The Breath of Life

Archival Institute for

Indigenous Languages
Washington, DC 2015

Introduction to Phonology

Patricia A. Shaw
First Nations Languages Program, UBC
 What is Phonology??

First, what does it mean? phon-ology

sound - the study of
Secondly, why do it?

Thirdly, how do you do it?

[fnldi]
fn = FUN !!
 What can understanding more
about Phonology help with?

interpret what is recorded in Archives

pronunciation
transcription
translation
make curriculum materials for language learning
Like other components of linguistics,
phonology is really just a set of very useful tools.
What is a language?

i
YgassinoGa
k kapi ?

!
 Phonetics: Articulatory & Acoustic
What are the possible sounds used in human languages?
IPA website: http://www.langsci.ucl.ac.uk/ipa/
How are language sounds articulated? perceived?
How can language sounds be written down consistently?
Why is this kind of knowledge useful?
To be able to perceive and pronounce the relevant
sounds of a language.
To ensure consistency in the transmission of that
knowledge.
To understand how sounds pattern in languages.
Draw & label an articulatory head for your language:

Maidu hnqminm Salish

hnqminm words referring to parts of the body
involved in the perception and production of speech:

xqltn voice, someone's speech

am windpipe
an mouth
mqsn nose
tx tongue
yns tooth
mlq uvula
xqn throat
qm larynx, Adam's apple

What words are there in your language to describe

speech articulation?
 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
pharyngeal glottal
3. Manners of articulation:
stop/plosive affricate
fricative nasal liquid glide/approximant
English Consonant Inventory: 23 (+ + )
Different linguistic traditions: different symbols
International Phonetic Alphabet North American Phonetic Alphabet
IPA NAPA/The Americanist Tradition
English shoe [u] [u]
English measure [m] [m]
t English chop [tap] [ap]
d English jam [dm] [m]
j palatal approximant y palatal (approximant) glide
y hi front rounded vowel
c palatal stop c = t alveolar affricate

Most important principle: one symbol = one sound.

The resource youre working with should define the symbols used.
Some other phonetic symbols for consonants:

theta English thin [ n]

[] English this [ s]
x English hue, Hugh [xu] ~ [xu]
English which [ ]
w English witch [w ]
[m] English thing [ ]

glottal stop English (before any vowel-initial word)

 2007 Leo Cullum, The New Yorker Magazine
 o

2007 Leo Cullum, The New Yorker Magazine

 MANNER \ PLACE This is an Articulatory Chart for Consonants:
LABIAL CORONAL DORSAL LAR
Labial Dental Alveolar Lateral Alveo-Palatal Palatal / Labio-Velar Uvular Labio-Uvular Glottal
Velar

Stops:
ejective

voiced

voiceless

Affricates:
ejective

voiced

voiceless

Fricatives:
Nasals:
Liquids:

Glides:

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 youd need to add
the voiced category under Fricatives), and so on. Dont hesitate to ask your mentor for guidance!
Articulatory Chart for Vowels:
FRONT BACK
Central

High
i u

e o
Mid

a
Low

i beat u boot
bit book
e bait above o boat
bet butt caught
bat a/ cot/father
 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:
tk tack
kt act
kt cat
The phonemes themselves dont have any inherent meaning
but phonemes can create a minimal contrast in meaning.
e.g. English: ether [ir] tree [tri] mast [mst]
either [ir] true [tru] mashed [mt]
Whats 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? ... at the end of a word?
What patterns are there?
Whats impossible is marked with an asterisk: e.g. *tn...
strengths [strks] skr, spl... *stl *4 consonants
eighths [ets] ...mps, nts, fs, ks *fs...

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

English Consonant Inventory: 23 (+ + )
Oneida (Iroquoian): Consonantal inventory: 9 C 11
consonants
Place a LAB COR(ONAL) DORS PHAR

Manner labial alveolar alveo- palatal dorsal glottal

Stops/Affricates: t k
Obstruents
Fricatives: s h
Nasals: n
Resonants Liquids: l
Glides: y w
Note: NO Labial consonants!

Acknowledgements: Karin Michelson (p.c.)

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
kwnis Kwtel
b kw Elizabeth
Alskwet
m kw Margaret
Kwklit
b, v, m w John the Baptist David Mary
Sa wtis Twet Wli
 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 doesnt 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 (+ + )
Oneida (Iroquoian): Consonantal inventory: 9 C 11
consonants
Place a LAB COR(ONAL) DORS PHAR

Manner labial alveolar alveo- palatal dorsal glottal

Stops/Affricates: t k
Obstruents
Fricatives: s h
Nasals: n
Resonants Liquids: l
Glides: y w
If no LABIAL consonants, then ...
Question: Why do [w] and [kw] replace LABIALS in loan words?

Because [w] characteristically has LABIAL co-articulation

as well as major DORSAL constriction.
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.

black stove polish

teyenstalihatakhwatslahutsistalathetkhwa
te-ye-nst-a-lih-a-t-a-khwa-tsl-a-hutsi-stalathe-t--khwa
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

Sierra Miwuk consonant inventory:
15 consonants (orthography): note the retroflex t with a dot under

alveopalatal

labio-velar
interdental

laryngeal
retroflex
alveolar

palatal
lateral
labial

velar
Obstruents: voiceless p t t (ch) k
stops/affricates
()
voiceless fricatives s (sh) h

Resonants: plain m n l y w
(ng)

Acknowledgements: Sheri Tatsch; Broadbent (1964)

Nisenan (California): 18 consonants (ejectives & implosives!)
LABIAL CORONAL DORSAL LAR
Labial Dental Alveolar Lateral Alveo-Palatal Velar Labio-Velar Uvular Labio-Uvular Glottal
Place
Manner

Stops:
voiceless
p t k
implosive

glottalized
p t k
Affricates:
voiceless
c
glottalized
c
Fricatives:
voiceless
s ~ h
Resonants:
Nasals
m n
Liquids & l y w
Glides
 Kawaiisu (Nuwa): 23 consonants plus (l) only in loan words (Spanish or English)

LABIAL CORONAL DORSAL LAR

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

Stops:
voiceless
p t k kw
voiced b d gw
Affricates:
voiceless
ts ch
voiced

Fricatives:
voiceless
s sh x h
voiced v z zh g
Resonants:
Nasals
m n
Liquids (l) r
Glides y w
Kawaiisu (Nuwa): 23 consonants plus (l) only in loan words (Spanish or English)

LABIAL CORONAL DORSAL LAR

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

Place
Manner

Stops:
voiceless
p t k kw
voiced b d gw
Affricates:
voiceless
ts ch
voiced

Fricatives:
voiceless
s sh x h
voiced v z zh g
Resonants:
Nasals
m n
Liquids (l) r
Glides y w
HOW many consonants?? ejectives, plain & labialized uvulars;
6 laterals; 5 glottalized resonants
Whats 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: Kwakwala (words from Grubb 1977)
ksa to soften cedar bark by beating
qsa to walk
qsa sea otter
qsa crying
Therefore, all these sounds must be different phonemes.
 Seneca (Iroquoian): 15 consonants plus (l) only in loan words (Spanish or English)

LABIAL CORONAL DORSAL LAR

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

Stops:
voiceless asp
t k ()
voiced d g
Affricates:
voiceless
ts t
voiced dz j
Fricatives:
voiceless
s h
voiced

Resonants:
Nasals
n
Glides y w
Acknowledgements: Jordan Ball & Jocelyn Jones: fluent speakers do not have to
move their mouths very much, especially their lips
Oneida (Iroquoian): Consonantal inventory: 9 C 11
consonants
Place a LAB COR(ONAL) DORS PHAR

Manner labial alveolar alveo- palatal dorsal glottal

Stops/Affricates: t k
Obstruents
Fricatives: s h
Nasals: n
Resonants Liquids: l
Glides: y w
Note: NO Labial consonants!

Acknowledgements: Karin Michelson (p.c.)

 Phonotactics: patterns and constraints on how
sounds are sequenced
e.g. Constraints on word-initial consonant clusters

English: sneeze [sniz]

Question 1: What constraints are there on where [sn] occurs?

Tests: Can it ever be preceded by another consonant? No.

Can it ever be followed by another consonant? No.

Are there any constraints on what kind of vowel
can follow it?
snake [snek]
snap [snp]
snow [sno]
snoop [snup]
Snuffleupagus [snflpgs]
Observation: [sn] can occur before any vowel.
Question 2: What other consonants can come before [n]
in English?
look at chart of English consonant inventory:
Observation: NO other consonant can occur before [n]!
Question 3: What about other languages?
Is this a universal generalization about all languages?
Or is this a fact about English?
Seneca [Thanks to Jordan Ball & Jocelyn J. Jones]
[] = nasal []
knge' I live at this place (where were at)

Observation: [kn] is a possible word-initial Onset

sequence in Seneca,
but not in English!
Question: What about other languages?
German: knabe boy
English: knife . . .
Research Question 1:
What other consonants can come before [n] in Seneca?
Research Question 2: What other 2-consonant clusters
can occur in Seneca?
kda:ke I am running/ Ive come here running
But. . . Seneca is even more interesting:
knge I live at this place (where were at)
t- signifies placement outside of the immediate conversation.
t- knge' I live at this place (a place we are not at
when the discussion occurs)
Observation: [tkn] is a possible word-initial Onset
sequence in Seneca!
Research Question 3: What other 3-consonant word-initial
clusters can occur in Seneca?
Ventureo/Barbareo Chumash
(Harrington 1928/1974; Beeler, Madison S. 1970)

Phonemic contrasts:
alveolar [s] slow eagle
palatal [] low goal line (in shinny)
Sibilant Harmony: Within a word, these sounds 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-iqci/ /s-iqip-/
3- foggy 3- close -imperfective
its foggy its closed
[s-iqci] [-iqip-]

eg.2: Dual prefix i-

/k- i- kep/ /k- i- kust -nan/
1-dual- bathe 1-dual-stealthily-go
we two bathe we two prowl
[k- i- kep] [k- is- kust -nan]

What would you predict?

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

/ki-kin-us/ I saved it for him.

[ki-skin-us]
What are the acoustic properties of sounds
used in human languages?
pitch
intensity / loudness
duration
properties of wave form

Technology like waveforms and spectrograms -

can help us see some aspects of sounds that are
hard to perceive.
e.g. Listen for and then look for the (pre-)
glottalized resonant [l] in this Kwakwala word:
Visual images of acoustic properties
Kwakwala: halakasla hlkasla

With thanks to Beverly Lagis, Kingcome Inlet, BC, Canada.

 hlakasla
Sun graphic by Ross Hunt, Kwagu

i pidamaye masi cho madu

hay x q hlakasla eekoo

to the many dedicated Elders with whom

I have had the privilege of working.

First Nations Unicode Font: http://fnlg.arts.ubc.ca/FNLGfont.htm

masi cho! hay ce:p q! hw!

Angela Code !

alq Ian Campbell

Sayisi Dene Kyle McHenry
Musqueam & Squamish Kojomkawi Maidu
 Acknowledgements:
Breath of Life 2015 is supported by the
Documenting Endangered Languages
Program (NSF Award # 1360675)
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 1993.