In linguistics, free variation is the phenomenon of two (or more) sounds or forms appearing in the same environment without a change in meaning and without being considered incorrect by native speakers.[1][2]
Sociolinguists argue that describing such variation as "free" is very often a misnomer, since variation between linguistic forms is usually constrained probabilistically by a range of systematic social and linguistic factors, not unconstrained as the term "free variation" suggests.[3] The term remains in use in studies focused primarily on language as systems (e.g. phonology, morphology, syntax), however, since "[t]he fact that variation is 'free' does not imply that it is totally unpredictable, but only that no grammatical principles govern the distribution of variants."[4]
When phonemes are in free variation, speakers are sometimes strongly aware of the fact (especially if such variation is noticeable only across a dialectal or sociolectal divide), and will note, for example, that tomato is pronounced differently in British and American English (/təˈmɑːtoʊ/ and /təˈmeɪtoʊ/ respectively),[5] or that either has two pronunciations that are distributed fairly randomly. However, only a very small proportion of English words show such variations. In the case of different realizations of the same phoneme, however, free variation is exceedingly common and, along with differing intonation patterns, variation in realization is the most important single feature in the characterization of regional accents.[1]
English's deep orthography and the language's wide variety of accents often cause confusion, even for native speakers, on how written words should be pronounced. That allows for a significant degree of free variation to occur in English.[6]
Pronunciation of many English words may vary depending on the dialect and the speaker. Although individual speakers may prefer one or the other pronunciation and one may be more common in some dialects than others, many forms can often be encountered within a single dialect and sometimes even within a single idiolect.
In some words, some speakers might use a different vowel than the others. This includes words like:
economics, which may pronounced with /iː/ or /ɛ/ in the first syllable, or data, which can be pronounced as either /ˈdætə/ or /ˈdeɪtə/.[7];
either and neither, in which "ei" can be pronounced as either /iː/ or /aɪ/, even by the same speaker.[5];
some loanwords, especially of French and Latin origin, such as route, which can be pronounced as either /raʊt/ (a more anglicized pronunciation) or /ruːt/ (a pronunciation more akin to French);
some proper names, especially geographic state names such as Colorado, which can be pronounced as either /ˌkɒləˈrɑːdoʊ/ or /ˌkɒləˈrædoʊ/.
Pronouncing a word with a different consonant or using a completely different pronunciation is also sometimes found in English. This can be found in words like:
schedule, which may be pronounced either with the /sk/ consonant cluster or the /ʃ/ sound. The former is more common in American English, the latter in British English; with /sk/ and /ʃ/ phonemically distinct in both varieties (e.g. scout/shout, skin/shin), identical spelling obscures the fact that different phonological structures underlie the phonetic contrast;
some loanwords like guillotine which can be pronounced with either /l/ or /j/.
Grammaredit
Years from 2010 onwards can be expressed in English as either, e.g., two thousand ten or twenty ten.
^ abClark, John Ellery; Yallop, Colin; Fletcher, Janet (2007). Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology. Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 110, 116–18. ISBN978-1-4051-3083-7.
^SIL International. (2003). Glossary of Linguistic Terms. [1]. Retrieved 2022-09-13.
^"What Is Free Variation? (with picture)". wiseGEEK. Retrieved 2017-08-06.
January 19, 2024
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This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA For the distinction between and see IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters In linguistics free variation is the phenomenon of two or more sounds or forms appearing in the same environment without a change in meaning and without being considered incorrect by native speakers 1 2 Sociolinguists argue that describing such variation as free is very often a misnomer since variation between linguistic forms is usually constrained probabilistically by a range of systematic social and linguistic factors not unconstrained as the term free variation suggests 3 The term remains in use in studies focused primarily on language as systems e g phonology morphology syntax however since t he fact that variation is free does not imply that it is totally unpredictable but only that no grammatical principles govern the distribution of variants 4 Contents 1 Effects 2 English examples 2 1 Phonology 2 2 Pronunciation 2 3 Grammar 3 See also 4 ReferencesEffects editWhen phonemes are in free variation speakers are sometimes strongly aware of the fact especially if such variation is noticeable only across a dialectal or sociolectal divide and will note for example that tomato is pronounced differently in British and American English t e ˈ m ɑː t oʊ and t e ˈ m eɪ t oʊ respectively 5 or that either has two pronunciations that are distributed fairly randomly However only a very small proportion of English words show such variations In the case of different realizations of the same phoneme however free variation is exceedingly common and along with differing intonation patterns variation in realization is the most important single feature in the characterization of regional accents 1 English s deep orthography and the language s wide variety of accents often cause confusion even for native speakers on how written words should be pronounced That allows for a significant degree of free variation to occur in English 6 English examples editPhonology edit The rhotic consonant r is in a free variation between the alveolar approximant retroflex approximant alveolar flap and alveolar trill although all of these save for the first one are considered dialectal and rare Glottalization of voiceless stops in word final position for example the word stop may be pronounced with a plain unaspirated p stɑp or with a glottalized pˀ stɑpˀ also called a glottal stop or glottal plosive Pronunciation edit Pronunciation of many English words may vary depending on the dialect and the speaker Although individual speakers may prefer one or the other pronunciation and one may be more common in some dialects than others many forms can often be encountered within a single dialect and sometimes even within a single idiolect In some words some speakers might use a different vowel than the others This includes words like economics which may pronounced with iː or ɛ in the first syllable or data which can be pronounced as either ˈ d ae t e or ˈ d eɪ t e 7 either and neither in which ei can be pronounced as either iː or aɪ even by the same speaker 5 some loanwords especially of French and Latin origin such as route which can be pronounced as either r aʊ t a more anglicized pronunciation or r uː t a pronunciation more akin to French some proper names especially geographic state names such as Colorado which can be pronounced as either ˌ k ɒ l e ˈ r ɑː d oʊ or ˌ k ɒ l e ˈ r ae d oʊ Pronouncing a word with a different consonant or using a completely different pronunciation is also sometimes found in English This can be found in words like schedule which may be pronounced either with the s k consonant cluster or the ʃ sound The former is more common in American English the latter in British English with sk and ʃ phonemically distinct in both varieties e g scout shout skin shin identical spelling obscures the fact that different phonological structures underlie the phonetic contrast some loanwords like guillotine which can be pronounced with either l or j Grammar edit Years from 2010 onwards can be expressed in English as either e g two thousand ten or twenty ten See also editAllomorph Allophone Complementary distribution Contrastive distribution Phoneme Sociolinguistics Variable rules analysisReferences edit a b Clark John Ellery Yallop Colin Fletcher Janet 2007 Introduction to Phonetics and Phonology Oxford Blackwell pp 110 116 18 ISBN 978 1 4051 3083 7 SIL International 2003 Glossary of Linguistic Terms 1 Retrieved 2022 09 13 Meyerhoff Miriam 2011 Introducing Sociolinguistics 2 ed Routledge p 12 ISBN 9781135284435 Kager Rene 2004 Optimality Theory Cambridge University Press p 404 a b Free Variation in Phonetics You Say Tomato I Say Tomahto ThoughtCo Retrieved 2017 08 06 Ben 2011 10 29 When Free Variation Isn t So Free Dialect Blog Retrieved 2017 08 07 What Is Free Variation with picture wiseGEEK Retrieved 2017 08 06 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Free variation amp oldid 1184134814, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
