Phonemic Principle

Kate Ye 04/06/2020 First, I will define the terms that the phonemic principle illustrates and provide examples: Phoneme - An unit that is used to describe a word. For example : /b​æt​/ and /f​æt/ The phonemes /b/ and /f/ in this case are the phonemes of bat and fat which also are the determining phonemes that distinguish the difference between the words of bat and fat. Allophonea set of sounds that derivative any particular phoneme. The allophone can be described with or without a diuretic, yet share the same mental categorical phonemic sound. Allophones are used for the purpose of illustrating how a phoneme does not sound the same when used in different environments. Additionally, allophones are described within brackets. For example: The allophones of /k/ are [kʰ] and [k] As an example of this allophone, I will illustrate 2 allophones in 2 different environments in the English language using the words “can” and “lucky.” The allophones I will describe will derive from the phoneme /k/. The allophone in the word [k​ʰan], although is a phoneme of /k/, is different from the sound in [‘l​ʌ-​ki] Although this phoneme /k/ is present in both words of “can” and “lucky,” the phonemes are perceived differently in the allophones of [k​ʰ], and [k] respectively​. Parallel DistributionA type of distribution which occurs within the same environment of different words where the sound occurs is semantically different or contrastive and changes the meaning of the word. For example in the distribution of the phonemes [​mɐːl] in korean is translated to “horse” while and [mɐl] is translated to “language.” Although these words share the same phoneme of /ɐ/, the allophones of [ɐː] and [ɐ] plays a crucial role of changing the meaning of the word. Complementary DistributionA type of distribution where allophones occur in certain environments. These are often predictable sounds within the environment. I will again provide an example of the complementary distribution of the allophones [kʰ] and [k] of the phoneme /k/ within different environments. The [k] and the aspirated [kʰ ​]: The [kʰ ] will occur in the environment of [‘kʰan​ ] and the [k] sound will occur within a different environment of [‘l​ʌ-ki]. The distribution of [ʰk] is in the stressed syllable of [kʰan], whereas the distribution of [k] os in the unstressed syllable of [‘lʌ-ki]. Minimal PairA pair of words that differ in one sound in the same environment and have different meanings. The minimal pairs of fun and pun, for example, are transcribed as /​fʌn/ and /pʌn/​. This is an example of a minimal pair, as these words are similar, yet differ in the sounds of /f/ and /p/ in the same environment. In just, the phonemic principle utilizes these ideas to formulate two sets of rules which highlights and identifies languages where the realization of certain sounds determines if the sounds are of the same or different phonemes. The first idea that the phonemic principle illustrates is to determine if sounds are of the same phoneme. The criteria to categorize this type of realization includes 2 points. This realization is that the sounds must have complementary distribution and be phonetically similar. On the other hand, to determine the realization of two or more sounds that are of different phonemes , two types of different criteria must align. First, the sounds must be parallel in distribution. Second, the sounds must have a semantic contrast, meaning that although the sounds are phonetically the same, the allophones change the meaning of the word. (Korean examples given by Carr provides example of this type of realization). I will list one example in German which also illustrates the phonemic principle: The phonemic principle when used within a language, can be described as such: [d​ɑɫ] he gave [p​ɑɫ​ ] he fell Note in this Russian minimal pair example,the phonemic principle can be applied by the phoneme [p] and [d]. Though this is just one difference in a phoneme, it contextualizes two separate meanings, but just the realization of the minimal pair [p] and [d]. An allophonic variation I would like to investigate are allophones of the French language: [​på] n​ ot [p​ːɑ​] by Although these two words share the same phoneme /a/, the realization of the allophonic pair of differs, and thus this realization of the allophonic difference changes the meaning of the word completely, the preposition “not,” and “by.” [​å] and [​ːɑ]