1. 1 Sounds in the mind and hands Linguistics lecture #4 November 7, 2006

2. 2 Overview Interfaces again The atoms of phonology Phonological rules and constraints Phonological structure Sign language phonology

3. 3 MIND LANGUAGE Physical world Mental representations Propositions Syntax Phonology Physical world semantics phonology

4. 4 Phonology and the world Phonology is a mental interface with physics, but it is not itself physics For example, which of these two words have the “same main vowel”? 天 貪 貼 ㄊ－ㄢ ㄊㄢ ㄊ－ㄝ But physically these are more similar Mentally, these are more similar

5. 5 Phonemes Phonemes ( 音素 ) are in your head They are turned into phonetic forms by the rules of your grammar /t h / /i/ /a/ /n/ [t h i  n] rules

6. 6 Phonemes as atoms Phonemes are like the “atoms” of phonology, but unlike words, they are meaningless －ㄨㄩㄚ －ㄨㄩㄚ ㄋ ㄌ

7. 7 Uniquely human? The atom + rule structure in syntax is expected, since it’s crucial to express meaning The atom + rule structure of phonology is perhaps a more surprising discovery Unlike other animal communication systems, human language has two levels of patterning: duality of patterning - patterning of both meaningful and meaningless units

8. 8 Formal rules in phonology Phonology shows patterns that do not seem to be directly related to physics sign [ai] signal [Ig] resign [ai] resignation [Ig] Rule: Change /Ig/ to [ai] before word-final /n/

9. 9 Rule interactions Another clue that phonology isn’t just physics: rules interact in complex ways Mandarin Tone 3 rule: 3  2 before 3 買馬老虎 Tone 0 rule: Tone  0 at end of word (optional) 媽媽謝謝 But what if both can apply…?

10. 10 Rule ordering? 點點 2 3 [2 0] 姐姐 3 0 [3 0] /3 3/ Input form Tone 3 ruleTone 0 rule /3 3/ Input form Tone 3 rule (can’t apply) Tone 0 rule

11. 11 Formal constraints in phonology Some patterns cannot be described with rules of the form A  B Instead, they require constraints ㄠㄡㄞㄟㄠㄡㄞㄟ － ㄨ ?   Constraint: *V 1 V 2 V 1 (V 1 = same vowel) iau iou uai uei *uau *uou *iei ?iai

12. 12 Constraint interactions Constraints can conflict with each other V 1 V 2 constraint: ie ( ㄧㄝ )*io ( ㄧㄛ )*ue ( ㄨㄝ )uo ( ㄨㄛ ) V 2 V 3 constraint: ei ( ㄟ )*eu*oiou ( ㄡ ) What happens in words with V 1 V 2 V 3, where both constraints can apply…?

13. 13 Constraint ranking Question: Which constraint is ranked higher in Mandarin grammar? Answer: The V 2 V 3 constraint. iou, uei: V 2 V 3 obeyed, but V 1 V 2 is violated *ieu, *uoi: if V 1 V 2 is obeyed (but it’s really not) Ranking: V 2 V 3 » V 1 V 2

14. 14 Phonological structure The ranking of these constraints relates to the structure of Mandarin syllables ( 音節 ): Syllable t h ian

15. 15 Phonological structure There are also larger phonological structures that link to syntactic structure: 老李買好酒老李買好酒 23223 NVNP 23323 NVN

16. 16 Sign languages: duality of patterning Signs also have atoms, such as handshapes Examples from Taiwan Sign Language: ZEROFIVESIX

17. 17 Sign languages: duality of patterning The same handshapes appear in other signs with totally unrelated meanings CUT CLASSHAVEFAST

18. 18 Different sign languages, different grammars Taiwan Sign Language (TSL) has handshapes that are not used in American Sign Language (ASL)

19. 19 A phonemic handshape in ASL ASL uses the following handshape for “B”, which is also in the sign meaning BLUE:

20. 20 Rule-generated “B” in TSL But the “B” handshape is not basic in TSL. Instead, it is always derived by a rule: Close thumb only if touching body (otherwise  ) NONSENSEPLEASEDOOR

21. 21 Phonology and functionalism Phonological grammar (competence) is formal But phonology is also affected by language use (performance), especially physics “Difficult” forms are avoided: - Difficult sounds like /  / sound are rare across the world’s languages, and so are difficult handshapes Rules often “simplify” forms: - For example, /sIgn/ ends a complex way, but [sain] doesn’t. This makes the /Ig/  [ai] rule “natural”.

22. 22 Phonology and functionalism Phonological forms may even relate directly to meaning - For example, the shapes of signs often “make sense” (e.g. DOOR in TSL) - Sometimes this is so for spoken language too: snore, sneeze, snot, sniff….

23. 23 Summary Phonology involves formal “atoms” (phonemes) Phonological grammar also involves rules and constraints Phonological atoms are arranged in structures like syllables Even sign languages have phonology Phonology is also influenced by physics