Introduction to Linguistics

Task
1.Russian has two ‘ah’-vowels, the back vowel [A] (which we have in English) and also the central [a]. e two sounds are in complementary distribution. e words below illustrate their distribution. e sound [ë] is a velarized version of [l]. at is, [ë] is like [l] except that in addition that back of the tongue is pulled back towards the velum. For the purpose of this assignment, treat [ë] as having the same articulatory properties as [l] plus the feature [+velar].

a. State a generalization about when [a] and [A] appear, respectively.
b. What phoneme are [a] and [A] allophones of?
c. State a phonotactic constraint that prohibits the underlying form in the right environments. 
d. Based on this constraint, provide a rule that determines when the underlying form is changed. Use IPA symbols in this rule.
e. Now also state this rule using articulatory features instead of IPA symbols.
2.In German, the sounds [x] and [ç] are in complementary distribution. Which phonemes are they allophones of? State a phonotactic constraint that restricts their distribution and a rule that turns one into the other.

a. State a generalization about when [ç] and [x] appear, respectively.
b. What phoneme are [ç] and [x] allophones of?
c. State a phonotactic constraint that prohibits the underlying form in the right environments.
d. Based on this constraint, provide a rule that determines when the underlying form is changed. Use IPA symbols in this rule.
e. Now also state this rule using articulatory features instead of IPA symbols.
3.Consider the following words from Zoque, a Mixe-Zoquean language of Mexico. e voiced oral stops are related to the voiceless oral stops by a single rule. In solving this problem, treat the voiced oral stops as one group and the voiceless oral stops as another.

 
a. State a generalization about when the voiced oral stops and the voiceless oral stops appear, respectively
b. What are the underlying forms?
c. State a phonotactic constraint that prohibits the underlying forms in the right environments. You will have to use features to do so.
d. Based on this constraint, formulate rules that change the underlying forms in the right environments. Express these rules in IPA symbols.
e. Now also state a single rule using features that has the same effect. 



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