The Sounds of Language

Linguistics in the World

Linguistics in the World is a textbook series focusing on the study of language in the real world, enriching students’ understanding of how language works through a balance of theoretical insights and empirical findings. Presupposing no or only minimal back-ground knowledge, each of these titles is intended to lay the foundation for students’ future work, whether in language science, applied linguistics, language teaching, or speech sciences.

What Is Sociolinguistics?, by Gerard van HerkThe Sounds of Language, by Elizabeth Zsiga

Forthcoming

Second Language Acquisition, by Kirsten HummelAn Introduction to Language, by Kirk HazenThe Nature of Language, by Gary Libben Sociolinguistics in Language Teaching, by Gary Barkhuizen

The Sounds of LanguageAn Introduction to Phonetics and PhonologyElizabeth C. Zsiga

A John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., Publication

This edition first published 2013© 2013 Elizabeth C. Zsiga

Blackwell Publishing was acquired by John Wiley & Sons in February 2007. Blackwell’s publishing program has been merged with Wiley’s global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business to form Wiley-Blackwell.

Registered OfficeJohn Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

Editorial Offices350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA9600 Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2DQ, UKThe Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK

For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell.

The right of Elizabeth C. Zsiga to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataZsiga, Elizabeth C. The sounds of language : an introduction to phonetics and phonology / Elizabeth C. Zsiga. p. cm. – (Linguistics in the world) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4051-9103-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-4051-9104-3 (alk. paper) 1. Grammar, Comparative and general–Phonology. 2. Phonetics. I. Title. P217.Z75 2013 414–dc23 2012026660

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Cover image: © Andrejs Pidjass / iStockphotoCover design by Nicki Averill

Set in Minion 9.5/11.5 pt by Toppan Best-set Premedia Ltd

1 2013

Contents

Preface xv

1 TheVocalTract 1

1.1 Seeingthevocaltract:toolsforspeechresearch 21.2 Partsofthevocaltract 5

1.2.1 Thesub-laryngealvocaltract 51.2.2 Thelarynx 71.2.3 Thesupra-laryngealvocaltract 9

Chaptersummary 11Furtherreading 11Reviewexercises 12Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 13Goonline 13References 13

2 BasicsofArticulation:MannerandPlaceinEnglish 14

2.1 Thedanceofthearticulators 152.2 Phonetictranscription 162.3 Thebuildingblocksofspeech 20

2.3.1 Airstream,larynx,andvelum 202.3.2 Mannerofarticulation 212.3.3 Placeofarticulationforconsonants 242.3.4 Vowels 26

Chaptersummary 29Furtherreading 29Reviewexercises 30Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 32Goonline 32

3 ATouroftheConsonants 33

3.1 “Exotic”soundsandthephoneticenvironment 343.2 Pulmonicconsonants 37

vi    CONTENTS

3.2.1 Stops,nasals,andfricatives 373.2.2 Laterals,trills,taps,andotherapproximants 423.2.3 Contourandcomplexsegments 44

3.3 Non-pulmonicconsonants 453.3.1 Implosives 453.3.2 Ejectives 463.3.3 Clicks 47

3.4 PositionalvariationinEnglish 483.4.1 Laryngealconfiguration 483.4.2 Changeinplace 493.4.3 Changeinmanner 503.4.4 Otherchanges 50

Chaptersummary 51Furtherreading 52Reviewexercises 52Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 53Goonline 54References 54

4 AMapoftheVowels 55

4.1 Thelandscape 564.2 Cardinalvowels 574.3 Buildinginventories:dimensionsofvowelquality 59

4.3.1 Heightandbackness 594.3.2 Tense/lax 594.3.3 Rounding 614.3.4 Centralvowels 624.3.5 Contrastsamongthelowvowels 64

4.4 Nasalityandvoicequality 664.5 Lengthanddiphthongs 674.6 Tone 684.7 PositionalvariantsofthevowelsofEnglish 70Chaptersummary 71Furtherreading 71Reviewexercises 72Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 73Furtherresearch 74References 74

5 Anatomy,Physiology,andGesturalCoordination 76

5.1 Anatomyandphysiologyofrespiration 775.2 Anatomyandphysiologyofthelarynx 795.3 Anatomyofthetongueandsupra-laryngealvocaltract 85

5.3.1 Thejaw 855.3.2 Thetongue 865.3.3 Thepharynxandvelum 885.3.4 Thelips 88

5.4 Gesturalcoordination 895.5 Palatography 91

CONTENTS    vii

Chaptersummary 94Furtherreading 95Reviewexercises 95Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 97Furtherresearch 98Goonline 98

6 ThePhysicsofSound:Pendulums,Pebbles,andWaves 99

6.1 Whatissound? 1006.2 Simpleharmonicmotion:apendulumandatuningfork 1026.3 Addingsinusoids:complexwaves 1056.4 Soundpropagation 1086.5 Decibels 1106.6 Resonance 1116.7 Thevocaltractasasound-producingdevice:source-filtertheory 114Chaptersummary 116Furtherreading 116Reviewexercises 117Goonline 118

7 LookingatSpeech:Waveforms,Spectra,andSpectrograms 119

7.1 Pre-digitalspeech 1207.2 Digitization 122

7.2.1 Sampling 1227.2.2 Quantization 1257.2.3 Digitalrecording 126

7.3 Lookingatwaveforms 1297.4 Spectra 131

7.4.1 Spectrumoftheglottalsource 1317.4.2 Spectrumofanoisesource 1347.4.3 Spectraofvowels 135

7.5 Spectrograms 137Chaptersummary 142Furtherreading 143Reviewexercises 144Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 144Furtherresearch 148Goonline 148References 148

8 SpeechAnalysis:UndertheHood 149

8.1 Buildingsoundsup 1508.1.1 Sinusoidsascircularmotion 1508.1.2 Harmonics:standingwavesinastring 1538.1.3 Formants:resonancesofatubeofair 1568.1.4 Calculatingresonancesforothervocaltract

configurations 159

viii    CONTENTS

8.2 Breakingsoundsdown 1608.2.1 RMSamplitude 1618.2.2 Autocorrelationpitchanalysis 1618.2.3 Fourieranalysis 1658.2.4 Linearpredictivecoding 167

Chaptersummary 169Furtherreading 170Reviewexercises 170Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 171Furtherresearch 171Goonline 172References 172

9 HearingandSpeechPerception 173

9.1 Anatomyandphysiologyoftheear 1749.2 Neuro-anatomy 181

9.2.1 Studyingthebrain 1819.2.2 Primaryauditorypathways 183

9.3 Speechperception 1869.3.1 Non-linearity 1869.3.2 Variabilityandinvariance 1879.3.3 Cueintegration 1909.3.4 Top-downprocessing 1929.3.5 Unitsofperception 192

Chaptersummary 194Furtherreading 195Reviewexercises 195Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 196Goonline 197References 197

10 Phonology1:Abstraction,Contrast,Predictability 198

10.1 Thenecessityofabstraction 19910.2 Contrastandpredictability:phonemesandallophones 203

10.2.1 Definingthephoneme 20310.2.2 Phonemicanalysis 207

10.3 Somecomplicatingfactors 21110.3.1 Isoneallophonealways“basic”? 21110.3.2 Phoneticsimilarityandcomplementarydistribution 21210.3.3 Freevariation 21310.3.4 Positionalneutralization 214

10.4 Structuralism,Behaviorism,andthedeclineofphonemicanalysis 214Chaptersummary 216Furtherreading 216Reviewexercises 216Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 217Furtherresearch 219Goonline 219References 219

CONTENTS    ix

11 PhonotacticsandAlternations 221

11.1 Phonotacticconstraints 22211.1.1 Actualwordsandpossiblewords 22211.1.2 Absoluteandstatisticalgeneralizations 22311.1.3 Borrowings 224

11.2 Analyzingalternations 22511.3 Alternations:whattoexpect 232

11.3.1 Localassimilation 23211.3.2 Long-distanceassimilation 23611.3.3 Coalescence 23811.3.4 Dissimilation 23811.3.5 Lenitionandfortition 24011.3.6 Epenthesis 24111.3.7 Deletion 24311.3.8 Lengtheningandshortening 24411.3.9 Metathesis 24411.3.10 Morphologicalinteractions 245

Chaptersummary 246Furtherreading 246Reviewexercises 246Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 248Goonline 250References 250

12 WhatIsAPossibleLanguage?DistinctiveFeatures 253

12.1 Introduction 25412.1.1 Phonologicaluniversals 25412.1.2 Whybotherwithformalism? 25512.1.3 Somehypotheses 256

12.2 Distinctivefeatures 25712.2.1 Background 25712.2.2 Majorclassandmannerfeatures 25812.2.3 Laryngealfeatures 26212.2.4 Majorplacedistinctions 26212.2.5 Subsidiaryplacedistinctions 26512.2.6 Featuresforvowels 267

12.3 Howhaveourhypothesesfared? 270Chaptersummary 271Furtherreading 272Reviewexercises 272Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 272Furtherresearch 274Goonline 274References 274

13 RulesandDerivationsinGenerativeGrammar 275

13.1 Generativegrammars 27613.2 Underlyingrepresentations 277

x    CONTENTS

13.3 Writingrules 27913.3.1 SPEnotation 27913.3.2 Derivations 28013.3.3 Rulecomplexity 281

13.4 AutosegmentalrepresentationsandFeatureGeometry 28413.4.1 Autosegmentalrepresentationsfortone 28413.4.2 Autosegmentalrepresentationsforotherfeatures 28913.4.3 FeatureGeometry 293

13.5 Howhaveourhypothesesfared? 298Chaptersummary 299Furtherreading 299Reviewexercises 300Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 300Furtherresearch 303Goonline 303References 303

14 Constraint-basedPhonology 304

14.1 Constraintsandrulesinlinguistictheory 30514.2 ThebasicsofOptimalityTheory 309

14.2.1 Con 30914.2.2 Gen 31214.2.3 Eval 312

14.3 ExampleproblemsolvinginOT 31414.3.1 Vowelsequencesinthreelanguages 31414.3.2 Nasalplaceassimilation 31614.3.3 Japanese/tu/ 319

14.4 Challengesanddirectionsforfurtherresearch 322Chaptersummary 324Furtherreading 325Reviewexercises 325Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 325Furtherresearch 329Goonline 329References 329

15 SyllablesandProsodicDomains 330

15.1 Syllables 33115.1.1 Doesphonologyneedsyllables? 33115.1.2 Syllablesandsonority 33315.1.3 Syllablestructureconstraints1:onsetsandcodas 33515.1.4 Syllablestructureconstraints2:morasandsyllableweight 339

15.2 Theprosodichierarchy 34115.2.1 Thephonologicalword 34215.2.2 Thephonologicalphrase 346

Chaptersummary 348Furtherreading 348Reviewexercises 349Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 350References 351

CONTENTS    xi

16 Stress 353

16.1 Whatislinguisticstress? 35416.2 Cross-linguistictypology 35616.3 Afeatureforstress? 36016.4 Metricalstructure 36016.5 StressinEnglish 365

16.5.1 Overview 36516.5.2 Nouns 36616.5.3 Verbsandadjectives 36716.5.4 Wordswithaffixes,andlexicalphonology 368

Chaptersummary 370Furtherreading 371Reviewexercises 371Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 372Furtherresearch 374Goonline 374References 374

17 ToneandIntonation 375

17.1 Tone 37617.1.1 Tonecontrasts 37617.1.2 Tonalrepresentations 38017.1.3 Tonealternations:theevidencefromAfricaandtheAmericas 38317.1.4 Tonealternations:theevidencefromAsia 388

17.2 Intonation 39217.2.1 Whatisintonation? 39217.2.2 Intonationalrepresentations 393

Chaptersummary 397Furtherreading 397Reviewexercises 398Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 399Furtherresearch 399Goonline 400References 400

18 DiachronicChange 401

18.1 Languageschange 40218.1.1 Englishinthelastmillennium 40218.1.2 Typesofsoundchange 40518.1.3 Causesandeffects 407

18.2 Historicalreconstruction 40818.2.1 Proto-Indo-European 40818.2.2 Grimm’sLaw,Verner’sLawandtheNeo-grammarian

hypothesis 41118.2.3 Limitstothetreemodel 414

18.3 HistoryofEnglish 41518.3.1 OldEnglish 41518.3.2 MiddleEnglish 41718.3.3 ModernEnglish 419

xii    CONTENTS

Chaptersummary 422Furtherreading 422Reviewexercises 423Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 423Goonline 425References 425

19 Variation 426

19.1 Variationbyplace 42819.1.1 Whatisadialect? 42819.1.2 DialectsofNorthAmericanEnglish 42919.1.3 DialectsofBritishEnglish 43319.1.4 Australia,NewZealand,SouthAfrica 43419.1.5 WorldEnglishes 43519.1.6 Placeandidentity 437

19.2 Othersourcesofvariation 43719.2.1 Register 43719.2.2 Socioeconomicdistinctions 43819.2.3 Ethnicity 43919.2.4 Gender,age,sexuality 44019.2.5 Variationandidentity 441

19.3 Formalizingvariation 44119.3.1 Traditionalsociolinguisticanalyses 44219.3.2 Traditionalphonologicalanalyses 44319.3.3 Stochasticgrammars 443

Chaptersummary 444Furtherreading 445Reviewexercises 445Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 446Furtherresearch 446Goonline 446References 446

20 AcquisitionandLearning 447

20.1 Languageacquisitionandlanguagelearning 44820.2 Childlanguageacquisition:thedata 448

20.2.1 Tools 44820.2.2 Perceptioninthefirstyear 44920.2.3 Childlanguageproduction 452

20.3 TheoriesofL1acquisition 45420.3.1 Innatenessvs.environmentaleffects 45420.3.2 Acquiringlanguage-specificcontrasts 455

20.4 L2Learning 45720.4.1 Tools 45720.4.2 L2perception 45820.4.3 L2production 459

20.5 Acquisition,learning,andlinguistictheory 461Chaptersummary 462Furtherreading 462

CONTENTS    xiii

Reviewexercises 462Furtheranalysisanddiscussion 464Furtherresearch 464Goonline 464References 464

Index 465