Phonological Theory

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Phonological Theory

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1. Development of phonology

• The phoneme theory
• Distinctive Features
• SPE (Chomsky Halle 1968)
• Division of phonetics and phonology
• Integrated phonology
• Laboratory phonology

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Modules of study

• Phonemes and allophones
• Syllables
• Stress
• Intonational and tonal phonology
• Prosody (metrical phonology)
• Phonological acquisition and cognition
• Language impairment

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Phonology in Generative Grammar

• Syntax
• Phonetic Form Semantic Form
• Generative Phonology

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Three stages of Generative Phonology

• Linear theories
• SPE (standard theory) Chomsky, N. Halle, M.
  1968. The Sound Pattern of English. Harper
  Row/MIT.
• Natural Generative Phonology
• Natural Phonology

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• Non-linear theories
• Lexical Phonology
• Autosegmental Phonology
• Metrical Phonology
• Dependency Phonology
• Government Phonology
• CV/VC Phonology
• Declarative Phonology

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• Constraint-based theory
• Optimality Theory (OT) Prince, A. Smolensky,
  P. 1993/2002. Optimality theory constraint
  interaction in generative grammar. ms. Rutgers
  University. 2004. Published by Blackwell.

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SPE

• Rule-based.
• Derivational derivation from underlying to
  surface form.
• A ? B / X__Y

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OT

• Constraint-based.
• Development of generative phonology.
• Very different way of representation.
• Can be used for syntax and acquisition studies.
• Aims at cognitive explanations.

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• Constraints are universal.
• Languages differ in the ranking of constraints.
• Constraints can be contradictory and can be
  violated.

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Examples of derivational rules

• DEVOICING A voiced obstruent becomes voiceless
  after a voiceless obstruent.
• ?-INSERTION Insert ? between two adjacent
  sibilants in the same word.

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Examples of constraints

• SIBSIB sibilants cannot occur cnosecutively
  within a word.
• ?VOICE??VOICE consecutive obstruents must be
  identical in voicing within a syllable.
• MAX-IO deletion of segment is prohibited.
• DEP-IO insertion of segment is prohibited.
• IDENT-IO input segment and the corresponding
  output must be identical.

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2. Linear Phonology

• Make the rules as general as possible.
• Use Distinctive Features instead of individual
  sound segments when writing the rules.

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Distinctive Features

• The idea of Distinctive Features was first
  developed by Roman Jacobson (1896-1982) in the
  1940s as a means of working out a set of
  phonological contrasts or oppositions to capture
  particular aspects of language sounds. Since then
  several versions have been suggested.

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Major class features

• consonantal (con) sounds produced with a major
  obstruction in the oral cavity.
• approximant (approx) sounds made with an oral
  tract constriction which is less than that
  required to produce friction.
• Vowels, glides and liquids are approx, other
  sounds are -approx.
• Also known as syllabic (syl) to indicate that
  they can form a syllable peak.

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Major class features

• sonorant (son) sounds produced with a vocal
  tract configuration in which spontaneous voicing
  is possible.
• Obstruents (plosives, affricates and fricatives)
  are -son, other sounds are son.

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Vowel place features

• high the body of the tongue is raised from the
  neutral position.
• low the body of the tongue is lowered from the
  neutral position.
• back the body of the tongue is retracted from
  the neutral position.
• round the lips are protruded.
• tense sounds requiring deliberate, accurate,
  maximally distinct gestures that involve
  considerable muscular effort.

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Vowel place features

• advanced tongue root (ATR) vowels made by
  drawing the root of the tongue forward, thus
  enlarging the pharyngeal cavity, tending to raise
  the tongue body, and tending to give the sound a
  more tense articulation, e.g. i e o u.
• -ATR sounds lack this gesture, e.g. I E ç U a
  A.

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Consonant place features

• labial (lab) Sounds that involve a constriction
  of the lips to give either a labial (labiodental)
  consonant or a rounded vowel/glide.
• coronal (cor) produced with the blade or tip of
  the tongue raised from the neutral position.
• anterior (ant) defined only for coronal sounds.
  An anterior (ant) sound is made with a
  constriction at or forward of, the alveolar
  ridge. Posterior (-ant) sounds are produced
  behind the alveolar ridge.
• The anteriors are the dentals and alveolars, the
  posterior sounds are the retroflex,
  palato-alveolar and palatal sounds.

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Consonant place features

• dorsal (dor) Sounds made by raising the dorsum
  (tongue body) towards the hard palate, the soft
  palate (velum) or the uvula.
• The dorsal consonants are the velars and uvulars.
  
• radical (rad) Sounds produced in the pharyngeal
  or laryngeal (glottal) region, e.g.

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Consonant place features

• strident (strid) produced with a construction
  with greater noisiness.
• Stridency is only defined for fricatives and
  affricates.
• Labiodentals, sibilants and uvular fricatives/
  affricates are strid all other
  fricatives/affricates are -strid.

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Manner features

• continuant (cont) the primary constriction is
  not narrowed so much that airflow through the
  oral cavity is blocked.
• Plosives and nasal stops are -cont, other
  sounds (including laterals) are cont.
• nasal (nas) the velum is lowered which allows
  air to escape through the nose.
• lateral (lat) the mid section of the tongue is
  lowered at the side.

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Laryngeal features

• voice the vocal folds vibrate.
• spread glottis (spread, or s.g.) the vocal folds
  are spread far apart.
• Aspirated (voiceless) consonants, breathy or
  murmured voiced consonants and voiceless
  vowels/glides are spread other sounds are
  -spread.
• Also known as aspirated.

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Distinctive feature matrix for English consonants
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• Now we can represent the rule that governs the
  unaspiration of /p/ after s in terms of
  features