Introduction to Phonetics and PhonologyPhonetic description of languagePhonetic explanations for language sound patternsTo explain patterns we see in language sound systems, we will make reference to two phonetic systems“the talker” - articulation, aerodynamics“the listener” - acoustics, speech perceptionThe patterns we see in language sound systems can be classified into two sets:“process” - sound alternations, conditioned changes“inventory” - set of contrastive sounds in a languageSome examples of this “explanatory phonetics” approach to language sound systems. Process InventoryTalker-driven a. Assimilation c. EconomyListener-driven b. Merger d. Dispersiona. Assimilation - talker-driven sound change.an old Latin morpheme in English “in-”a newer (OE) morpheme in English “un-”insoluble unsatisfyingintolerable untouchableinharmonious unhappyimpossible unpopularillogical unlearnableirrefutable unreadablein[]congruent unkemptin[]frequent unfamiliarIn assimilation, adjacent or proximal sounds become more similar to each other.In these example two points of contact (e.g. lip, tongue) are replaced by one. How does the older prefix fare compared with the newer one?This can be seen as simplifying the speaker’s task - fewer movements need to be made.b. Merger - listener-driven sound change.Vowel merger before nasals (in OK and other western states).“pen”[pn]“pin”Vowels before nasal consonants like [n] tend to be nasalized.Vowel height contrasts (like [] versus []) are acoustically reduced in nasalized vowels because the lowest vowel resonance is hidden by nasal resonance and anti-resonance.This purely acoustical consequence of nasal assimilation makes the listener’s task harder.Listeners are then likely to hear [] as [  ].c. Feature Economy- talker-driven inventory constraint.Though redundant perceptual cues might be best for the listener,p t kb! p t kb d gUnattested stop inventoryCommon stop inventoryA redundant code in which every contrast is signaled along several dimensions is more robust.4567891011A Bgroup 1group 2Data valueconditionLittle redundancy4567891011A Bgroup 1group 2Data valueconditionMore redundancySo if redundancy is so useful, why don’t we have more of it in language sound patterns? Why this tendency toward the economical use of the same features?This is clearly not ideal for the listener but simplifies the speaker’s task considerably.Languages “reuse” motor programs/gestures, and thus economize motor learning.d. Adaptive dispersion - listener-driven inventory constraint.The most common vowel inventories in the languages of the world are “triangular”3 vowels i u vs.  a a5 vowels i u vs. i ye o e ø a æThere is a space of possible vowel sounds which can be produced by the human vocal tract. This is called the acoustic vowel space. It is defined by the two lowest resonant frequencies of the vocal tract.The speaker’s task would be simpler if all vowel sounds in speech were about the same - []. It has been estimated that this is about what the Neanderthal vowel space was.Listeners seem to demand more of speakers and thus there is a tendency in language for acoustic/ perceptual dispersion - to use as much of the acoustic vowel space as possible.These examples illustrate the phenomena in human language that we will explore in this course.• language sound patterns - processes and inventory constraints.• possible phonetic explanations of them - emergent from the physical systems used to implement linguistic communication.Aims of the course1. Descriptive Phonetics/phonology: Learn how to get an accurate description of speech pronunciation. • use the International Phonetic Alphabet (symbols above - p, t, k, b, !, , , , etc.)• ear training• computer visualization of speech• discover patterns of alternation among sounds Descriptive phonetics can be very complicated. We scratch the surface in this course and delve further in Ling 113.Aims of the course2. Explanatory Phonetics/phonology: Investigate how phonetic systems shape language sound patterns. • Physiology and speech motor control• Aerodynamics and sound generation• Acoustics and speech perception• Cognitive structure of language sound systemsExplanatory phonetics is also quite complicated. We explore this area of linguistics further in Ling