Phoneme problems - CSU, Chico [PDF]

Phoneme problems Phoneme problems 1. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) i) ii) iii)

a) b) c) d) e) f) g) iv)

Inuktitut (Eastern) (Native Canadian) iglumut ukiaq aiviq aniguvit aglu iglumit anigavit

to a house late fall walrus if you leave sealÁ s breathing hole from a house because you leave

h) i) j) k) l) m) n)

pinna ani iglu panna aivuq ini ukiuq

that one up there femaleÁ s brother (snow)house that place up there she goes home place, spot winter

List all the minimal pairs in this data. Based on the minimal pairs you have found, list all the contrastive pairs of vowels. Using the phonetic vowel charts done together in class as your models, make a phonemic vowel chart of Inuktitut. Now consider the data again; here it is transcribed in more phonetic detail. In it, there are phonetically similar segments that are in complementary distribution. Look for them and then answer the question that follows the data. iglumut ukiaq aivîq aniguvit aglË iglumit anigavit

to a house late fall walrus if you leave sealÁ s breathing hole from a house because you leave

h) i) j) k) l) m) n)

pinna anî iglË panna aivËq inî ukiËq

that one up there femaleÁ s brother (snow)house that place up there she goes home place, spot winter

List the phonetically similar segments that are in complementary distribution. State the distribution (in words).

Graham Thurgood (English121)

69

2.

Hindi

[b]

versus [b– ]

a) b) c) d) e)

[bara] [b–ari] [bina] [b–ir] [bori]

‘large’ ‘heavy’ ‘without’ ‘crowd’ ‘sackcloth’

f) g) h) i) j)

[b–Ed] [bais] [b–´s] [bap] [b–ag]

‘disagreement’ ‘twenty-two’ ‘buffalo’ ‘father’ ‘part’

Question: Are these in contrastive distribution, that is, do these count as different sounds, i.e., different phonemes in Hindi? If they are, describe the slot(s) they contrast in. Are these in complementary distribution, that is, do these count as the same sound in Hindi? If they do, describe the slot that [ b] occurs in and the different slot that [b–] occurs in.

Graham Thurgood (English121)

70

3.

Mokilese:

vowel chart: i

u

e

o

E

ç a

The voiceless and voiced vowels are in complementary distribution. Describe the slot that voiceless vowels occur in (the vowels with circles under them) and the different slot that voiced vowels occur in.

a) b) c) d) e) f)

[pi6san] ‘full of leaves’g) [tu6pu6kta] ‘bought’ h) [pu6ka] ‘basket’ i) [ki6sa] ‘we (two)’ j) [su6pwo] ‘firewood’ k) [kamwçki6ti]‘to move’ l)

Graham Thurgood (English121)

[uduk] [kaskas] [poki] [pil] [apid] [ludZuk]

‘flesh’ ‘to throw’ ‘to strike smthg.’ ‘water’ ‘outrigger support’ ‘to tackle’

71

4.

Plain Cree (Algonquian)

a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j) k)

niska kodak asaba:p waskow: paskwa:w ni:gi ko:go:s tahki namwa:t ospwa:gan midÔihtij

i)

Do [p] and [b] belong to separate phonemes or are they allophones of one phoneme? If you think they belong to separate phonemes, list data to support your case. If you think that they are allophones, state the conditioning factors in the words (that is, where each occurs). Do the same for [t] and [d], [k] and [g], and [t] and [dÔ]. Can you make a general statement about the relationship among all the consonsantal pairs whose distribution you have examined?

ii) iii)

goose another thread cloud prairie my house pig often not at all pipe hand

Graham Thurgood (English121)

l) m) n) o) p) q) r) s) t) u)

nisto ti:gahiganaxe a:dim mi:bit pime: mide o:gik tihtij wa:bos na:be:w

three dog tooth lard heart these finger rabbit man

72

Graham Thurgood (English121)

73