Module+2+Unit+1+Phonology+June+7-June+13

[]Welcome to Module 2, Unit 1: Phonology Collaborative Study Guide. This page will serve as the study guide for this unit; this list of key terms is found below (due June 13).

Phonology is described in our book as “the study of the sound system of a language; that is, what sounds are in a language and what the rules are for combining those sounds into larger units. Phonology can also refer to the studey of the sounds systems of all languages, including universal rules of sound.” You tube video gives us a lesson in Phonolygy. The video teaches sounds and phonetics symbols to anyone who watches it. With the hard material like this I think either a video or some kind of visual representation of the lesson can make it easier on the students who are learning it. Lastefljack. (2008, February 7). //Learn english - introduction to phonetics//. Retrieved from: <[]> by: Magdalena Krol 6/7
 * Phonology**

Phonology According to the book, phonology is concerned with factors that are rooted in language as a system, such as dealing with the intrinsic systems used to organize speech sounds. The following website: [] describes phonolgy as "the study of the patterned interaction of speech sounds."

This is a visual introduction to the concept of Phonolgy: (Retrived June 17, 2010) []

By: Melissa Guzman 6/17/10

Phone (phonetic unit; segment)

According to our book a phoneme is “a perceived unit of language that signals a difference in meaning when contrasted with another phoneme” (Rowe & Levine, 2009). This is a “mental construct” because it is what our ears perceive as a new sound and change the meaning of a word, like the difference between the /c/ in //cat// and /r/ in //rat.// I have seen this concept illustrated for young students in my observations of Kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. The teachers spend time on isolating the different sounds in words and ask the students to repeat the sounds. This helps the students understand and recognize different phonemes. The following is a link to a website that explains the term further and talks about ways to incorporate this concept into the classroom. [|http://www.auburn.edu/~murraba/phon.html]
 * Phoneme**

Making friends with phonemes. Retrieved June 13, 2010, from http://www.auburn.edu/~murraba/phon.html. Rowe, B. M., & Levine, D. P. (2006). A concise introduction to linguistics. Boston:Pearson. by: Nicolina Salerno 6/13

According to our book an allophone "is a variation of a phoneme. Different allophones of a phoneme occur in different and predictable phonetic environments." (pg.63) In my words an allophone are the different sounds that one letter(phone) can make. The book gives us the examples of /p/ the allophones of /p/ are [p] and [**p**//h//]. Here is a website website that tries to explain this a little better http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~krussll/138/sec3/allophon.htm By Angeles Dragunaitis
 * Allophone**

According to the book, "in linguistics, the term //distinctive,// refers to units that contrast; that is, change meaning when substituted for each other. Phonemes are distinctive; allophones are not." Another example I found was in []. They refer to distinctive units in this context: An important part of phonology is studying which sounds are distinctive units within a language. For example, the "p" in "pin" is aspirated while the same phoneme in "spin" is not. In some other languages, for example Thai and Quechua, this same difference of aspiration or non-aspiration does differentiate phonemes. (Retrieved June 18, 2010). According to our book, when liguistics attempt to study speech sounds of an unstudied language, they do not know which sounds are significant and which sounds are //distinctive// (systematically used to make distinctions in words), so they record every detail during this study.
 * Distinctive**

By: Melissa Guzman 6/18/10


 * Etic**


 * Emic**

I put both **Etic** and **Emic** into one explanation because our book as well as online sources put the words **Etic** and **Emic** on the same plain. These two words seem to be balancing each other. Our book claims that //**Etic “refers to a study done by a cultural outsider using categories and concepts that might not have meaning to the people being studied.”**// To me **Etic** refers to how each culture behaves differently than another one. Me as an outsider I watch the **Etic** of different people living in USA. **Emic** also has a good definition in our book. It (**Emic**) //**“refers to categories and concepts that have meaning to the people beign studied. An emic sutdy attempts to discover what things have meaning to the people being studied.”**// **Emic** seems to be similar to **Etic** but they focus on different aspects of people. Emic focuses on important aspect of culture. Wikipedia Encyclopedia explains both concepts and shows comparison between the two. Emic and etic. (2010 ). //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Retrieved (2010, June 7) from <[]> The concepts of these two words are also explained in the book written by Alessandro Duranti. The author especially explains both words on page 172 of his book. Duranti, A. (2003). //Linguistic anthropology//. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. by: Magdalena Krol 6/7

An utterance is a length of speech between two silent, or potentially silent, periods. Utterances can vary greatly in length. For example, the answer to a question may be "yes" or "no," these would be single word utterances. The answer to a more open-ended question may be several sentences or even paragraphs long. Linguists record utterances to analyze later in search of the phones and phonemes of languages. In the classroom, it is important to note the typical length of utterances students are making, particularly if they are ELLs. The average length of utterances can indicate comfort level as well as competency level. In Illinois, we also have learning standards attached to speaking. These standards make it necessary for teachers to be aware of utterances that students are making in the classroom. You can find the general Illinois Learning Standards here []. To see an example of a preschool exchange of utterances you can view the video at this site [] from the Illinois Early Learning Project (2010). Illinois Early Learning Project (2010). //Comparing firefighter coats// [video clip]//.// Retrieved from [] Illinois State Board of Education. (2006). //Illinois early learning standards: Kindergarten//. Springfield, IL: Division of Early Childhood Education. by Kelley Morrissey 6/8
 * Utterance** (Rowe and Levine, Chapter 3)

A corpus is the raw data collected by linguists when they are studying a language they are not yet familiar with. The linguist will then study the information in the corpus to reveal the phonetic units as well as try and determine the phonemes of the language being studied. A parallel concept in education is that of a observation. An important part of doing observation is to record only the facts, what actually happened, and not make value judgments. For example you would observe, "John yelled NO! while stomping his feet and then began to cry.", and NOT "John threw a fit." After your observation you may go back and analyze what happened to try and make a judgment about the situation (as in using the ABC analysis for behavior intervention) but the initial observation is only what took place at the time. The same is true of the corpus, it is only the record of the utterances taken during an interval, which will be analyzed later for further information. For more information on how to create a corpus you may go to [|http://www.ahds.ac.uk/creating/guides/linguistic-corpora/index.htm.] Wynne, M (Ed.). (2005). //Developing Linguistic Corpora: a Guide to Good Practice//. Oxford: Oxbow Books. Retrieved from [] by Kelley Morrissey 6/8
 * Corpus** (Rowe and Levine, Chapter 3)

A minimal pair is two words, phrases, or sentences that have different meaning but only differ in one way phonetically. The difference will occur in the same location in each word, phrase or sentence. The English words pen and ten would be one such pair. Each of the words in the pair has three sound segments, different definitions, and only differ in the first consonant. When there are more than two words, phrases, or sentences being compared they are called a Minimal set. If the words pen and ten also included den, hen, and men, then they would be considered a minimal set. Linguists look for minimal pairs and minimal sets to help distinguish phonemes of a language. We use minimal pairs and minimal sets in the classroom when teaching rhyme. Most, but not all, rhyming words are minimal pairs or sets. The author Dr. Seuss loved to use minimal pairs and sets in his works, such as The Cat in the Hat (1957) and Hop on Pop (1963). Often, he even created new words to fit his needs. There are many wonderful websites dedicated to Dr. Seuss, one can be found here: [|http://www.seussville.com] Seuss, D. (1957). //The cat in the hat.// New York, NY: Random House. Seuss, D. (1963). //Hop on pop.// New York, NY: Random House. by Kelley Morrissey 6/8
 * Minimal pair and Minimal se**t (Rowe and Levine, Chapter 3)

According to our book it is "made up of two forms(words, phrases, sentences) that differ in meaning, contain the same number of sounds segments and display only one phonetic difference which occur at the same place in form. This website seemed to really help me understand exactly what a minimal pair is and shows many common minimal pairs in English language. __ **http://edweb.sdsu.edu/people/jmora/MinimalprsList.htm** __ By: Angeles Dragunaitis
 * Minimal Pair**

"Complementary distribution means that each of a series of sounds occurs in different phonetic contexts and these sounds never contrast with each other. Phones that are in complementary distribution with each other are all allophones." (pg.65) according to our book. Here is a website that gives a few explanation of complementary distribution http://www.departments.bucknell.edu/linguistics/lectures/05lect06.html. According to__ http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~lsp/Phonology/Phonology1d.html __ it states the complementary distribution equals allophones of the SAME phoneme. By Angeles Dragunaitis
 * Complementary distribution**

According to our book, "overlapping distribution is a characteristic of different phones that appear in most of the same phonetic environments. Unlike complementary distribution, phones in overlapping distribution are different phonemes(not allophones) and therefore substituting one for the other changes the meaning of an utterance." (pg,66). This link i found gives an example of overlapping distribution as well as complementary distribution. __http://www.ic.arizona.edu/~lsp/Phonology/Phonology1d.html__ In other words if you take a word and can change the first phoneme making the meaning of the word change then its overlapping distribution. Example: _- ock __d__ock __cl__ock __fl__ock __s__ock -ock stayed the same but we change the beginning d-, cl-, fl-, s- By Angeles Dragunaitis
 * Overlapping distribution**

A substitution frame is a form that has an empty "slot" that can be filled with different phones and is used to identify different phonemes. When the slot is filled with different phones the resulting group of words is a minimal set. Linguists search for substitution frames in utterances of languages to locate phones and phonemes of the language. We use substitution frames in teaching to teach word families. For example the _in family consists of the minimal set bin, din, fin, pin, sin, tin, and win. For more word families visit Mrs. Alphabet's Word Families (1998) at []. Lynch, A. (1998). //Mrs. alphabet: Word families.// Retrieved from []. by Kelley Morrissey 6/8
 * Substitution frame**


 * Free variation**

According to the book narrow transcription (phonetic transcription) represents the actual sounds that a person utters in as much detail as possible. When I read this definition I thought of running records because from what I understand when you are using narrow transcription you are trying to record what the person tells you in as much detail as possible. This is similar to what we do when taking a running record. We try to record all errors a child makes as accurately and detailed as possible. When looking for a resource for narrow transcription I found link to a practice exercise sheet. On this sheet you listen to what someone says and then you try to transcribe the utterances. Before you try this exercise you should know no answer key is provided. [] Rowe, B. M., & Levine, D. P. (2006). A concise introduction to linguistics. Boston:Pearson. Edy Maravila 6/13
 * Narrow transcription (phonetic transcription)**

According to the book broad transcription (phonemic transcription) represents the idealized sounds, called phonemes, which are actually classes of sounds (the class being made up of allophones) rather than physically real speech sounds. When I think of this definition I think that it is a less precise transcription of what has been said. For example, if I record a student and then complete a running record I will be more detailed in what they have read. I can record hesitations, repeats and attempts to read a word. That would be like narrow transcription. On the other hand when I take a running record on a student just reading to me I will not be as detailed. I will have to keep up with the student and will not be able to mark everything he/she may say that would be like broad transcription. I found a web site that has Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights transcribed using broad transcription. [|**http://www.philologaster.com/**] Rowe, B. M., & Levine, D. P. (2006). A concise introduction to linguistics. Boston:Pearson. Edy Maravilla 6/13
 * Broad transcription (phonemic transcription)**

Distinctive feature The book defines distinctive featurs as any trait that distingushes on phoneme from another.When I read the defininition and the example of what it ment I thought of it in the terms of how we teach children their sound. We teach the students that some sounds are continuous like the /m/ sound. We also instruct students on whether the sound is made with the nose. I found a chart that shows the distinctive features of vowels, sonorant consonants and glides, and obstruents. [|**http://www.docstoc.com/docs/4872880/Chart-of-distinctive-features**] Rowe, B. M., & Levine, D. P. (2006). A concise introduction to linguistics. Boston:Pearson. By: Edy Maravilla 6/13

Binary system The book states that a binary system is a classification system in which a feature is either present or absent. Binary system seems like a way to indicate yes or no to the presents of features. This seems similar to when I fill out my articulation data for my principal. When I fill out this information sheet I am just letting my principal know if my students are reaching the 80% in the various skills in different academic areas. The student either receives a + indicating yes I have reached at least 80% mastery of that skill or a – meaning I have not reached 80% mastery of the skill. On the Encyclopedia Britannica website I found a link to binary features proposed by Chomsky and Halle. binary opposition. (2010). In //Encyclopædia Britannica//. Retrieved June 13, 2010, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: [|**http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/65552/binary-opposition**] Rowe, B. M., & Levine, D. P. (2006). A concise introduction to linguistics. Boston: Pearson. Edy Maravilla 6/13

Natural class According to Rowe and Levine (2006) natural class is “a subset of the total set or phonemes that shares a small number of phonetic (distinctive) features, which distinguishes the class from other natural classes. Natural classes play a significant role in the phonological regularities (rules).” Natural classes allow us to create rules for whole classes instead of individual sounds. An example from the text is /r, w, y l/ form a natural class with the features +sonorant and –nasal. Here is a link to another definition of natural class from Wikipedia.com:** [|**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_class**]**. (2009). Natural class. Retrieved June 13, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_class. Rowe, B. M., & Levine, D. P. (2006). A concise introduction to linguistics. Boston: Pearson. By Nicolina 6/13
 * Feature matrix

Phonological processes** The book introduces this process by stating that no one teaches us how to speak, as well as tells us or teaches us that our language has so many rules. For me, as well as others who are not trained in linguistics, miss and do not even notice the rules in the formation of words or the relationship between words. We also may not notice the way in which certain words are said, or if we are even pronouncing them the way in which they are "supposed to."

As I was looking through the bottom website, the phonological processes was also described in terms of children. It states how children below the age of 4-6 yrs may, or do not, have the ability to control the movement of vocal apparatus, and as a result some words or sounds may be too difficult. This may lead to the simplification of complex words. When I read this it made me thing of my son. When he was 2-3 years old he could not say the word //elephant//, instead he would say "//en-ta-tent."//

Speech Therapy Information and Resources (Retrived June 16, 2010) []

By: Melissa Guzman 6/16/10

According to the text, an //obligatory phonological process// "is a rule that most native speakers of a specific language apply to make a string of phonetic units easier to pronounce and perceive." The example that is used in the book is with the word //ham//. When pronouncing the word the [//a//] is usually nasalized. In English, vowels are usually not nasalized, but because the [//m]// is nasalized, the [a] becomes nasalized. Even though this is not the proper way of saying it, speech patterns such as these arise because it is easier to say certain words in these "improper ways" instead of how they are actually supposed to be said. For example, words such as //ketchup, milk, roof, eggs// are said differently by different people.
 * Obligatory phonological process**

//Phonology by Janice Fon,// The Ohio State University (Slide 27) (Retrived June 16, 2010) []

By: Melissa Guzman 6/16/10

According to the text, an //optional phonological process// "is a pattern that is applied by indiividuals or groups of indiividuals and is not necessarily characteristic of most native speakers of a language; it is stylistic." In this process words are radically transformed, or changed, from there idealized form. During this process there may also be a **changes in syllabicity**. As stated in the book, in the word //something//, the last syllable may be pronounced /m/. Sounds may sometimes also be deleted. In //readily// it may be pronounced /redili/ or /redli/.
 * Optional phonological process**

I find that second language learners often do this. For example, at home my dad, who is a native Spanish speaker, often drops syllables. He might say "anything as n-e-thin.'

Language Learning: A Journal in Research of Language Learning (Retrived June 16, 2010) []

By: Melissa Guzman 6/16/10

Even thought our book gives us a very good definition of the word Assimilation: “an obligatory phonological process that makes it easier to pronounce combinations of sounds by making those sounds share a distinctive feature that one of the sounds would not have in other envirornments.” I do not fully understand the concept. Also, there is very little information found online about this word. Our book shows different examples then what I found in wikipedia. Our book shows the examples such as cat and can (page 77). In both the ‘a’ sounds the same but the symbols for it (in the prentecies on page 77) are different. “A common example of assimilation would be "don't be silly" where the /n/ and /t/ in "don't" are assimilated to /m/ and /p/ by the following /b/, where said naturally in many accents and discourse styles ("dombe silly")” Assimilation. (2010 ). //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Retrieved (2010, June 8) from: <[]> by: Magdalena Krol 6/8
 * Assimilation**

By: Angeles Draguanitis
 * Assimilation** in our book is defined as" the obligatory phonological process that makes it easier to pronounce combinations of sounds by making those sounds share a distinctive feature that in other environments one of the sounds would not have." (pg.77) In this website it shows some examples of words that small children may assimilate. __http://www.speech-language-development.com/phonological-processes.htm__ For example my 2 1/2 daughter say "fress" for dress.


 * Manner assimilation

Voice assimilation

Place assimilation

Redundancy** According to the book redundancy occurs when more information than necesary under ideal conditions is present.When I read the example of redundancy in the book I took it to mean that a word can be understood by more than one feature. I would try to understand redundancy by comparing it to a tast test using a blind fold. You can identify the ingredient by smelling or tasting. Which means that you have more than sight to identify the ingredient. Which is the same as redundancy because you have more than one way of identifying a word. Rowe, B. M., & Levine, D. P. (2006). A concise introduction to linguistics. Boston: Pearson. Edy Maravilla 6/13

I usually like to use the definition for words from our book because most of these definitions are easier to understand. Markedness “is a contrast in complexity and rarity of sounds.” However, our book shows me even examples of the word Markedness which seem to make everything more complicated. The wikipedia also explains the word from the linguistics perspective. It explains it as “A marked form is a non-basic or less natural form. An unmarked form is a basic, default form.” Which might not be understandable at first but the example given makes it all clear. “For example, //lion// is the unmarked choice in [|English] — it could refer to a male or female [|lion]. But //lioness// is marked because it can refer only to females. The unmarked forms serve as general terms: e.g. //brotherhood of man// is sometimes used to refer to all people, both men and women, while //sisterhood// refers only to women.” Markedness. (2010 ). //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. Retrieved (2010, June 8) from: < []> by: Magdalena Krol 6/8
 * Markedness**

Marked sounds**
 * Unmarked sounds

Binary systems are used to classify features as either present or absent. If a sound is voiced is it denoted as [+voice] and if it is voiceless it is denoted as [-voice] (Rowe & Levine, 2009). The information of binary systems are very relevant and key to both the education and work of speech pathologists. Classification systems help them to further break down the hundreds of sounds we have in the English language. I found a video on YouTube that discusses voiced and voiceless sounds and how they can be difficult for ESLs to learn. It also gives charts of voiced and voiceless sounds to help speakers learn the difference, as well as how the sounds are made that is where the lips, tongue, palate, et cetera are located for various sounds: [] Kim O'Byrne 6/13

Challenges in syllabicity “involves an alternative pronunciation of a syllable from an idealized pronunciation” (Rowe & Levine, p.79). One pronunciation may be used in a formal situation and a varying pronunciation in an informal situation. The immediate text-to-self connection I made with challenges in syllabicity were words that I used in every day informal speech but also change it in formal conversation; gonna (going to) and wanna (want to), as well as leaving ‘g’ of the end of some words. One song that is (was) very popular in the 90s is “Big Pimpin’” by Jay-Z, where throughout the whole song he repeats the word “pimpin’” without the “g” sound. You can hear the song and see a video at: [] Kim O'Byrne 6/13

A phone “is a unit of sound that can be mentally distinguished from other sounds…and the continuous flow of sound that makes up speech” (Rowe & Levine, p. 63). As people who, for the majority, communicate through speech we use phones everyday while producing words. Up until reading the chapter most of us were probably unaware what the sounds we make continuously throughout the day are called; phones are an everyday part of our lives no matter the language we speak. I found the video I attached on YouTube of President Obama delivering a speech to high school students about the importance of education; I found it very relevant because (obviously)he is “using” phones the whole time, as well as focusing on education: [] Kim O'Byrne 6/13

An etic “refers to a study done by a cultural outsider using categories and concepts that might not have meaning to the people being studied” (Rowe & Levine, p.64). People who go to other countries to learn about the people, culture, traditions, et cetera may go back and write notes, journal entries, theses, anthologies, et cetera that contain a lot of pertinent information and vocabulary to them and their studies, but really has no concern for that culture “being studied.” While looking for media to help understand “etic” I came upon the website for the National Council for the Social Studies, where I found many ideas and links, but most importantly a section on why to study culture and the reasoning behind it. I believe it fits in great with etic because it helps us to understand why we study culture and what we can do with that information (why its meaningful to us.) To read the section, as well as many other sections: [] Kim O'Byrne 6/13 An emic “refers to categories and concepts that have meaning to the people being studied” (Rowe & Levine, p.64). Through this class and observation I have in some way participated in an emic study because I have been asking questions, reading texts, watching videos, and observing to learn what people from other cultures value and look into items/food/families value and importance from another person’s perspective. According to an abstract article I found online, “When Jesus tells a story it is emic,m told by a cultural insider who provides ullustrations and analogies based on his cultural experiences and imagination. He expected his disciples and other insiders to have an emic understanding sufficient that he did not need to give details about the Palestinian culture”: [] Kim O’Byrne 6/13

Free variation is a condition in which phonetically different sounds may occur in the same environment without changing meaning. I know in my household some family members say milk and wash two different ways but they still have the same meaning no matter how they are said. Here on youtube is a person demonstrating the different pronunciation of milk. [] By: Lauren Peters 6/13 Narrow transcription represents the actual sounds that a person utters in as much detail as possible. I seem to use this when I am enthusiastic about something or trying to show a certain expression on a word. More info on narrow transcription can be found on [] Lauren Peters 6/13 Distinctive feature is any trait that distinguishes one phoneme from another. The world web defines distinctive feature as being an odd or unusual feature. [] By: Lauren Peters 6/13

Binary system is a classification system in which a feature is either present or absent. By: Lauren Peters 6/13

Voice assimilation occurs when a sound comes to agree with a surrounding sound in its voicing. By : Lauren Peters 6/13

Etic (Rowe and Levine, Chapter 3) refers to a study done by a cultural outsider using categories and concepts that might not have meaning to the people being studied. I often find people putting people of different cultures into categories. For instance, someone from a different culture other than “American” may say oh since they are American they are lazy and love McDonalds. However, that is just a stereo type and not all people who were born in America are lazy and love McDonalds. Wikipedia describes etic as, a description of a behavior or belief by an observer, in terms that can be applied to other cultures that is, an etic account is “culturally neutral”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emic_and_etic Colleen Chaps 6/13 Voice assimilation (Rowe and Levine, Chapter 3) occurs when sound comes to agree with a surrounding sound in its voicing. If you were speaking Polish or French you would notice voice assimilation because vowels occur without an adjacent nasal consonant. However, according to Rubach’s article, voice assimilation occurs in English partially and in Polish completely.

[] Colleen Chaps 6/13 Devoice (Rowe and Levine, Chapter 3) occurs when a sound loses its voiced feature because of a voiceless sound or sounds in its phonetic environment. The book gives an example of the word lay, and it would be pronounced le, and if you add a p, it would be play, but pronounced ple. These sounds are said to be liquids; l and r, and glide; w, and often devoiced in certain phonetic contexts. According to Merriam dictionary online, devoicing is pronouncing (as a sometimes or formerly voiced sound) without vibration of the vocal cords. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devoice Colleen Chaps 6/13

Manner assimilation (Rowe and Levine, Chapter 3) is a process that involves a change in a single feature, oral or nasal, it makes a string of sounds easier to pronounce by making one of them conform to the manner of articulation of the other. This is said to be especially common in French. According to Moll, nasal segments undergo manner assimilation when followed by a lateral or a glide, otherwise they maintain their manner specification. Learn more about manner assimilation by reading the following article: []. Colleen Chaps 6/13

Phonotactic (Rowe and Levine, Chapter 3) is the area in phonology that that studies what sound combinations are allowed in different languages. There are certain rules in languages that are followed when spelling things, for instance in Japanese, st is not allowed, however in English it is. According to wikipedia, phonology deals with restrictions that in a language on the permissible syllable structure, consonant clusters, and vowel sequences by means of phonotactical constraints. [].