The Breath of Life Archival Institute for Indigenous Languages

Patricia A. Shaw First Nations & Endangered Languages Program, UBC

Introduction to Phonology

Washington, DC 2017

Breath of Life 2017 is supported in part by the Documenting Endangered Languages Program (NSF Award #1561167)

What is Phonology??

[fənálədʒi] fən = FUN ☺ !!

First, what does it mean? phon-ology sound - the study of

Thirdly, how do you do it?

Secondly, why do it?

!

What happens when we talk?

ʔəθ ƛ̓iʔ k̓ʷ kapi ?

!

YgassinoGa

What can understanding more about Phonology help with?

•  perceiving the relevant sounds of a language; •  pronouncing the sounds of a language; •  transcribing the sounds of a language; •  understanding how sounds pattern in languages; •  interpreting what is recorded in Archives; •  ensuring consistency in the transmission of that

knowledge.

Like other components of linguistics,

phonology is really just a set of very useful tools.

Articulatory Phonetics How do we articulate the sounds we use in language?

1. Laryngeal modifications: • voiced [z] • voiceless [s] • ejective/glottalized/laryngealized

2. Places of articulation: • labial • dental • alveolar • palatal • velar • uvular • lateral • pharyngeal • glottal • retroflex

3. Manners of articulation: • stop/plosive • affricate • fricative • nasal • liquid • glide/approximant

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What words are there in your language to describe speech articulation?

hənqəminəm words referring to parts of the body involved in the perception and production of speech: šxʷqʷəltən voice, someone's speech χʷamɬəɬ windpipe θaθən mouth məqsən nose təxʷθəɬ tongue yənəs tooth məlqʷ uvula šxʷʔəθqən throat qʷəmχʷɬəɬ larynx, Adam's apple

Draw & label an articulatory head for your language:

Maidu courtesy of Kyle McHenry Kwawk̓ala courtesy of Cheryl Wadhams

English Consonant Inventory: 23 (+ ŋ + ʔ)

Different linguistic traditions: different symbols

International Phonetic Alphabet North American Phonetic Alphabet IPA NAPA/The Americanist Tradition

ʃ English ‘shoe’ [ʃu] š [šu]

ʒ English ‘measure’ [mɛʒəɹ] ž [mɛžəɹ] tʃ English ‘chop’ [tʃap] č [čap]

dʒ English ‘jam’ [dʒæm] ǰ [ǰæm]

j palatal approximant y palatal (approximant) glide

y hi front rounded vowel ü French ‘tu’ [tü] (you singular)

c palatal stop c = tˢ alveolar affricate

The resource you’re working with should define the symbols used. ☺

Some other phonetic symbols for consonants:

θ theta English ‘thin’ [θ ɩn]

ð [ʔɛð] English ‘this’ [ð ɩ s]

x ~ ç English ‘hue, Hugh’ [çu] ~ [xʸu]

ʍ English ‘which’ [ʍ ɩč] ~ [w ɩč]

o w English ‘witch’ [w ɩč]

ŋ [ʔɛŋmə] English ‘thing’ [θ ɩŋ]

ʔ glottal stop English ‘oh oh’ [ʔo ʔo] (before any “vowel-initial” word)

© 2007 Leo Cullum, The New Yorker Magazine

© 2007 Leo Cullum, The New Yorker Magazine

ʔə ʔo

Alphabet: If you have an alphabet for your language, write it out. Then pronounce each of the consonants in your alphabet so you can figure out just what your ‘articulatory organs’ are doing to make uniquely that sound: then decide where that consonant symbol would fit into an Articulatory Chart. The chart here is just an example, as your language may not have any ejectives (if not, then you can just leave that row blank), or it may have both voiced and voiceless fricatives (so you’d need to add the voiced category under Fricatives), and so on. Don’t hesitate to ask your team partners for guidance!

LABIAL CORONAL DORSAL LAR

Labial Dental Alveolar Lateral Alveo-Palatal Palatal / Velar

Labio-Velar Uvular Labio-Uvular Glottal

Stops:

ejective

voiced

voiceless

Affricates:

ejective

voiced

voiceless

Fricatives:

Nasals:

Liquids:

Glides:

MANNER \ PLACE This is an ‘Articulatory Chart’ for Consonants:

FRONT BACK Central

High i

ɩ u

Mid

Low

Articulatory Chart for Vowels: symbols you may find in your mss.

i beat u boot ɩ bit ʋ book e bait ə above o boat ɛ bet ʌ butt ɔ caught æ bat a/ɑ cot/father

e

æ

ɛ

a ɑ

ɔ o

ʋ

ʌ ə

Phonological unit = phoneme � What sounds does a language have? Every language has an “inventory” of sounds that function as the building blocks for words. These minimal units of sound are called “phonemes”.

The same sounds can combine in different ways to create completely unrelated meanings: t æ k tack but not all combinations are possible: æ k t act *æ t k k æ t cat *k t æ

�  The phonemes themselves don’t have any inherent meaning but phonemes can create a minimal contrast in meaning.

e.g. English: ether [ʔiθər] tree [tri] mast [mæst]

either [ʔiðər] true [tru] mashed [mæšt]

What’s important to discover about a phonological system?

1.  What sounds are in the inventory?

2. Phonotactics: What constraints are there in terms of the sequences that sounds can occur in?

e.g. What is the maximum number of consonants at the beginning of a word? strengths [strɛŋkθs] str, skr, spr, spl... *sr, *stl, *stk ... at the end of a word? eighths [ʔetθs] ... tθs, fθs, nts, ŋkθs *fsθ, *tsn What patterns are there? What’s impossible is marked with an asterisk: e.g. *tn...

3. How do the sounds pattern with respect to each other?

English Consonant Inventory: 23 (+ ŋ + ʔ)

LABIAL CORONAL DORSAL LAR

Place → Manner

Labial Dental Alveolar Lateral Palatal Velar Labio-Velar Uvular Labio-Uvular Glottal

Stops: voiceless

p~b t k ʔ

palatalized pj~bj tj kj

Affricates: voiceless

ts tʃ

voiced

Fricatives: voiceless

θ s h

voiced Resonants: Nasals

n

Liquids

Glides j = y w

Gros Ventre (Algonquian): 15 consonants

Oneida (Iroquoian): Consonantal inventory: 9 C 11 consonants

Place a Manner ò

LAB COR(ONAL) DORS PHAR

labial alveolar alveo- palatal dorsal glottal

Obstruents Stops/Affricates: t k ʔ

Fricatives: s h

Resonants

Nasals: n Liquids: l Glides: y w

Acknowledgements: Karin Michelson (p.c.)

Note: NO Labial consonants!

Oneida: consequences of no labial consonants

Research Question: Language contact & loan words What happens when a word with a labial consonant is borrowed into Oneida (e.g. from English, Mohawk, or ...)?

Not many borrowings, but some related to currency and names:

p → kw pennies Peter kwénis Kwí·tel

b → kw Elizabeth Alískwet

m → kw Margaret Kwáklit

b, v, m → w John the Baptist David Mary Sa wátis Táwet Wá•li

“Natural class”: sounds which share articulatory properties will pattern together.

The sounds {p, b, m, v} are functioning as a natural class:

what they share is LABIAL place of articulation.

Given that the Oneida phonological system doesn’t have any LABIAL consonants, what is it about the articulation of /w/ and /kw/ that make them the ‘closest’ sounds in Oneida for loan words with {p, b, m, v} to be changed to?

Reconsider first the English inventory,

and then the Oneida inventory:

English Consonant Inventory: 23 (+ ŋ + ʔ)

Oneida (Iroquoian): Consonantal inventory: 9 C 11 consonants

Place a Manner ò

LAB COR(ONAL) DORS PHAR

labial alveolar alveo- palatal dorsal glottal

Obstruents Stops/Affricates: t k ʔ

Fricatives: s h

Resonants

Nasals: n Liquids: l Glides: y w

Because [w] characteristically has LABIAL co-articulation as well as major DORSAL constriction.

If no LABIAL consonants, then ... Question: Why do [w] and [kw] replace LABIALS in loan words?

Cross-linguistic diversity and “complexity”:

Despite the fact that the Oneida phonological inventory is, from a cross-linguistic perspective, quite small (9 consonants, 6 vowels), languages characteristically manifest robust complexity elsewhere, e.g.

Polysynthetic morpho-syntax

black stove polish

teyenʌstalihaʔtakhwaʔtslahuʔtsistalatheʔtákhwaʔ te-ye-nʌst-a-lih-a-ʔt-a-khwaʔ-tsl-a-huʔtsi-stalathe-ʔt-á-khwaʔ

DUALIc-3FEM.INDEF.AGENT-rafters-JN-get.warm-JN-CAUS-JN-INSTR:HABITUAL-NOMINALIZER-JN-black-shiny-CAUS-JN-INSTR:HABITUAL

Speaker: Norma Kennedy, Oneida Nation of the Thames, Ontario, Canada

LABIAL CORONAL DORSAL LAR

Place → Manner

Labial Dental Alveolar Lateral Alveo-Palatal Velar Labio-Velar Uvular Labio-Uvular Glottal

Stops: voiceless

p t k ʔ

implosive ɓ ɗ glottalized p’ t’ k’ Affricates: voiceless

glottalized c’ Fricatives: voiceless

s ~ š h

Resonants: Nasals

m n

Liquids & Glides

l

y=j w Acknowledgements:SheriTatsch

Nisenan (California): 17 consonants (ejectives & implosives!)

Coeur d’Alene | snchitsu'umshtsn (Salish): 42 Consonants !

[Doak 1997]

What’s important in a phonological system?

1. What sounds are in the inventory?

2. The functional distribution of sounds:

Which sounds can create a contrast in meaning?

Minimal pairs: Kwak’wala (words from Grubb 1977)

kása to soften cedar bark by beating

qása to walk

q̓ása sea otter

q̓ʷása crying

Therefore, all these sounds - k q q̓ q̓ʷ - must be different phonemes.

3. Phonological processes: Systematic patterns of sound change in the context of other sounds.

Assimilation: a sound becomes more like another sound in its environment. (correlated with “ease of articulation”)

Dissimilation: a sound becomes less like another sound in its environment. (correlated with “maximizing distinctions”) • Place of articulation • Manner of articulation • Laryngeal articulation Consonant harmony: Ventureño/Barbareño Chumash Vowel harmony: Nez Perce

Syllable structure constraints: • Epenthesis: insertion of a segment to optimize sound sequences.

Ventureño/Barbareño Chumash (Harrington 1928/1974; Beeler, Madison S. 1970)

Phonemic contrasts: s and š are different phonemes, e.g. “minimal pair”:

alveolar [s] sloʔw eagle

palatal [š] šloʔw goal line (in shinny)

Sibilant Harmony: Within a word, these ‘sibilant’ sounds (s, š...) will ‘harmonize’ - the rightmost one will cause all preceding sibilants to agree in place of articulation.

e.g.1: 3rd person pronominal prefix s-

/s-iqc̓iʔ/ /s-iqip-š/

3- foggy 3- close -imperfective

it’s foggy it’s closed

[s-iqc̓iʔ] [š-iqip-š]

eg.2: Dual prefix iš-

/k- iš- kep̓/ /k- iš- kustí -ʔnan/

1-dual- bathe 1-dual-stealthily-go

we two bathe we two prowl

[k- iš- kep̓] [k- is- k̓ustí -ʔnan]

What would you predict? /ki-škin-us/ I saved it for him.

So... what would you predict?

/ki-škin-us/ I saved it for him.

[ki-skin-us]

Conclusion: Sibilant Harmony is one kind of phonological assimilation – i.e. where one segment becomes more like another in its environment.

Ventureño/Barbareño Chumash

Sibilant Harmony: Within a word, these sibilant sounds (s, š...) will ‘harmonize’ - the rightmost one will cause all preceding sibilants to agree in place of articulation.

1. méq paternal uncle 2. tó·t father

neʔ- méx̣ my paternal uncle naʔ- tó·t my father

méq-eʔ paternal uncle! tó·t-aʔ father!

3. tulé·- qitti -se (I) am putting my foot down firmly

tolá·- ck̓il -ksa (I) am destroying with my foot

Research Q: Why do the same morphemes have different forms? e.g. (1 & 2): prefix sometimes neʔ- but sometimes naʔ-

suffix sometimes -eʔ but sometimes -aʔ

e.g. (3): ‘foot’ sometimes tulé·- but sometimes tolá·-

Not only consonants can ‘harmonize’... vowels can too!

Nez Perce | Niimi'ipuutímt (Sahaptin)

Vowel inventory: i e a o u [+ length]

Nez Perce | Niimi'ipuutímt: Vowel Harmony: “Recessive” vowels: e u “Dominant” vowels: a o If any morpheme in a word has one of the Dominant vowels, then all Recessive vowels change to their corresponding Dominant vowel.

What would you predict?

wé·yikse (I) am going across.

wé·yikse -ne (I) went across long ago.

w_·yiks_ -qa (I) went across recently.

ð wá·yiksa -qa

Syllables: cross-linguistic phonological generalizations • Languages prefer to alternate consonants and vowels, creating [CVCV...] sequences, i.e. CV syllables

Barbareño Chumash (Wash, Suzanne. 2001. PhD, UCSB)

Constraint: against 2 vowels in a row *VV

Resolution (in pre-stem environments): ʔ-Epenthesis A glottal stop [ʔ] is inserted between 2 adjacent vowels.

*VV → VʔV = ...VCV...

/s- e- oxnowonowon -waš / (the flame) died down [s- e-ʔoxnowonowon -waš ]

3- N- flame.to.burn -PST

In sum: A lot of phonological terminology has been introduced! How many of the following terms can you now use to characterize your language? • consonant • vowel • phonological inventory • fricative • glottal stop • glottalized resonants • pharyngeal • polysynthetic • consonant harmony: sibilants • vowel harmony • epenthesis • syllables

ʔiʔ … pidamaye masi cho madu

hay čxʷ qə həlakas’la ƛeekoo …

to the many dedicated Elders with whom

I have had the privilege of working.

həlakas’la Sun graphic by Ross Hunt, Kwaguʔɬ

First Nations Unicode Font: http://fnel.arts.ubc.ca/resources/font/

!

masi cho! hay ce:p q̓ə! héw!

Kyle McHenry Kojomk’awi Maidu

χaləq’ Ian Campbell Musqueam & Squamish

Angela Code Sayisi Dene

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Acknowledgements: Breath of Life 2017 is supported in part by the Documenting Endangered Languages

Program (NSF Award #1561167)

with additional support from: Smithsonian Institution, The Myaamia Center at Miami University, National Endowment for the Humanities, Recovering Voices, National Museum of Natural History, National Anthropological Archives, National Museum of the American Indian, American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The Breath of Life training model was developed by the Advocates for Indigenous California Language Survival, which has run the Breath of Life Language Workshop for California Indians since 1996.