Flap assignment

1. (a) Give two examples of words with either a /t/ or a /d/ in what is called the “underlying representation,” but where the /t/ or /d/ is transformed by a phonological rule into a flap. (The underlying representation is the abstract form of the speech sound, which is different from the “surface phonetic form” – the actual speech sound that is pronounced. We’ll talk more about these terms underlying representation and surface phonetic form pretty soon.) (b) Give both the ordinary spelling of each word and the phonetic transcription. (c) Explain why the /t/ or /d/ was transformed into a flap. The explanation will always be the same: /t/ and /d/ are pronounced as a flap ([ɾ]) when these (abstract) phonemes are intervocalic (i.e., between two vowels), but only when the second vowel is unstressed. Use examples other than those that were used in class.

Example: “kitty” [kɪɾi]: The abstract phoneme /t/ is transformed into a flap because the /t/ is intervocalic and the second vowel is unstressed (or any other words to that effect).

2. Give two examples of words with either a /t/ or a /d/ in the underlying representation but which the /t/ or /d/ not is transformed by a phonological rule into a flap. Explain why the /t/ or /d/ was not transformed into a flap.

Examples:

“candy” [kændi]: The underlying /d/ is not intervocalic, so the flapping rule does not apply.“adept” [ədɛpt]: The underlying /d/ is intervocalic, but the 2nd vowel is not unstressed, so the

flapping rule does not apply.

Some important details:

1. Letters are irrelevant. The flapping rule depends on what speech sounds (or phonemes) are in a word, not how it is spelled. Spelling is irrelevant to all sound-pattern rules.

2. The assignment needs to be turned in on time. I’ll tell you when it’s due. The

assignment will be graded pass/fail. If a good-faith effort has been made, you’ll have a chance to fix any errors and resubmit (but see the notes on the next page). Assignments (and resubmissions) are due at the start of class. Hand-written assignments are fine, but they need to be legible. This is sometimes a problem. Two points will be deducted from your final grade if an assignment is not turned in (or not turned in on time) or if any problems with an assignment are not fixed on the next submission. Resubmitted assignments need to be turned in at the next class meeting. If you cannot be in class for any reason on the day the assignment (or resubmission) is due, you will need to make arrangements to get it to me at the start of class. Unless you make arrangements with me (or your grad assistant) email submissions are not acceptable.

3. Phonetic symbol font: If you want to type the assignment, you’ll need to install a phonetic symbol font. I would recommend installing these fonts even if you don’t have an immediate need. The fonts will come in handy.

a.Go to my web page for 2040 (http://homepages.wmich.edu/~hillenbr/204.html).b. Go almost all the way to the bottom. For Windows users, click the ‘Phonetic font

installer’. Mac users need to look at the notes just below this.

[IMPORTANT: The first time I gave this assignment there were numerous problems with the work that students submitted. Most of the notes below are a summary of the problems that I saw. If there are problems with the assignment that you turn in you’ll have an opportunity (one) to fix those problems and resubmit, but not if you make any of the mistakes that are listed below. These problems are very easy to avoid, but you need to follow the instructions for the assignment and you review the notes below. I recommend making a check list.]

Notes

1. The flapping rule: The most common problem by far was not getting the rule right. The phonemes /t/ and /d/ turn into flaps when these sounds occur between two vowels (i.e., intervocalic), but only when the second vowel is unstressed. Quite a few students had this backwards, or made no reference to the stress of the second vowel.

2. Explanations: The second most common problem was picking good examples but not explaining them. If the flapping rule applied, why did it apply? If the flapping rule did not apply, why not; i.e., what specifically blocked the flapping rule from applying? It is not enough to say that the conditions for the flapping rule were not met. Which condition(s)?

3. Letters vs. speech sounds (or phonemes or allophones): The flapping rule – and absolutely every phonological rule in absolutely every language – is framed in terms of speech sounds (or phonemes or allophones), not letters. Letters are entirely, completely, irreversibly irrelevant to sound-pattern rules. This is an extremely important idea. It’s essential to keep the concepts of letters and speech sounds separate in your head.

4. You need to do your work independently. You need to do your own work. This is true for all of your assignments. Submitting an assignment that is not entirely your own work is academic misconduct.

5. Casual speech: The flapping rule does not occur only in casual speech. It occurs in careful speech as well. Pronouncing “kitty” as [kɪɾi] instead of [kɪthi], for example, is not laziness and it’s not sloppy speech and it’s not a mistake. The flapping rule is a full-fledged, legitimate rule of English. You will sometimes hear broadcasters, trying to produce clear, “well enunciated” speech, avoid the flapping rule (e.g., pronouncing “Haiti” as [hethi] rather than [heɾi]). This is misguided. There’s nothing wrong with flaps.

6. Case: We still have a few students using upper-case phonetic symbols: [P] is not the same as [p], [T] is not the same as [t] …

7. Spelling: The word is precede, not proceed or procede or proceede.

8. Your textbook: One of you wonderful students looked at your textbook to see what the author had to say about the flapping rule. MacKay says that the flapping rule applies when /t/ or /d/ are post-tonic, which is just another way of saying following a stressed syllable (or, equivalently, a stressed vowel). This is the way I used to teach it, but it turns out that it’s not quite right, even though it will work almost all of the time. Take the word “mayday” (the word that pilots and ship captains use when they’re in trouble). Even though it follows a stressed vowel, the /d/ does not become a flap; it’s an ordinary [d]. Why? The first syllable is definitely stressed, but the second syllable is not unstressed. This is ahead of the game, but the second syllable in “mayday” receives what is called secondary stress. We’ll talk about secondary stress later, but for now all that’s important is to learn the rule as I taught it in class: the rule applies when the /t/ or /d/ is intervocalic, preceding an unstressed vowel. You won’t go wrong. Listening carefully to the intervocalic consonant is also extremely important – [d] and [ɾ] are very similar sounds, but they are different. The difference is the very brief duration of the tongue-alveolar ridge for the [ɾ]. Compare the medial consonants in mayday [mede] and Mattie [mæɾi]. In Mattie the tongue taps the alveolar ridge very quickly, then moves to the next vowel (tap is another word for flap); in [mede], the medial consonant is an ordinary [d] with contact duration that is longer than a flap.