Phones and Phonemes

In each language, there are many sounds, known as phones, which can be described by phoneticians. These phones are universal. For example, [l] sound, as in lale can exist in many languages. However, it is more significant in some languages and less significant in some others. It is important in Turkish because it changes the meaning of the word. For example, both ala and ara are different words in Turkish. In Japanese, however, it does not make a meaning distinction. The phones that distinguish the meanings of words are phonemes.

Minimal Pairs and Minimal Sets

Above we saw that some consonants and vowels have a function: They distinguish the meanings of words. We called these sounds phonemes. Phonemes are contrastive. That means that if they exist in the same place in a word, they cause contrast in meaning. For example, when we use /p/ instead of /b/ the word has a different meaning. For example, (pan) and (ban) are words with different meanings. These words differ only because one sound is used instead of the other. These are known as minimal pairs. Minimal pairs are two words with different meanings which are produced exactly the same way except for one sound. Examples are: beat [bit] and bit [bıt]. If there are more than two words which are distinguished only with a single sound, they are called minimal sets. Examples are words such as boot, but, bit, beat, bought.

Linguists use minimal pairs or minimal sets in order to find out the inventory of phonemes. They investigate whether two similar sounds occur in the same position in different words and whether they change the meaning of the word. If sounds occur in the same position, they are said to have overlapping distribution. To illustrate this, we can say that /p/ and /b/ are in overlapping distribution in words such as pan and ban, because they appear exactly in the same position.

Variation of Sounds: Allophones

Let us consider the following analogy:

Meltem says "Ben öğle yemeklerinde hep ayran içerim."

Meltem's fondness of ayran might teach us something about speech sounds. Each time Meltem drinks ayran, it is different ayran, right? It is made of different yoghurt, adding different water. It may be very sour, slightly sour, or not sour at all; it may be salty or not; it may be dense or not. This type of variation exists in human speech sounds. For example, each time we produce a [p], it is not exactly the same sound. The sound varies from speaker to speaker and even the same speaker does not produce exactly the same sound at all times. The sound also differs based on other neighboring sounds or whether the sound is in word-initial (or syllable-initial) position or word-medial or word-final position.

We will only be concerned with the variation based on neighboring sounds and based on the position in the word.

We will see that allophones never occur in the same environments. They are in complementary distribution. Complementary distribution is just the opposite of overlapping distribution. The sounds are mutually exclusive in the same environment. This means that if one allophone is observed in word-initial position or when it is adjacent to a particular sound, the other one is not. This is shown in the following tasks.

Son düzenleme tarihi: 08-04-2007 04:55 PM. Düzenleyen: FoX.

1) The following words are from Greek:
[ kano ] 'do'
[xano] 'lose'
Which one of the following is correct about the sounds [k] and [x]?

A They are in complementary distribution.
B They are allophones.
C They are varieties of the same phoneme.
D They are in overlapping distribution.
E They are not phones.

2) Which one of the following pairs is a minimal pair?

A than-thank
B laugh-rough
C led-red
D sad-hand
E their-then


3) As we have previously stated, a flap [D] is used instead of /t/ if it precedes an unstressed syllable, as in writer. What can you say about [D] and [t]?


A They are in complementary distribution.
B They are allophones of the same phoneme.
C Both (a) and (b)
D They are in overlapping distribution.
E They are different phonemes.


4) In Turkish, /n/ becomes before velar sounds in words, such as: Bengi, yenge, denge, denk, sanki. What can you say about [n] and ?

A The environments in which they can occur are predictable, therefore they allophones.
B The environments in which they can occur are predictable, therefore they are phonemes.
C They are in overlapping distribution.
D They form minimal pairs.
E Both © and (d).


5) Find a minimal set with three words among the following English words:
heed, hid, hit, hat, who, had, weed, when.

A heed, hid, hat
B hat, who, had
C who, when, weed
D heed, hid, had
E hit, hat, had


6) What evidence can you provide for the fact that [m] and [n] are phonemes in Turkish?


A [n] may become [m] in words such as İstanbul.
B The words kim and kin form minimal pairs in Turkish.
C The word ne exists in Turkish, but me does not.
D They are in complementary distribution.
E They are both voiced and nasal sounds.


7) What can you say about the words leap and lip?


A They are minimal pairs.
B They are minimal sets.
C They are not minimal pairs.
D They are different because two sounds distinguish their meaning.
E Nothing can be said about them.


8) Find minimal pairs among the following word list:
toe, dough, blood, bulb, dive, thigh, car, firm, measure, sure

A toe - dough
B blood - bulb
C dive - thigh
D car -firm
E measure - sure


9) A phoneme is:

A a physical sound.
B a variation of sounds.
C an abstract mental concept.
D in complementary distribution with another sound.
E not contrastive.


10) Allophones are:

A not contrastive.
B in complementary distribution.
C are variations of a phoneme.
D occur in predictable environments.
E All of the above.

11) Phonology describes:

A how speech sounds are produced.
B universal properties of speech sounds.
C physical properties of speech sounds.
D the systems and patterns of sounds in a particular language.
E how speech organs are used in speech articulation.


12) In which case the sound [k] is aspirated?

A cold
B skin
C back
D soak
E knife


13) In which word []is nasalized?

A dad
B mad
C sad
D candy
E car


14) Are [v] and [w] phonemes or allophones in English when you consider the following words? Vest - West. Why?

A They are allophones because they are in complementary distribution.
B They are phonemes because they are in overlapping distribution.
C They are allophones because they are in overlapping distribution.
D They are phonemes because they are in complementary distribution.
E These two words are not sufficient to come to a conclusion.


15) In which case /v/ may become [w] in Turkish?

A savunma
B vatan
C savcı
D savmak
E varoş


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ANSWER KEY

1 D
2 C
3 C
4 A
5 D
6 B
7 A
8 A
9 C
10 E
11 D
12 A
13 D
14 B
15 A

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