Microsoft Word 2 Steps phonological analysis doc

sound categories

 (e.g. C/V, 

obstruents, sonorants, nasals, palatalized consonants, front vowels, nasalized 

vowels, etc.) and relations between categories, instead of using sound pairs (the 

so-called “suspect pairs”). Sounds that belong to the same (articulatory or 

acoustic) category tend to present similar phonological “behaviour”. Cf. The 

concepts of 

natural class

 and 

sound feature

 in phonological theory. 

2.5.9.

 

Study the distribution of the sounds: i.e. the sum of the different positions in which 

they may occur. The principle aim of this study is to examine the 

relations

 between the 

sounds of the language (individual sounds, sounds categories), especially between the 

phonetically most similar ones: (paradigmatic) 

contrast

, 

variation

 (free, allophonic), 

alternation

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. [Note that this is a particularly time-consuming stage and therefore a 

computer programme may be extremely helpful.] 

¾

 

Reminder: 

9

 

(Vertical) contrast

: a sound substitution that changes word meaning. 

9

 

Allophonic variation

: two (or more) phonetically similar sounds that are in 

complementary distribution (i.e. that appear in mutually exclusive phonetic 

environments). 

9

 

Free variation

: a sound substitution that does not change word meaning. 

                                                 

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 E.g. Secondary articulations (labialized, palatalized, velarized, glottalized sounds, etc.), affricates, labiovelars, pre- or post-

nasalised consonants, trills, long segments, diphthongs. It should however be noted that sounds that surface as complex units 

may derive from underlying sequences. 

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 Semivowels and close vowels. 

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 It should however be noted that Silverman (2006:92) advocates strong caution in employing phonetic similarity as a 

diagnostic for linguistic relatedness (i.e. linguistic categorization). According to this author, phonetic similarity is not 

(necessarily) isomorphic with functional identity. 

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 Silverman (2006:87) underlines that all that matters to learners (and speakers) is the consequences the sound substitution 

have for word meaning, and that functional identity overrides physical similarity in the determination of category membership 

or non-membership. (Phonological symbols represent categories. The question is to what extent these categories match the 

ones acquired/used by the speakers.) 

---

3L Summer School – Leiden 2010  

Theory and practice of data collection for phonological analysis – Van der Veen, Medjo Mvé 

9 

¾

 

Minimal pairs (MP), as the most perfect proof of 

contrast in identical context

), or 

near-minimal pairs (NMP), which show 

contrast in analogous context

, may be rare 

in certain languages, especially in languages where long (polysyllabic) words are 

predominant.  If  no  (or  few)  MPs  and  no  clear sign of variation can be found: 

adopt the principle of