- 29 Mar, 2021
- 0 Comments
- 2 Mins Read
Phonology Assignment
Question 1 (20 marks): Phonological Principles and Phonemic Analysis
Consider the following data from Standard Italian and answer the questions that follow. The
English gloss follows the Italian word in each example.
[tinta] ‘dye’
[tiŋɡo] ‘I dye’
[neɾo] ‘black’
[tɛnda] ‘tent’
[tɛŋɡo] ‘I keep’
[bjaŋka] ‘white’
[dantsa] ‘dance’
[fuŋɡo] ‘mushroom’
[aŋke] ‘also’
[d
͡ʒɛnte] ‘people’
[sapone] ‘soap’
[faŋɡo] ‘mud’
a) List all the phonetic environments in which [n] and [ŋ] appear.
(3 marks)
b) Can you make any generalisations about the environments?
(2 marks)
c) Are [n] and [ŋ] separate phonemes or allophones of the same phoneme?
Construct an explanation with evidence to support your answer.
(7 marks)
d) What is the underlying form?
(4 marks)
e) State the rules that must be applied to derive the surface representation(s).
(4 marks)
Question 2 (20 marks): Phonological Constraints, Principles and Alternations
a) All languages are governed by phonotactics and alternations. Examine the following
statements (i – v). Apply and test your understanding of alternations by labelling the
following five alternations below as assimilation, coalescence, debuccalisation, deletion,
dissimilation, epenthesis, fortition, lengthening, shortening, lenition or metathesis. If it is a
case of assimilation or dissimilation, state whether it is local or long distance. Some may
contain more than one alternation.
(i) The English word library /ˈlaɪ.brər.i/ is often pronounced as /laɪbri/ or /laɪbə
ri/
(ii) In some varieties of UK English, bottle and water are pronounced as /ˈbɒʔə
l/ and
/ˈwɔːʔə
r/.
(iii) In English, plosives become aspirated if they occur in word-initial position.
ELG359 Tutor-Marked Assignment 01-02 January 2021 Semester
SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SUSS) Page 5 of 10
(iv) The English loan word baseball becomes [besubaru] in Japanese.
(v) In Xhosa, when [wa-] is prefixed to a word with a high vowel, a mid vowel results.
(10 marks)
b) Consider the following data from Yoruba. Based on the data, name the alternation and
construct an explanation to account for the alternation.
[ba] ‘hide’
[mba] ‘is hiding’
[fɔ] ‘break’
[mfɔ] ‘is breaking’
[tɛ] ‘spread’
[ntɛ] ‘is spreading’
[sun] ‘sleep’
[nsun] ‘is sleeping’
[kɔ] ‘write’
[ŋkɔ] ‘is writing’
[wa] ‘come’
[ŋwa] ‘is coming’
[lọ] ‘go’
[nlọ] ‘is going’
(10 marks)
Question 3 (20 marks) On Distinctive Feature theory
a) Examine the two columns labelled Class A and Class B below. Compare the members of
Class A and Class B, and specify the distinctive feature (i.e. natural class) and the feature
value that differentiate the members of the two classes in (i) – (v).
Class A Class B
i) [f, v, s, z, ʃ, tʃ] [θ, ç, ɸ, β, ð, ɣ ]
ii) [p, t, k] [b, d, g]
iii) [p, b, ɡ, f, v, dʒ] [æ, ə, j, w, i, o]
iv) [b, d, g] [m, n, ŋ]
v) [s, z] [ʃ, ʒ]
(10 marks)
b) List the sounds that comprise the following natural classes. Note: Limit yourself to the
sound inventory of Standard English.
i) [- voice, + Delayed release]
ii) [- syllabic, – consonantal]
iii) [+ sonorant, – continuant]
iv) [- approximant, + continuant]
v) [laryngeal]
(10 marks)
ELG359 Tutor-Marked Assignment 01-02 January 2021 Semester
SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SUSS) Page 6 of 10
Question 4 (20 marks): SPE Rule Notation
a) Translate the following rules into English (prose).
i) [+consonantal, CORONAL, +anterior, +voice, +nasal] [LABIAL, – round]/ ___
[+consonantal, LABIAL, -round, +voice, -nasal, -continuant]
(5 marks)
ii) [- sonorant] [- voice] / ___ #
(5 marks)
b) Construct formal rules for the generalizations listed below. Be sure to include all the
necessary details in your rules.
i) Tongan: /t/ becomes [s] before [i]
(5 marks)
ii) A vowel becomes voiceless when it occurs between two voiceless segments.
(5 marks)