2024/2 PBI Introduction to Linguistics

Phoneme

As mentioned before, phonology concerns on phonemes, which the basic unit of sound and are sensed in your mind rather than spoken or heard. Each phoneme has one or more sounds called allophones associated with it, which represent the actual sound being produced in several environments. To qualify as allophones of the same phoneme, two (or more) phones, that is sounds, must meet two criteria. First, their distribution must be predictable, while the second is if one phone is exceptionally substitued for the other in the same context, that substitution must not correspond to a meaning difference. Even if you say kitchen cupboard with the [k] first and the [c] second, an English speaker will notice that you have an unfamiliar accent; but importanlt, she will understand that you mean ‘kitchen cupboard’. This would not be so where a realisation of one phoneme is replaced by a realisation of another: if the [k] allophone of /k/ is replaced by the [t] allophone of /t/, then tall will be understood instead of call. Although in English [k] and [c] are allophones of the same phoneme, and are regarded as the same sound, but in Hungarian they

are different phonemes.

Phonemes are central to phonology means it is well worth giving a few examples, to make the concept more familiar. Now we return to /t/ and /k/ as in tall and call, now add Paul /p/ to our phoneme system. Try to hold a piece of paper up in front of your mouth by the bottom of the sheet, so the top is free to flap about, and then saying Paul, tall, call. You will find that a little air comes out to release after the initial /p/, /t/, and /k/, making the paper move slightly is known ad aspiration, and signalled in IPA transcription by adding a superscript [h ] after the symbol in question. This means that /p/, /t/ and /k/ have the allophones [ph ], [th ] and [kh ] word-initially; the aspiration is noticeable [ph ], since it’s articulated with the lips, nearest to where the air exits.

This time, try to make yourself aware the initial aspiration in pill, till and kill, you will produce [ph ] and [th ], but the allophone of /k/ will be different; the front vowel in kill, aspirated [ch ]. If you add an initial [s]

and do the piece of trick again, you will find unvisible movement. After [s], we find plain, unaspirated allophones [p], [th] and [c] in spill, still, skill (and unaspirated [k] in scold, as opposed to [kh ] in cold, where /k/ is followed by a back vowel. At the ends, /k/ is often accompanied by a partial glottal stop is called glottal reinforcement, and the final sound in back is signalled in IPA terms as [k]. When a following word

begin with [g], for example, this [k] is sometimes replaced by a glottal stop, as in back garden, where you may perceive the [?] allophone of /k/ as almost a pause before the [g]. Glottalisation is more common

for /t/: in forms like statement, butter, seatbelt, meaning that the glottal stop in English can be an allophone of both /k/ and /t/.