Introduction to Spanish
Linguistics
FONOLOGÍA
• BRANCH > SOUND SYSTEM OF A LANGUAGE > BASIC UNIT = PHONEME
• IT CAN DISTINGUISH MEANING BETWEEN WORDS > MINIMAL PAIR
• PACO/PALO PATO/PAVO TAPA/CAPA PELO/PERRO
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
• IN SPANISH > 5 /a/, /e/, /I/, /o/, /u/
• CLASSIFIED BY 3 CRITERIA
• ALTURA (HIGH/LOW)
• ANTERIORIDAD (FRONT, BACK, MIDDLE)
• ROUND
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
•
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
•
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
• EVEN THOUGH THERE IS ONLY 5 VOWELS > WE CAN CLASSIFY THEM IN
2 GROUPS:
• STRONG /a/, /e/, /o/. (Great bucal opening)
• WEAK /I/, /u/. (Small bucal opening)
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
• DIPHTHONGS!
•
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
• HIATUSES!
•
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
• When diphthongs are formed, the weak vowels are actually
semiconsonants or semivowels depending on their position.
Semiconsonants, whose symbols are /j/ for the letter “i”, and /w/ for the
letter “u”, always appear in the
f
irst position of the diphthong, thus
forming rising or ascending diphthongs, while semivowels, whose
symbols are /i ̯/, /u̯ /, appear behind the strong vowel and thus form
falling or descending diphthongs.
•
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
•
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
• Later in the chapter we will deal with syllable structure and then return
to the concept of diphthongs. We will also describe the rules of
accentuation taking into account the two phenomena of vowel
character that we have just explained.
• Finally, a triptone is the sequence composed of three vowels forming
the same syllable with the compositional scheme: weak unstressed
vowel (Vd) + strong vowel (VF) + weak unstressed vowel (Vd). To
transcribe a triplet we must take into account that the third vowel is a
semivowel
FONOLOGÍA: VOCALES
•
ACTIVITY
• Identify whether the group of vowels in boldface form a diphthong (D),
a hiatus (H) or a triphthong (T). In the case of diphthongs, determine
whether they are ascending or descending.
• EXAMPLE: CIUDAD > SEMICONSONANT + WEAK VOWEL >
ASCENDENT DIPHTHONG
ACTIVITY
• Identify whether the group of vowels in boldface form a diphthong (D), a hiatus (H) or a triphthong
(T). In the case of diphthongs, determine whether they are ascending or descending.
• EXAMPLE: CIUDAD > SEMICONSONANT + WEAK VOWEL > ASCENDENT DIPHTHONG
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• The pronunciation of all consonant sounds involves at least two
articulatory organs.
• When a consonant sound is uttered, an obstruction occurs in the oral
cavity when one of the articulatory organs touches or approaches the
other. To describe the point of articulation, the two main organs that
come into contact or are activated during the production of the sound
are taken into account: one of them acts as the active organ and the
other as the passive one. The active articulatory organs are those that
move to approach the passive ones, while the latter remain static.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• In the articulation of bilabial consonants, the upper lip is the active
articulatory organ and the lower lip is the passive organ. The bilabial
consonants are: /p/ pato, /b/ burro, vaca and /m/ mar.
• In Spanish there is also a labiodental phoneme, whose active organ is
the lower lip and passive organs are the upper teeth, as is the case with
the phoneme /f/ foca.
• The only interdental phoneme that exists in Spanish is /θ/, common
among the speakers of the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula, in
some places of the southern half and in Central America.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• The dental phonemes are /t/ taza and /d/ dado, and their pronunciation
involves the tongue as the active organ and the upper teeth as the
passive articulator.
• Alveolar phonemes are those in which the active articulator is the front
part of the tongue and the passive articulator is the alveolar area of the
mouth, just behind the upper teeth: /l/ lado, /s/ soso, /ɾ/ cara, /r/ barro,
ratón and /n/ nariz.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• In the alveopalatal or palatoalveolar area the phoneme /tʃ/ is articulated,
which corresponds orthographically to the digraph “ch”, that is, two
letters with which the same phoneme is represented, as in the word
chocolate. The organs involved in the pronunciation of this phoneme
are the tongue as the active articulator and the posterior area of the
alveoli or anterior area of the palate as the passive organ.
• The palatal phonemes in Spanish are /ɲ/, corresponding to the letter “ñ”
in Spanish, as in niño, /ʝ/ as in vaya or yema, and /ʎ/ corresponding to
the digraph “ll” in words such as valla or llama.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• In the alveopalatal or palatoalveolar area the phoneme /tʃ/ is articulated,
which corresponds orthographically to the digraph “ch”, that is, two
letters with which the same phoneme is represented, as in the word
chocolate. The organs involved in the pronunciation of this phoneme
are the tongue as the active articulator and the posterior area of the
alveoli or anterior area of the palate as the passive organ.
• The palatal phonemes in Spanish are /ɲ/, corresponding to the letter “ñ”
in Spanish, as in niño, /ʝ/ as in vaya or yema, and /ʎ/ corresponding to
the digraph “ll” in words such as valla or llama.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• Finally, we reach the posterior end of the buccal cavity with the velar
phonemes /k/ as in casa, kilo or queso, /g/ gato or guerra and /x/
geranio or jirafa. As we can see in the examples, these phonemes
correspond to more than one spelling, so special attention must be paid
when transcribing them. As active articulator we have once again the
tongue, in this case its dorsal part, and as passive articulator the soft
palate or soft palate.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• Finally, we reach the posterior end of the buccal cavity with the velar
phonemes /k/ as in casa, kilo or queso, /g/ gato or guerra and /x/
geranio or jirafa. As we can see in the examples, these phonemes
correspond to more than one spelling, so special attention must be paid
when transcribing them. As active articulator we have once again the
tongue, in this case its dorsal part, and as passive articulator the soft
palate or soft palate.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
•
ACTIVITY
• Write the phonological symbol of the letters that appear in bold and identify their point of articulation.
For the graphemes “z”, “ce” and “ci”, you must identify the two possible points of articulation.
•
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• MODE OF ARTICULATION: There are three types of sounds in Spanish
according to the way in which the air passes through the oral cavity
during its realization: occlusive, fricative and a
ff
ricate.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• MODE OF ARTICULATION: There are three types of sounds in Spanish
according to the way in which the air passes through the oral cavity
during its realization: occlusive, fricative and a
ff
ricate.
• A sound is occlusive when the articulatory organs touch until they close
and an occlusion is produced followed by a small explosion so that the
air can
f
inally escape. The occlusive phonemes in Spanish are: /p/, /t/, /
k/, /b/, /d/ and /g/.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• MODE OF ARTICULATION: There are three types of sounds in Spanish
according to the way in which the air passes through the oral cavity during its
realization: occlusive, fricative and a
ff
ricate.
• A sound is occlusive when the articulatory organs touch until they close and an
occlusion is produced followed by a small explosion so that the air can
f
inally
escape. The occlusive phonemes in Spanish are: /p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/ and /g/.
• In the production of fricative phonemes, the articulators approach each other,
but at no time is there a total closure of these organs in the oral cavity. The air
then produces a friction as it exits, instead of an explosion. The fricative
phonemes in Spanish are: /f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʝ/ and /x/.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• MODE OF ARTICULATION: There are three types of sounds in Spanish according to the way in
which the air passes through the oral cavity during its realization: occlusive, fricative and a
ff
ricate.
• A sound is occlusive when the articulatory organs touch until they close and an occlusion is
produced followed by a small explosion so that the air can
f
inally escape. The occlusive phonemes
in Spanish are: /p/, /t/, /k/, /b/, /d/ and /g/.
• In the production of fricative phonemes, the articulators approach each other, but at no time is
there a total closure of these organs in the oral cavity. The air then produces a friction as it exits,
instead of an explosion. The fricative phonemes in Spanish are: /f/, /θ/, /s/, /ʝ/ and /x/.
• There is a phoneme in Spanish that is the result of the combination of an occlusive and a fricative
sound, and it is produced in two beats: the
f
irst of occlusion and the second of friction. This
sequence of sounds is known as the a
ff
ricate phoneme /tʃ/, which we
f
ind in words such as
chocolate /tʃo.ko.lá.te/.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• NASAL CONSONANTS: Nasal consonants are those for whose
production the air does not exit through the oral cavity, but through the
nasal cavity. This occurs when the soft palate moves downward and
obstructs the passage of air through the mouth. This movement causes
the air to circulate towards the nasal cavity to
f
inally be expelled
through the nose. The nasal phonemes are: /m/ mar, /n/ nariz and /ɲ/
niňo.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• LATERAL CONSONANTS: Lateral consonants are characterized by the
tongue, as an active articulator, coming into contact with the alveoli or
the palate, depending on the phoneme being articulated, causing air to
escape from both sides of the oral cavity. These lateral phonemes are
two: /l/ lado and /ʎ/ llama. As we commented above, the second lateral
phoneme is falling into disuse in most of the pan-Hispanic domain.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
• VIBRANT CONSONANTS: Finally, in the pronunciation of vibrant
consonants, the apex of the tongue vibrates against the alveolar region.
In the production of the single vibrant /ɾ/, cara, puro, the apex only
strikes once, whereas, in making the multiple vibrant /r/, two or more
strikes are produced: cigarro, rápido, ruido, rizo.
FONOLOGÍA: CONSONANTES
•
ACTIVITY
• WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SOUNDS DOES NOT BELONG IN THE GROUP?
•
SONORIDAD. VOICING.
• The last parameter we use to classify consonants is voicing. When we
breathe, air passes through the glottis, an opening located between the
vocal folds, which are also called vocal cords. Then, the air continues
through the pharynx and continues its journey, either through the oral
cavity or through the nasal cavity.
•
SONORIDAD. VOICING.
• The last parameter we use to classify consonants is voicing. When we
breathe, air passes through the glottis, an opening located between the
vocal folds, which are also called vocal cords. Then, the air continues
through the pharynx and continues its journey, either through the oral
cavity or through the nasal cavity.
•
SONORIDAD. VOICING.
• WHICH SOUNDS DO YOU THINK ARE VOICED OR VOICELESS?
•
ACTIVITY
• DETERMINE WHETHER THE UNDERLINED LETTERS CORRESPOND TO A VOICED PHONEME
OR TO A VOICELESS PHONEME
•
ACTIVITY
• DESCRIBE THE FOLLOWING PHONEMES BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE
LEARNT TODAY
• EXAMPLE: /p/ > bilabial, occlusive, voiceless
ACTIVITY
• DESCRIBE THE FOLLOWING PHONEMES BASED ON WHAT WE HAVE LEARNT TODAY
•