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1-20 Handout - LING

This document contains an exercise from a linguistics class on phonology. [1] It provides minimal pairs to demonstrate that place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing are contrastive in English. [2] It then examines data from the Swampy Cree language to determine if [p] and [b] are separate phonemes or allophones. By analyzing the distribution of [p] and [b] in different phonetic environments, it is concluded whether they are in complementary or variable distribution.

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Danielle Lobo
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56 views2 pages

1-20 Handout - LING

This document contains an exercise from a linguistics class on phonology. [1] It provides minimal pairs to demonstrate that place of articulation, manner of articulation, and voicing are contrastive in English. [2] It then examines data from the Swampy Cree language to determine if [p] and [b] are separate phonemes or allophones. By analyzing the distribution of [p] and [b] in different phonetic environments, it is concluded whether they are in complementary or variable distribution.

Uploaded by

Danielle Lobo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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LING 200

Section AA & AC
1/20/2022
Phonology

I. Exercise 1: Minimal Pairs

1. Circle the items that are minimal pairs.

steer ~ steed leapt ~ kept beats ~ beads

tame ~ came poor ~ pour keep ~ cop

2. Provide a minimal pair that…

a. shows that place of articulation is contrastive for nasals


gym ~ gin

b. shows that manner of articulation is contrastive for voiced alveolar sounds


zip ~ dip

c. shows that voicing is contrastive for labiodental fricatives


live ~ life

II. Exercise 2: [p] and [b] in Swampy Cree1

The data below come from Swampy Cree, a Native Canadian language. Using this
data, determine whether [p] and [b] are separate phonemes or allophones of the
same phoneme.

word translation word translation


a) niska ‘goose’ l) nisto ‘three’
b) kodak ‘another’ m) tʃigahigan ‘axe’
c) asabap ‘thread’ n) adim ‘dog’
d) waskow ‘cloud’ o) mibit ‘tooth’
e) paskwaw ‘prairie’ p) pimi ‘lard’
f) nigi ‘my house’ q) mide ‘heart’
g) kogos ‘pig’ r) ogik ‘these’
h) tahki ‘often’ s) tʃiman ‘canoe’
i) namwatʃ ‘not at all’ t) wabos ‘rabbit’
j) ospwagan ‘pipe’ u) nabew ‘man’
k) midʒihtʃij ‘hand’ v) midʒiwin ‘food’

1
This exercise is adapted from a practice exercise in Contemporary Linguistics (2005). Vowel length contrasts have
been omitted for simplicity.
a. If [p] and [b] are separate phonemes, what kind of distribution would we expect?

b. If [p] and [b] are allophones of the same phoneme, what kind of distribution
would we expect?

c. Make a list of the phonetic environments. What kind of distribution do you see?

[p] [b]

d. [p] and [b] are __________________ because they are in _________________


distribution.

e. What about [t] and [d]? Or [k] and [g]?

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