LING217-phonemic analysis PDF

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EXERCISE 1 The words below show the distribution of [k] (voiceless velar stop) and [x] (voiceless velar fricative) in Florentine Italian. Do [k] and [x] belong to different phonemes, or are they allophones of the same phoneme? Provide evidence for your answer. If you conclude they are allophones of the same phoneme, write a phonological rule. ANSWER Florentine Italian Solution Step 1 is to look for minimal pairs. None occur in this data so we move to step 2. Step 2 is to list the environments where each sound occurs: [x]

[k]

a__a

#__w

o__o

#__a

i__o

a__k

i__i

k__i

step 3 is to look for a pattern. Is there anything that all the environments in one list or the other have in common? There is a pattern here, though it is a little different from the one seen in Swahili. Here, both sides of the consonant are relevant: the sound [x] occurs only between vowels. The sound [k] occurs if another consonant precedes or follows, or if the consonant is in word-initial position. analysis: The sounds [x] and [k] are in complementary distribution and are phonetically similar. So they are allophones of the same phoneme in Florentine Italian: [x] occurs between vowels and [k] occurs elsewhere. Because [k] is the elsewhere case, we choose /k/ as the label for the underlying phoneme the phonological rule prose is: the phoneme /k/ is pronounced as the allophone [x] between vowels. The phonological rule with IPA symbols with V as shorthand for ‘any vowel’: /k/ → [x] / V_V EXERCISE 2 In Hungarian do [ɑ] and [a] belong to different phonemes, or are they allophones of the same phoneme? Provide evidence for your answer. If you conclude they are allophones of the same phoneme, write a phonological rule. [ɑɟ] -- brain

[vaɟ] --lust [ɑlmɑ] -- apple [ɑɟː] -- give! [kapolnɑ] -- chapel [harom] --three [kɑtonɑ] -- soldier [en] -- me [tɑkɑroː] -- blanket [kɛrek] -- wheel [kɑnal] -- spoon [neɟ] -- four [vɑɟ] -- are [hɑl] -- fish [haloː] -- net [bɑrat] – friend ANSWER Hungarian Solution [vaɟ] and [vɑɟ] are a minimal pair for [a] and [ɑ]. This is evidence that two the phones belong to separate phonemes, and are not allophones of the same phoneme. So we have both /a/ and /ɑ/ at the phonemic level....