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Speech Science

Exercise session 4:

Distinctive features & phonological rules

30/11/ Bernd Möbius & Jacek Kudera Language Science and Technology, Saarland University

Session 4: Outline

• (^) Assignment 2: Feedback
• (^) Distinctive features: Recap
• (^) Phonological rules: Exercises

Assignment 2: Transcripts

Distinguishable?

Assignment 2: Your observations

• (^) ‘The [s] in /feɪs/ (face) was transcribed as [θ], a sound that is ], a sound that is

very distinct from the target phoneme’ - Kathryn

• (^) ‘/r/ in ’read’ was transcribed as a pause’, where the segment

for the /t/ in ’let’ was not accurate [...]’ - Kristin

• (^) ‘It does not seem to separate sounds that well from another,

and where I find e.g. 3 sounds, it finds 1 only’ - Maria

Assignment 2: Your observations

●

“Difficulties include the transition between sounds, for

example diphthongs but also other sounds which are

influenced by their neighbouring sounds” - Joanna

●

“Plosives are intensively wrong both in the chunking and the

transcription”, “Confusions between n and m” - Angeline

●

“Furthermore, alveolar fricatives often seem to be confused

with labiodental ones.” - Katharina

Assignment 2: Your observations

●

“Although it detects silences or parts with no speech quite

well, it has some difficulty to assign the segments with their

correct transcription.” - Ludmilla

●

“1. Certain types of background noise and mumbling are

transcribed as [ð] or some other phoneme. 2. varying speaker

accents like- non-native speakers of the language can lead to

a very inaccurate transcript.” - Sangeet

Distinctive features

● (^) Major class features ● (^) Laryngeal features ● (^) Manner of articulation features ● (^) Place of articulation features

Distinctive features

● (^) Major class features [± consonant / ±cons] [± sonorant / ±son] [± syllabic / ±syl] ● (^) Laryngeal features ● (^) Manner of articulation features ● (^) Place of articulation features

Distinctive features

Major class features [± consonant / ±cons] Produced with a major constriction [+cons] plosives /p, b/, fricatives /f, v/ affricates /t͡s/, nasals /m, n/ laterals /l/, trills /r/ flaps & taps /ɾ/ approximants /ɹ/ [-cons] vowels glides /j, w/

• Aren’t laryngeals produced with constriction?

• Yes, they are, but [± cons] refers to oral cavity only!

Distinctive features

[± sonorant / ±son] [-son] plosives, affricates, fricatives, lagyngeals [+son] nasals, laterals, glides, vowels* (^) sonorants obstruents [+son] air pressure is equal on both sides of constriction* / Prominent sound** [-son] difference in air pressure caused by constriction / Less prominent sound Major class features

Distinctive features

Major class features [±syllabic / ±syl] [+syl a segment can be a peak of a syllable] [-syl a segment cannot be a peak of a syllable] [+syl] vowels [-syl] consonants, semi-vowels

Distinctive features

Major class features OBSTRUENTS NASALS LIQUIDS LARYNGEALS VOWELS GLIDES [±CONS] + + + - - -

[±SON] - + + - + +

[±SYLLABIC] - - - - + -

Distinctive features

Laryngeal features [+voice] [-voice] → vibrating vocal folds /b, d, g, v/ /p, t, k, f/ [+asp] [-asp] → spread vocal folds /h, p h , t h / /p, t/ [+constr] [-constr] → constricted vocal folds ejectives, implosives /ʔ/ Source: The Cambridge Handbook of Phonology

Distinctive features

● (^) Major class features ● (^) Laryngeal features ● (^) Manner of articulation features [±continuant / ±cont] [±nasal / ±nas] [±lateral / ±lat] [±strident] ● (^) Place of articulation features