Generative Phonology a subfiled of GG2.pptx

Generative grammar

1. Generative Phonology SZ by Saeed Zabaa

2. Overview Definition : Generative phonology is a linguistic theory that seeks to explain the underlying rules and principals that govern the sound patterns of languages. -Generative phonology revolutionized the study of sound systems. It focuses on describing the underlying rules that govern how sounds are produced and perceived. Importance: it has revolutionized our understanding of language, explaining how children acquire language, understanding language change, and contributing to fields like speech therapy and computer science. Origins: The origins of generative phonology can be traced back to the work of Noam Chomsky and Morris Halle in the 1960s. Their seminal work, “Sound patterns of English,” laid the foundation for this theoretical framework.

3. The underlying representation: is the abstract form of a word before phonological rules apply. It represents the word’s phonological structure in its most basic form. The underlying form of the word “cat” is / kæt / . The surface representation: is the actual pronunciation of a word after phonological rules have been applied. It reflects the word's phonological structure as it is realized in speech. The surface form of "cat" in English is [ kæt ] . Phonological Representations

4. The Concept of Phonemes Phonemes are the basic units of sound in a language. They are abstract representations of sounds that are used to distinguish meaning. 1 Minimal Pairs Words that differ by only one phoneme, like "cat" and "hat," demonstrate how phonemes create meaning distinctions. 2 Allophones Variations of a phoneme that do not change the meaning of a word are called allophones. For example, the "t" sound in "top" and "stop" are allophones of the same phoneme. 3 Phonetic Context Allophones are often influenced by the surrounding sounds. This is known as phonetic context. 4 Distribution Generative phonology analyzes how phonemes are distributed in a language, accounting for variations and restrictions.

5. Phonological rules are typically represented using a feature-based formalism . A rule for aspiration might be: [+voice] → [+aspirated] / #_ This rule states that a voiceless consonant (e.g., /p/) becomes aspirated (pronounced with a puff of air) when it occurs at the beginning of a word . Formalism of Rules

6. Types of transformations Phonological rules describe the systematic sound changes that occur in a language. These rules are applied to underlying representations, which represent the abstract forms of words. Assimilation One sound becomes more like a neighboring sound. "hand" as [ hænd ] . Deletion A sound is removed from a word. "often" as [ ɔfn ]. Insertion A sound is added to a word. "length" as [ leŋθ ]. Metathesis Two sounds switch places within a word. "ask" as [ æks ] in some dialects of English .

7. Distinctive Features Distinctive features are a universal set of binary features that describe the acoustic properties of sounds. They are used to explain how sounds are organized and how they can be manipulated by phonological rules.(Roman Jakobson) [son] Plosives Affricates Fricatives [ cont ] [del rel ] - - - - - + + + -

8. Derivational Process Derivational phonology is a theory that explains how sound changes occur in a step-by-step process. It assumes that phonological rules are applied sequentially, one after the other. 1 Underlying Representation The starting point of the derivation. 2 Rule Application Phonological rules are applied sequentially to the underlying representation. 3 Surface Form The final output of the derivation, the actual pronunciation of the word. The English word "cats" is derived from the underlying form / kæt / through the application of pluralization and vowel raising rules .

9. Lexical Phonology Lexical phonology is an approach to phonology that accounts for the interactions of morphology and phonology in the word building process. The lexicon plays a central, productive role in the theory. It consist of ordered Levels, which are the domain for certain phonological or morphological processes. The stress patterns of English words can be explained using lexical phonological rules. It also e xplains the vowel reduction. Divine- divinity (trisyllabic shortening occurs)

10. Syllable structure Syllables are a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. Syllables typically have three components: onset, nucleus, and coda . The word "cat" is a monosyllable that has an onset (/k/), a nucleus (/æ/), and a coda (/t/) . Sonority hierarchy is the loudness of speech sounds relative to other sounds of the same pitch, length and stress. It is especially important when analyzing syllable structure. The sonority scale in English is ( open vowe ls, mid vowels, close vowels, semivowels, flaps, laterals, nasals, v oiced fricatives, voiced plosives and voiceless plosives)

11. Universality of phonological rules A phonological universal is a common tendency found in phonological system of many languages. Here are some phonological universals: -Symmetry -Rounding -Voicing Markedness refers to the notion that some phonological features are more common or natural than others . The feature [+nasal] is marked, while the feature [+voice] is unmarked .

12. Applications of Generative Phonology Language Acquisition Generative phonology has contributed to our understanding of how children acquire the phonological rules of their native language . Children's overgeneralization errors, such as saying " goed " instead of "went," can be explained using generative phonological principles . Cross-Linguistic Comparison Generative phonology can be used to compare and contrast the phonological systems of different languages . The study of vowel harmony in Turkish and Hungarian can reveal similarities and differences in their phonological systems .

13. Historical Phonology Generative phonology can be applied to the study of language change and evolution . The Great Vowel Shift in English can be explained using generative phonological principles .