What 4 facts should a theory of

phonology account for?

Today
Allophones vs. phonemes
Contrastive vs. noncontrastive
Phonological rules

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1. What sounds do/do not occur in a

language
2. How sounds are distributed
3. How sounds function
4. Alternations

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English t
top
h

stop

[t ap]

butter

[stap]

[br]

phoneme

allophones

Phoneme vs. allophone

button
[b
n]

Phoneme:
An abstract, mental representation of a set of
sounds (allophones) that are considered by
native speakers to be the same sound

Allophone:

/t/

Predictable phonetic realizations of a

phoneme
h

[t ]

[t]

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[ ]

[ ]

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How do these sounds function?

meaning

e.g., English: [br] ~ [btr] butter

Allophones of different phonemes are

[stap] stop

contrastive they do distinguish meaning

after [s]

p] top

at the beginning of stressed
[b
r] butter
before unstressed V
[b
n] button
before [n]
[t

e.g., Spanish: [pao] I stop vs. [pato] duck

e.g., Thai: [ta:] landing place vs. [ta:] eye

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Allophones of the same phoneme occur in

complementary distribution separate,
non-overlapping, mutually-exclusive
environments

noncontrastive they do not distinguish

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How are these sounds distributed?

Allophones of the same phoneme are

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How are these sounds distributed?

Sum: Allophones vs. phonemes

Allophones of different phonemes have

contrastive distribution they can occur in
the exact same phonetic environment
(thereby forming a minimal pair)

Phonemes

e.g., English: [tp] tip,

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[dp]

may occur in minimal pairs

have contrastive distribution
are unpredictable (i.e., must be learned)

dip

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Sum: Allophones vs. phonemes

occur in complementary distribution
do not occur in minimal pairs
are noncontrastive
are predictable by rule

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Phonological rules

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Phonological rules

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Typically formulated in terms of natural

classes
e.g., English aspiration:
h

/p, t, k/ [p , t , k ]
voiceless stops aspirated
[-cont, -voi] [+spread glottis]

e.g., English aspiration: /t/ [th] / [ __ V

/t/ becomes aspirated at the beginning of a syllable before
a stressed vowel.
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Phonological rules

Formalism: A B / C __ D
Prose: A becomes B in the environment between C and D
A is the focus (or target)
B is the structural change
CAD is the structural description (or trigger, context,
environment)

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Account for predictable properties of

pronunciation
They mediate between the underlying,
phonemic level and the surface, phonetic
level.

Allophones (of the same phoneme)

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(please reread Odden pp. 155-160 on additional tips/formalism for

writing phonological rules)
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Identifying the allophonic vs.

phonemic status of sounds

Phonological rules

1. Look for minimal pairs

Allophonic rules:
Account for complementary distribution.
Neutralization rules:
Account for the merger of a contrast.

If yes, sounds are contrastive/phonemic.

If no, go to 2.

2. Determine the distribution of sounds (i.e., list

the environments) and state in terms of natural
classes. Are they the same or nonoverlapping?
Same: Contrastive distribution (phonemic)
Non-overlapping: Complementary distribution
(allophonic)

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Identifying the allophonic vs.

phonemic status of sounds
3.

Basic: Assumed to be phoneme, undergoes the rule

Often occurs in wider, more complex set of environments

Usually assumed to be plainer, less marked

Derived: The predicted outcome of the rule

Often occurs in simplest set of environments

Usually assumed to be more marked

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Markedness

Determine the directionality of the rule (i.e.,

Which sound is basic and which is derived?

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Related to crosslinguistic typology: sounds

that are typologically common are
unmarked compared to sounds that are
less common (i.e., marked)
Can be stated using implicational
relationships:
The presence of marked sounds in a language implies
necessarily the presence of their unmarked counterparts, but not
vice versa (e.g., a language with voiced obstruents will
necessarily have voiceless obstruents, but the reverse is not
always true)

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GEN: [l] and [r]

Gen

Examples of markedness relations

Marked
voiceless obstruents
stops
oral vowels
short vowels
voiced sonorants
plain consonants

Unmarked
voiced obstruents
fricatives
nasal vowels
long vowels
voiceless sonorants
labialized consonants

Remember: Markedness is a relative concept (e.g., voiced stops are less

marked than voiced fricatives, but more marked than voiceless stops
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Distribution of [l] and [r]

[l]

Environment following [l] and [r]

[r]

g__b

#__

d__

d__

__i

p__e

__

__

b__u

__

s__

t__e

a__

m__a

__

z__o

v__

w__a

s__a

t__o

x__

g__o

t__w

__o

h__

p__

k__

b__a

v__u

x__e

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[l] occurs before [a e o  b i u ].

[r] occurs before [ a e o  w
]
While the environments following [l] and [r]
do not overlap completely, they do contain
many of the same segments. Thus, the
segment following [l] or [r] cannot be
conditioning the change.

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Environment preceding [l] and [r]

[l] occurs after [ # p b m v k g x w h a ]
[r] occurs after [ d t s z  ]

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Environment preceding [l] and [r]

Aha!
These sets are
complementary!

These sets are non-overlapping, indicating that [l]

and [r] are in complementary distribution. An
allophonic rule will account for their occurrence.

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[l] occurs after [ # p b m v k g x w h a ]

[r] occurs after [ d t s z  ]
Which sound is basic and which is derived?
The set of segments occurring before [l] is
more complex, hard to describe it does
not constitute a natural class.

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The set of segments occurring before [r] is

simply stated defined by the feature
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[+coronal].