windows-1256''Phonological processes 2

• ''Phonological processes 2Institut für Anglistik/AmerikanistikIntroduction to LinguisticsPhilipps-Universität Marburg SS 2006Anna Bauer1Phonology II: phonological processesKeywords: phonological processes: neutralisation, assimilation, deletion, insertion1. Phonological ProcessesPhonemes of a language are not always invariable. Instead, sounds may influence each other andtrigger phonological processes that, in turn, affect other phonemes. There are many different typesof phonological processes, and the four presented here are just the most important ones for thelanguages we are dealing with.1.1 NeutralisationConsider the following set of German words, singular and plural. Does it contain allophones? Whatis the problem here?(1) [hnt] 'dog' [hnd ] 'dogs'(2) [bnt] 'colourful' [bnt ] 'colourful (pl.)'(3) [vas] 'white' [vas ] 'white (pl.)'(4) [as] 'ice' [az ] 'ice (dat.)'(5) [at] 'council' [t ] 'councils'(6) [at] 'wheel' [d] 'wheels'1.2 Assimilation(7) in+audible /ndbl/(8) in+complete /k mplit/(9) in+possible /mpsbl/(10) in+legal /li l/Degree: There are three degrees of assimilation: partial assimilation (a certain sound isassimilated in only one or two feature(s), examples (7)-(9) above), total assimilation (e.g. give mecan become [ mm] in rapid speech) and reciprocal assimilation (both sounds change at least onefeature, e.g. don't miss your train can become [d ntm
  
  tren]).Proximity: There are several different kinds of assimilation: contact assimilation is what happensin the examples (7)-(10) above. However, the process can also affect sounds that appear in differentsyllables and are not in direct contact, cf. German München <> [t'k], and regressive assimilation (i.e. a particular soundcauses a preceding one to assimilate), e.g. see examples (7)-(10) above.Sounds can also undergo dissimilation, cf. Vedic (Old Indic) dádhāmi < *dhádhāmi 'I put' andGreek τíθημ < *thíthēmi 'I put'.1.3 Deletion (also called: elision)(11) occurring / k(r/ but occur / k)/(12) fearing /f r/ fear /f /(13) starring /st+r/ star /st+/(14) pouring /pr/ pour /p/(15) pairing /pe r/ pair /pe /(16) fathering /f+% r/ father /f+% /Position: Deletion can occur in three places, and there is a term for each: aphaeresis (wordinitially),e.g. 'round instead of around in 'round the twist, syncope (word-medially), e.g. English[l'] instead of / l'/, and apocope (word-finally), e.g. German dative dem Manne is usuallydem Mann today and (11)-(16) above.Special cases: If deletion takes place in a pair of similar or even identical syllables, it is calledhaplology, cf. German Morphophonologie, the interface of the linguistic fields of morphology andphonology, is regularly called Morphonologie, and the more frequent word selbstständig whosehaplological form – reflected in spelling even – selbständig is equally acceptable.1.4 Insertion(17) law /l/ and / nd/
  law and order [lr ndd ](18) vanilla /v nl / ice /as/
  vanilla ice [v nl ras](19) Shah /'+/ of / v/
  Shah of Persia ['+r vp)' ](20) draw /dr/ -ing //
  drawing [drr]Two types of insertion are usually distinguished, namely that of consonants, epenthesis, as in (17)-(20) above, and that of vowels, anaptyxis, e.g. Hawai'ian himeni for English hymn. However, mostbranches of synchronic linguistics only use the term epenthesis and then differentiate betweenvowel epenthesis and consonant epenthesis.In RP English, a distinction between intrusive r (as in the examples above) and linking r isrequired, as the latter is only a resurrection of what used to be there (and is still visible in spelling,see (11)-(16) above): your arm is /j/ and /+m/ when pronounced separately, but [jr+m] whenpronounced in a phrase, with [j r+m] containing the corresponding weak form. Rhotic dialects(those that pronounce r in codas), of course, do not 'resurrect' a linking r, because in their case itnever underwent deletion.Homework question: Consult the MLA (via UB homepage) and find five references for vowel epenthesis.List them in the appropriate fashion, i.e. adhere to the bibliographic conventions of English linguistics.