Intro. to Linguistic Theory, Fall 2011
“Handout”
Today we talked about different kinds phonological processes. If you weren’t in class or want to review, you can check out the reading for this unit for more information. If you haven’t handed in Homework #5 yet the last day to turn it in is Friday of this week.
There was no class today because the university was closed in the aftermath of the snowstorm. Hope you all have electricity and are staying warm.
(Homework #5 is due by Friday, November 4 in class.)
Today we talked more about phonological rules and natural classes. We finished the Ukranian problem from the handout a couple of classes ago, and we talked about minimal pairs, free variation, and began rule ordering with the English plural and morphophonology. There were no handouts and no new DQs. Homework #5 is due on Monday.
Handouts
Today we started by talking more about natural classes, reviewing the definition and the “new” natural classes from last time (obstruent, sonorant, labial, sibilant). We emphasized the fact that the articulatory descriptions and the phonological inventory of a given language are how a natural class is defined. We looked in detail again at the rule for Mokilese vowel devoicing and how to write it in the most general way possible while still being accurate. I mentioned the value of falsifiability and how it relates to writing rules that are maximally general. Then we worked through the Farsi data from the handout from last time. Homework #5, which I passed out today, is due on Monday, Oct 31.
Slides
Before the exam we began discussing phonology by looking at the distributions of particular segments in particular languages. Today we took a broader view of phonology and discussed some general properties of sound systems in language and how they are studied.
Reminder: Homework #4 is due on Friday of this week.
Handout
Today I handed back Homework #3 and we went over the things that will be on Monday’s exam. If you missed class and want your homework back you can get it before the exam begins tomorrow (if you get to class a few minutes early). If you have any questions feel free to email me.
Handouts
Today we reviewed the basic concepts in phonology that we talked about yesterday and I introduced Homework #4. We then practiced applying the concepts with in two small datasets, one from Russian and one from English. We didn’t actually get to talk much about the ‘minimal pairs’ handout, and we won’t talk about it on Friday, but you can use it to practice thinking about minimal pairs. (See if you can think of a minimal pair for each pair of sounds shown in the chart.)
Homework #4 is due next Friday (so, not till after the exam). It involves a bit of library research so don’t wait till the last minute. If you missed class or have any questions about how it works, send me an email!
Handouts
Today we started talking about phonology. We observed that the way we pronounce sounds is actually more detailed and variable than we had previously noted. We also observed that two languages can have the same sounds but organize them differently. I introduced the notions of phonemes, allophones, minimal pairs, complementary distribution, and contrastive distribution. I didn’t hand out any DQs today (so no quiz tomorrow) but you can expect a set of DQs tomorrow, some of which might include stuff we covered today.