Phonological Features And Natural Classes So remember features

Phonological Features And Natural Classes

So, remember features? § Remember how it used to be so simple? § Three little descriptors… § Place § Manner § And Voice § Now someone had to go off and get complicated! § We are about to introduce a system of description that asks a gazillion “yes/no” questions about every sound in order to get to a more precise description.

p. 96 The Feature Matrix But it really isn’t soooo complicated because most of the time the answer is “no. ”

Vowels, too! p. 97

The familiar features are still in the chart. Manner Voice Place

There is more detail for each of the classic features. Manner Voice Place

Also, there are “major class features” that distinguish consonants from vowels and glides.

Consonantal is, well, whether or not it has any constriction to the airflow. Vowels are – and consonants are +.

Sonorant is the ability to “sing” it. Generally, consonants are – and vowels are +.

Syllabic is its ability to be the nucleus of a syllable. Generally, vowels are + and consonants are -

Feature Matrix Explained § As you move down the list, each feature adds more detail about each major feature description.

Major Class Features § So the major classes are Consonants and Vowels: § Consonants are § [+ consonantal, sonorant, - syllabic] - § Vowels are § [- consonantal, +sonorant, +syllabic]

Manner Features § Nasal § m, n, and ŋ § Continuant § Fricatives, nasals, liquids and h § Lateral § l and r § Delayed release § Affricates only

Laryngeal Features (think larynx) § This relates to the way the voice box or larynx works to produce voicing. § We have the basic ±voice § Then CG, which means Constricted Glottis (remember, that’s just another name for the larynx). Constriction as in [? ] § Then SG, which means Spread Glottis as in [h] or a whispered sound.

Place of articulation § This has the most complex looking rows. However, it is not so much. § There are three pieces: labial, coronal and dorsal. § Think: “front, middle, and back. ”

Place of articulation § If something is in the front, there are possibilities that just are not available to the other two places (like lip rounding, for example). § So, it’s only necessary to deal with one sound set and its unique possibilities at a time.

Labial §Sounds that are mentioned as Labial (meaning you will see a 0 in their column) also are assessed whether they are round or not. §W and the voiceless W are the only two that are +round

Coronal §Sounds that are mentioned as Coronal(meaning you will see a 0 in their column) also are assessed whether they are: §Anterior- frontish (alveolar or alveopalatal) §Strident- hissy

Dorsal §Sounds that are mentioned as Dorsal (meaning you will see a 0 in their column) also are assessed whether they are: §High: (all English Dorsal sounds are) §Back: all but [j], which is a glide, are in English.

page 97 The Vowels

page 97 The Vowels Only relevant features are listed here; Manner= continuant Laryngeal=voice places: Labial and Dorsal

Distinctive Features § Students often express confusion at the lack of certain descriptors. Not all of the same descriptors are needed when you add so many “distinctive” features. For example, with Vowels: descriptions that are missing follow: § Mid = [-high, –low] § Central= [-back]

Distinctive Features in C’s § As we were describing the Consonants, we were able to identify sounds that are “distinctive” as a set. § They make a set because they share features that only a few sounds have. § As such, we can describe them by that feature plus just a few more to narrow the sounds down even further.

Distinctive Features in C’s § Example: § Nasals m, n, and ŋ § No other sounds in English have +nasal so we can discuss this set of sounds as a “natural class” having the distinctive feature “nasal. ” However, to distinguish between them, we would give more detail: § m= bilabial, n=alveolar, ŋ= velar

Rule Writing with a Matrix § Try writing some rules with me! § “Alveolar nasals become bilabial in the environment of preceding bilabial sounds. ” § Example: fonb. Uk fombuk

C C C +nasal 0 coronal 0 labial

+CONSONANTAL C C C +nasal 0 coronal 0 labial

ONLY SAY HERE WHAT HAS CHANGED C C C +nasal 0 coronal 0 labial

ONLY SAY HERE WHAT IS RELEVANT TO THE CHANGE C C C +nasal 0 coronal 0 labial

It may look hard at first… § Rule writing with matrices may actually be easier to write out a FULL feature matrix at first, § As you grow more comfortable with the material, you will notice what distinguishes the sounds (their distinctive features) and natural classes. § Feel free to add more detail than you need if you are writing a rule with a matrix.

In the test, be prepared to write rules for a phonology problem. There are three levels of difficulty: Easy=symbols [n] [m]/ __[b] Medium= basic features alveolar nasals bilabial /__bilabial consonants Hard= the feature matrix

So, to sum up § Use the book pages 96 -97 to process phonology problems § Don’t fret about the natural classes and distinctive features for the test, but work to understand them as they make solving problems easier. § Choose your level of confidence when solving a phonology problem, but remember that there is a difference in the score you can receive for your ability to do the easy hard rules.