dependency theory in phonetics and phonology for linguistics

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1. Dependency Phonology

2. 1. What does the concept of Dependency refer to? 2. What is a Dependency Grammar ? 3. What is a Dependency Phonology ? 4. Is Dependency phonology a linear phonological approach, a non- linear approach or both?

3. Key Terms: Head- Dependent Relation, Single- Valued Feature, Sonority, Segments, Supra segmental Relation.

4. The concept of dependency has been utilized in linguistic theory to refer to the claim that elements within a given structure are said to be asymmetrically related.

5. Example: [[[Very scruffy] gatecrashers] will [come[to[their parties]]]

6. Very scruffy has the adjective scruffy as its head; the other element is optional with respect to it. Gatecrashers is the head of the phrase very scruffy gatecrashers

7. The same thing is with their parties ; it is also a phrase with a noun as head. To their parties has the obligatory preposition as its head a noun headed phrase rather simply a noun.

8. come to their parties has the obligatory verb as its head; its sister element is both optional and phrasal. The auxiliary will is the ultimate head of the structure.  

9. So, “Dependency Grammar is the notion that every syntactic structure has a head; each construction is characterized by a non-symmetrical relation between its head and the modifier(s) of that head.

10. Dependency Phonology pat , the vowel represented in writing as [a:] it is salient by virtue of inherent sonority and its place at the energy peak in the articulation of the syllable, and it identifies the construction as a syllable. {p, and t} are dependencies.  

11. Klomp { kl } is the onset, {a} is the peak, {amp} is the coda. {a} is the govener of the syllable, within the onset {l} is the govenor ,{k} is dependent, {amp} {m} is the govenor of the coda {mp}, {p} is dependent.

12. So, "Dependency phonology" is a theory of the representation of phonological segments and sequences. The theory takes its name from its utilization of the relation of dependency.

13. The name of this theory comes from the assumption that it is fundamental to phonological structure is the dependency, or head/dependent, relation. This means, in the first place, that phonological structure involves constructions, and that, secondly, each of these constructions has a determinate head. The head is also atomic; it is a single segment,

14. Phonologists adopt some of the formal conventions of dependency grammars, in the sense that an element which is head of more than one projection is characterized as a projection on a vertical line. Thus, in the representation of the English word marinade , the line associated to the vowel / ei / is a projection which indicates that the vowel is simultaneously head of the rhyme / eid /, the syllable / neid / and the larger construction formed by the whole word.

15. Linear vs. non Linear Phonology Linear phonology refers to the understanding that all speech segments are arranged in a sequential order.

16. Generative phonology is a linear approach in which two aspects are recognized. The first is that, by a derivational rule, an underlying structure is related to its surface structure.

17. The second aspect is the representational aspect, that is the phonological structure is serially arranged. / pa:t /, this begins with p and ends with t and each segment is distinguished by a set of binary features.

18. 1. Emphasis on the linear, sequential arrangement of sound segments, 2. Assumption that each discrete segment of this string of sound elements consists of a bundle of distinctive features, 3. Assumption that a common set of distinctive features is attributable to all sound segments according to a binary + and – system,

19. 4. Assumption that all sound segments have equal value and all distinctive features are equal; thus, no one sound segment has control over other units, 5. The phonological rules generated apply only to the segmental level (as opposed to the suprasegmental level) and to those changes that occur in the distinctive features.

20. The weakness of this theory is that it failed to analyze features which extend over more than one segment such as stress, intonation, rhythmic patterns. These issues are the major concern of non linear approaches such as autosegmental phonology, metrical phonology, and dependency phonology

21. However, dependency phonology is different from non linear approaches in one respect which is that it utilizes a head- dependent relation.

22. Dependency and Segmental Structure The phonological features used in DP are grouped together in a number of gestures . The word gesture does not refer to the movement of the articulator. Gesture is the feature that characterizes the head.

23. Why is this segment considered as the head? It is the head due to an inherent gesture of this segment. For example, the sonority gesture {a:}, the front gesture { i }, the open gesture {e}, and the round gesture {u}. So, every segment is a unary or single valued feature.

24. Here, the feature itself is not important. What is important is the nature of the feature that is to say, does the feature have the ability to make one segment more prominent than others! So, it is a matter of relative importance.

25. Dependency above the Segment The dependency relation is a binary asymmetric relation in which one element in a construction is the governor or head , and the other the dependent or modifier . The head-modifier relation was initially more familiar from syntactic work, and its interpretation as dependency is indeed first found in syntax, in particular in the framework of Case and Dependency Grammar.

26. Thus it is generally accepted that sequences are headed, and furthermore that this formal relation has a physical correlate, relative prominence , stressed syllabic segments are inherently more prominent than unstressed syllabic segments, and syllabic segments are more prominent than non-syllabic segments.

27. Vowel Representation The nature of the features within DP is a single valued feature. { i } front, {u} round. {a} sonorous or open.

28. There is clearly only a limited set of representations in which two or more of the features simply co-occur, viz , [ i,u ], [ i,a ], [ u,a ],and [ i,u,a ], the representation for the vowels /j/, /e/, /o/, and /au/ respectively.

29. Such features occur with other single-valued systems, such a system of representation incorporates an inherent evaluation metric: the more complex the vowel, the more features are required in its representation.

30. Systems with more than one mid front vowel, say /e/ and /3/, require a feature such as [tense] to distinguish between these two vowels.

31. This single valued feature{tense} distinguishes /e/ and /ε/ as {front +open} vs. {front +open }tense. DP argues, both vowels /e/ and /ε have the same features { i , a} but they differ in their relative prominence of the two features. For /e/ ,the front feature { i } governs the open feature {a}

32. For [3] the open feature [a] governs the front feature [ i ] and the latter is dependent.

33. Unarism , segmental structure and componentiality The DP representation of minimal sequential units involves the combination of unary features so that the ‘classical’ five-vowel system found in many languages (such as Greek) can be represented as to the relative location of the vowels in the perceptual vowel space as in:

34. {|i|} (= [i]) {|u|} (= [u]) {i,a} (= [e]) {u,a} (= [ u ]) {|a|} (= [a])

35.   The ‘phonetic values’ given in square brackets are approximations only, and serve merely to indicate the rough differences in ‘phonetic value’ involved: for instance, in ‘[e]’ indicates a vowel that is not high and not low.

36. Summary 1. DP is a linear approach in that it studies the phonological representation of the segments. 2. DP is a non linear approach in the sense that it studies the features which extend over more than one segment such as stressed syllables are said to be more prominent than unstressed ones.

37. 3. DP differs from non- linear approaches in that it utilizes the head- dependent relation in characterizing segment internal structure.

38. THE END