Introduction to Phonology: Sounds, Syllables, and Stress
Introduction to Phonology
The Phoneme
The phoneme is the fundamental unit of phonology. It represents the smallest unit of sound that can distinguish meaning in a language. Contrasting pairs like seat and sheet are known as minimal pairs and are identified through the commutation test: if substituting one sound for another creates a different word, those sounds are phonemes.
Allophones
Sounds that are similar but don’t contrast meaning within a language are called allophones. They are the actual pronunciations of phonemes, influenced by context and not contrastive. Allophones are typically in complementary distribution. Neutralization occurs when a phonological opposition is lost in a specific context, such as flapping in American English (e.g., betting: [bɛɾɪŋ]).
English Morphophonemic Alternations
- Past Tense/Past Participle Suffix:
- [t] after voiceless consonants
- [d] after voiced consonants or vowels
- [ɪd] after [d] or [t]
- Plural/Possessive/3rd Person Singular Suffix:
- [s] after voiceless consonants
- [z] after voiced consonants or vowels
- [ɪz] after sibilants
Allophonic Alternations in English
1. Aspiration
Aspiration is a delay in vocal cord vibration. Voice Onset Time (VOT) measures the time between the release of a plosive and the start of vocal cord vibration. Aspiration occurs in /p, t, k/ before vowels at the beginning of stressed syllables and word-initially in unstressed syllables. /p, t, k/ + s = no aspiration.
2. Devoicing
Obstruents (d, z, v) in final position and approximants (l, r, j, w) within the same syllable can be devoiced.
3. Velarization of /l/
Dark l occurs in syllable codas and after vowels (e.g., small). Clear l occurs in onsets and before vowels (e.g., lake). A vocalized l occurs when tongue tip contact is lost in the articulation of dark l (e.g., child).
4. Tapping of Alveolar Stops
Tapping of /t/ occurs:
- Between a stressed vowel and an unstressed vowel (e.g., city)
- Between two unstressed syllables (e.g., simplicity)
- Between a stressed vowel + /r, n/ and an unstressed vowel (e.g., party)
5. Glottalization
Glottalization can occur:
- To avoid hiatus (e.g., The door is open)
- As glottal reinforcement of /p, t, k/ (e.g., April)
- As an allophone of /t/ between vowels (e.g., letter) and in coda position after a vowel.
6. Linking or Intrusive /r/
Used to avoid hiatus.
7. Vowel Elision and Haplology
Vowel elision is the omission of a schwa. Haplology is the loss of a syllable similar to an adjacent one (e.g., library).
Length
Length refers to the duration of sounds. Vowel length can be phonological in English (e.g., /i:/ vs. /ɪ/).
Phonological Length Differences in English
- Vowel quality and quantity are related: /i:/ is closer and more peripheral than /ɪ/.
- Short vowels are more open and centralized than long vowels. Long vowels are tense.
Phonetic Length Differences in English
- Pre-fortis clipping: Shortening of vowels and diphthongs before a voiceless fortis consonant in coda position.
- Other factors: stress, syllable position, word boundaries, open vs. closed syllables, irregular past tenses.
Syllable
Phonotactics studies restrictions on sound combinations (e.g., lm or rl are not possible onsets in English).
Syllable Weight
Heavy syllables in English typically contain:
- A long vowel or diphthong
- A short vowel + 2 consonants (the first belonging to the same syllable as the vowel)
Sonority Scale and Sonority Sequencing Generalization
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Syllabification
Two main approaches:
- MOP (Maximal Onset Principle) + Ambisyllabicity: Assign as many consonants to the onset as possible. Ambisyllabic consonants are those followed by a short stressed vowel.
- John Wells’s Rules:
- Suffixes cannot be split.
- Affricates cannot be split.
- Consonants are syllabified with the most strongly stressed adjacent vowel.
- If a consonant is flanked by syllables of equal stress, it syllabifies to the left.
Word Stress
Word stress is the degree of force with which a syllable is uttered. It adds prominence and rhythm to speech.
Types of Stress
- Static stress: No pitch change
- Kinetic stress (accent): Pitch change
Stress Placement in English
English is a mixture of Romance and Germanic influences, leading to complex stress patterns. Three main factors influence stress placement:
- Syntactic Category: Nouns tend to be stressed towards the beginning, while verbs tend to be stressed towards the end.
- Syllable Weight: Heavy syllables attract stress.
- Affixation: Prefixes and suffixes can influence stress placement.
Compound Nouns vs. Syntactic Units
Lexicalized compound nouns have a single primary stress. Double-stressed compounds retain stress on both elements. The interruptability test can help distinguish between compound nouns and syntactic units.
Rhythm
Rhythm is the perceived regularity of prominent units in speech.
Types of Rhythm
- Syllable-timed rhythm: Each syllable has approximately the same duration (e.g., Romance languages).
- Stress-timed rhythm: The time between stressed syllables is approximately the same (e.g., Germanic languages).
English Sentence Stress
English tends towards a binary, alternating rhythm. Lexical words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs) typically receive stress. Focus determines which parts of an utterance are highlighted.
The Nuclear Stress Rule (NSR)
The most important word in a word group receives the nuclear stress or accent, marked by the most prominent pitch movement. In broad-focus sentences, the accent falls on the stressed syllable of the last important word.
Exceptions to the NSR
- Event sentences: Describe sudden happenings (e.g., The kitchen’s on fire!)
- Structures with nouns followed by common verbs: (e.g., I have a point to make.)
- Unaccented final adverbials: (e.g., I’m going to Majorca in May.)
- Wh- questions with adjectival Wh- words: (e.g., What questions did you ask?)