PHONOLOGY

PHONOLOGY

- A branch of linguistics that examines on how speech are organized and function within a
language. It also focuses on how sounds function within a particular language or
languages, including their patterns, rules, and how they interact with one another.

ASPECTS OF PHONOLOGY
 PHONEMES – the smallest unit of sound in a language that distinguish one word from
another (not sounds themselves, but mental representations).

EXAMPLE OF PHONEME: ‘CAT’

The word ‘cat’ has 3 phonemes:
/k/ as the initial phoneme
/ae/ as the vowel phoneme
/t/ as the final phoneme

PHONEME PROPERTIES
VOICING: presence or absence of vocal cord vibration
NASALITY: sound production with nasal cavity involvement
LATERALITY: sound production with tongue or lip position

PHONEME TYPES:
VOWEL, CONSONANTS PHONEMES
LIQUID PHONEMES: have flowing, liquid-like quality (eg. /l/, /r/)
NASAL PHONEMES: are sounds that are produced by allowing air to flow through the nose
(eg. /m/, /n/)

 ALLOPHONES – a variation in how we pronounce sound, but they don’t change the
meaning of the words we speak (enclosed with [bracket]).

EXAMPLES OF ALLOPHONES:

Consider the phoneme /p/ (as in "pat") in English. This phoneme can have two allophones:

1. [pʰ]: The aspirated /p/ sound (with a puff of air) occurs at the beginning of a word, like in
"pat" [pʰæt].
2. [p]: The unaspirated /p/ sound (without a puff of air) occurs after an "s" sound, as in
"spat" [spæt].

 SYLLABLE STRUCTURE - refers to the way a syllable is organized or composed of

different sound units in a language.
Basic Components of a Syllable:

A syllable typically consists of up to three parts:

1. Onset: This is the initial consonant or consonant cluster of the syllable. Not all syllables
have an onset, but many do.
o Example: In the word "cat" /kæt/, the onset is /k/.
2. Nucleus: This is the core of the syllable, usually a vowel (though in some cases, it can be
a syllabic consonant, such as /l/ or /n/ in words like "bottle" or "button").
o Example: In "cat" /kæt/, the nucleus is /æ/ (the vowel sound).
3. Coda: This is the final consonant or consonant cluster in the syllable. Like the onset, the
coda is optional, and not all syllables have one.
o Example: In "cat" /kæt/, the coda is /t/.

Examples of Different Syllable Structures:

 CV (Consonant + Vowel): A syllable with just an onset and a nucleus (no coda).
o Example: "go" /ɡo/
 Onset: /ɡ/
 Nucleus: /o/
 CVC (Consonant + Vowel + Consonant): A syllable with an onset, nucleus, and coda.
o Example: "bat" /bæt/
 Onset: /b/
 Nucleus: /æ/
 Coda: /t/
 CCV (Consonant Cluster + Vowel): A syllable with a consonant cluster as the onset,
followed by a vowel (no coda).
o Example: "play" /pleɪ/
 Onset: /pl/
 Nucleus: /eɪ/
 CCVCC (Consonant Cluster + Vowel + Consonant Cluster): A syllable with both a
consonant cluster in the onset and the coda.
o Example: "plant" /plænt/
 Onset: /pl/
 Nucleus: /æ/
 Coda: /nt/

 PHONOTACTICS - is the set of rules in a language that determine which sounds can be put
together and in what order.

EXAMPLES OF PHONOTACTICS:

 Allowed combination: "cat" (/kæt/)

o In this word, we have:
 Onset (beginning): /k/ (a consonant)
 Nucleus (middle): /æ/ (a vowel)
 Coda (end): /t/ (a consonant)
o This follows typical English phonotactic rules. It’s a CVC structure: consonant-
vowel-consonant.
 Not allowed combination: "ngat"
o In English, "ng" can occur at the end of a word (like in "sing"), but "ng" cannot
start a word. You won’t find a word in English starting with "ng" like "ngat."
o This is because English phonotactics doesn’t allow the sound combination /ŋ/ (the
"ng" sound) to appear at the beginning of words.
 STRESS AND ACCENT – a prominence patterns in words and phrases

EXAMPLES OF STRESS AND ACCENT: ‘Present(gift)’ and ‘Present(Presentation)’

1. Present (as in a gift):

 Stress on the first syllable: PRES-ent (/ˈprɛzənt/)

o This is the noun form, meaning a gift or something given to someone, like a
birthday present.

Example Sentence:

o "I got a wonderful present for my birthday."

2. Present (as in a presentation or the act of giving something):

 Stress on the second syllable: pre-SENT (/prɪˈzɛnt/)

o This is the verb form, meaning to give, show, or display something (like
presenting a report or giving a presentation).

Example Sentence:

o "She will present her findings tomorrow."

 TONE AND INTONATION – pitch and melody of a speech

Example 1: Tone (Word Level):

 The word "present" can have a different meaning depending on the tone (or stress)
placed on it.
o "Present" (gift) – stress on the first syllable: PRES-ent (as in a gift, e.g., "I got
a great present!")
o "Present" (to give or show) – stress on the second syllable: pre-SENT (as in "I
will present my report tomorrow.")

Example 2: Intonation (Sentence Level):

1. Rising Intonation (Question):

o "Are you coming?"
 Here, the pitch rises at the end of the sentence, indicating it’s a yes/no
question.
 If you ask this question with rising intonation, you are seeking
confirmation.
2. Falling Intonation (Statement):
o "I’m going to the store."
 Here, the pitch falls at the end of the sentence, indicating it’s a declarative
statement.
 The falling intonation suggests that the speaker is simply providing
information, not asking a question.
3. Rising-Falling Intonation (Surprise or Emphasis):
o "Wow, that's amazing!"
 In this case, the pitch rises on the word "wow" and then falls on
"amazing!", showing excitement or surprise.
 The rise and fall emphasize the speaker’s emotional reaction.
 PHONOLOGICAL RULE – it is like a set of instructions wherein it guides us on how to
pronounce sound in a language. If we mispronounce a word or make a small changes to the
sound, it can lead to significant changes in meaning.
Voiced consonants /b, d, g/ becomes voiceless consonants /p, t, k/ at the end of a word

Phonological Rule:

 /b/ → /p/
 /d/ → /t/
 /g/ → /k/
when they appear at the end of a word.

EXAMPLE:

1. "cab" (pronounced /kæb/) becomes [kæp] (pronounced with a voiceless /p/ at the end).
2. "dog" (pronounced /dɔɡ/) becomes [dɔk] (pronounced with a voiceless /k/ at the end).

 MORPHOPHONOLOGY - is the study of how morphology (the structure of words) and

phonology (the sounds of language) interact. In simpler terms, it's about how the sounds of
words change depending on their structure or the way they're used in a sentence.

EXAMPLES OF MORPHOPHONOLGY:
 /s/: If the word ends in an unvoiced sound like /p/, /k/, or /f/, the plural is
pronounced /s/.

"cats" (cat + -s) is pronounced /kæts/ (the plural -s sounds like /s/).

 /z/: If the word ends in a voiced sound like /b/, /d/, or /g/, the plural is pronounced /z/.

"dogs" (dog + -s) is pronounced /dɔɡz/ (the plural -s sounds like /z/).

 /ɪz/: If the word ends in a /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, or /ʒ/ sound, the plural is pronounced /ɪz/.

"buses" (bus + -es) is pronounced /ˈbʌsɪz/ (the plural -es sounds like /ɪz/).

 THE INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET (IPA) – is a standardized system of

phonetic notations that represents the sounds of spoken languages in a unique and consistent
way.
MONOPTHONGS: pure or a single vowel
DIPHTHONGS: combinations of 2 vowels

EXAMPLES OF IPA TRANSCRIPTION:

WORD: “fish”
IPA TRANSCRIPTION: /f/I/ʃ/

HOW TO READ IT:

/f/: the “f” sound as in “fish”
/I/ the “I” sound as in “ink”
/ʃ/ the “sh” as in “ship”

WORD: “soul”
IPA TRANSCRIPTION: /s/əʊ/l/

HOW TO READ IT:

/s/: the “s” sound as in “safe”
/əʊ/ the “ow” sound as in “show”
/l/ the “l” as in “lamp