Review, Practice, and Explore – Chapter 4 • 33
Review, Practice, and Explore – Chapter 4
4.1 Allophones of [l] in English
There are three distinct allophonic forms of the phoneme /l/ in many English dialects, shown here as
[l], [fi], and [ɫ]. You can figure out the rule that determines when each allophone of the phoneme /l/
occurs. To do this, look at the sounds that occur on either side of the [l]s, and write what determines
when each sound occurs.
[lıp] lip
Now look up each of the symbols and write the description of each of these allophones (in terms of
place and manner of articulation and voicing).
Answer: [fi] occurs after a voiceless consonant. It is a called a voiceless alveolar liquid.
(It sometimes occurs as the voiceless alveolar fricative, indicated by the symbol [ɬ].)
4.2 Italian [n] and [ŋ]: Phonemes or Allophones?
Using the following Italian words, determine whether [n] and [ŋ] are allophones of one phoneme or
separate phonemes in Italian. Do the sounds occur in the same positions? Determine the environment
in which each sound occurs; that is, look at the sounds that occur on either side of [n] and [ŋ] to see
what determines when each sound occurs. If one sound always occurs before a certain natural class of
sound, then the occurrence of that sound is determined by a phonological rule. What is that rule?
[nero] black
[ǰente] people
34 • PART 2 Answer Key
[faŋgo] mud
[tiŋgo] I die
Answer: [ŋ] occurs before velars; thus, /n/ is the phoneme which has [ŋ] as an
allophone, occurring before velars.
4.3 Korean [s] and [š]: Phonemes or Allophones?
Using the following words, determine whether [s] and [š] are allophones of one phoneme or sepa-
rate phonemes in Korean. Do the sounds occur in the same positions? Determine the environment in
which each sound occurs; does the sound always occur before a certain natural class of sound, and if
so which one? (Adapted from Cowan and Rakušan 1985: 42.)
[son] hand
[sɔm] sack
[sosal] novel
[sɛk] color
[us] upper
[šihap] game
[šipsam] thirteen
[šinho] signal
[maši] delicious
4.4 Hungarian [a] and [a:]: Phonemes or Allophones?
Consider the sounds [a] and [a:] (where : indicates a long vowel). Are these sounds allophones of
one phoneme or separate phonemes? Determine the environment in which each sounds occurs; do
they occur in the same positions or different ones? (Adapted from Cowan and Rakušan 1985: 66.)
[bamba:n] foolishly
[cafatol] tear
[aga:r] greyhound
[ado:š] in debt
[kortina] curtain
[rak] to put
[a:g] branch
[a:da:z] furious
Review, Practice, and Explore – Chapter 4 • 35
[fɛla:za:š] soaking up
[ra:k] crayfish
[a:bra] illustration
[olda:š] solution
[ča:] to the right
4.5 A Variation of the Pluralization Rule
In the text, you saw the three plural endings involved in plural formation for most adult speakers of
English. Children acquiring English sometimes have variations on this rule. Consider the following
pronunciations of some plural words by a child between the ages of 2½ and 3 years.
a. bath + plural = /bæθəz/
b. knife + plural = /nayfəz/
g. fuzz + plural = /fʌzəz/
h. fish + plural = /fɪšəz/
i. church + plural = /ʌrəz/
j. cat + plural = /kæts/
k. dog + plural = /dagz/
l. pup + plural = /pʌps/
q. lamb + plural = /læmz/
r. can + plural = /kænz/
s. camel + plural = /kæməlz/
t. caterpillar + plural = /kælərpɪtərz/
This child’s rule of plural formation seems to match the adult rule for the data in items (j) through
(t)—although notice his metathesis of syllables in his pronunciation of caterpillars. However, the
adult rule that adds /əz/ after sibilants is slightly different for him. After which sounds does the child
add /əz/? Briey discuss how this rule is similar to and different from the adult rule of plural forma-
tion, and consider how this child might have come to acquire this rule.
38 • PART 2 Answer Key
How is this past-tense rule different from the rule you already described?
4.8 Dissimilation
The word cardomom, a kind of spice, is frequently pronounced as if spelled cardomon, with an /n/ at
the end. Look up the following words in a good etymological dictionary to determine their origins.
Explain the process of dissimilation that occurred to achieve the Present-Day English forms: seldom,
random, pilgrim.
Answer: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, seldom came from the Old English
seldan. In addition to the dissimilation of the two alveolars seldan, the <n> may have
4.9 Schwa Insertion
In many people’s speech, a schwa sound is commonly inserted after a syllable ending in /l/ or pre-
ceding a syllable beginning with /l/.
Realtor /riltər/ → /rilətər/
athlete /æθlit/ → /æθəlit/
Conduct a survey among your peers to determine whether the following words have schwa inserted:
athletic, biathlon (decathlon, pentathlon), jewelry. Can you can think of others?
4.10 Where Have All the /l/s Gone?
The deletion of /l/ before other consonants is in a state of ux in English. In most words in which
/l/ is followed by another consonant, the /l/ is not pronounced by most speakers: half, calf, walk,
salmon, would, could, should. This /l/ before a consonant had disappeared across the board by the
time of Early Modern English (1500–1800), though it remained in the spelling. However, some
people now pronounce the /l/ because of what we call a ‘spelling pronunciation’, an effect of seeing
the /l/ in the word in print. (This has also happened with the /t/ of often, which used to not be pro-
nounced but now is by some speakers, though not in soften or fasten.) Some words with an /l/ have
two standard pronunciations, so you may hear folk or psalm with or without the /l/, though other /l/s
Review, Practice, and Explore – Chapter 4 • 39
before consonants are not pronounced by most speakers, such as in yolk. And though most speakers
do not pronounce the /l/ in half or calf, those same speakers might pronounce the /l/ in wolf and
criticize those who do not have an /l/ in wolf.
Are there some words that you can pronounce either with or without the /l/? If so, what do you think
determines which pronunciation you use? What factors do you associate with particular instances
of /l/-dropping in these words? Try to come up with other examples of words that have an <l> in the
spelling but may or may not have an /l/ in the pronunciation.
4.11 Deletion of /r/ in American English
Even the so-called standard American dialect that doesn’t traditionally delete /r/ after vowels may
delete /r/s elsewhere. Some Americans who regularly pronounce /r/ elsewhere do not have it in the
middle of the word governor, for instance, although they may have it in governing or government.
Can you suggest any reason for the loss of /r/ in the one word when it is retained in the other two?
Say the following words; in which ones do you pronounce the /r/s? Be careful not to be fooled
by the spelling—you may think you have an /r/ where you really do not pronounce one. Then describe
the circumstances under which the loss of /r/ occurs. Consider the position of the stress in the words
and also whether there are other /r/s in the word.
surprise mirror February
4.12 Switching Sounds Around
Some words commonly involve sound exchanges, either as slips of the tongue or as dialectal variations.
Describe the metathetic pronunciation of the following words, which are given following each word,
and discuss anything that surprises you about these pronunciations.
integral /ɪntrəgəl/
cavalry /kælvəri/
40 • PART 2 Answer Key
Also look up the older forms of each of these words, whose Present-Day English pronunciation is
the result of metathesis. Give the older form of the words.
horse, run, frost
And finally, consider the word iron. How is metathesis at work in the standard pronunciation of this
word?
Answers:
horse – Old English hros
4.13 Slips of the Tongue
Slips of the tongue involve accidental manipulation of the building blocks of language: phonetic,
phonological, morphological, and syntactic. For the following phonological slips, describe what
happened from the intended utterance to the actual utterance, using the terminology from syllable
structure.
Intended utterance Actual utterance
a. play with fire fay with plire
b. stoke the fire stike the foire
c. take off your snowpants snake off your toepants
d. fish net fit nesh
e. I would name it . . . I nould wame it . . .
