Slide 1

JPN494: Japanese Language and Linguistics
JPN543: Advanced Japanese Language and
Linguistics
Phonology & Phonetics (1)
Phonology & Phonetics
 Phonology
and Phonetics: Studies
of Linguistic Sounds (vowels,
consonants, intonations, …)
 What’s the difference?
Phonetics



Phonetics is a study of linguistic sounds from
the acoustic/articulatory perspectives.
“Sounds” as physical/physiological
phenomena → “phones”
NOTE: Only certain aspects of
acoustic/articulatory properties of sounds are
described. Some phonetic descriptions are
more “fine-grained” than others.
Phonology



Phonology is a study of linguistic sounds
from the functional perspective.
“Sounds” as building units of meaningful
linguistic expressions → “phonemes”
Phoneme: the smallest contrastive unit in the
sound system of a language.
Notational Convention





phonetic description: […] (e.g. [spɪn])
phonological (phonemic) description: /…/ (e.g.
/spɪn/)
[p], [t], … in the context of Japanese phonetics and
[p], [t], … in the context of English phonetics are
distinct (although they represent similar sounds).
Similarly for /p/, /t/, … in Japanese phonology and /p/,
/t/, … in English phonology.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet): yet another
system of phonetic description. It is “languageneutral”.
Phonetics vs. Phonology




pin [phɪn], spin [spɪn], pop [phɑp]
[ph] vs. [p]: “different” or “same”?
They are different from the phonetic
perspective, but the same from the
phonological perspective.
[ph] and [p] are allophones of the same
phoneme, /p/ (in English).
Complementary distribution

Complementary distribution: allophones (conditional
allophones) do not occur in the same phonological environment
–
–

OK: pin [phɪn], spin [spɪn]
??: pin [pɪn], spin [sphɪn]
Pairs of expressions that have different meanings and that
differ in only one sound (phone) are called minimal pairs; they
can be used to show that two phones are not allophones of the
same phoneme.
–
–
light : right
hit : heat
Free variations (free allophones)

The consonant in ら・り・る・れ・ろ can be realized
either as (by different speakers or by the same
speaker):
–
–
–



[ɾ] (flap)
[l] (approximant)
[r] (trill) (rare)
りんご, [ɾiŋgo] ～ [liŋgo] ～ [riŋgo]
[ɾ], [l], and [r] are free variations of phoneme /r/ in
Japanese.
Some scholars use the term free allophones.

Two phones can be identified as allophones
of the same phoneme only if:
–
–
Either they do not occur in the same environment
(complementary distribution) or their opposition
do not contribute to difference in meaning (no
minimal pair like [ɾaɴ] : [laɴ]); AND
There is good phonetic reason to group them
together (phonetic similarity)



Allophones in one language are not
necessarily so in another language
[p] and [ph ] are considered the “same” in
English (phonologically)
But they are not in some other languages
–
비 [pi] “rain” vs. 피 [phi] “blood” (Korean)



Conversely …
[p] and [b] are considered different in English
But they are not in some other languages
–
비빔밥 [pibimbap] (Korean)
Ariticulatory Phonetics

Vocal Organs
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舌 (した), 唇 (くちびる)
歯 (は), 歯茎 (しけい), 硬口蓋 (こうこうがい), 軟
口蓋 (なんこうがい), 口蓋垂 (こうがいすい)
咽頭 (いんとう), 喉頭 (こうとう), 声門 (せいもん),
喉頭蓋 (こうとうがい)
声帯 (せいたい), 甲状軟骨 (こうじょうなんこつ),
披裂軟骨 (ひれつなんこつ), 輪状軟骨 (りんじょ
うなんこつ)
Two major types of sounds


Consonants: speech-sounds produced
when the speaker either stops or severely
constricts the airflow in vocal tract.
Vowels: speech-sounds produced with a
relatively open vocal tract, which functions as
a resonating chamber.
Consonants in English and Japanese

Place(s) of Articulation:
–

Manner of Articulation
–

lips, teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate, velum (soft
palate), …
stops (plosives), fricatives, affricates,
approximants, …
Voicing (Phonation)
–
voiced vs. voiceless
Stops (Oral Stops) in English


(complete closure of the articulators involved so that
the air stream cannot escape through the mouth.)
bilabial: [p] (voiceless), [b] (voiced)
–

alveolar: [t] (voiceless), [d] (voiced)
–

cap [cæp], cab [cæb]
feet [fit], feed [fid]
velar: [k] (voiceless), [g] (voiced)
–
sack [sæk], sag [sæg]
Stops (Oral Stops) in English

[ph], [th], [kh] in syllable-initial position
–
pin [phin] vs. spin [spin], hip [hɪp]
Stops (Oral Stops) in Japanese

bilabial: [p] (voiceless), [b] (voiced)
–

alveolar: [t] (voiceless), [d] (voiced)
–

パン, 番 (ばん)
竹 (たけ), だけ
velar: [k] (voiceless), [g] (voiced)
–
滓 (かす), ガス
(濁点 (だくてん; “゛”) indicates [+voiced])
Stops (Oral Stops) in Japanese

No or less aspiration (in syllable- or wordinitial position)
–


パン [pan], 手 [te], 木 [ki]
Japanese alveolar stops ([t], [d]): the front
part of the tongue blade contacts the alveolar
ridge
English alveolar stops ([t], [d]): the tongue tip
contacts the alveolar ridge
Nasals (Nasal Stops) in English

bilabial: [m]
–

alveolar: [n]
–

map, Kim
nap, kin
velar: [ŋ] (does not occur in syllable-initial
position)
–
king
(nasals are generally voiced)
Nasals (Nasal Stops) in Japanese

bilabial: [m]
–

alveolar: [n]
–

猫 (ねこ); 今度 (こんど)
velar: [ŋ]
–

娘 (むすめ); 心配 (しんぱい)
(φ); 天気 (てんき)
uvular: [ɴ]
–
(φ); 券 (けん)

In word-middle position, [g] alternates with [ŋ]
(in some dialects)
–
–
科学 (かがく) [kagakɯ] ~ [kaŋakɯ]
ガス [gasɯ] (NOT: [ŋasɯ])
Fricatives in English
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
(Close approximation of two articulators so that the air stream is
partially obstructed and turbulent airflow is produced.)
labio-dental: [f] (voiceless), [v] (voiced)
–

dental (interdental): [ð] (voiceless), [θ] (voiced)
–

sue, zoo
alveo-palatal: [ʃ] (voiceless), [ʒ] (voiced)
–

thigh, thy
alveolar: [s] (voiceless), [z] (voiced)
–

fan, van
shoe, leisure
glottal: [h] (voiceless)
–
hit
(n.b.: ʃ = š, ʒ = ž)
Fricatives in Japanese

bilabial: [ɸ] (voiceless)
–

alveolar: [s] (voiceless), [z] (voiced)
–

鹿 (しか)
palatal: [ç] (voiceless)
–

殺気 (さっき), 雑記 (ざっき)
alveo-palatal: [ʃ] (voiceless)
–

古い (ふるい)
人 (ひと)
glottal: [h] (voiceless)
–
鳩 (はと)
(voiced alveo-palatal fricative ([ʒ]): only in rapid speech)



サ･シ・ス・セ・ソ [sa ʃi sɯ se so]
ハ・ヒ・フ・ヘ・ホ [ha çi ɸɯ he ho]
ファ・フィ・フェ・フォ [ɸa ɸi ɸe ɸo]
–
ファール, フィン, フェリー, フォーム
Affricates in English
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
(a stop immediately followed by a fricative.)
alveo-palatal: [ʧ] (voiceless), [ʤ] (voiced)
–
church, judge
(n.b.: ʧ = č, ʤ = ǰ)
Affricates in Japanese

alveolar: [ʦ] (voiceless), [ʣ] (voiced)
–

月 (つき) , 雑記 (ざっき)
alveo-palatal: [ʧ] (voiceless), [ʤ] (voiced)
–
置換 (ちかん), 時間 (じかん)
(n.b.: ʦ = ts, ʣ = ds, ʧ = č, ʤ = ǰ)

ザ･ジ・ズ・ゼ・ゾ
–
–
–
–
–


[za] ~ [ʣa]
[ʤi] (~ [ʒi] in rapid speech)
[zɯ] ~ [ʣɯ]
[ze] ~ [ʣe]
[zo] ~ [ʣo]
[ʣ] (rather than [z]) tends to occur in word-initial
position
cf. cars [cɑɚz] vs. cards [cɑɚdz]


タ･チ・ツ・テ・ト [ta ʧi ʦɯ te to]
(ツァ [ʦa])
–

カデンツァ
ダ・(ヂ)・(ヅ)・デ・ド [da (ʣi/ʒi) (ʣɯ/zɯ) de do]
Approximants in English


(A gesture in which one articulator is close to another, but
without the vocal tract being narrowed to such an extent that a
turbulent airstream is produced.)
alveolar (central): [ɹ]
–

alveolar lateral: [l]
–

light
labio-velar (central): [w]
–

right
well
palatal (central): [j]
–
yell
(n.b.: j = y, ɹ = r (in Tsujimura’s book))


[ɹ], [l], etc. are called “liquids”.
[w], [j], etc. are called “glides” or “semivowels” (because their qualities are similar to
those of vowels).
Approximants in Japanese

alveolar lateral: [l]
–

velar: [w]
–

若い (わかい)
palatal: [j]
–

りんご
安い (やすい)
Japanese [w] accompanies no or less liprounding (than English [w])
Flaps, trills (in English and Japanese)



The tongue-tip hits the alveolar ridge
once/repeatedly.
alveolar flap: [ɾ]
alveolar trill: [r] (rare)
–

りんご [ɾiŋgo] ～ [liŋgo] ～ [riŋgo]
alveolar flap in English
–
better [bɛɾɚ], rider [ɹaɪɾɚ]
Palatalized consonants in Japanese

[kj], [gj], [nj] ([ɲ]), [mj], [rj] (palatal or alveo-palatal consonants: [ʧ], [ʃ],
[ʤ], [ç])
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–


–
“j” is
客 (きゃく), 急 (きゅう), 今日 (きょう)
逆 (ぎゃく), 牛丼 (ぎゅうどん), 業界 (ぎょうかい)
蒟蒻 (こんにゃく), 牛乳 (ぎゅうにゅう), 尿 (にょう)
ミャンマー, ミュージック, 茗荷 (みょうが)
略す (りゃくす), 竜 (りゅう), 旅館 (りょかん)
茶 (ちゃ), 注意 (ちゅうい), チェス, 調子 (ちょうし)
車庫 (しゃこ), 週末 (しゅうまつ), シェル, 商売 (しょうばい)
じゃこ, 十 (じゅう), ジェスチャー, 女性 (じょせい)
百 (ひゃく), 日向 (ひゅうが), 氷河 (ひょうが)
a diacritic indicating palatalization (the phenomenon whereby the
tongue body approaches the hard palate).
[ɲ] is a palatal nasal sound.

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