03 Phonology Free Online FlashCards

How do phonology and phonetics differ?

Phonology studies how a language organizes speech sounds into categories and patterns; phonetics describes their physical properties.

What distinguishes a phone from a phoneme?

A phone is a speech sound written in square brackets, such as [p]. A phoneme is an abstract sound category, written between slashes, such as /p/.

What does the minimal pair pat and bat show?

A minimal pair is two words differing in meaning and in only one sound in the same position. Pat /pæt/ and bat /bæt/ show that /p/ and /b/ contrast in English.

What are allophones?

Allophones are the phonetic realizations of a phoneme; they do not create a difference in word meaning.

How does /p/ differ in pin and spin?

In many English varieties, /p/ is aspirated [pʰ] at the beginning of a stressed syllable, as in pin, but unaspirated [p] after /s/, as in spin.

What is complementary distribution?

Complementary distribution occurs when sound variants appear in different environments rather than in the same environment.

Why is complementary distribution not sufficient evidence for allophones?

Complementary distribution alone does not prove that sounds are allophones. Analysts also consider phonetic similarity, language-wide patterns, and whether a simple rule explains the data.

What is free variation?

Free variation occurs when variants can appear in the same environment without changing meaning; pronunciation, style, or social context may influence the choice.

What happens during assimilation?

Assimilation is a process in which a sound becomes more like a neighboring sound in some feature, such as place of articulation.

What feature distinguishes /p/ from /b/ in English?

A distinctive feature describes a property of speech sounds. English /p/ and /b/ share place and manner but differ in [±voice], a contrast that can distinguish words.

What makes /p, t, k/ a natural class?

A natural class is a group of sounds sharing relevant features. English /p, t, k/ form a natural class of voiceless stops.

Identify the onset, nucleus, and coda in plant [plænt].

A syllable has an onset before its nucleus and may have a coda after it; the rhyme consists of the nucleus plus coda. In plant [plænt], the onset is [pl], nucleus [æ], and coda [nt].