the pair; night rate

/nait + reit/ (+ is used for open juncture) and nitrate /naitreit/.

The other examples can be seen below:

(a) a maze /ә + meiz/ amaze /әmeiz/

(b) an aim /әn + eim/ a name /ә + neim/

4.3 Rules of phonology The idea of a rule is central to transformational-

generative theory. Generative phonology, in short, was the

creation of Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle, both to be

professors in the Department of Modern Languages and

Linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT). Their work became known to linguists outside of MIT

proper through aseries of publications, including most notably

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Halle‘s Phonology in generative grammar (1962), Chomsky‘s

Current Issues in Linguistic Theory (1964), Chomsky and

Halle‘s Some controversial questions in phonological theory

(1965), and Chomsky and Halle‘s The Sound Pattern of

English (1968).

There were four central and distinctive tenets of the

research program presented in SPE (quoted in Goldsmith and

Lacks, 2011):

First, the goal of the working phonologist was to develop

fully explicit, algorithmic phonologies which generate the

surface forms of a language and only those. In case of

multiple accounts of the same data – an unavoidable

situation – formal simplicity was to be used to choose

among the accounts, once a satisfactory means had been

established for measuring formal simplicity. In the

meantime, considerable thought and effort should be

given to determining what these measures of formal

simplicity were to be. The centrality of this notion of

simplicity is made explicitly in SPE in several places, and

its effects are virtually everywhere.

Second, the explicit phonologies developed should

employ derivational means (that is, sequential, processual

analyses) to generate the forms of a language. The

observed forms that the linguist wishes to account for are

to be the output of a sequence of phonological rules which

act upon an underlying form. Linguists had already begun

to employ explanations which included the ordering of

phonological rules, but generative phonology took the

position that derivations were widely used in the

phonologies of natural languages.

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Third, the phonological representations used were linear

sequences of matrices of feature values. No structure

beyond the linear structure of these matrices or segments

was included; in particular, there were no syllables

included in the model. Segments – phones – were to be

represented as bundles of binary features, in a fashion

very similar in character to what had been proposed by

Jakobson (1956), much of that in collaboration with Halle.

Finally, discovering deep rule ordering was a high priority

of the theory, in the following sense. For each pair of

rules, one would attempt to determine that one and only

one ordering of the rules (that) was consistent with the

data, and one attempted to establish that a total ordering

of the rules could be established which was consistent

with each pairwise ordering empirically established. For

example, if a language has a phonological rule that

lengthens vowels before voiced consonants (which would

be written V → [+long]/ ___ [C,+voice]), and a rule that

voices intervocalic obstruents ([−sonorant] →

[+voice]/V___V), then the language must also contain a

statement as to which of those two rules applies ―before‖

the other, because the predictions of the grammar would

vary depending on this rule ordering.

The ideas mentioned above suggest the existence of a

rule that can be used to describe the phenomena taking place in

the language sound system. A rule is an operational statement

in which some linguistic entity is modified, resulting in a new

linguistic entity. Rules may add elements, remove elements, or

change elements. They are theoretical statements on the part of

the linguist, who is attempting to demonstrate that there is

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order in linguistic phenomena, that linguistic patterns are

systematic.

Phonological rules may add, delete, or change

phonological elements. A phonological derivation is an

operation that begins with an underlying representation and,

through the application of a set of specific rules, yields the

actual sound the speaker produces.

The representation of a phonological rule has the general

appearance:

A → B/C

The A in this rule represents that which is going to be changed

by the rule. Keep in mind that a segment in both underlying

and phonetic representation is actually a bundle of distinctive

features such as [+voice], [-anterior], [+coronal], [-nasal]; thus,

a symbol like A may represent a single phonological feature or

a set of phonological features. The arrow (→) in the rules

means ―change to‖. The B in the rule represents the new form.

The slash mark separates the rule ―A changes to B‖ from the

phonological environments or conditions under which the rule

operate, here symbolized by C. This rule may be thus read ―A

changes to B under condition C‖. However, one important

thing that should be remembered, this rule can only operate in

regular condition, as a language may have irregularities.

Conditions are normally written before or after a

horizontal line; that is

A → B/___ C

This formula shows that the segment being changed occurs

before the condition C, or

A → B/C ___

This formula shows that the segment being changed occurs

after the condition C.

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The horizontal line can also come between two

phonological conditions. The rule

A → B/C ___ D

is read ―A changes to B when A is comes between C and D‖.

The addition of phonological condition is needed when a

single condition cannot make the use of the rule work.

Other frequently used notational devices are word

boundary, parentheses and braces. Word boundary, symbolized

by #, indicates either initial or final position of the sound in a

word. It indicates an initial sound when it comes before the

horizontal line like in the following:

A → B/ #___ C

This rule means ―A changes before B before C, and A is an

initial sound of the word‖. Similarly, when a word boundary

comes after the horizontal line, it indicates a final sound of the

word. Thus, the rule

A → B/ C___#

is read ―A changes before B after C, and A is a final sound of

the word‖.

The parentheses notation indicates optionality. Thus,

the rule

A → B/___ (C)D

means ―A changes to B before D, and A changes to B before

CD‖: C is an optional condition. This notation allows the

combination of the equivalent two rules

A → B/___ D

A → B/___ CD

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The braces notation indicates that a rule applies under

two or more conditions. To combine the two rules:

A → B/C ___

A → B/D ___

we write

____

which may be read: ―A changes to B following C, and A

changes to B following D‖.

These rules are used in three phonological processes,

namely segment addition, segment deletion, and segment

change rules.

4.3.1 Segment addition rules

Sometimes, features are added to phonemes when they

occur in a specific phonetic context. We have already looked at

aspirated and unaspirated occurences of stops like /p/. At the

beginning of words as in ―pill‖, /p/ is aspirated. The feature of

aspiration is hence added because /p/ is a sound at the

beginning of a word, and the following sound is a stressed

vowel. In other phonetic contexts, the feature of aspiration is

not added. The rule can be formulated as follows:

[p]→[ph]/ #___ [V (+stress)]

The rule is, thus, read ―p is added by aspirated sound (h) when

it is at the beginning of the word (#), and followed by a

stressed vowel‖. If distinctive feature, as the formal feature of

the rule, is used, the rule is then formulated:

D

CBA

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4.3.2 Segmentdeletion rules

Phonological rules of a language may result in the

deletion of segments from a phoneme sequence. A good

example for this rule is English, where the sound /k/ is deleted

when it begins a word and precedes nasals. The rule can be

formulated as follows:

[k] →[∅]/ ___ [n]

So, the sound k in these words is deleted: know, knife, knee,

etc. If distinctive feature, as the formal feature of the rule, is

used, the rule is then formulated:

On the left-hand side of the arrow are the features needed to

uniquely specify /k/ among the consonants; that is, no other

consonants have the features [-voice], [-anterior], and [-

coronal]. The symbols ―→‖ and ―∅‖ mean that ―/k/ changes to

nothing‖, or ―/k/ is deleted‖. The word boundary ―#‖ following

the slash means the initial position of the word. The horizontal

line ―___‖ following the word boundary mark refers to the

position of k; namely, before a segment that is [n].

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4.3.3 Segment-change rules

Phonological rules of a language may result in the

change of segments from a phoneme sequence. In English,

there are some prefixes indicating negative meanings. One of

them is prefix in- which can appear in various sounds: [in-],

[im-], and [iŋ]. Let us take one of them; that is [im-]. Various

words such as in+balance, in+proper, in+moral show the

change of sound [n] to [m] whenever n precedes [b], [p], and

[m]. The rule can be formulated as follows:

On the left-hand side of the arrow are the features needed to

uniquely specify /n/ among the consonants; that is, no other

consonants has the features [+nasal], [+anterior], and

[+coronal]. The symbol ―→‖ means ―change to‖. On the right-

side of the arrow is the result of sound change which has the

features [+nasal], [+anterior], but [-coronal]. These features

specify /m/ among the consonants. The horizontal line ―___‖

following the slash mark refers to the position of /n/; namely,

before a segment that is [+anterior], [-coronal], and

[+consonantal] that specify b, p, and m.

The variety of phonological conditions, the ones

coming after the slash, is determined by whether the conditions

have already specified the use of the rule. Let‘s take the word

―desire‘ as an example. The letter ―s‖ in that word is

pronounced /ʒ/ as it is situated between two vowels. Then, we

may write the rule:

lconsonanta

coronal

anterior

coronal

anterior

nasal

coronal

anterior

nasal

____

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However, this rule doees not work for other similar

cases such as in ―buses‖ and ―passing‖, in which ―s‖ is

pronounced /s/. For this case, a number of conditions must be

added. The best way to do is by specifying vowel features that

can make this rule work. The vowel feature that can be added

here is [-low] which means that /s/ will change to /ʒ/ if the

vowels have ―low‖ feature. Thus, the rule can be formulated

like the following:

4.4 Conclusions Structural phonologists championed the phoneme, an

abstract phonological unit consisting of a class of real sounds

called allophones. Phonemes are primarily determined by

investigating minimal pair. A variation of sound that does not

change the meaning is called allophone. When one sound has

more than one allophone, the sound is said to be in

complementary distribution.

Transformational-generative phonologists established

a more abstract level of phonology that consists of underlying

representation which is related to phonetic representations by a

system of rules that follow the form A → B/C. These rules

may add, delete, or change phonological elements.

Transformational-generative phonology is a universal theory of

phonology that is applicable to individual languages. However,

these rules are applicable only for regularities.

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4.4.1 Suggested Readings

Chomsky, N. 1964. Current Issues in Linguistic Theory. The

Hague: Mouton.

Chomsky, N. and M. Halle. 1965. ―Some controversial

questions in phonological theory‖. Journal of

Linguistics 1. pp. 97–138.

Chomsky, N. and M. Halle. 1968. The Sound Pattern

ofEnglish. New York: Harper and Row.

Crane, L. Ben et al. 1981. An Introduction to Linguistics.

Boston: Little, Brown and Company.

Goldsmith, J. and B. Laks. 2011. ―Generative phonology: its

origins, its principles, and its successors‖. Cambridge

History of Linguistics. (ed. by Waugh, L & J. Joseph).

Jakobson, R and M. Halle. 1956. Fundamentals of language.

The Hague: Mouton & Co., Printers

Lass, R. 1984. Phonology: An Introduction to Basic Concepts.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Fromkin, V. and R. Rodman. 1988. An Introduction to

Language. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Halle, M. 1962. Phonology in generative grammar. Word 18.

pp. 54–72.

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4.4.2 Questions for Discussions

1. How is phonology defined? What makes phonology

different from phonetics?

2. Which of the following pairs of words are minimal pairs?

a. thin – than d. write – right

b. bat – bats e. famous – fabulous

c. cut – put f. cap – map

3. Describe the following terms. It is suggested to provide an

example for each.

a. phoneme

b. allophone

c. complementary distribution

4. What sounds are presented by the italicized letters in the

following words? Provide an allophonic (narrow)

transcription.

a. spirit d. sing

b. cab e. skip

c. bed

5. What are the differences between segmental phoneme and

suprasegmental phoneme?

6. Show the various meaning of the following sentences

through different variable stress.

a. He always puts his bag here

b. She never asked me to leave

7. Write rules that express the following:

a. A sound[n] becomes [ŋ] when it precedes [k]

b. A consonant [g] is deleted when it precedes [h]

phonetics and phonology

Education

function of sounds

pitch of sounds

material aspects of

acoustic phonetics

phonetics crane

auditory phonetics studies

linguistics rusdi noor

acoustic aspect