Linguistics 110 Zhang/Öztürk/Quinn

Class 13 (11/4/02)

Phonological Representation—Features

(1) Representation = formal device intended as a model of internalized knowledge

• There are mental representations for vision1, music2, etc. Representations are the
common currency of cognitive science.
• They help to present the analysis in an explicit fashion so as to make precise and
testable predictions.
• Intuition and insights are great, but only useful to science when presented
explicitly.

In one phonological theory, representations are sequences of columns of features,

each column forming a segment:

mop: = -syllabic +syllabic -syllabic

+sonorant +sonorant +sonorant
+contin. +contin. -contin.
+nasal -nasal -nasal
+labial +low +labial
+voice +back -voice , abbreviated /mA*p/
-round

➥ What are the claims of this representation?

• Segments exist.
• Features exist.
• Each segment is simply the sum of its properties.
• Rules are well-defined formal operations on representations of this type.

(2) What is the main justification for features in phonological theory?

• Because phonological rules manipulate natural classes (see previous lectures,
readings).
• The features are a way of stating our understanding of natural classes: How are
sounds categorized into groups in languages?

1
See, for example, Vision, by David Marr.
2
See A Generative Theory of Tonal Music, by Fred Lerdahl (a composer) and Ray Jackendoff (a
linguist).

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(3) Manner features: A classification based on sonority (acoustic energy)
vowels glides liquids nasals fricatives stops
incl.
affr.
[+syllabic][ -syllabic ]
[ -consonantal ][ +consonantal ]
[ +sonorant ][ -sonorant ]
[ +continuant ][-contin. ]

(4) French
petit ami [p´tit ami] ‘small friend’
petit oiseau [p´tit wazo] ‘small bird’
petit livre [p´ti livr] ‘small book’
petit navet [p´ti navE] ‘small turnip’
petit chef [p´ti Sef] ‘small chief’
petit tableau [p´ti tablo] ‘small picture’

(5) Indonesian
N → ∅ / ___ {m, n, ≠, N, l, r, w}
but not before {h, stops, affricates, fricatives, vowels}

cf. goreN m´N-goreN

NeoN m´-NeoN

(6) Turkish
Nom. Acc. Gloss Nom. Acc. Gloss
/kitab/ [kitap] [kitab-¨] ‘book’ /at/ [at] [at-¨] ‘horse’
/reng/ [reNk] [reNg-i] ‘color’ /fevk/ [fevk] [fevk-i] ‘drive’
/tadZ/ [tatS] [tadZ-¨] ‘crown’ /go¥f/ [go¥f] [go¥f-y] ‘golf’
/ev/ [ev] [ev-i] ‘house’ /va¥s/ [va¥s] [va¥s-i] ‘waltz’
/dZeviz/ [dZeviz] [dZeviz-i] ‘walnut’

(7) Classifying the stops, affricates, and fricatives

fricatives affricates stops
[ +delayed release ][ -delayed release ]
[ +continuant ][ -continuant ]

(8) Stop Deletion in Indonesian

{p, t, k} → ∅ / [+nasal] ___ but not {b, d, dZ, g, tS, f}

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(9) Chumash
osos ‘heel’ *osoS, *oSos
at°s’is ‘bear’ * at°S’is, *at°s’iS
SuS ‘fur’ *suS, *Sus
t°S’umaS ‘islanders’ *t°s’umaS, *t°S’umas

k-iSkin ‘I save it’ k-at°skaw ‘I sin’

k-iskin-us ‘I save it for him’ at°Skaw-iS ‘a sin’

(10) Phonology conclusion

• Phonemic analysis.
(a) Why? Allophones happen for good reasons. Distinction between phonemic
status and allophonic status can be established psycholinguistically.
(b) How to do phonemic analysis?

• Alternation.
(a) What is alternation? Why does it happen?
(b) How to solve an alternation problem?

• Neutralization.
(a) What is neutralization?
(b) How to solve a neutralization problem?

• Phonological representation—features.
(a) Motivation for representations in general.
(b) Motivation for phonological features.