EL1101E/GEK1011

PS3: Phonology

1. In the following chart, which of the combinations occur at the

beginning of an English word? (Take the consonants in the first column
to be C1 and the consonants in the first row to be C2.) For these
combinations, think of (or find) words that begin with the consonant
cluster and write them in the box. If the consonant cluster violates the
phonotactic constraints of English, write a * in the box.

[w] [l] [n] [r] [t] [s]

[t] twenty
[m]
[p]
[]
[s]
[k]

2. Consider the following data from Standard Italian and answer the
questions that follow.

[tinta] dye [tio] I dye [neo] black

[tnda] tent [to] I keep [bjaka] white
[dantsa] dance [fuo] mushroom [ake] also
[dnte] people [sapone] soap [fao] mud

i. Are there any minimal pairs? If so, what are they, and what can
you conclude to be true of Italian from those minimal pairs?

ii. List all the phonetic environments in which the sounds [n] and
[] appear.

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 iii. Can you make any generalisations over the environments?

iv. Are [n] and [] in complementary distribution? Explain your

answer.

v. Should we treat [n] and [] as allophones of the same

phoneme? Why? If they are allophones of the same phoneme,
decide which sound should represent the phoneme.

3. In the following Korean words, you will find the sounds [s] and []. Are
they allophones of the same phoneme or allophones of different
phonemes? If they are allophones of the same phoneme, decide which
sound should represent the phoneme.

[so] cow [kasu] singer [miin] superstition

[oip] fifty [susek] search [inmun] newspaper
[kai] thorn [kanik] snack [kasl] hypothesis
[sal] flesh [ilsu] mistake [tapsa] exploration
[i] poem [paik] method [thaksaie] table clock
[miso] smile [sanmun] prose

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 4. Mokilese is a language spoken in Micronesia. Examine the distribution
of two vowel pairs: [i, i ] and [u, u] (the means the sound is voiceless).
For each pair, decide whether they are allophones of different
phonemes or allophones of the same phoneme. If they are allophones
of the same phoneme, decide which sound should represent the
phoneme.

[pi san] full of leaves [uduk] flesh [dupukda]bought

[kaskas] to throw [poki] to strike [puko] basket
[ki sa] the two of us [pil] water [apid] support
[supwo] firewood [kamwki ti] to move

5. Consider the distribution of [t] and [ts] in the dialect of French spoken
in Canda. Determine if they are allophones of different phonemes or
allophones of the same phoneme. If they are allophones of the same
phoneme, decide which sound should represent the phoneme.

[tu] all [teleram] telegram [tl] such

[tr] very [abutsi] ended [tb] stamp
[kltsyr] culture [mint] minute [tsy] you
[tsimid] timid [tsit] title [tsb] tube

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 6. Examine the sounds [e] and [a] in Ebira, spoken in Nigeria. Do they
appear to be are allophones of different phonemes or allophones of the
same phoneme? If they are allophones of the same phoneme, decide
which sound should represent the phoneme.

Part 2: list all the different phonemes found in the data.

[mezi] I expect [mazi] I am in pain [meze] I am well

[maz] I agree [meto] I arrange [mat] I pick
[metu] I beat [matu] I send