Consider the distribution of [r] and [l] in Korean in the following
words:
| rupi | "ruby" | mul | "water" |
| kiri | "road" | pal | "big" |
| saram | "person" | s¶ul | "Seoul" |
| ratio | "radio" | ilkop | "seven" |
| ipalsa | "barber" |
Are [r] and [l] separate phonemes or allophones of the same phoneme? If you conclude that they are allophones of the one phoneme, state the rule that explains their distribution.
They are allophones of the same phoneme (because there are no minimal pairs). In this case, their distribution is determined by location. The sound [r] occurs only at the beginnings of syllables, and the sound [l] occurs only at the ends of syllables. So, the rule would be either
/r/ à [l] when syllable-finalor
/l/ à [r] when syllable-initial.Either response would be acceptable, given the data you have.
Here are some Japanese words in phonetic transcription. Based on these
data, are [t], [tš], and [ts] in complementary distribution? Which are
allophones and which are phonemes? (NOTE: Treat [tš] and [ts] as if they
were a single sound - which they are as palatal and alveolar affricates,
respectively.)
| tatami | "mat" | tomodatši | "friend" | utši | "house" |
| tegami | "letter" | totemo | "very" | otoko | "male" |
| tšitši | "father" | tsukue | "desk" | tetsudau | "help" |
| šita | "under" | ato | "later" | matsu | "wait" |
| natsu | "summer" | tsutsumu | "wrap" | tšizu | "map" |
| kata | "person" | tatemono | "building" | te | "hand" |
The sounds are in complementary distribution, and they are all allophones of the same phoneme (because there are no minimal pairs). The sound [t] only occurs before [a], [e], and [o]. The sound [ts] occurs only before [u]. The sound [tš] occurs only before [i]. So, the best rule to describe the distribution of these sounds would be
/t/ à [ts] before [u]and
/t/ à [tš] before [i].If you wanted to simplify the rule even more, you could say
/t/ à an affricate when before a high vowel.
Consider these phonetic forms of Hebrew words. Are [b] and [v] allophones
of one phoneme? Can you formulate a rule to explain their distribution?
Does the same rule, or lack of a rule, apply to [p] and [f]? If not, why
not? (NOTE: [?] represents a glottal stop, and [x] represents a pharyngeal
fricative.)
| bika | "lamented" | litef | "stroked" |
| mugbal | "limited" | sefer | "book" |
| šavar | "broke" (masc.) | sataf | "washed" |
| šavra | "broke" (fem.) | para | "cow" |
| ?ikev | "delayed" | mitpaxat | "handkerchief" |
| bara | "created" | ha?alpim | "the Alps" |
The sounds [b] and [v] are allophones (because there are no minimal pairs). As in the first example above, the key here is location in the syllable. The sound [b] only occurs at the beginning of a syllable. But unlike the earlier example, [v] does not necessarily always occur syllable-final. In a word like [šavar], the [v] isn't exactly syllable-initial or syllable-final. So, in this case, [b] is always syllable-initial, and [v] is never syllable-initial, but [v] occurs everywhere else. The rule would then have to be
/v/ à [b] when syllable-initial.It couldn't be put the other way around (since [v] isn't only syllable-final).
As for [p] and [f], the same rule applies:
/f/ à [p] when syllable-initial.
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