Rules of Phonology 2

RULES OF
PHONOLOGY
(Part 2)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Hilmi bin Hamzah
Applied Linguistics Unit
School of Languages, Civilisation and Philosophy
Universiti Utara Malaysia
1
Classification of Phonological Rules
1) Assimilation
(a) Progressive
(b) Regressive
(c) Coalescent
2) Dissimilation
3) Insertion (Epenthesis)
4) Deletion (Elision, Ellipses)
5) Linking /r/, /j/ & /w/
6) Intrusive /r/
7) Movement (Metathesis)
2
4) Deletion (Elision)
The term elision describes the disappearance of a sound.
Some rules for elision

(i) Elision of /t/ and /d/
The most common elisions in English are /t/ and /d/, when they
appear within a consonant cluster.
We arrived the next day [neks deI]

(/t/ elided between /ks/ and /d/)
We bought a lovely carved statuette [ka:v stætʃuet]

(/d/ elided between /v/ and /st/)
3
(ii) Complex consonant clusters are simplified
She acts like she owns the place!
( [ækts] can be simplified into [æks] )
Teachers use authentic texts

( [teksts] can be simplified to [teks] )
4
(iii) /ə/ can disappear in unstressed syllables
Potato [pteItəʊ]
Tomato [tma:təʊ]
Perhaps [phæps]
Interesting [IntrəstIŋ]
5
(iv) /v/ can disappear in of, before
consonants
Lots of them (lɒts ə ðəm)
6
5) Linking
When two vowel sounds meet, speakers often link
them in various ways.
Linking /r/
 Some accents of English (e.g., American English, Irish
English and certain British regional accents) can be
described as rhotic, which means that when the letter r
appears in the written word after a vowel, the /r/
phoneme is used in the pronunciation of the word.
Example:
 [ka:r] [ka:rv]
7
Some accents are non-rhotic and speakers
do not pronounce the /r/ , so we will get:
[ka:] [ka:v]
8
However, if there is a written <r> at the end of a
word and it occurs between two vowels,
speakers with non-rhotic accents often use the
phoneme /r/ to link the preceding vowel to the
following one.
Here are four eggs

/hIəra: fɔ:regz/
9
Linking /j/
When a word ends in /i:/, or a diphthong which

finishes with /i/, speakers often introduce a /j/
to ease transition to a following vowel sound.
I agree [aIjəgri:]
I am what I am [aIjæm]
I ought to be [aIjɔ:t]
See it [si:jit]
10
I AM ME!
(Ayam mee?)
https://youtu.be/Cr2OFgPaIQo
https://www.facebook.com/1283407531/posts/10213757242986983/
11
Linking /w/
When a word ends in /u:/, or a diphthong

which finishes with /ʊ/, speakers often
introduce a /w/ to ease the transition to a
following vowel sound.
Go on! [gəʊwɒn]
You inside? [ju:wInsaId]
Who is? [hu:wIz]
12
6) Intrusive /r/
Where two vowel sounds meet and there is no
written letter <r>, speakers with non-rhotic
accents will still often introduce the /r/
phoneme in order to ease the transition.
This happens when the first word ends in /ə/,
/a:/ or /ɔ:/
She’s a victim of media exploitation
Law and order
I saw it happen
13
7. Movement (Metathesis) Rules
 Moving phonemes from one place in a sentence to

another.
 Less common but does exist - e.g., in some dialects of
English, for example, the word ask is pronounced
[æks], but the word asking is pronounced [æskin] or
[æskiŋ].
 In these dialects, a metathesis rule “switches” the /s/
and /k/ in certain contexts.
 Children’s speech show many cases of metathesis
(which are later corrected as the child approaches the
adult grammar).
 e.g., aminal, anymore? nasi melak?
14
NASI MELAK?
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10218239171712400&id=1283407531
15
Phonological rules in a grammar apply to phonemic
strings and alter them in various ways to derive their
phonetic pronunciation:
 They may assimilate rules that change feature
values of segments.
 They may dissimilate rules that change feature
values to make two phonemes in a string more
dissimilar.
 They may add non-distinctive features that are
predictable from the context.
 They may insert segments that are not present in
the phonemic string (epenthesis).
 They may delete phonemic segments in certain
contexts.
 They may transpose (metathesis) or move
segments in a string.
16
CONCLUSION
 Phonological rules may be obligatory or optional.
Obligatory rules in English include: assimilation in
plural/singular words, deletion in contractions, aspiration.
 Such a rule always applies in the speech of all speakers

of a language or a dialect having the rule, regardless of
style or rate of speaking.
 The effects of obligatory rules are often very subtle and

difficult to notice, but they are an important part of a
native accent.
17
 Optional phonological rules, on the other hand, may or
may not apply in an individual’s speech.
 Optional rules are responsible for variation in speech;

for example we can pronounce /kæn bi/ as either [kæm
bi] or [kæn bi], depending on whether the alveolar stop
assimilation is applied or not.
 The use of optional rules depends in part on rate and

style of speech.
18
FINAL THOUGHTS
 How do rules of phonology affect non-

native speakers of English?
 Should they be taught in the business

context?
19

Rules of Phonology 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Rules of Phonology 2

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Rules of Phonology 2

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

RULES OF

Some rules for elision

We arrived the next day [neks deI]

We bought a lovely carved statuette [ka:v stætʃuet]

Teachers use authentic texts

Lots of them (lɒts ə ðəm)

Here are four eggs

When a word ends in /i:/, or a diphthong which

When a word ends in /u:/, or a diphthong

 Moving phonemes from one place in a sentence to

 Such a rule always applies in the speech of all speakers

 The effects of obligatory rules are often very subtle and

 Optional rules are responsible for variation in speech;

 The use of optional rules depends in part on rate and

 How do rules of phonology affect non-

 Should they be taught in the business

You might also like