Good Essay On Phonology

Question 1

All sounds are described in terms of the articulation. Feature bundles consist of a holistic description of a word. This starts with whether it is voiced or voiceless.
[s]
[-Syllabic]
[+Consonantal]
[-Sonorant]
[-Nasal]
[+Anterior]
[+Coronal]
[-High]
[-Back]
[+Continuant]
[-Delayed Release]
[+Sibilant]
[-Voice]
[-Lateral]
[d]
[-Syllabic]
[+Consonantal]
[-Sonorant]
[-Nasal]
[+Anterior]
[+Coronal]
[-High]
[-Back]
[-Continuant]
[-Delayed Release]
[-Sibilant]
[+Voice]
[-Lateral]

Question 2

Affricates
Affricates (also known as semiplosives) are consonant sounds that start with stops (i.e. sounds involving complete obstruction of air) and end with fricative (i.e. sounds involving incomplete closure, allowing sound of friction). Each language may have its own affricates. However, the most common ones, also in English language, are [ch] (e.g. chair), [sh] (e.g. share) and [j] (e.g. jaw). Another not-so-common one is [zh] (as in azure).
Affricates are close to fricatives (which are usually continuant process of allowing sound of friction). Fricatives include sounds [f] (as in flower), [v] (as in vase), [z] (as in zone), etc. Therefore, one of the apparent applicable distinctive features in creating the distinction between these groups of sounds (affricates and fricatives) in pronunciation is ‘delayed release’. This is one of the distinctions between these two groups of sounds, with fricatives being minus (-) delayed release and affricates being plus (+) delayed release. However, it is not a distinction enough.
The sounds [z] and [zh], for example, are closely related. The delayed release is what makes the big difference. For example, consider the differences in feature bundles for [s] and [sh] (transcribed as tʃ).
[s]
[-Syllabic]
[+Consonantal]
[-Sonorant]
[-Nasal]
[+Anterior]
[+Coronal]
[-High]
[-Back]
[+Continuant]
[-Delayed Release]
[+Sibilant]
[-Voice]
[-Lateral]
[tʃ]
[-Syllabic]
[+Consonantal]
[-Sonorant]
[-Nasal]
[-Anterior]
[+Coronal]
[-High]
[-Back]
[-Continuant]
[+Delayed Release]
[+Sibilant]
[-Voice]
[-Lateral]
Both are sibilants. However, although the two sounds are different on ‘anterior’ ([s] being +anterior and [tʃ] being -anterior), the other two main distinguishing features are on [continuant] and [Delayed Release]. [s] is +Continuant and –Delayed Release, while [tʃ] is –Continuant and +Delayed Release. Of course, this does not necessarily apply in all cases. For example, there are many other affricates that do not have the same features as [tʃ]; that is, not all the affricates are –Continuant and/or +Delayed Release. This may mean that the example used here is merely an exception. Therefore, Delayed Release may not necessarily be a sufficient criterion for identifying English affricates or even distinguishing them from fricatives. In other words, Delayed Release may be applicable in some cases but not all. In the end, this argument does not favor any of the claims above. However, it makes the first claim untrue and, therefore, by inference, may be in favor of the second claim; that affricates are best described using autosegmental representations.

Feature Geometric Format

Feature geometric representations are a more pictorial representation of feature bundle representations. The geometric formats below accompany feature bundle representations for better understanding.
[b]

Feature Bundles and Geometric Formats

[-Syllabic]
[+Consonantal]
[-Sonorant]
[-Nasal]
[+Anterior]
[-Coronal]
[-High]
[-Back]
[-Continuant]
[-Delayed Release]
[-Sibilant]
[+Voice]
[-Lateral]
[t]

Feature Bundles and Geometric Formats

[-Syllabic]
[+Consonantal]
[-Sonorant]
[-Nasal]
[+Anterior]
[+Coronal]
[-High]
[-Back]
[-Continuant]
[-Delayed Release]
[-Sibilant]
[-Voice]
[-Lateral]

Question 3

Question 4
Limit
s
R

O N C

l i
s
R

O N C

m i t

Plant

s
R

O N C

p l an t

Question 5

Difference in Meaning
Where stress is placed in a word is very important in deducing the meaning of not just the word, but also the entire phrase or sentence. This is especially true of homonyms; i.e. words that look the same and may even be closely related, but still have different meanings. This is what we see in these word pairs. The stress shift determines the word group in which the word(s) belong and, consequently, meaning. These words are closely related and only the stress shift brings out the meaning at whatever point in time. In terms of word groups, either of one these pairs of words is either a verb or a noun version of the same lexeme.
perMIT and PERmit
The first word here is a verb. It means to allow. The second word is a noun, and it refers to the documentation proving permission.
reCORD and REcord
reCORD is a verb. It is the process of putting down information (in writing or otherwise) for future reference. The other word refers to the filed information.
conVERT and CONvert
The first word is the process of changing (converting). The second word is the noun for whoever has been converted.
reJECT and REject
The first word is the verb, meaning ‘to deny’. The other refers to whoever or whatever has been rejected.
proDUCE and PROduce
The first word describes the process of creating (producing). The other is the noun for what has been produced.

Pattern

There is a pattern in these examples. When stress is on the second syllable (as in the words in the first column), the word is a verb. When stress on the first syllable, the word is a noun. Another pattern is that the words are closely related in meaning, both being merely being variations of the same lexeme. This is seen in other cases too.
aCT and Act
bLAME and Blame
maKE and Make
liMIT and LImit
These words follow the same patterns. They are closely related in meaning (i.e. being variations of the same word. Equally, like the examples above, verbs have stress on the second syllable, while nouns have stress on the first syllable.
However, this is not always the case. Some words which depend on stress shift to express meaning may have far different meanings.
aSSES and Assess
Although the stress is on the second syllable, the first word is not a verb. It is the plural of the word ‘ass’ (which may be a synonym for ‘donkey’ or slung for ‘buttock’, etc.) and, therefore, a noun. The second word is a verb, which also goes against the pattern above. As we also see, these words are far apart in meaning.