W2/S1 Notes - 17/02/2023

INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS - PP

I. SYNTAX
It is widely understood that language is not simply a collection of words. In order to speak a language correctly, it is
not sufficient to merely possess a vast vocabulary. Rather, a language has a structure, known as syntax, which must be
understood and mastered in order to communicate effectively. Syntax pertains to the internal arrangement of words
within sentences, whereby words combine to form larger units. The role of syntax is to establish a set of rules
governing which groups of words constitute grammatically correct sentences and which do not. Without a firm grasp
of syntax and grammar, one's ability to communicate in a language will be limited.

Grammaticality judgments do not indicate whether a sentence is true or carries a particular meaning.

For instance:
N.P Predicate Phrase
a. [Colorless green ideas] [sleep furiously.] → Syntactically correct. Semantically false.
Subject verb adjunct of manner

Syntax and semantics are two distinct aspects of language. Syntax is concerned with the grammar of language,
whereas semantics deals with meaning.

Examples:

Negative particle Det N/MV Preposition Det N Aux/MV/N Adj N

1. Not the walk without a man can old cane. ✖

↳ The Old man can not walk without a cane. ✔

In language, the order of words is not arbitrary. It is necessary to follow the grammatical structure of the language
when using the same words, even if they appear in a different order. This means that words cannot occur in any
random order, and we must adhere to the syntactic structure of the language.

→ How do we convey ideas in English?

2. Hit John Bill. ✖ ungrammatical

↳ “John hit Bill” or “Bill hit John” ✔ Grammatically correct

The linear word order is a critical element of sentence organization as it plays a significant role in determining
the sentence's meaning. The way in which words are arranged within a sentence follows a specific grammatical
structure, and any deviation from it can alter the intended meaning. As such, adherence to the appropriate
word order is essential in conveying a clear and accurate message.

→ Is linear word order the only important aspect of sentence organization?

3. When we entered the room was dark.

If we consider the following: ↳ [When we entered the room] [was dark.] ✖ ungrammatical
But if we consider: ↳ [When we entered] [the room was dark.] ✔ grammatical

- The second aspect of sentence organization is the hierarchical structure: how the words are combined
together to form constituents.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

❖ STRUCTURAL AMBIGUITY

4. John looked at the girl who laughed with disdain.

It is syntactically correct but ambiguous with two interpretations:

a. [John looked] [at the girl who laughed] [with disdain.]➛It means with disdain is inside the look clause.
b. [John looked] [at the girl who laughed with disdain.]➛It means with disdain is inside the laugh clause.

We can disambiguate it like so:

a. John looked with disdain at the girl who laughed.

b. John looked at the girl who laughed with disdain.

The grouping of words into constituents is an important aspect of sentence organization.

There are several types of ambiguity, the first is syntactic ambiguity: is due to how we decide to combine the words
of the sentence. As well as categorical ambiguity,and lexical ambiguity.

❖ CATEGORIAL AMBIGUITY

5. They can fish.

Subject Predicate Phrase

Two interpretations can be derived from the sentence in changing the part of speech of its words.

a. “can” is a modal auxiliary, “fish” is a lexical verb. (expressing the ability to fish)
b. “can” is a lexical verb, “fish” is a noun. (expressing they fish in caning)

In this case we have syntactically correct sentence with categorical ambiguity:

6. She looks hard.

This example is similar to the previous. It is syntactically correct with categorical ambiguity:

a. “looks” is a copulative verb, “hard” is an adjective that functions as a subject complement.

b. “looks” is a lexical verb, “hard” is an adverb that functions as an adjunct of manner.

❖ LEXICAL AMBIGUITY

7. He was standing near the bank.

This one is also ambiguous. It is syntactically correct but with lexical ambiguity:

a. “the bank” is a financial institution.

b. “the bank” is the side of the river.

There’s an additional type of ambiguity called morphological ambiguity which we may be tackling this semester.

8. You can have peas and beans or carrots.

It has different interpretations:

a. You can have [peas and beans] or [carrots].

b. You can have [peas] and [beans or carrots].

The sentence can be disambiguated with annotation (the way it is said)

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

❖ CONSTITUENCY TESTS

→ How do we know that a group of words form a constituent?

- There are some constituency tests that can be applied to identify constituents:

1. Substitution test, replacement test, or Proform test.

2. The movement test.
3. The cleft test.
a. Pseudo cleft test
4. The conjunction test.

★ Substitution test
9. The old man reading the newspaper talked to Mary.
[The old man reading the newspaper] [talked to Mary.]
Subject Predicate Phrase

Applying the Substitution test:

a. [The old man reading the newspaper]: Who talked to Mary. or we can replace the NP with a pronoun “He”
b. [talked to Mary.]: can be replaced with “did”

10. I can’t stand your elder sister.

[I] [can’t stand your elder sister.]
S Predicate Phrase

→ Can you apply a test to show that [can’t stand your elder sister] is a constituent?
Applying the Substitution test:

a. Can you stand your elder sister? No, I can’t.

11. John took off his coat.

NP Predicate Phrase

[John] [[took off] [his coat].]

Subject Particle verb Direct object

- In this sentence the particle “off” semantically and syntactically belongs to the verb.

★ Mouvement test
12. The meeting started before lunch.

[The meeting] [[started] [before lunch].]

Subject Verb Adjunct of time

We can say ‘before lunch, the meeting started’

13. The carriage was along the road.

[The carriage] [[was] [along the road].]

NP VP PP

a. Along the road was the carriage.

- The subject agrees with its verb in person and number; for example:
➛ Along the roads was the carriage.
➛ Along the road were the carriages.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 - The fact that the subject has been postponed doesn’t mean that it is no longer the subject.

★ Cleft test
14. The young boy talking to Mary speaks Spanish fluently.

- If something can fit in the focus position of the cleft construction, it means that it is a constituent.

Applying the cleft test: (It + be + Focus position + Relative clause)

[The young boy talking to Mary] [speaks Spanish fluently.]

a. It is the young boy talking to Mary who speaks Spanish fluently.

★ Conjunction test.

15. I want [to visit the park] and [an apple]. ✖

→ Can we apply the conjunction test in this case? No, we can’t because the first [to visit the park] is an infinitive
clause and the second one [an apple] is a noun phrase.

- The conjunction test has the effect of joining two constituents of the same category using a coordinating
conjunction.

- In Arabic we can say the following and having the same meaning because of case grammar Arabic is peculiar
with:

a. َّ ‫ضرب محم ٌد عليا‬ َ

b. ‫ضرب‬
َ ‫عليا َّ محم ٌد‬
c. ‫ضرب‬َ َّ ‫محم ٌد عليا‬

In Arabic, the three sentences kept the same meaning even changing the position of its words, thanks to the case
grammar Arabic is peculiar with.

About the Exam:

➤ Students will have a sentence where they should apply at least 2 or 3 constituency tests.
➤ In the exam students will be asked to prove, justify, and give evidence(s).
➤ Students are supposed to master S3 Grammar in order to understand Syntax.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

W4/S2 Notes - 28/02/2023

NP Predicate Phrase
1. [He] [asked how old Sam was].

→ What evidence is there that [asked how old Sam was] is a constituent?

- We can apply the substitution test:

- Who [asked how old Sam was]?

- He did.

- The sentence has different interpretations with structural ambiguity:

a. He asked [how old] [Sam] was.

Adj P

b. He asked [how] [old Sam] was.

NP

- The sentence can be disambiguated with special intonation contour.

● Structural ambiguity depends on how we form constituents.

NP Predicate Phrase
2. [Mary] [hit the man with the ball].

- It has different interpretations with structural ambiguity:

a. Mary hit [the man with the ball]. ➛ Mary hit him
b. Mary hit [the man] [with the ball]. ➛ Mary hit with the ball the man.
NP (PP) Adjun of instr

NP Predicate Phrase
3. [The boss] [could not sign the contract].

- Two interpretations:

a. The boss [could not] [sign the contract.] ➛ It means it is impossible for him to do it.

b. The boss [could] [not sign the contract.] ➛ It means he had a choice not to do it.
The meaning of the sentence changes depending on whether the negative particle is attached to the auxiliary or main verb.

4. John bought [a big car].

- The cleft test: It is [a big car] that John bought.

- The pseudo cleft test: What John bought is [a big car].

- Applying the pseudo cleft test on example 3:

a. What the boss could not do was [sign the contract]

b. What the boss could do was [not sign the contract]

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 5. [He] [explained all the difficult problems he had encountered to her].

- We have two constituents after the verb explained:

[He] [[explained] [all the difficult problems he had encountered] [to her]].
- Applying the substitution test: He explained [them] to her.

- Applying the movement test: He explained [to her] all the difficult problems he had encountered.

6. [I] [saw the man with the telescope].

- It has two interpretations:

a. I saw [the man with the telescope]. ➛ I saw him.

b. I saw [with the telescope] [the man]. ➛ I saw him with the telescope.
Adjun of instr NP

7. [The story] [talks about what evil men can do].

- It has different interpretations with categorial and structural ambiguity:

NP
a. The story talks about [what evil] [men] can do.
NP
b. The story talks about [what] [evil men] can do.

8. John [ran] [up the big hill].

- There is no ambiguity in this sentence.

1. Applying the substitution test: Where did he run? He ran up the big hill.

2. Applying the coordinating test: John sometimes runs up the big hill and sometimes down the big hill.

3. Applying the cleft test: It is up the big hill John ran.

4. Applying the movement test: Up the big hill, John ran.

9. John [ran up] [a huge telephone bill].

- Applying the cleft test: It is a huge telephone bill that he ran up.

● Examples 8 and 9 illustrate the distinction between phrasal verbs and prepositional verbs. A phrasal verb is
formed by a verb and a particle, whereas a prepositional verb is composed of a verb and a preposition. The
primary difference between the two lies in the behavior of the particle, which can separate from the verb and
move across the noun phrase that follows it.

- Particle movement test: John ran a huge telephone bill up.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 10. John speaks Spanish well.

● A node is any point in a phrase marker or a tree diagram that has branches.

● A node dominates everything that appears below it and is connected to it by a line. However, a node
immediately dominates another element when there are no intervening elements between them.

11. Mary looks hard.

- It has two interpretations with categorial ambiguity.
The way she looked is hard She seems hard

12. It is clear [that John is a spy].

Dummy subject copula SC Extraposed subject

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 13. That John is a spy is clear.

● S’ refers to the subordinate clause in the tree diagram.

14. It is easy to do.

15.

- The sentence has two interpretations with structural ambiguity:

a. They gave [her] [duck food]. b. They gave [her duck] [food].

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 ● In the first tree diagram, the initial noun phrase “duck food” that is inside the verb phrase (VP) can be
expanded to be something like. For instance, if we consider the sentence "They gave her good duck food,"
we can see that "duck" is not directly an N (noun) in the first tree diagram, but rather an NP (noun phrase).

● To create a tree diagram, it is essential to comprehend the sentence's meaning. For instance, in example 16,
John desired a specific action to occur: "Mary taking him to the airport."
● To determine if a noun phrase functions as an object or not, one can apply the passivation test, which
involves transforming the noun phrase into the subject of a passive sentence.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

W4/S3 Notes - 01/03/2023

Examples:

NP Pre. Phrase
1. [The people] [elected the man who seemed most reliable president].
CTV NP NP

- First and foremost, we have to parse the sentence into two parts: Subject “The people” and Predicate phrase
“elected the man who seemed most reliable president.” The latter consists of three constituents the verb
“elected” which is a CTV (complex transitive verb). That is to say, it requires a DO “the man who seemed
most reliable” and an object complement “president”.

● Any relative clause modifies the whole NP, except for the nominal complement clause which modifies only
the head noun.

2. [The fact [that you mentioned]] [is [important]].

Adj. C modifies “The fact”

- As usual, let’s parse this sentence into the subject and Pred. P. The subject of this sentence is the NP
constituent “The fact that you mentioned”. How do we know it? Because it is replaceable by a pronoun (it).
The head of the NP is “fact”, and “that you mentioned” is a relative clause that modifies “The fact”. Why
“that” is a relative pronoun and not a complementizer? Because we can replace it by another relative pronoun
“which” and it assumes a grammatical function (object of the verb “mentioned”). Another test: As the verb
“mention” is a monotransitive verb, it requires a DO which is “that”. (a) The fact is important. (b) You
mentioned a fact. Let’s combine (a) and (b): The fact that you mentioned is important.

3. [The fact that John is clever] [is obvious].

Nom. C, a complement of “fact”

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 - The two parts od this sentence are the subject “The fact that John is clever” and the predicate pharse “is
obvious”. The head of the NP “The fact that John is clever” is “fact”. The article “The” is the main Det, and
“that John is clever” is a complement clause. (“That” cannot be replaced by a relative pronoun). The first
constituent will be divided into three branches.

● There is a difference in the structure between a "that clause" that functions as a relative adjective clause and
one that functions as a complement. A "that clause" that functions as a modifier modifies the entire noun
phrase (NP), whereas a "that clause" that functions as a complement only modifies the head noun and not the
entire NP.

4. I think [that you know [that I passed the exam].

(without using triangles)

- In this example, the two parts are the subject “I” and the predicate phrase “think that you know that I passed
the exam”. The predicate phrase consists of the VP, which contains the main verb “think” followed by a
subordinate clause complement (that you know that I passed the exam). It should be noted that inside the
subordinate clause another subordinate clause is embedded.

5. That John is clever is obvious.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 - Before parsing the sentence, let’s apply some tests to identify the subject.
The substitution test: “That John is clever” is replaceable by one word, a pronoun. Another test is the
movement test: “That John is clever” will be extraposed and replaced by a dummy it. The tests applied
indicate that the group of words forms a constituent. The fact that this constituent functions as subject is
shown by other tests: 1) What is obvious? 2) Question tag: That John is clever is obvious, isn’t it?
The new sentence is “It is obvious that John is clever”. So the two parts of the sentence are “That John is
clever” and “is obvious”.

6. They gave her duck food.

a. They gave [her] [duck food]. b. They gave [her duck] [food].

7. John wanted Mary to drive him to the airport.

8. John persuaded Mary to take the airport.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 9. The boy [was bitten] [by the dog].
Aux MV PP

- “The boy” is the subject and “was bitten by the dog” is the predicate phrase.
Note: You should mention the type of the auxiliary. There are four types of auxiliaries: passive, perfective,
progressive, and modals. The Pred. P dominates immediately the auxiliaries and the VP.

10. They should have been doing their homework.

- Should: modal verb

Have: perfective aux (for the perfect tenses such as Present Perfect, Past Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous,
Past Perfect Continuous, Future Perfect, and Future Perfect Continuous).
Be: progressive followed by a present participle.

● Avoid using full stops after the elements of the sentence in the tree diagram.
● Any point in a phrase marker that can branch is referred to as a node.
● A node dominates everything below it and is connected to it by a line.
● A node immediately dominates another element when there are no intervening elements.
● The S node immediately dominates the NP and the Pre.P, but it does not immediately dominate the auxiliary.

11. They deny [the rumor] [that John spread].

Adj. C

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 - “That John spread” is a relative clause that doesn’t modify only “rumor” but the determiner “the” also. Thus
the NP node will immediately dominate two branches NP and S’.

12. They deny a rumor [that John died].

Nom. C

13. [John’s book] [is interesting].

Det N

14. It is [easy to do].

15. I know that John is here.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 16. The idea that John suggested is good.

17. The idea that John should attend the lecture is good.

18. The beautiful little girl who is talking to John is his sister.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 19. The little girl was very happy.

20. He turned off the light.

21. He turned the light off.

22. I saw her duck.

a. I saw her animal. b. I saw her bend.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 23. The claim was made that John committed the crime.

24. John met a beautiful tall young Italian woman.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 25. John met an Italian woman who speaks Chinese.

- “an Italian woman who speaks Chinese” is one constituent that can be replaced by a pronoun: John met her.
The head of this NP is “woman”. Its pre-head dependents are “an Italian”. And “who speaks Chinese” is the
post-head dependent.

26. The claim that you made a mistake is wrong

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

W5/S4 (proofread) Notes - 10/03/2023

II. PHONETICS
● Articulatory Phonetics is the study of how speech sounds are created using the upper respiratory tract, which
includes the nose, pharynx, larynx, and mouth. The lower respiratory tract, which comprises the trachea,
bronchial trees, and lungs, is not directly involved in sound production.

● It's worth noting that the air from our lungs is essential for speaking and producing articulate sounds. The process
of producing air during speech is referred to as the "airstream mechanism," which encompasses both the source
and manner of airflow.

● English speech sounds are typically created by expelling air from the lungs through the mouth or, in some cases,
the nose. This process is known as the pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism, which is the most common
type of airstream mechanism used in producing speech.

● Some languages utilize an ingressive airstream mechanism rather than a pulmonic egressive airstream
mechanism to produce speech sounds. Urdu, for instance, is an example of such a language.

● Sounds fall into two categories:

○ Consonants
■ Voiceless = [ p, t, k, f, θ, s, ʃ, ʈʃ, h, ʔ ]
■ Voiced = [ b, d, g, v, ð, z, ʒ, dʒ, m, n, ŋ, l, r, j, w ]
○ Vowels = ?????

When describing consonants, it's essential to consider three critical elements in the following order:

1. Voicing: Is the speech sound voiced or voiceless, and what is the process for producing each type of
sound?
2. Place of articulation: The precise location in the articulatory system where the sound is produced,
including which articulators are involved.
3. Manner of articulation: The method used to articulate the sound, including any restrictions or
obstructions to the airflow.

● To provide a comprehensive description of consonants, it is important to discuss three key aspects: voicing, place
of articulation, and manner of articulation.

● The larynx contains the glottis, which plays a crucial role in sound production. As air from the lungs passes
through the larynx, the state of the glottis determines whether it is open or closed. Within the glottis lie the vocal
cords, which can be brought together to close the glottis or pulled apart to open it. This process is responsible for
distinguishing between voiced and voiceless sounds.

● Voicing of a sound is determined by the position of the vocal cords within the glottis. When the vocal cords are
pulled apart, the glottis opens, allowing the airstream to flow freely, resulting in the production of voiceless
sounds. Conversely, when the vocal cords are brought together, the glottis closes and the airstream is forced
through, causing vibration and resulting in the production of voiced sounds.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 ❖ PLACE OF ARTICULATION

The place of articulation refers to where a sound is produced. There are several types of sounds that
correspond to different places of articulation:

1. Bilabial sounds are created using both lips. In English, bilabial sounds include [p] voiceless, [b] voiced,
[m] voiced, and [w] voiced. For example, we can find these sounds in the words “pet”, “bet”, “met”, and
“wet”, each with a distinct sound and meaning.
2. Labiodental sounds are produced using both the lower lip and upper front teeth. The labiodental sounds
in English include [f] voiceless and [v] voiced, as found in “fan” and “van”.
3. Interdental sounds are made with the tip of the tongue between the front teeth, both upper and lower.
English interdental sounds include [θ] as in “thin” and [ð] as in “then”.
4. Alveolar sounds are created using the alveolar ridge, which is located on the roof of the mouth just behind
the upper front teeth. Alveolar sounds are produced with the tongue tip raised to the alveolar ridge, and in
English include [t, d, s, z, n, l, r].

➔ The tongue is a crucial organ because it is involved in speech and language production. In fact, in many languages,
the term "tongue" is used to refer to the language itself. For instance, we commonly ask, "What is your native
language?" or "What is your mother tongue?"

➔ In phonetics, we can identify three main parts of the tongue: the tip, the blade, and the back. The tip of the tongue
is located at the frontmost point of the tongue, followed immediately by the blade, which is the area just behind the
tip. Finally, the back of the tongue is located towards the rear of the mouth.

➔ The roof of the mouth contains several structures important for speech sounds. Starting from the front, there are the
upper teeth, which can be used to make certain consonant sounds. Behind the teeth is the alveolar ridge, which is
also important for some consonants. Moving further back is the hard palate, which forms the bony front part of
the roof of the mouth. Beyond the hard palate is the soft palate, which is involved in making sounds like "k" and
"g." Finally, at the back of the soft palate is the uvula, a fleshy muscle that can affect the quality of certain sounds.

5. Palato-alveolar / Postalveolar sounds = They are produced with the blade of the tongue raised to the part
of the roof of the mouth which is the end of the alveolar ridge and the beginning of the hard palate.
These sounds are [ʃ, ʒ, ʈʃ, dʒ] as in the words: she, measure, church, judge.
6. Palatal sounds are made with the front part of the tongue raised to the hard palate. [ j] as in the word
‘yet’.
7. Velar sounds are made by raising the back part of the tongue to the soft palate, i.e., the velum. [k, g, ŋ]
as in the words: kill, gill, sing.
8. Glottal sounds are made at the glottis, which is the space or opening between the vocal cords. English has
2 glottal sounds: [h, ʔ] as in the words: high, button.

The glottal stop [ʔ] is a sound made by closing and opening the glottis. It is commonly heard in the Cockney accent,
which is spoken by working-class Londoners from the East part of the city. The glottal stop is often used in place of
the [t] sound in words such as "button," "don't," and "can't."

● When prompted to communicate in one's native language, it is essential to utilize one's own dialect instead of
imitating others. Using an alternate dialect can result in the speaker sounding peculiar or losing credibility. For
instance, substituting the /t/ sound in "I can't" with an /e/ sound can make the language appear inauthentic.
Therefore, it is advisable to remain true to one's own dialect and abstain from utilizing erroneous sounds or
pronunciations.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 ❖ MANNER OF ARTICULATION

In addition to detailing the phonetic features of voiced or voiceless sounds and their place of articulation, it is crucial
to provide an account of the manner of articulation - namely, how the airstream is modified by the vocal tract to
produce a sound. The manner of articulation of a sound is contingent upon the degree of closure of the articulators,
i.e., the proximity or distance between them.

● Complete closure occurs when the articulators come together and nearly touch, resulting in the airstream briefly
stopping (obscured). Sounds such as [p], [b], [n], [w], and [m] are classified as stops due to their production
requiring complete closure.

● Partial closure involves creating a narrow opening through which the airstream can pass, rather than completely
stopping it. This narrowing creates friction as the air flows through the space.

1. Stops refer to sounds that are created by completely obstructing the airflow as the articulators come into
close proximity. These sounds include p, b, t, d, k, g, m, n, and ŋ.
2. Fricatives, also known as continuants, are sounds that are produced with partial closure of the articulators,
allowing the airflow to pass through a narrow opening, resulting in friction. Fricatives include:
f, v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, ʒ, and h.
3. Affricates are sounds that are created by briefly stopping the airflow completely, and then gradually releasing
the articulators to produce friction. They start as stops and are released as fricatives. Examples of affricates
include tʃ and dʒ.
4. Nasals are sounds that are produced with the velum, or soft palate, lowered so that the airflow can pass
freely through the nasal cavity. The sounds m, n, and ŋ are known as "nasal stops".
5. Liquids include the sounds [l] and [r]. [l] is a voiced lateral liquid that is produced with the tip of the tongue
against the alveolar ridge, while the airstream escapes around the sides of the tongue. [r] is a voiced
non-lateral liquid.
6. Glides, also referred to as semi-vowels, include [j] and [w], which can also be transcribed as [y] and [w].

Example of questions.

Question 1: Find the odd member among [k], [g], and [ŋ]

Answer: Among [k], [g], and [ŋ], the odd member is [ŋ]. While [k] and [g] share a similar manner of articulation
produced by closing the mouth and releasing a burst of air - [ŋ] is produced by lowering the soft palate and
allowing air to escape through the nose. Additionally, [k] is voiceless, while [g] and [ŋ] are voiced. Although
voicing is a relevant factor in distinguishing sounds, the difference in the manner of articulation is more significant
in this case. Therefore, the odd member is [ŋ].

Question 2: Find the odd member among [w], [j], and [ʃ]

Answer: The odd member is [ʃ]. While [w] and [j] are glides or semivowels, [ʃ] is a fricative. Glides are produced
by smoothly transitioning from a partially constricted vocal tract, while fricatives involve creating a turbulent
airflow by forcing air through a narrow gap. Therefore, the manner of articulation of [ʃ] is distinct from that of [w]
and [j].

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 - List the way in which the numbers of each pair differ.

1. [s,d] → s: voiceless; d: voiced/ both are Alveolar sounds / s: fricative; d: stop

2. [h,?] → both are voiceless/ both are glottal sounds/ h: Fricative sound
3. [l, s] → l: voiced; s: voiceless/ both are alveolar sounds/ l: liquid; s: fricative.
4. [ʃ, ŋ] → ʃ: voiceless; ŋ: voiced/ ʃ: post-alveolar; ŋ: velar/ ʃ: frecative; ŋ: stop.
5. [w, m] → both are voiced/ both are Bilabial/ w: glide; m: stop.
6. [dz, ʒ] → both are voice/ both are post-alveolar sounds/ dz: Affricate; ʒ: fricative
7. [f, ʃ] → both are voiceless/ f: labiodental sound; ʃ: past-alveolar sound/ both are fricatives
/ voicing/ place of articulation/ manner of articulation

● Remarks

○ During the exam

When encountering the question, "What is pulmonic egressive airstream mechanism?", a suitable response would be
that it is a process used to produce English speech sounds. The mechanism derives its name from two defining
characteristics: the use of lungs as the air source for sound production (pulmonic) and the outward expulsion of air
instead of inward suction (egressive).

If the question is 'What is the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds?', the answer should be something as
follows:

“Voicing of a sound is determined by the position of the vocal cords within the glottis. When the vocal cords
are pulled apart, the glottis opens, allowing the airstream to flow freely, resulting in the production of voiceless
sounds. Conversely, when the vocal cords are brought together, the glottis closes and the airstream is forced through,
causing vibration and resulting in the production of voiced sounds.”

One important point to keep in mind is that phonetic transcriptions are typically enclosed in brackets, while
phonological transcription in slant bars During the exam, you will encounter a question asking you to identify the odd
sound, as well as an exercise in which you will need to describe it.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

W7/S5 Notes - 23/03/2023

● Description of vowels (first handout)

Vowels are produced without any obstruction of the airstream, resulting in an open vocal tract. Because of this, we
cannot use the same parameters used to describe consonants, such as place and manner of articulation, as vowels lack
these characteristics. Additionally, vowels are generally voiced sounds. To describe vowels, we use the Daniel Jones
cardinal vowel system, which is an international framework that categorizes vowels based on three criteria: The
tongue height, the tongue advancement, and the position of the lips.

1. The height of the tongue

When we produce a vowel, the position of the tongue in the oral cavity plays a crucial role. The tongue can be raised,
lowered, or positioned somewhere in between. The degree of tongue raising determines the quality of the vowel sound.
For instance, when the tongue is moved very high, it produces high vowels such as [i] or [o]. When the body of the
tongue is lowered, it produces low vowels such as [æ]. Finally, when the tongue is positioned somewhere in between,
it produces mid-vowels such as [e].
2. The tongue advancement
When producing a vowel, the placement of the tongue within the oral cavity is a key factor. The tongue can be
positioned at the front of the mouth, the back of the mouth, or at the juncture of the hard and soft palates. A vowel
can be back, front, or central.

3. The position of the lips

The position of our lips, whether rounded or unrounded, is a crucial factor in shaping vowel sounds. Rounded
vowels like [u] and [o] require pursed lips, while unrounded vowels like [a], [æ], and [i] require open lips. Other
factors such as tongue position and the shape of the vocal tract also play a role in shaping vowel sounds.
Understanding lip position can help improve pronunciation and understanding of spoken language.
● In addition to the three parameters stated, we have another parameter which is lax (short) vowels and tense
(long) vowels.
❖ Lax vs. tense vowels
The concept of tense vowels refers to a specific type of vowel sound in the English language. Tense vowels are
characterized by their length and the effort required to produce them. Some textbooks use the terms "long vowels" and
"short vowels" instead of "tense" and "lax" vowels, respectively. For example, the vowel "e" in "eat" is a long vowel,
whereas the vowel "e" in "bet" is a short vowel.

English has five tense vowels: [i], a front vowel; [e], a front vowel; [u], a high back vowel; [o], a mid-back vowel;
and [3], the vowel sound in "bird," which is a central vowel. The placement of the tongue in the mouth determines the
height, advancement, and shape of the vowel sound.

The height of the tongue corresponds to the production of high, low, or mid vowels. If the tongue is raised, it
produces high vowels, and if it is lowered, it produces low vowels. When the tongue is in between, it produces
mid-vowels.

The advancement of the tongue determines whether a vowel is front, back, or central. When the tongue is pushed
toward the hard palate, it produces front vowels. On the other hand, when the tongue is pushed toward the soft
palate, it produces back vowels. Central vowels are produced when the tongue is in between the hard and soft
palate.

When describing vowel sounds, it is necessary to indicate their height, and advancement, as well as whether they are
rounded or unrounded and whether they are tense/long or lax/short.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 W7/S6 Notes - 24/03/2023

III. PHONOLOGY
Key:
- Explanation
- Dictation
- Both phonetics and phonology are concerned with speech sounds but they deal with them from different
perspectives. Phonetics is general, it does not have a specific language in view. It describes the speech sounds
and classifies them; for example, [p] → [- voiced, + bilabial]and [s] → [- voiced, + alveolar, + fricative].
Phonology on the other hand is particular because it studies how the speech sounds function and structure in a
particular language. Because there are differences in sounds that are contrastive and change the meaning of the
word, and there are differences that do not change the meaning of the words, only phonetic differences
(articulation of the sounds).

- Both phonetics and phonology are concerned with speech sounds but they are concerned with them
from different perspectives: phonetics is general, it does not have a specific language in view. The task of
phonetics is to describe the speech sounds in terms of voicing, manner and place of articulation, etc and
classify them, for example, class of glides, stops, liquids, etc.
Phonology is different because it deals with a specific language. It studies how a sound functions and
structures in a particular language.
- It should be noted that the phonetic transcription is enclosed inside brackets [], whereas the
phonological transcription is enclosed between slashes //.

- Apart from brackets [ ] and slashes //, what’s the difference between a phonological and phonetic
transcriptions?
The phonetic transcription is very narrow and gives a lot of details and description about the sound while the
phonological transcription gives just the abstract sounds. For example, pill and spill, [p] is the same, but
phonetically speaking they are different, the [p] of pill is aspirational [pʰ], if you put your hand in front of your
mouth you should feel the path of air and if you didn’t feel it, this means that you don’t know how to
pronounce it. Moreover, the [l] sound of the word “pill” is dark not light [l].

- Transcription: Pill → [pʰil] and Spill → [spil]. The meaning do not change even if we replace [pʰ] aspirated p
with [p] non aspirated p. Exactly as in Arabic, the word “say” can be pronounced using “‫ “چ‬,”‫”ق‬, and “‫ ”آ‬and
the meaning is the same.
On the other hand, if we replaced [h] with [f] of the word “heit”, the meaning would change; now, the
difference is phonological.

- These [pʰ] aspirated and [p] non aspirated, refer both to the same sound, the phoneme [p]. How do we know
that [p] is a phoneme? Because if we change [p] with [b] in the word “pill” the meaning changes and it
becomes “bill”. The phoneme can be realized in various ways, depending on the position of the word.

- Bear in mind, unlike phonological differences, phonetic differences are not distinctive.
A phoneme can be realized in various ways, the various realizations of the phoneme are called allophones.
The phoneme [p] has two allophones: [pʰ] and [p]. These allophones are in complementary distribution which
means when one occurs the other can not occur at the same.

- There are two types of difference between speech sounds: there are differences that are
contrastive/distinctive that is to say they change the meaning of a word; example, if we change the [h]
sound of the word “hate” to [f] we get “fate”, [l] we get “late”, [m] we get “mate ”, all of these sounds
are phonemes because they contribute to the meaning of the word.
Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand
 - Example: “pin” if /p/ is replaced by /t/, we get “tin”, /w/ we get “win”, and /s/ we get “sin”; they are separate
phonemes. To find different phonemes in a language, we use minimal pairs.

- We find the phonemes of a language by using minimal pairs: a minimal pair is a pair of words that
differ solely/only with respect to one sound in the same position like [pin and win], [win and tin], and
[tin and sin].
On the other hand, there are differences in speech sounds that do not affect the meaning of the sentence,
that is to say they are not contrastive and distinctive. These differences are not phonological, they are
phonetic and they concern allophones, example, the /p/ of pill is aspirated whereas the /p/ of spill is non
aspirated, if we replace one sound by the other, the meaning will not change, but the pronunciation will
sound wrong.

- Funny story: an Arab was in London, and he wanted to park his car so he asked a native speaker whether it is
possible to park it there or not. He said “ can I bark here?”, the native speaker said “If you wanted to bark,
bark!”.

- Bear in mind that a phoneme is abstract but when we want to pronounce words, we articulate, this is
phonetics.
- A phoneme is an abstract minimal unit. It is distinctive. A phoneme can be realized in various ways.
The concrete realizations of the phonemes are called allophones/variantes of the phoneme.

- Allophones are the concrete realizations of the phoneme. They should observe two conditions:
a. They should share the same phonetic features; example, [pʰ] and [p] are allophones because both
of them are [+ bilabial, + stop]

b. They should be in complementary contributions (they should not occur in the same position,
that is to say, when one occurs, the other one does not occur, and if it does occur, the meaning
does not change).

- Exercises:
1. Are the sounds [ŋ] and [h] two separate phonemes or are they allophones of the same phoneme?
a. siŋ → sing
b. swiŋ → swing
c. θiŋ → thing
d. heit → hate
e. hɛn → hen
f. həʊm → home
g. hæt → hat
- Steps to answer:
1. Is there a minimal pair?
2. Are they allophones?
a. Are they in complementary distribution?
b. Do they share the same phonetic features?

➛ We have [ŋ] always at the end of the words and [h] at the beginning of the words; so they are separate
phonemes because they don’t share any phonetic features.
[ŋ] → [+ voiced, + veluar, + stop, + nasal] while [h] → [- voiced, + glottal, + fricative, + oral]

➛ The answer is no they are not allophones of the same phoneme.

2. (Hypothetical language)
Are the sounds [ŋ] and [h] two separate phonemes or are they allophones of the same phoneme?
a. [hin] = ball b. [ŋin] = room.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 ➛ They are different phonemes.

- Even if two sounds do not occur in the same position, that is to say they are in complementary
distribution, IF they do not share the same phonetic features, they CAN’T be allophones of the same
phoneme.

- For two or more sounds to be allophones of the same phoneme, they must be in complementary
distribution and they must share some phonetic features.

3. Are the sounds [æ] and [æ̃] two separate phonemes or allophones of the same phoneme?
a. kʰæt → cat d. kæ̃n → can
b. læk → lack e. læ̃m → lamb
c. tʰæp → tap f. hæ̃ŋ → hang

Answer:
➛ They share the same phonetic features.
➛ They are in complementary distribution, because [æ̃] is nasalized [æ] because it occurs after nasal vowels
[ŋ,m,n].
➛ They are allophones that belong to the same phoneme; [æ̃] → [+ nasal] and [æ] → [- nasal].

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

W9/S8 Notes - 07/04/2023

PHONOLOGICAL PROCESSES

● First phonological process: DELETION (data from Spanish):

Key: Abla = speak; kome = eat; baila = dance; bebe = drink

❖ The first person singular:

❖ The second person singular:
1. Abla + o → ablo
2. Kome + o → komo 1. Abla + s → ablas
3. Baila + o → bailo 2. Kome + s → komes
4. Bebe + o → bebo 3. Baila + s → bailas
4. Bebe + s → bebes

- The a and e from abla, kome, baila, and bebe, are the root and pheme vowels; the vowels of the verb.
The o is the first person singular morpheme in Spanish and the s is the second person singular
morpheme.
- When we add o to a or e, we say “ablo” not “ablao”, “komo” not “komeo”, “bailo” not “bailao”, and
“bebo” not “bebeo” so there is a phonological process that happens with the first person singular
where we drop the theme vowel.

- The phonological process is called deletion. The theme vowel gets deleted when it is followed by
another vowel. The rule of deletion in formal notation is: V → Ø / ___ + V

(She is reminding students of the symbols she gave in the last session.)

- Example: in “Kome”, where is k and e

_k__ # : word initial position

#_e__ : word final position
+ : morpheme boundary
___ : environment.

- The deletion happens at the morpheme boundary +, where we delete the pheme vowels. The pheme
vowels are deleted when they are followed by another vowel.

● Second phonological process: INSERTION (data from another language):

❖ Noun:
❖ Noun + possessive determiner:
1. Pit = car
2. Maku = pot 1. Pitama = his car
3. Pito = coat 2. Makuma = his pot
4. Sandu = fruit 3. Pitoma = his coat
5. Imab = book 4. Sanduma = his fruit
5. Imabama = his book

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 - The morpheme ma is the possessive determiner in this language.
- After adding the possessive morpheme ma, the change occurs only in “pit” and “imab” ; we
insert a and it becomes “pitama” and “imabama” in order to break up a cluster of two
consonants. The phonological process here is called insertion or epenthesis. Epenthesis/ insertion
is a phonological process whereby a consonant or a vowel is inserted.
- The insertion rule is: Ø → a / C ___ + ma. Another way to write the epenthesis rule is: imab [
___ + ma]

● Third phonological process: METATHESIS (data from Indonesian):

❖ Singular: ❖ Plural:

1. Piska 1. Pisak
2. Omnu 2. Omun
3. Balge 3. Baleg
4. Kamiru 4. Kamiru
5. Nuslam 5. Nuslam

- The phonological process is that the two last segments interchange position; “piska” becomes “pisak”,
“omnu” becomes “omun”, and “balge” becomes “baleg”, but “kamiru” and “nuslam” don’t change in
the plural form.
- This is a phonological process whereby two segments interchange position; we call it metathesis.
It occurs whenever we have a word that ends in a vowel and is preceded by two consonants.

- Metathesis has a special rule which is: piska, monu, balge → CCV# → 1324
12 34
● Fourth phonological process: COALESCENCE (data from English):

1. rileit + jan → rileiʃən

2. iveid + jan → iveidʒən

- Coalescence is a phonological process whereby two segments or sounds merge into one segment
that shares the properties of both segments.

- The sounds t and jan combine together and become the sound ʃ, also d and jan become ʒ.
- The place of articulation of t is alveolar and jan is palato, to combine them we pronounce a sound
which is ʃ palato alveolar or postalveolar for voiceless sounds and ʒ for voiced sounds.

- The phonological rule is:

rileit + jan: t + j → ʃ | iveid + jan: d + j → ʒ

● Fifth phonological process: MAJOR CLASS FEATURE CHANGE (data from another
language):

❖ The absolute form of the adjective ❖ The comparative form of the adjective

1. Ati = clever 4. Atjer = cleverer

2. Desi = clean 5. Desjer = cleaner
3. Jidu = dirty 6. Jidwer = dirtier
Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand
 - In this set of data, the vowel [i] becomes [j] and [u] becomes [w] because of the manner of articulation
rounded and unrounded. The vowel becomes the correspondent glide.
- i becomes j in this environment ati + er → atjer.

- This phonological process is called major class feature change when a vowel becomes a
consonant or a consonant becomes a vowel. The phonological rule is: i → j/___ + V
u→ w/___ + V .

● Diathetic symbols

- Voiceless ___ n̥ (there is a small circle under ___)

- Aspirated ___ʰ tʰ
- Unreleased ___ t (above t, there is a small symbol like twisted L also in here ___)
- Glottalized __ˈ_ˈj or ˈy
- Palatalized ___ ʲ pʲ
- Velarized → ɫ (‫)تفخيم‬
- Labialized ___ʷ kʷ
- Syllabic ___ n̩ (there is a small l under ___)
- Nasalized __~_ ã
- Long → ___: a:
- Stressed __´_ á
- Tense → __-_ ē
- Lax → ___ ě (there is a small u above ___)
- Unstressed → ___ v (there is a small o above v and ___)

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

W10/09 Notes - 14/04/2023

EXERCISES

❖ Phonology & Phonetics

Exercise 1:

Data:
1. pr̥æm 5. riʤən
2. græb 6. rovər
3. kr̥æb 7. brum
4. fr̥ut 8. θr̥ilər

Q:
a. Are the sounds [r] and [r̥] separate phonemes or allophones of the same phoneme?
b. State their distribution in formal notation.
c. Give the phonemic transcription of 1, 5, and 8.

Explanation:

- To solve the exercise, you should ask the following questions:

1. What are the segments?

2. Can they be allophones of the same phoneme? Do they share some phonetic features?
3. (If they are allophones ask this) Are they in complementary distribution? Is there a minimal
pair?

→ Is there a minimal pair? No. This means that it is possible that [r] and [r̥] are allophones. (not a firm
conclusion)
→ In what phonological environment each one of them occurs?

Distribution of the sound [r]:

A. [r] # _____ [+ voiced]

[r] _____ #
[r] C _____ B. [r̥] C _____
[- voiced]

- So [r] and [r̥] are allophones of the same phoneme /r/.

- The phoneme /r/ is pronounced in two different ways:

1) [r] when it is at the beginning of the word, at the end of the word, and preceded by a +
voiced consonant.

2) [r̥] when it is preceded by a - voiced consonant. (it assimilates the precedent sound in one
or set of its phonetic features)

- To transcribe a word phonemically means to use slashes, not brackets. And it doesn’t mean to
transcribe a sound the way you pronounce it, instead of that you use only the phonemes, for example,
you don’t transcribe like this [pr̥æm], you transcribe this way /præm/.
Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand
 ★ Answer:

a. /r/ and /r̥/ are allophones of the same phoneme because they share the same place and manner of
articulation.

b. The rule:

/r/ → [r] / # _____

_____ #
C _____
[+ voiced]

/r/ → [r̥] / C _____

[- voiced]

c. The phonemic transcription of 1, 5, and 8:

1- /præm/.
5- /riʤən/.
8- /θrilər/.

(Note that we use only the abstract representation of the sounds while writing the phonemic transcription, in other words, we use
phonemes instead of allophones.)

Exercise 2:

Q: Identify the sound that does not belong to the group, and name the features that define the class to which
the remaining sounds belong.

a. [w,o,j]
b. [tʃ,ŋ,ʤ]

★ Answer:

In this group [w,o,j] the odd member is [o].

In this group [tʃ,ŋ,ʤ] the odd member is [ŋ].

a. [w,o,j] + glide, + voiced.

b. [tʃ,ŋ,ʤ] + affricate, + palato-alveolar.

Exercise 3:

- Question: List the ways in which the members of each pair differ.

a. [o,u]
b. [l,r]

Explanation:

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 a. [o,u] → Both of them are + back, + rounded. But the difference is the sound [o] is mid-back
and [u] is high-back.
b. [l,r] → Both of them are + liquid, + voiced. But the difference is [l] is lateral liquid and [r] is
non-lateral liquid.

★ Answer:
a. [o,u] → [o] is mid-back, [u] is high-back
b. [l,r] → [l] is lateral liquid, [r] is non-lateral liquid.

Exercise 4:
- Data from an African language:

1. ubale = a piece 5. usiku = a night

2. udugo = a phone 6. wakati = a match
3. ugimbi = a house 7. wembe = a razor
4. wimbo = a song 8. upamba = a knife

Q:
a. Are the sounds [u] and [w] separate phonemes or allophones of the same phoneme?
b. State their distribution in formal notation.
c. Give the phonemic transcription of 5,6 and 7.
Explanation:

- To answer, ask the following questions:

1. Is there a minimal pair in the data? No, so they are not separate phonemes.
2. Do [u] and [w] share the same features? Yes, they are both + rounded, + back. So it is possible that
they are allophones of the same phoneme.
3. Are they in complementary distribution (when one occurs, the other one does not occur)?

- Distribution:

a.
[u] _____ C
[u] C _____ C
[u] _____ #

b.
[w] _____ V

- The phoneme /u/ can be realized as [u] in three cases:

1) when it is followed by a consonant,

2) between two consonants
3) at the end of the word. And it is realized as [w] when it is followed by a vowel.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 ★ Answer:

a. [u] and [w] are allophones of the same phoneme /u/.

b. The rule:
/u/ → [u] / _____C
C____C
_____#

/u/ → [w] / _____V

c. The phonemic transcription of 5, 6, and 7:

5- /usiku/
6- /uakati/
7- /uembe/

Exercise 5:

Q: Identify the sound that does not belong to the group, and name the features that define the class to which
the remaining sounds belong.
a. [s,ʃ⁠,p]
b. [o,i,u,ɔ]

★ Answer:

a. [s,ʃ⁠,p] + fricative, - voiced.

b. [o,i,u,ɔ] + back, + rounded.

Exercise 6:

Q: List the ways in which the members of each pair differ.

a. [d,ʔ]
b. [ʔ,h]

★ Answer:

a. [d,ʔ] → [d] + alveolar, + voiced, [ʔ] is + glottal, - voiced.

b. [ʔ,h] → [ʔ] + stop, [h] + fricative.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

W11/10 Notes - 19/04/2023

EXERCISES

❖ Syntax

DTV
1. John told the woman that Bill liked jokes.
- There is a structural ambiguity - two interpretations:

a. John told her jokes.

http://mshang.ca/syntree/?i=%5BS%20%5BNP%5BN%20John%5D%5D%5BPred.P%5BVP%5BV%20told%5D%5BNP%5BNP%5BDet%20the%5D%5BN%20woman%5D%5D%5B%5ES'%20that%20Bill%20liked%5D%5D%5BNP%5BN%20jokes%5D%5D%5D%5D

b. John told the woman that Bill liked jokes.

http://mshang.ca/syntree/?i=%5BS%20%5BNP%20%5BN%20John%5D%5D%5BPred.P%20%5BVP%5BV%20told%5D%5BNP%5BDet%20the%5D%5BN%20woman%5D%5D%5B%5ES'%20that%20Bill%20liked%20jokes%5D%5D%5D%5D

Note:
A sentence that is structurally ambiguous is one that has syntactic ambiguity, where the meaning depends on
how the sentence's elements are structured.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 2. They revealed the person who committed the crime yesterday.
- There is a structural ambiguity - two interpretations:

a. Yesterday, they revealed him.

b. They revealed him.

The tree diagram is similar to the previous one.

3. They should have told her the truth before.

http://mshang.ca/syntree/?i=%5BS%5BNP%20%5BN%20They%5D%5D%5BPred.P%20%5BAux%5Bmodal%20should%5D%5Bperfective%20have%5D%5D%5BVP%5BV%20told%5D%5BNP%5BPro%20her%5D%5D%5BNP%5BDet%20the%5D%5BN%20truth%5D%5D%5BAdv.P%5BAdv%20before%5D%5D%5D%5D%5

→ Which one occurs first? The progressive auxiliary or the passive auxiliary?

4. The meal is being cooked.

http://mshang.ca/syntree/?i=%5BS%20%5BNP%20%5BDet%20The%5D%5BN%20meal%5D%5D%5BPred.P%5BAux%5Bprogressive%20is%5D%5Bpassive%20being%5D%5D%5BVP%5BV%20cooked%5D%5D%5D%5D

- In the Predicate Phrase, the head verb is called the predictor, and before the VP you can have
all types of auxiliaries in this order: modal, perfective, progressive, and passive, then the main
verb (MV).

→ Why do we call an auxiliary verb progressive? It is called progressive because it assigns the -ing
form to the following verb.

→ Why do we call “be”, passive? Because it is the passive “be” that gives the following verb the
past participle form.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 Subject Pred. P
5. [The new product] [is good for the removal of tough stains.]

http://mshang.ca/syntree/?i=%5BS%5BNP%20%5BDet%20The%5D%5BN%5BAdj.P%5BAdj%20new%5D%5D%5BN%20product%5D%5D%5D%20%5BPred.P%5BVP%20%5BV%20is%5D%5BAdj.P%5BAdj%20good%5D%5BPP%20%5BPrep%20for%5D%5BNP%5BDet%20the%5D%5BN%5BN%20removal%5D%5BPP%20%5BPrep%20of%5D%5BNP%5BAdj.P%5BAdj%20tough%5D%5D%5BN%20stains%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D%5D

- The PP that occurs as post-head dependent of a head noun, this PP can be either a modifier or
complement.
→ What is the difference between a PP complement of a head noun and a PP modifier of a head
noun?
→ A PP modifier is replaceable by a relative clause, whereas the PP complement is not
paraphrasable by a relative clause and we can derive a verb from the head noun. For example:

NP PP functions as a modifier of “the book”

6. [The book (on the table)] is mine.

- We can say: The book which is on the table is mine.

NP PP functions as a complement of “author”

7. [The author (of the book)] is British.

- We can say: The author who wrote the book is British.

→ Why in the tree diagram of sentence 5, we did not expand another NP branch from the initial
NP “The new product”, like the following?

http://mshang.ca/syntree/?i=%5BS%5BNP%5BDet%20The%5D%5BNP%5BAdj.P%5BAdj%20new%5D%5D%5BN%20product%5D%5D%5D%5BPred.P%5D

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 → In S3 when we analyzed the NP, we learned that the NP consists of a determiner and a head
noun. This head noun can be premodified, postmodified, or occur alone. In the tree diagram of
example 5, “product” is not an NP, it is just a noun that is premodified by an Adj. P “new”.

❖ Phonology
1. A sequence of voiceless stop and [w] is realized as labialized voiceless stop intervocalically. Write
this rule in formal notation.

★ Answer:

V C w V → 12Ø4
[-voiced,
+stop] [+ round]

1 2 3 4

Explanation:

- The question expresses Coalesanse where two elements merge in the environment of inter-vocality
which means between two vowels. Example from a hypothetical language:

a. ikwait → ikʷait
↓↓↓↓
V V
1234

2. A vowel is inserted after the second consonant of a cluster of three consonants in word-initial
position. Write this rule in formal notation.

★ Answer:

Ø → V / # CC___C

Explanation:

The question expresses insertion that happens in the environment of word-initial position; it is
Epenthesis/Insertion. We insert a vowel in the same environment, as follows: psk → psak.

3. Consonants are devoiced words finally or when they preced the sound [h]. Write this rule in formal
notation.

★ Answer:

C → C / ___#
[+voiced] [-voiced] ___h

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

W11 Notes - 28/04/2023

❖ Phonology
EXERCISE 1:

Noun 7) faŋlu = my watch

Noun + first-person possessive Noun + third-person
determiner: possessive determiner
1) kost = house
2) dob = book 1) kostəlu = my house 1) kostik = his house
3) efadz = car 2) doblu = my book 2) dobik = his book
4) makt = son 3) efadzəlu = my car 3) efadzik = his car
5) ugin = country 4) maktəlu = my son 4) maktik = his som
6) pom = shirt 5) uginlu = my country 5) uginki = his country
7) paŋ = watch 6) pomelu = my shirt 6) pomki = his shir
7) faŋki = his watch

Q:
a. Two phonological processes are involved. What are they?
b. What is the motivation for each process, that is to say, state the rules in words.
c. Write the rules in formal notation.

Explanation:

Insertion:
→ What is the first-person possessive determiner? It is lu. In this language, to express the first-person
possessive determiner to a noun, we add lu, but sometimes we insert a shwa before lu. We call this
phonological process insertion/epenthesis.
→ In what environment do we insert ə? Whenever we have a cluster of three consonants, we insert a
shwa after the second consonant.

Metathesis:
→ What is Metathesis? It happens when two elements change positions. In this language, we have the
morpheme ik become ki.
→ When does this happen? What is the environment? When it is preceded by a nasal: m, n, ŋ.

★ Answer:

a. The phonological processes involved are insertion/epenthesis and metathesis.

b. Stating the rules in words:

i. Insertion/epenthesis: A shwa is inserted after the second consonant of a cluster of three

consonants.
ii. Metathesis: When we have a nasal consonant before ik, the elements change positions.

c. The rules in formal notation:

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 i. Insertion: Ø → ə / CC___C

ii. Metathesis: [ C ] ik# → 1324

+nasal

1 234
Exercise 2:

Positive form:
Negative form:
1) pik = wanted
2) las = done 1) pikʰye = unwanted
3) mut = believable 2) lashye = undone
4) muš = fair 3) mutʰye = unbelievable
5) fap = fit 4) mušhye = unfair
6) tob = reliable 5) fapʰye = unfit
7) miw = common 6) tobhye = unreliable
8) tak = aware 7) miwhye = uncommon
9) mag = usual 8) takʰye = unaware
9) maghye = unusual

Q:
a. What type of phonological process is involved.
b. State the rule in words.
c. Write the rule in formal notation.

Explanation:

→ What is the negative morpheme in this language? It is hye.

→ What happens? In examples 1,3,5, and 8, we aspirate the voiceless stops [p,k,t]. So in this language,
whenever we have a consonant that is - voiced, + stop it gets aspirated.
→ What do we call this phonological process? We call it coalescence. It happens when two segments
merge into one, for example, we have [p] it becomes /pʰ/.

★ Answer:

a. The phonological process is coalescence.

b. Whenever we have a consonant that is - voiced, + stop followed by h, it becomes aspirated.
c. The rule in formal notation: [ C h → 1
- voiced + stop ] [ + aspirated ]

1 2

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 ❖ Phonetics
1. List the ways in which the members of each pair differ:
a. [f,k]
b. [j,t]

Explanation

a. [f,k] are both - voiced, but they differ in place and manner of articulation. [f] is labiodental fricative,
whereas [k] is velar stop.
b. [j,t] differ in all features. While [t] is + voiced, alveolar, stop, [j] is - voiced, glide, palatal.

★ Answer

a. [f,k] → [ f [k
+ labiodental + velar

+ fricative ] + stop ]

b. [j,t] → [ t [j
- voiced + voiced
+ alveolar + palatal

+ stop ] + glide ]

2. Eliminate the segment which does not belong to the group. Explain your choice.
a. [ŋ,k,n,g]
b. [t,d,v]

Explanation

a. [ŋ,k,n,g] → [n] is the odd member because it is + alveolar whereas the others are + velar.
b. [t,d,v] → [v] is the odd member because it is + fricative whereas the others are alveolar stops.

★ Answer

a. [ŋ,k,n,g] → [+ velar]
b. [t,d,v] → [+ alveolar]

3. For each group add the segment which is missing and define the group.
a. [m,g,b,__]
b. [f,ʃ,s,__]

Explanation

a. [f,ʃ,s,__] → we can add either [θ] or [h] because they are both - voiced, + fricative. But when we
define, we should add something that excludes one of them. In case we choose [θ], we should say -
voiced, + fricative, - glottal to exclude [h].

b. [m,g,b,__] → we should add [ŋ] because all of them are + voiced, + stop, - alveolar.

→ Why didn’t we add + bilabial, + velar and instead we put - alveolar?

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 Firstly, we did not add + bilabial for the following reasons:
1. These are the bilabials [p,b,m,w] but only [p,b,m] are + stop, and only [b,m] are + voiced.
That is why we can not write + bilabial; it will include [p,w] as well.
2. We should define the group [m,g,b,ŋ], by saying + bilabial, we exclude [g,ŋ].

Secondly, we did not add + velar for the following reasons:

1. The velars are [k,g,ŋ] → [k] is - voiced, + stop wherase [g,ŋ] are + voiced, + stop. Therefore,
we can not write + velar because it will also include the voiceless [k].
2. Because we should define the group [m,g,b,ŋ] adding + velar will exclude [m,b].

Thirdly, we add - alveolar in order to exclude the other sounds that are + voiced, + stop [n,d]

→ In other words:
→ How many stops do we have? We have [m,b,p,n,d,t,ŋ,g,k,ʔ].
→ We are interested in what? We are intrested in [m,g,b,ŋ].
→ What are the other stops that are left? They are [p,n,d,t,k,ʔ].
→ What are the features? We have + voiced, and when we say + voiced we exclude - voiced, that is to
say, we exclude [p,t,k,ʔ].
→ What is left? [d,n].
→ What is the difference between [d,n] on the one hand, and all the others on the other hand? [n,d] are +
alveolar, and [m,g,b,ŋ] are not + alveolar. So in order to exclude [d,n], we should add - alveolar.

★ Answer

a. [m,g,b,ŋ] → [+ voiced
+ stop b. [f,ʃ,s,θ] → [- voiced
+ fricative
- alveolar ]
- glottal ]

❖ Syntax
1. This happened two weeks before her visit to the hospital.
- Question: What are the two immediate constituents of the sentence? Justify your answer.
- Answer:
Subject Pred. P

- [This] [happened two weeks before her visit to the hospital.]

- Justification: Inversion with the verb: When did this happen?

● Note that replacing something by “it”, does not mean all the time that thing is a subject; for
example, “I like it”, here “it” is an object. The fact that something is replaceable by “it”, is not
an argument in favor of considering it as a subject.

● To know whether something functions as a subject of the sentence, you should expect it to invert
with the verb or with the auxiliary.

Subject Pred. P

2. [John] [hammered the nail into the wall.]

VP NP PP (Locative Complement)

- Question: The PP [into the wall], does it belong to the NP [the nail] or the VP [hammered]?
- Answer: It belongs to the verb.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand

 Subject Pred. P

3. [John] [read the sign on the door.]

VP NP(includes a PP modifier)

- Question: How many constituents do we have after the verb?

- Answer: We have only the NP [the sign on the door]. Unlike example2, this time, the PP forms a
constituent with the NP not the VP.

4. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

5. He killed the mouse in his pajamas.

- Structural ambiguity, with two interpretations:
a. He killed the mouse that was in his pajamas which means the PP [in his pajamas] belongs to
the NP; it is a PP modifier.
b. He killed it wearing his pajamas, in which the PP [in his pajamas] belong to the VP.

6. The lawyer considered [the contract invalid].

- Question: Do the bracketed words form a constituent? Apply two constituency tests to account for
your answer.
- Answer: No they do not form a constituent, because:
a. The cleft test: It is the contract that is invalid.
b. The movement test: The contract was considered invalid by the lawyer.
c. The replacement test: The lawyer considered it invalid.

● Note that we do not argue whether a group of words forms a constituent using the verb type.

Chaimae Barri Rachid Ait Mohand