LINGUISTICS 321 Lecture #2
A review: Phonological Processes (continued)
1.
a. Assimilation
b. Dissimilation
2. Syllable Structure Processes (these affect the distribution of segments in words)
3. Weakening and Strengthening Processes
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1.
a. ASSIMILATION
The influence of one segment upon another so that the sounds become more alike
or identical.
(i) Consonant assimilates vowel features
e.g., Russian:
PALATALIZATION OF CONSONANTS BEFORE FRONT VOWELS.
Nupe (a West African language):
PALATALIZATION OF CONSONANTS BEFORE FRONT VOWELS;
LABIALIZATION BEFORE ROUNDED VOWELS.
English:
HISTORICAL PALATALIZATION (FOLLOWED BY A SHIFT IN PLACE OF
ARTICULATION)
(ii) Vowel assimilates consonant features
e.g., English:
VOWELS ARE NASALIZED WHEN ADJACENT TO A NASAL
CONSONANT IN THE SAME SYLLABLE.
Chatino (spoken in Mexico):
UNSTRESSED VOWELS ARE VOICELESS BETWEEN VOICELESS
CONSONANTS.
(iii) Consonant assimilates consonant features
e.g., English:
THE ENDINGS FOR THE PLURAL, THIRD PERSON SINGULAR, AND THE PAST TENSE
AGREE IN VOICING WITH A PRECEDING CONSONANT.
1
Yoruba (spoken in West Africa); English:
THE NASAL CONSONANT BECOMES HOMORGANIC WITH A FOLLOWING
CONSONANT.
(iv) Vowel assimilates vowel features
e.g., Turkish:
VOWEL HARMONY: VOWELS AGREE IN CERTAIN FEATURES
(Turkish: backness and roundness)
German:
UMLAUT: BACK VOWELS ARE FRONTED BEFORE CERTAIN SUFFIXES
CONTAINING A FRONT VOWEL
Umlaut was a productive rule in Old English:
foot/feet
goose/geese
mouse/mice
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Assimilation may be
(i) progressive (left-to-right)
e.g., plot [l≤] cry [®≤]
(ii) regressive (right-to-left)
e.g., bean [i~]
b. DISSIMILATION
A process in which two segments become less similar to each other.
e.g., English:
Latin → English
2. SYLLABLE STRUCTURE PROCESSES
Result in the preferred syllable structure: CV
a. Deletion
Consonant deletion
e.g., French
A WORD-FINAL CONSONANT IS DROPPED IF THE FOLLOWING WORD BEGINS
WITH A CONSONANT.
2
Vowel deletion
e.g., French
THE VOWEL OF THE DEFINITE ARTICLE IS DELETED IF THE FOLLOWING
WORD STARTS WITH A VOWEL.
b. epenthesis (segment insertion)
Consonant insertion:
e.g., Hanunoo (spoken in the Philippines):
THE CONSONANT h IS INSERTED TO BREAK UP A VOWEL CLUSTER.
In some dialects of English:
The idea came
But: the idea-r-is good.
r-INSERTION
Vowel insertion
e.g., Latin:
THE VOWEL e IS INSERTED TO BREAK UP CONSONANT CLUSTERS WORD-
FINALLY.
English:
A SCHWA IS INSERTED TO BREAK UP FINAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS.
c. Coalescence: Two adjacent segments are replaced by a single one which shares
features of the two original ones.
Consonant coalescence:
e.g., Korean:
WHEN A STOP AND h ARE ADJACENT, THEY ARE REPLACED BY AN
ASPIRATED STOP.
English:
MORPHEME FINAL t, d, s, z AND A FOLLOWING GLIDE ARE REPLACED BY
ALVEOPALATAL FRICATIVES.
Vowel coalescence:
Latin → Spanish:
ai au BECOME e AND o (THE RESULTING VOWEL HAS THE SAME VALUE FOR
BACKNESS AND ROUNDNESS AS THE ORIGINAL HIGH VOWEL.
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Vowel-consonant coalescence:
e.g., French:
A VOWEL PLUS A NASAL CONSONANT BECOMES A NASALIZED VOWEL WHEN
THE CONSONANT IS WORD-FINAL.
d. Metathesis: Two segments may interchange.
e.g., Hebrew:
s AND t INTERCHANGE WHEN ADJACENT.
3. WEAKENING AND STRENGTHENING PROCESSES
Vowels:
a. Syncope: A vowel is deleted word-internally when it occupies a weak
position (=unstressed).
Weakening process!!
e.g., Latin → French
English: chocolate, nursery, etc.
Weakening process!
b. Apocope: The loss of a final unstressed vowel (weak position!)
e.g., Saami (a Finno-Ugric language)
Weakening process!
c. Diphthongization: Stressed vowels and tense vowels are strong vowels;
they frequently diphthongize.
e.g., Latin → Italian
Strengthening process!
Consonants:
d. Lenition (consonant weakening)
e.g., Finnish:
VOICELESS LONG STOPS BECOME SHORT WHEN THE SYLLABLE ENDS
IN A CONSONANT.
p → v; k → Ø WHEN THE SYLLABLE ENDS IN A CONSONANT.
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NEUTRALIZATION: Phonological distinctions are reduced in a particular environment.
Segments that contrast in one environment, have the same representation in the
environment of neutralization.
a. Consonant neutralization
e.g., German:
THE OPPOSITION BETWEEN /t/ AND /d/ IS NEUTRALIZED WORD-FINALLY
(What is the phonological process?)
English:
THE OPPOSITION BETWEEN /t/ AND /d/ IS NEUTRALIZED INTERVOCALICALY
FOLLOWING A STRESSED SYLLABLE (What is the phonological process?)
b. Vowel neutralization
e.g., Russian:
THE OPPOSITION BETWEEN /o/ and /a/ IS NEUTRALIZED IN UNSTRESSED
POSITION (What is the phonological process?)
English:
VOWEL REDUCTION: WEAKENING OF AN UNSTRESSED VOWEL TO SCHWA
(What is the phonological process?)