The grammar of sounds

Phonology

How we use our articulators:Phonemes and allophones

• tuck• stuck• put• kitten• pitted• truck

Phonemes and allophones

• tuck [tʰʌʔk] aspirated• stuck [stʌʔk] released• put [pʊʔt] unreleased• kitten [kʰɪʔn� ] glottal stop• pitted [pʰɪɾed] flap• truck[tjɹʌʔk] palatalized

Phoneme

• A class of sounds with a unique grammatical (typically, distinctive) function

• k/kh are allophones in English; they are different phonemes in Hindi

[ki:l] ‘parched grain’ [khi:l] ‘nail’• s/z are different phonemes in English, they

are allophones in Italian

Phonology: the grammar of the sounds of languages

Sounds of the languages of the world are produced in a largely uniform way through a few choices in the phonatory apparatus (which, however, generate a large domain of possible units)

Towards a grammar of the sounds of language

• Different languages:

- select an inventory

- choose how to treat the sounds in their

inventory (e.g. as variants of the same unit

or as forming distinct units)• Grammar here means:

A calculus of how sounds patterns are created and decoded

Phonemes as class of sounds/phones(material/physical characterization)

• English voiceless dental stop:/t/ = { t, th, t, ʔt, ʔ , tj}

• Italian alveolar fricative:/s/ = { s, z}

• Japanese liquid:/r/ = { r, l}

Grammar takes over:Phonemes as feature structures

(‘mental’ characterization)• Given that sounds are produced in a

predictable way, we can imagine classifying them in terms of a set of articulatory/acoustic properties (‘features’ or ‘traits’)

• These arrays of properties are the building blocks of the instructions that grammar provides to the sensory/motor system

In other words,…

Grammar imposes structure on the auditory/articulatory system, and thanks to that structure it encodes meanings into sounds (or, in the case of sign languages, gestures).In so doing, it of course exploits/relies on the natural properties of our auditory/articulatory system.

Grammaticalization: Gender

• A man walked in. He was wearing a hat• A woman walked in. She was wearing a hat• I bought a table. It was expensive• Io ho comprato un tavolo. Lo ho pagato moltoI have bought a-m table-m. He-m (I) have payed-m a lot• Io ho comprato una tavola. La ho pagata moltoI have bought a table-f. She-f (I) have payed-f a lot

Grammaticalization: Number

• A dog is barking outside• Some dogs are barking outside• * Dog is barking outside• Waimian gou zai jiao• Outside dog PROG bark• A/some/the dog/dogs is/are barking

Grammar manipulates formal features

Semantic concepts (gender/number) maybe turned into ‘formal features’ that the grammar of the language keeps track of/manipulates

Formal here doesn’t mean ‘meaningless’. It means something that a computational device can and must manipulate

The same happens to sounds: phonetic/articulatory properties of sounds became formal features of a computational device

Feature matrices

1. Major class features

1.1. Syllabic: sounds that form a peak (nucleus) of a syllable. [+syll]: Vowels (but never glides) Consonants are normally [-syll] but syllabic Cs are possible.

1.2. Sonorant: resonant sounds. [+son]: vowels, nasals, liquids (laterals are sometimes excluded), glides (y, w), approximants. [-son]: all obstruents: stops, fricatives, affricates.

1.3. Consonantal: complete or very narrow constriction in the vocal tract [+cons]: stops, fricatives, affricates, nasals and liquids. [-cons]: vowels, glides, glottal stop, h.

2. Major place features

2.1. Labial: sounds, produced with a constriction of one or both lips. [+lab]: bilabials, labiodentals, rounded vowels, labialized consonants b, v, etc.[-lab]: t, k, etc.

2.2. Coronal: sounds produced with the tip or the blade of the tongue. [+cor]: dental, alveolar, retroflex, palato-alveolar [-cor]: labial, palatal, velar

3. Minor place features

3.1. Anterior: constriction is at or in front of the alveolar ridge. [+ant] : dentals, alveolars: t, n[-ant]: all others

3.2. Distributed: coronal sounds, produced with the tongue blade [+dist]: so called laminal sounds, e.g. ʒ, ʃ [-dist]: sounds produced with the tongue tip

4. Tongue Body Features

4.1. High: tongue body is raised[+hi]: All high vowels, glides, palatal and velar consonants.

4.2. Low: tongue body is lowered. [+lo] : low vowels, pharyngeal Cs

4.3. Back: Tongue body is retracted. [+back]: All central and back vowels, velar, and uvular consonants.

4.4. ATR: drawing the root of the tongue forward. Applies mainly to vowels. Sometimes this feature is also called [tense]. [-ATR]: are the lax vowels found in /bit, put, bet / etc. [+ATR]: are the tense vowels found in /who, leave/ etc.

5. Manner of Articulation Features

5.1. Nasal: sounds produced when the velum is lowered are nasal. All others are nonnasal.

5.2. Continuant: Sounds without complete obstruction are continuant. [-cont]: Stops, nasal stops, affricates, glottal stop.[+cont] Vowels, glides, liquids and fricatives.

5.3. Delayed release: used to distinguish affricates from other obstruents. 5.4. Strident: acoustic property of fricatives (‘high frequency turbulence’).

[+strid]: Labiodental fricatives, alveolar fricatives, palato-alveolar fricatives, uvular fricatives. f,v,s,z, ʒ, ʃ [-strid]: Bilabial fricatives, interdental fricatives, alveo-palatal fricatives, velar fricatives. All non-fricatives. β, θ, ð, x

5.5. Lateral: sounds produced with air flow over the sides of the tongue (used to distinguish l-sounds from r-sounds).

6. Laryngeal features (glottal state)

6.1.Voice: vocal folds vibrating. [+voiced]: Voiced consonants, sonorants, vowels

6.2. Constricted glottis: vocal folds are adducted [+constr]: glottalized, ejective and implosive consonants, glottal stop.

6.3. Spread glottis: aspirated and murmured consonants, h, voiceless vowels/glides

Feature Matrices again

Lexical representations

+ cons - cons + cons+ lat - hi + strWARM, FUZZY+ son - lo + labFEELINGetc. etc. etc. l ɔ v

Allophony

+ cons - cons + cons- cont +hi - cont- SGl - lo - SGletc. etc. etc. t æ p-cont-SGl [+SGl]/#_Xtæp thæp

Phonemic choices

• English: [+str, -cor, -voiced] (= s)[+str, - cor,+ voiced] (= z)

• Italian: [+str, -cor, - voiced] (= s)i. [+str, - cor, - voiced] [+ voiced]/v_[+syl]

casa kaza (optional) ‘house’solo ‘sole/only’ -/-> *zolo

ii. [+str, - cor, - voiced] [+ voiced]/_[-syl, +voiced]

sbaglio ‘mistake’ zbaʎ:oslegato ‘untied’ zlegatoslave -/-> *zlejv

Anticipatory assimilation in Arabic

Lunar consonants Solar consonantsal kitab the book ad dars the classal fraash the bed ar ruzz

the riceal baab the door az zayt the saltal faras the horse an naar the peopleal qamar the moon a∫ ∫ams the sun

Anticipatory assimilation in Arabic

Lunar consonants Solar consonantsal kitab the book ad dars the classal fraash the bed ar ruzz the riceal baab the door az zayt the saltal faras the horse an naar the peopleal qamar the moon a∫ ∫ams the sun

aF

[Detal] [Deta [aF] ]/ _# +cor

Past in English

walked wɔktpassed pæstjogged dʒɔgdsinned sɪndetc.#wɔk+d#d [-voiced] / [-voiced] +__#

A consequence

Creative application of feature based rules:If you simply memorize forms, then one should use the default (-d) with novel phonemes (in, e.g., borrowings).If you apply a rule, -t or –d should surface depending on whether the new phoneme is voiced or not.

• He outbached even Bach himself

A consequence

Creative application of feature based rulesIf you simply memorize forms, then one should use the default (-d) with novel phonemes (in, e.g., borrowings).If you apply a rule, -t or –d should surface depending on whether the new phoneme is voiced or not.

• He outbached even Bach himself [aʊtbaxt]

Plural in English

• -s after: p,t,k,f, θ[kæts], [bæθs], etc.

• -z after: b,m,d,n,ŋ,v, ð,l,w,j, any vowel[bædz], [dɔgz], [hɔnɪz], etc.

• -əz after: s,z, ʃ, ʒ,tʃ,dʒ[bʌsəz], [bædʒəz], etc.

Step 1: Epenthesis

• Insert a schwa between two strident coronals + cor +cor

• ə / +str +__ +str #• #bʌs+s##bʌs+əs#

Step 2: Assimilation

• Insert a schwa between two strident coronals + cor +cor

• ə / +str +__ +str ##bʌs+s##bʌs+əs#

• s [+voiced]/[+voiced]__# #bʌs+əs# #bʌs+əz#

Cruciality of ordering

• Epenthesis Assimilation#bʌs+s##bʌs+əs# #bʌs+əz#

• Assimilation Epenthesis#bʌs+s##bʌs+əs#

Generality of the rules

• Generalizing to unfamiliar phonemesThe Bachs [baxs] The Cognes [koɲz]

• Generalizing to other processesPat’s bookBob’s bookGeorge’s book

Generality of the rules

• Generalizing to unfamiliar phonemesThe Bachs [baxs] The Cognes [koɲz]

• Generalizing to other processesPat’s book [pæts]Bob’s book [bɔbz]George’s book [dʒɔɹdʒəz]

Metaphonesis

Venetianfjore ‘flower’ fjuri ‘flowers’karton ‘cartoon’ kartuni ‘cartoons’vero ‘glass’ viri ‘glasses’moro ‘wall’ muri ‘walls’fɔso ‘hole’ fɔsi ‘holes’mɛse ‘month’ mɛsi ‘months’paso ‘step’ pasi ‘steps’

Metaphonesis

Venetianfjore ‘flower’ fjuri ‘flowers’vero ‘glass’ viri ‘glasses’fɔso ‘hole’ fɔsi ‘holes’mɛse ‘month’ mɛsi ‘months’mid, tense vowels assimilate in height at a distance

The Venetian Mataphonesis

+syl- hi

+syl -low [+hi]/__C0 + hi

- ATR

German Umlaut

Buch ‘book’ Bücher ‘books’Sohn ‘son’ Söhne ‘sons’Gast ‘guest’ Gäste ‘guests’

German Umlaut

Buch ‘book’ Bücher ‘books’Sohn ‘son’ Söhne ‘sons’Gast ‘guest’ Gäste ‘guests’

a back vowel becomes front before a front vowel in the following (final) syllable

English irregular plurals

• foot/feet goose/geesefoot + i feet+i feet+ [fit]

• mouse/mice louse/licemuus + i miis+i miis+ [maɪs]

Tone in Margi (Niger-Congo)

sál ‘uomo’ sál+árì ‘the man’fà ‘farm’ fà+ árì ‘the farm’fǎrì

HL LH HL HL LH HL HL LH HLfa a r i fa a r i fa ri

HLH HL fa ri

Syllables and stress

s s sO R O R

N C N C O R

f a c t f a t t oO= onset R = rime N = nucleus C = codaIn Italian there is only one position in the coda

In Japanese, only one position in the rime (CV)

Compensatory Lengthening

• sisdo: si:do: ‘sit’• pesdo: pe:do: ‘furnish with feet’• disdu:co: di:du:co: ‘separate’

s s s ss s

O R O R O R O R O R O R N C N C N C N C N C N C s i s d o s i d o s i d o

Quantity preservation in Italian

• A non final stressed syllable must have a branching rime

• Stressed syllables must be ‘heavy’• fáto ‘fate’ [fá:to]• fátto ‘fact’ [fát:o]• cittá ‘city’ [tʃit:á]• cittá turpe [tʃit:át:turpe] ‘corrupted city’• hotél elegante [otél:elegante]

‘elegant hotel’

Sounds have a grammar

• With specific rules and representationsthat speakers’ communities may choose from

• Grammar is a way of describing the languages of the world

• And a model of the subconscious knowledge speakers have of their languages