Phonology

 Phonology is The study of the structure and systematic patterns of sounds in human language.

Three major units of phonological analysis:

1.    Segments: Individual speech sounds

2.    Syllables: units of linguistic structure that consists of a syllabic element and any segments associated with it

3.    Features: units of phonological structure that make up segments.

CLASSES AND GENERALIZATION INPHONOLOGY

1.Liquid and glide phonemes have (at least) two allophones, one voiced and the other voiceless

2. Liquids and glides have voiceless allophones after voiceless stops, and voiced allophones elsewhere.e.g. Liquid /r/

3. voiced → green [gri:n] , voiceless → creep [kr̥i:p] Glide /w/ and /j/

4. voiced → beauty [bju:tɪ] , voiceless → cute [kj̥u:t]

The features of English

1.    Major class features:

• Consonantal [p b s z ʃ ʒ tʃ dʒ]

• Syllabic [i: e ɑ: ɭ̩ r̩ m n]

• Sonorant: only the singables: vowells, glides, liquids, and nasals.

2.    Laryngeal features:

• Voice: according to voiced and voiceless sounds.

• Spread glottis: distinguishes unaspirated from aspirated consonants.

• Constricted glottis: In English theres only the glottis stop [?]

3.Place features:

• Labial: [p] [b] [f] [v] [w]

• Round: Sounds that made with the lips rounded

• Coronal: [t] [d] [θ] [ð] [s] [z] [tʃ] [dʒ] [n] [ɭ ] [r]

• Anterior: [p] [b] [t] [d] [s] [z] [θ] [ð]

• Strident: The noisy fricatives and affricates only. [s] [z] [ʃ] [ʒ] [tʃ] and [dʒ]

4.Dorsal features:

• High: Sound made with the tongue raised.

• Low: Vowels made with the tongue lowered.

• Back: Any sound articulated behind the palatal region of the oral cavity.

• Tense: Follows the tense and lax vowels.

• Reduced: Only the schwa [ə]

5.Manner features:

• Nasal: Any sound made with the velum lowered.

• Continuant: Vowels, fricatives, glides and liquids.

• Lateral: [ɭ ]

• Delayed release: Only affricate sounds [tʃ] [dʒ]