LIN229H1 Lecture 5: Why Are Some Sound Patterns So Common?
Document Summary
Phonetics: physical properties of sounds in lang. Sound patterns result in a form that is easier to pronounce or perceive. Voicing is difficult to maintain at the end of the word. Voicing is difficult to perceive when no vowel follows. See german data set for example: red (wheels) at (wheel) Vowel distinctions in english are difficult to perceive: Sub-glottal pressure must be sufficient to sustain vocal fold vibration. Easy to sustain vibration between vowels, difficult before a consonant or a pause. At the end of a word, our pressure is reduced. Distinction between voiced and voiceless obstruents is easily perceived before a vowel, and difficult to perceive before a pause. Vowels in a word have to have the same value of some feature (ex. nasalization in english) Finnish words cannot have both front and back vowels; they"re all one or the other. Some languages have sibilant harmony; a word can only have /s/ or / /
