PhonologyPracticeExercises

Linguistics201

Tongan

TonganisanAustronesianlanguagewhichisspokenbyabout100,000people,
primarilyinthesouthPacific,inplacessuchasTonga,AmericanSamoaandFiji.
TherearealsoafewspeakersinNorthAmerica,AustraliaandNewZealand.

ConsidertheTongandatabelowandthenanswerthequestionsthatfollow.

1.[fata] 'shelf' 5.[sisi] 'grand'

2.[motu] 'island' 6.[mosimosi] 'todrizzle'
3.[motomoto] 'unripe' 7.[fesi] 'tobreak'
4.[movete] 'tocomeapart'

Whatisthedistributionofthephones[s]and[t]inTongan?Aretheyseparate
phonemes,oraretheyallophonesofthesamephoneme?

Ifyouthinktheyareseparatephonemes,statetheevidenceshowingthatthetwo
soundsarecontrastive.Ifyouthinktheyareallophonesofthesamephoneme,write
aphonologicalrulethataccountsfortheirdistribution.

Sindhi

SindhiisanIndoEuropeanlanguagewhichisspokenprimarilyinPakistanbyabout
21millionpeople.

1.[pnu] leaf 7.[tru] bottom

2.[vdu] opportunity 8.[k to]
h sour
3.[eki] suspicious 9.[bdu] run
4.[gdo] dull 10.[bnu] forest
5.[dru] door 11.[btu] besafe
6.[p nu]
h hoodofsnake 12.[ddu] judge

Whatisthedistributionofthephones[p],[b]and[ph]inSindhi?Aretheyseparate
phonemes,oraretheyallophonesofthesamephoneme?Giveevidenceforyour
answerbyeitherprovidingaruleforthedistributionoftheallophonesoraminimal
pairforthephonemes.

Micmac

MicmacisanAlgonquianlanguagewhichisspokenbyabout7,000peopleineastern
Canada,inplacessuchasCapeBretonIsland,NewBrunswick,andtheGasp
PeninsulaofQuebec.Infact,thenameGaspcomesfromtheMicmacwordgespeg,
meaning"land'send".

1.[pis] 'flea' 7.[sipsulk] 'tocausetrembling'

2.[sabus] 'pierced' 8.[tibol] 'itfalls'
3.[talsip] 'when' 9.[sebai] 'tohunt'
4.[walpok] 'pool' 10.[alispei] 'tobewet'
5.[ababo] 'thread' 11.[pabi] 'play'
6.[kalibu] 'caribou' 12.[apsem] 'towarm'

Are[p]and[b]separatephonemesinMicmac,oraretheyallophonesofthesame
phoneme?Giveevidenceforyouranswerbyeitherprovidingaruleforthe
distributionoftheallophonesoraminimalpairforthephonemes.

Mokilese

MokileseisanotherAustronesianlanguage,whichisspokenonapairofsmall
islandsintheFederatedStatesofMicronesia,byabout1,000people.Examinethe
Mokilesedatabelowandthenanswerthequestionsthatfollow.

Phonetically,Mokilesehasvoicelessvowels(whicharedenotedwiththediacriticfor
voicelessnessunderneaththem).Whatisthenaturalclassofvowelsthatcanbe
devoicedinMokilese?Whatisthephoneticenvironmentwhichdetermineswhen
thesevowelsbecomevoiceless?

 PhonologyPracticeExercises
Linguistics201

Tongan

TonganisanAustronesianlanguagewhichisspokenbyabout100,000people,
primarilyinthesouthPacific,inplacessuchasTonga,AmericanSamoaandFiji.
TherearealsoafewspeakersinNorthAmerica,AustraliaandNewZealand.

ConsidertheTongandatabelowandthenanswerthequestionsthatfollow.

1.[fata] 'shelf' 5.[sisi] 'grand'

2.[motu] 'island' 6.[mosimosi] 'todrizzle'
3.[motomoto] 'unripe' 7.[fesi] 'tobreak'
4.[movete] 'tocomeapart'

Whatisthedistributionofthephones[s]and[t]inTongan?Aretheyseparate
phonemes,oraretheyallophonesofthesamephoneme?

Ifyouthinktheyareseparatephonemes,statetheevidenceshowingthatthetwo
soundsarecontrastive.Ifyouthinktheyareallophonesofthesamephoneme,write
aphonologicalrulethataccountsfortheirdistribution.

Answer:

Theyareallophonesofthesamephoneme.[s](therestrictedallophone)isonly
foundbefore[i],and[t](thebasicallophone)isfoundbeforealltheothervowels.

Rule: /t/[s]/___[i]


Sindhi

SindhiisanIndoEuropeanlanguagewhichisspokenprimarilyinPakistanbyabout
21millionpeople.

1.[pnu] leaf 7.[tru] bottom

2.[vdu] opportunity 8.[k to]
h sour
3.[eki] suspicious 9.[bdu] run
4.[gdo] dull 10.[bnu] forest
5.[dru] door 11.[btu] besafe
6.[phnu] hoodofsnake 12.[ddu] judge

Whatisthedistributionofthephones[p],[b]and[ph]inSindhi?Aretheyseparate
phonemes,oraretheyallophonesofthesamephoneme?Giveevidenceforyour
answerbyeitherprovidingaruleforthedistributionoftheallophonesoraminimal
pairforthephonemes.

Answer:

[p],[b]and[ph]arecontrastivephonemesinSindhi.Thereisaniceminimalsetfor
allthree:

1.[pnu] leaf
6.[p nu]
h hoodofsnake
10.[bnu] forest

Micmac

MicmacisanAlgonquianlanguagewhichisspokenbyabout7,000peopleineastern
Canada,inplacessuchasCapeBretonIsland,NewBrunswick,andtheGasp
PeninsulaofQuebec.Infact,thenameGaspcomesfromtheMicmacwordgespeg,
meaning"land'send".

1.[pis] 'flea' 7.[sipsulk] 'tocausetrembling'

2.[sabus] 'pierced' 8.[tibol] 'itfalls'
3.[talsip] 'when' 9.[sebai] 'tohunt'
4.[walpok] 'pool' 10.[alispei] 'tobewet'
5.[ababo] 'thread' 11.[pabi] 'play'
6.[kalibu] 'caribou' 12.[apsem] 'towarm'

Are[p]and[b]separatephonemesinMicmac,oraretheyallophonesofthesame
phoneme?Giveevidenceforyouranswerbyeitherprovidingaruleforthe
distributionoftheallophonesoraminimalpairforthephonemes.

Answer:

[p]and[b]areallophonesofthesamephonemeinMicmac.[b](therestricted
allophone)onlyappearsbetweentwovowels,and[p](thebasicallophone)appears
everywhereelse(withoneortwoconsonantsoneitherside,orattheedgeofa
word).

/p/[b]/V____V

Mokilese

MokileseisanotherAustronesianlanguage,whichisspokenonapairofsmall
islandsintheFederatedStatesofMicronesia,byabout1,000people.Examinethe
Mokilesedatabelowandthenanswerthequestionsthatfollow.

Phonetically,Mokilesehasvoicelessvowels(whicharedenotedwiththediacriticfor
voicelessnessunderneaththem).Whatisthenaturalclassofvowelsthatcanbe
devoicedinMokilese?Whatisthephoneticenvironmentwhichdetermineswhen
thesevowelsbecomevoiceless?

Answer:

Onlyhighvowels([i],[u])canbedevoicedinMokilese.Theybecomevoicelessif
theyaresurroundedbyvoicelessconsonants.
 PhonologyPracticeExercises,part2
Linguistics201

DistinctiveFeaturesandRules

Belowaresome(formalandinformal)descriptionsofphonologicalrules.Writeout
eachruleinformalnotation,usingtheappropriatedistinctivefeaturesforeach
segmentinvolvedintherule.

Youmayfindthefeaturetableattheendofsection3.3inyourtextbooktobeofuse
incompletingthisexercise.Onestrategyyoucanusefortheseproblemsistothink
firstofthephoneticdescriptionsofeachsegment(voicing,placeandmannerfor
consonants,andheight,front/backness,roundingandtense/laxforvowels)andjust
convertthoseintothecorrespondingphonologicalfeatures.Ultimately,yourgoal
shouldbetotrytoincludeonlythosefeatureswhicharenecessarytospecifythe
identityofthesegments("naturalclasses")involvedintherule.

Example:Tongan:/t/becomes[s]before[i]

FeatureNotation:

consonantal
+consonantal
DORSAL
CORONAL +continuant +high
voice /_____
+strident + front
+anterior round
continuant
+tense

(NotethatCrepresentsanyconsonant,Vrepresentsanyvowel,and#isaword
boundary.)

1.Micmac:/p/becomes[b]betweentwovowels

2.Mokilese:[i]+[u]becomevoicelessinbetweentwovoicelessconsonants

3.Japanese:/s/becomes[]before[i]

4.Japanese:/h/becomes[f]before[u]

5./n/[m]/____[b]

6./l/[o]/[i]____#

7./t/[t]/____[r]
 PhonologyPracticeExercises,part2
Linguistics201

DistinctiveFeaturesandRules

Belowaresome(formalandinformal)descriptionsofphonologicalrules.Writeout
eachruleinformalnotation,usingtheappropriatedistinctivefeaturesforeach
segmentinvolvedintherule.

Youmayfindthefeaturetableattheendofsection3.3inyourtextbooktobeofuse
incompletingthisexercise.Onestrategyyoucanusefortheseproblemsistothink
firstofthephoneticdescriptionsofeachsegment(voicing,placeandmannerfor
consonants,andheight,front/backness,roundingandtense/laxforvowels)andjust
convertthoseintothecorrespondingphonologicalfeatures.Ultimately,yourgoal
shouldbetotrytoincludeonlythosefeatureswhicharenecessarytospecifythe
identityofthesegments("naturalclasses")involvedintherule.

Example:Tongan:/t/becomes[s]before[i]

FeatureNotation:

consonantal
+consonantal
DORSAL
CORONAL +continuant +high
voice /_____
+strident + front
+anterior round
continuant
+tense

(NotethatCrepresentsanyconsonant,Vrepresentsanyvowel,and#isaword
boundary.)

1.Micmac:/p/becomes[b]betweentwovowels

+consonantal

LABIAL [+voice] / consonantal _____ consonantal
voice +syllabic +syllabic

continuant







 2.Mokilese:[i]+[u]becomevoicelessinbetweentwovoicelessconsonants

consonantal

+syllabic +consonantal +consonantal
DORSAL [voice] / _____
voice voice
+high
+voice


3.Japanese:/s/becomes[]before[i]

+consonantal consonantal

CORONAL +syllabic
+anterior DORSAL
[anterior] /_____
voice +high
+continuant back

+strident +tense



4.Japanese:/h/becomes[f]before[u]

consonantal

+syllabic
+consonantal DORSAL
consonantal
LABIAL +high
+spreadglottis round /_____
+back
+continuant
spreadglottis LABIAL

+round
+tense

5./n/[m]/____[b]


+consonantal
+consonantal
LABIAL
CORONAL LABIAL round
+anterior /_____
round +voice
+voice nasal
+nasal
continuant


6./l/[o]/[i]____#

consonantal

+syllabic
+consonantal DORSAL consonantal
+back
CORONAL +syllabic
+anterior LABIAL DORSAL
+round / _____#
+continuant +high
+lateral high back
low
+voice +tense
+tense
lateral


7./t/[t]/____[r]


+consonantal +consonantal

CORONAL anterior CORONAL
+anterior anterior
+delayedrelease /_____
voice +strident +sonorant
continuant +continuant

delayedrelease +voice

 Phonology Practice Exercises, part 3
Linguistics 201

1. Syllable Structure

For each of the following words, (i) give an appropriate broad phonetic
transcription and then (ii) show how the word is syllabified by clearly labeling the
segments in the onset, nucleus and coda of each syllable.

a. Election




b. Frisbee




c. Advertise




d. Demonstrate




e. Confusing
2. Quebec French

In the Quebec French data below, consider the distribution of [t] and [ts] (a voiceless
alveolar affricate). State their distribution and determine if they are allophones of
one phoneme or of separate phonemes. If you think they contrast, provide evidence
that they do. Otherwise, state the environment in which each allophone appears.

Note that Quebec French includes two vowels which are not found in English:

[y] a high, front, tense, rounded vowel
[] a high, front, lax, rounded vowel

(Also--the French /r/ is phonetically different from English /r/, but that fact is
irrelevant to the solution of this problem.)

[tu] 'all' [telegram] 'telegram'
s
[abut i] 'ended' [tr] 'very'
s
[tl] 'such' [klt yr] 'culture'
[tab] 'stamp' [mint] 'minute'
s s
[t imd] 'timid' [t y] 'you'
[tst] 'title' [tsb] 'tube'




3. Korean

Consider the sounds [l] and [r] in the data from Korean below and then answer the
questions that follow. Note that Korean [l] and [r] are phonetically different from
their English counterparts, but this fact is irrelevant to the solution of this problem.

[mul] 'water' [mal] 'horse'
[mulkama] 'place for water' [malkama] 'place for horse'
[mure] 'at the water' [mare] 'at the horse'
[pal] 'foot' [pari] 'of the foot'
[sul] 'Seoul' [rupi] 'ruby'
[ilkop] 'seven' [ratio] 'radio'

Are [l] and [r] contrastive sounds, or are they allophones of the same phoneme? If
you think they contrast, provide evidence that they do. Otherwise, state the
environment in which each allophone appears.




 PhonologyPracticeExercises,part3
Linguistics201

1.QuebecFrench

IntheQuebecFrenchdatabelow,considerthedistributionof[t]and[ts](avoiceless
alveolaraffricate).Statetheirdistributionanddetermineiftheyareallophonesof
onephonemeorofseparatephonemes.Ifyouthinktheycontrast,provideevidence
thattheydo.Otherwise,statetheenvironmentinwhicheachallophoneappears.

NotethatQuebecFrenchincludestwovowelswhicharenotfoundinEnglish:

[y] ahigh,front,tense,roundedvowel
[] ahigh,front,lax,roundedvowel

(AlsotheFrench/r/isphoneticallydifferentfromEnglish/r/,butthatfactis
irrelevanttothesolutionofthisproblem.)

[tu] 'all' [telegram] 'telegram'

s
[abut i] 'ended' [tr] 'very'
s
[tl] 'such' [klt yr] 'culture'
[tab] 'stamp' [mint] 'minute'
s s
[t imd] 'timid' [t y] 'you'
s s
[t t] 'title' [t b] 'tube'

Answer:

[t]and[ts]areallophonesofthesamephoneme.

Distribution:[ts]appearsbefore[i],[],[y]and[],while[t]appearseverywhere
else.

Rule:/t/changesinto[ts]infrontofhigh,frontvowels.

2.Korean

Considerthesounds[l]and[r]inthedatafromKoreanbelowandthenanswerthe
questionsthatfollow.NotethatKorean[l]and[r]arephoneticallydifferentfrom
theirEnglishcounterparts,butthisfactisirrelevanttothesolutionofthisproblem.

[mul] 'water' [mal] 'horse'

[mulkama] 'placeforwater' [malkama] 'placeforhorse'
[mure] 'atthewater' [mare] 'atthehorse'
[pal] 'foot' [pari] 'ofthefoot'
[sul] 'Seoul' [rupi] 'ruby'
[ilkop] 'seven' [ratio] 'radio'

Are[l]and[r]contrastivesounds,oraretheyallophonesofthesamephoneme?If
youthinktheycontrast,provideevidencethattheydo.Otherwise,statethe
environmentinwhicheachallophoneappears.

Answer

InKorean,[l]and[r]areallophonesofthesamephoneme.[l]appearsonlyin
syllablecodas,while[r]onlyappearsinsyllableonsets.