#allophones

[kanuorde]

Marathi allophones for /ə/

So, Marathi has three allophones for the /ə/ phoneme:

[ə]: found on most occasions (e.g. अंग [əŋɡə], “body”)

[ʌ]: rare; usually found before the [ɦa] syllable (e.g. महाराज [mʌɦaɾaːd͡z], “king”)

[ɤː]: more prevalent; usually found before [ɭ̆] (e.g. कळ [kɤːɭ̆], “twinge”).

(Originally posted on Threads.)

[allthingslinguistic]

Phonology - Crash Course Linguistics #10

All of the sounds or handshapes in a language can be pronounced differently depending on the context, but in different languages, these differences may be significant, or not. The study of these patterns and variations is known as phonology. In this episode of Crash Course Linguistics, we’ll learn all about phonology and the different phonological systems we see in different languages, and we’ll begin to retrain our brains in order to gain a better understanding and appreciation for phonological patterns.

For more about teaching yourself phonology, including practice problems and solutions from the linguistics olympiads, check out this week’s issue of Mutual Intelligibility.  

[ball-eis-korakas]

Linguistics: Identifying Phonemes & Allophones

Phonemes

Phonemes are sounds that change a word or phrase's meaning.  The minimal pairs test can be used to demonstrate this.

The word “pig” is heard as consisting of three separate sounds, which can be each written with a phonetic symbol: [pəg] (in NZ English). Replacing [p] with [b] changes the meaning to “big”.  These two sounds can be used to distinguish different words.

Replacing [ə] with [e] also changes the meaning, this time to “pen”.  And so on.

The minimal pairs technique has limitations, as it isn't always possible to find word pairs that illustrate a specific sound distinction in every language.  However, it works quite well for English.  English has 44 important sound units, or phonemes.

Phonemes are transcribed with the usual phonetic symbols, but within slashes, not square brackets – /p/ /ə/ /g/, etc.  This shows that the sound units are part of a language, rather than just being physical sounds.

Allophones

Allophones are sounds that don't change a word or phrase's meaning.  For example, the words “shoe” and “she” both start with the sound [ʃ] (“sh”).  However, they aren't exactly the same sound – the lips are rounded for the [ʃ] in “shoe” because of the rounded vowel [u] after it.  But swapping the two versions of [ʃ] around doesn't change the meaning of the words (although it does sound a bit funny).  Therefore, is only one phoneme /ʃ/, but two variations, or allophones, of it.

When studying a new language, it's important to know what the phonemes and allophones are, because they vary between languages.  Take the words “leaf” and “pool” in English, for example.  The [l] of “leaf” is pronounced further forward in the mouth than the [l] of “pool”, but swapping them around won't change the meaning of the words, so they are both allophones of /l/.  But in Russian, the two sounds are different phonemes.

[deadcatwithaflamethrower]

Awesome, College & University, Geeks Rule, Teachers, The Netherlands | Learning | February 27, 2020

This happens during my first year of studying English at university. One of the first courses I take is Introduction to Linguistics, which consists of one lecture and one seminar per week. The three-hour-long seminar is on Friday afternoon, in one of the stuffiest, most cramped classrooms on campus, neither of which are beneficial to students’ concentration. So, maybe we can be forgiven for being more dense than usual one afternoon, as the teacher is explaining allophones and phonemes. She’s wrapping up an explanation.

Teacher: “So /c/ and /k/ are allophones of the same phoneme that are in complementary distribution.”

The struggle to comprehend must be clear on our faces, because after one look he decides to simplify it.

Teacher: “…which means that /c/ and /k/ are different versions of the same sound that never occur in the same place.”

We’re starting to get it, but not quite. The teacher thinks for a moment and then comes up with the most brilliant analogy ever.

Teacher: “Think of /c/ and /k/ as Clark Kent and Superman; they’re different versions of the same person that are never seen in the same place.”

Class: “Ooooh!”

Everybody laughs, but we finally get it. From that point forward, the seminar has a new theme.

Teacher: “So, these phonemes are in parallel distribution, which means they’re different sounds that can occur in the same place. Basically, they’re Superman and Batman — different people who can be seen in the same place.”

There’s more laughter.

Teacher: “Phonemes can also be in complementary distributions, so different sounds that do not occur in the same place. Like, say, Batman and Spiderman.”

Quick-Witted Classmate: “That could still happen, if DC and Marvel decide on a crossover.”

Me: “That already happened, in the eighties, I think.”

Teacher: “Okay, something more radical, then. How about Batman and Care Bears?”

Quick-Witted Classmate: “That could still be a crossover.”

Classmate #2: “Not sure I’d read that, though.”

Classmate #3: “You kidding? That’d be hilarious!”

Teacher: “Okay, this analogy is going off the rails, so I need something new: an apple and a book. Satisfied with that? You don’t read an apple, and you don’t eat a book.”

Sassy Classmate: “Well…”

Teacher: “No, I don’t wanna hear it. Does everybody at least get it now?”

Class: “Yes!”

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the difference between complementary and parallel distribution.

[techtopics7-blog]

Red, White or Blue? 🔴 ⚪️ 🔵 #jordan #jumpman #iphonecase #iphonecases #allophones #durable #sales #onsalenow #commentyourfavorite #techtopics7 @techtopics7 @techtopics7 https://www.instagram.com/p/Brpx-0UBRzj/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1c16crp5jh3r

[thoughts-of-a-coyote]

Phonemes

Within Phonology there are a couple different important subparts. Phones are the base of sound as we know it. A phone is simply a single sound like /t/ or /f/. (slashes // indicate the mental representation of a sound and are used mainly in phonology). Phonemes and morphemes are the base of phonology.

Phonemes have two pieces phonemes and allophones. Think of them like rectangles and squares. Allophones are a subset of phonemes. For example, in English the sound known as flap is found in the word “butter” is recognized as the /t/ sound even though they are produced in two different manners. /t/ is produced as a voiceless alveolar stop. Flap ([ɾ]) is produced as a voiced alveolar flap.

[little-linguist-on-the-prairie]

Working with Ojibwe vowels this weekend in hopes of having a workable hypothesis on vowel allophony for a conference abstract! The vast majority of previous work on Ojibwe focuses on the morpho-syntax, and then things are left with “vowels vary” or “there are variants.” I am PRETTY sure there is some systematicity to the variation, so I’m ON IT!

For those interested, I’m focusing on non-low vowels for now. The claim is that there is no short [e] in Ojibwe, but I’m finding it EVERYWHERE - especially in final contexts for short /i/. There may be an abstract phonemic inventory analysis that works or a standard environmental distribution thing. We’ll see!

[technologist-revolution2]

One of the reasons I love ridiculous amounts of allophones when I create languages is because you never know what words are going to sound like when they’re done running through their sound changes.

And I am so glad I chose “pat” to mean baby in this new conlang because pąɬmʲi is the cutest word for “our baby” to me... which maybe says something about my taste in word sounds. But dammit I think it just sounds affectionate.