LIGN 101
Lectures 7 – Phonology
Caponigro
LIGN 101
PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES/RULES
From last lecture:
tick
[tk]
Lectures 7 – Phonology
Caponigro
RULE: EXAMPLE 1
RULE: In English, the phoneme /t/ is
pronounced as:
 [] between two vowels when the preceding
vowel carries the word stress
/t/  [] / V__V
[t]
stick [stk] [t]
later [er] []
kitten [kn] []
 [] between a vowel and the alveolar nasal
/t/
consonant [n]
/t/  [] / V__ [n]
[]
[]
V__V
[t]
V__ [n]
[t]
#__V
elsewhere
 [t] at the beginning of a word when
followed by a vowel
/t/  [t] / #__V
 [t] elsewhere
The phoneme (=mental object) /t/ is
realized/pronounced by four different
allophones (=sounds/phones) in English: [],
/t/  [t] elsewhere
[], [t], [t].
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RULE: EXAMPLE 2
Pam
[pæm] __ [m]
bean [bin]
__ [n]
broom [brum] __ [m]
long
[la]
__ []
/v/
[v]
Pat
[pæt] __ [t]
beat [bit]
__ [t]
LIGN 101
Lectures 7 – Phonology
Caponigro
But in French …
laid [l] ‘ugly’
lin [l] ‘flax’
las [la] ‘tired’
lent [la] ‘slow’
bruise [bruz] __ [z]
lock [lak]
__ [l]
lot [l] ‘prize’ long [l] ‘long’
in English speakers’ minds
[v]
// //
/a/ /a/
// //
[] []
[a] [a] [] []
in French speakers’ minds
what English speakers utters
___ [m]/[n]/[] elsewhere
what French speakers utters
natural (they are all nasal consonants)
class
NATURAL CLASS
A group of language sounds that shares one or more
articulatory properties, to the exclusion of all the other
sounds.
Conclusion
A nasal vowel and its non-nasal equivalent are allophones
(= sound realizations) of different phonemes in French.
Conclusion
A nasal vowel and its non-nasal equivalent are allophones
(=sound realizations) of the same phoneme in English.
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Lectures 7 – Phonology
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We can conceive of the use of allophones as
the result of rules which represent various
phonological processes:
PHONEMIC FORM
(abstract sequence of phonemes/mental
objects in the mind)

Phonological Processes/Rules

PHONETIC FORM
(sequence of context-appropriate
allophones/sounds that are actually
pronounced)
LIGN 101
Lectures 7 – Phonology
Caponigro
RULE: EXAMPLE 3
SPELLING
I can ask
I can play
I can sing
I can go
I can bake
I can count
IN THE MIND
PRONOUNCED
/aj kæn æsk/ >
/aj kæn ple/ >
/aj kæn s/ >
/aj kæn gow/ >
/aj kæn bek/ >
/aj kæn kawnt/>
[aj kæn æsk]
[aj kæm ple]
[aj kæn s]
[aj kæ gow]
[aj kæm bek]
[aj kæ kawnt]
RULE: In English, the phoneme /n/ is
pronounced (at least, for most speakers in
casual speech at a normal speed) as:
 [m] before a bilabial consonant ([p], [b])
 [] before a velar consonant ([k], [g])
 [n] elsewhere
[The phonetic transcriptions above are slightly different (nothing crucial!) from
those in your assigned extra phonology reading, but they are consistent with
your textbook.]
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NATURAL CLASSES
What happens with /n/ also happens with /t/ and
/d/:
hat trick
/hæt trk/
> [hæt trk]
hit batsman
night class
bad dream
head band
bad guy
/ht bætsmn/ > [hp bætsmn]
/najt klæs/
> [najk klæs]
/bæd drim/ > [bæd drim]
/hd bænd/ > [hb bænd]
/bæd gaj/
> [bæ gaj]
LIGN 101
Lectures 7 – Phonology
RULE:
EXAMPLE 3 - GENERALIZED
RULE: In English, the natural class of
phonemes that are (pronounced in most
environments as) nasal or non-nasal alveolar
stops are pronounced as:
 labial stops before a bilabial consonant
 velar stops before a velar consonant
 alveolar stops elsewhere
 We say that the phonemes /t/, /d/ and /n/
form a natural class in English because their
most common allophones (= the allophones
that occur elsewhere, that is [t], [d], [n]
respectively) share one or more phonetic
properties, which no other sounds of English
shares: [t], [d] and [n] are all the alveolar
stops (oral or nasal) that are found in
English.
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- Chance in place of articulation
- No change in manner of articulation
- No change in voicing
- No change in nasality
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Lectures 7 – Phonology
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LIGN 101
Lectures 7 – Phonology
Caponigro
TYPES OF
ASSIMILATION
PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES/RULES
Assimilation is the phonological process according
to which if a phoneme (mental object) in a language
is realized by two or more allophones (sounds), then
the allophone that is chosen is the one that is more
similar to a close or adjacent sound. Assimilation
could involve voicing, place of articulation, manner
of articulation, tongue height, lip rounding, etc.
 There’s a limited number of phonological
processes used in languages.
 We can represent these phonological
processes as “rules” using a formal
notation.
 Some of these processes/rules are
obligatory (they apply whenever the right
environment occurs) some other are
optional (they may apply or not when the
right environment occurs) and may
depend on factors like how fast or how
formal one speaks (see examples below).
EXAMPLE: English vowel nasalization
(obligatory rule)
Phonemes (mental objects) that are pronounced as
vowels have two allophones (sounds) in English: a
nasal one and a non-nasal one. The nasal allophone
is produced right before a nasal consonant
Pam /pæm/ > [pæm]
Pat
/pæt/
> [pæt]
[For completeness, I also added the aspiration of the initial stop
consonant, which is an example of strengthening (see below)]
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DISSIMILATION
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INSERTION
Dissimilation is the phonological process
according to which a phoneme (mental object) is
realized by the allophone (sound) of another
phoneme that is more dissimilar (in place or
manner of articulation) to a close or adjacent
sound:
Insertion is the phonological process
according to which a phone that is not
present at the phonemic level (=as a
phoneme/mental object) is added to the
phonetic form (=actual pronunciation) of a
word.
amphitheater
/ æmfəθiətər / > [æmpəθiətər]
 [f] and [θ]: same manner of art. (fricative)
 [p] and [θ]: different manner of art. (stop and
EXAMPLE: In English, it is possible (but not
obligatory!) to insert a stop between a nasal
consonant and [s] (optional rule):
fricative)
etcetera
/tstr/ > [kstr]
hamster /hæmstr/ > [hæmpstr]
prince
/prns/
> [prnts]
presence /przns/ > [prznts]
 [t] and [s]: same place of art. (alveolar)
 [k] and [s]: different place of art. (velar and
alveolar)
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Lectures 7 – Phonology
Caponigro
LIGN 101
DELETION
EXAMPLE: English phonemes that would be
pronounced as unstressed vowels may be
(optionally!) deleted if found between an
obstruent (stop, fricative, affricate) and a
liquid ([l], [r]) (optional rule):
/pls/ >
/bliv/ >
/pred/ >
/trfk/ >
[pls]
[bliv]
[pred]
[trfk]
Weakening is the phonological process
according to which a phoneme is realized by
a weaker allophone (= shorter or produced
with more open constriction).
EXAMPLE: flapping
In many varieties of English, a phoneme that would
elsewhere be pronounced as an alveolar oral stop is
realized as a flap [] (briefly hitting the alveolar
ridge with the tongue tip), if it is pronounced
between two vowels the first of which is stressed:
atom [æm]
Italy [li]
Stress matters! Compare:
atomic [tmk], not *[mk]
Italian [tæljn], not *[æljn]
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WEAKENING
Deletion is the phonological process
according to which a phoneme (mental
object) that is present in the phonemic level
(mental level) is not pronounced, that is it is
not associated to any allophone (sound) at
the phonetic level.
police
believe
parade
terrific
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STRENGTHENING
Strengthening is the phonological process
according to which a phoneme is realized by
a stronger allophone (= longer or produced
with less open constriction).
EXAMPLE: aspiration of voiceless stops in
word initial position in English is a form of
strengthening:
tip /tp/ > [tp]
pet /pt/ > [pt]
cat /kæt/ > [kæt]
Why did this student get the wrong class
material?
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Notice: /t/, /p/, k/ form a natural class in English
since their most common allophones ([t], [p], and
[k], respectively) are all and the only voiceless
stops in English.
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LIGN 101
Lectures 7 – Phonology
Caponigro
PROSODIC OR SUPRASEGMENTAL
1. Length
FEATURES
Consonants and vowels can have different length
(=duration of their pronunciation).
bean [bin] The pronunciation of [i] in bean lasts a bit longer than []
Features of phones/sounds that are over and
above (=independent from) manner and place
of articulation and from voicing:
1) length
bin [bn]
[] is the IPA symbol that means “long”.
In some languages (but not in English), length is
contrastive (= there are minimal pairs that only
differ from the length of one sound):
2) stress
3) pitch and tone
Examples of contrastive length with vowels:
[bir] ‘building’
JAPANESE
[bir] ‘beer’
Examples of contrastive length with consonants:
[tapan] ‘I kill’
FINNISH
[tapan] ‘I meet’
[pala] ‘shovel’
ITALIAN
[pala] ‘ball’
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LIGN 101
2. Stress
In some languages, certain syllables are louder,
slightly higher in pitch (see below), and
somewhat longer in duration than other syllable
in the word. They are stressed syllables.
incite [n’sajt]
insight [’nsajt]
digest [’dajdst]
digest [daj’dst]
[ ’ is the IPA symbol that precedes the syllable(s) of a word that
are stressed]
Change in stress can trigger vowel and
consonant changes in English:
[’foræf]
Lectures 7 – Phonology
3. Pitch and tone
The pitch depends on how fast the vocal folds
vibrate: the faster they vibrate, the higher the
pitch. If the larynx is small, like in women and
children, the shorter vocal folds vibrate faster
and the pitch is higher.
There are languages in which a change in the
pitch on a syllable is contrastive, that is it
produces two or more words with different
meaning. These languages are called tone
languages. Most languages are tone languages,
for instance, Mandarin Chinese, Burmese
(spoken in Burma), Thai, Nupe (spoken in
Nigeria).
Mandarin Chinese
[ma] high
‘mother
photography [f’tarfi]
[ma] high rising
‘hemp’
Italy [’li]
[ma] low falling rising
‘horse’
[ma] high falling
‘scold’
photograph
Italian [’tæljn]
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