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Semivowel

January 08, 2023

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 phonetics and phonology, a semivowel, glide or semiconsonant is a sound that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary, rather than as the nucleus of a syllable.[1] Examples of semivowels in English are the consonants y and w, in yes and west, respectively. Written /j w/ in IPA, y and w are near to the vowels ee and oo in seen and moon, written /iː uː/ in IPA. The term glide may alternatively refer to any type of transitional sound, not necessarily a semivowel.[2]

Classification

Semivowels form a subclass of approximants.[3][4] Although "semivowel" and "approximant" are sometimes treated as synonymous,[5] most authors use the term "semivowel" for a more restricted set; there is no universally agreed-upon definition, and the exact details may vary from author to author. For example, Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996) do not consider the labiodental approximant [ʋ] to be a semivowel,[6] while Martínez Celdrán (2004) proposes that it should be considered one.[7]

In the International Phonetic Alphabet, the diacritic attached to non-syllabic vowel letters is an inverted breve placed below the symbol representing the vowel: U+032F  ̯  COMBINING INVERTED BREVE BELOW. When there is no room for the tack under a symbol, it may be written above, using U+0311  ̑  COMBINING INVERTED BREVE. Before 1989, non-syllabicity was represented by U+0306  ̆  COMBINING BREVE, which now stands for extra-shortness.

Additionally, there are dedicated symbols for four semivowels that correspond to the four close cardinal vowel sounds:[4]

Semivowel (non-syllabic) Vowel (syllabic)
[j] (palatal approximant) [i] (close front unrounded vowel)
[ɥ] (labio-palatal approximant) [y] (close front rounded vowel)
[ɰ] (velar approximant) [ɯ] (close back unrounded vowel)
[w] (labiovelar approximant) [u] (close back rounded vowel)

The pharyngeal approximant [ʕ̞] is also equivalent to the semivowel articulation of the open back unrounded vowel [ɑ].[6]

In addition, some authors[6][7] consider the rhotic approximants [ɹ], [ɻ] to be semivowels corresponding to R-colored vowels such as [ɚ]. As mentioned above, the labiodental approximant [ʋ] is considered a semivowel in some treatments. An unrounded central semivowel, [j̈] (or [j˗]), equivalent to [ɨ], is uncommon, though rounded [ẅ] (or [w̟]), equivalent to [ʉ], is found in Swedish and Norwegian.

Contrast with vowels

Semivowels, by definition, contrast with vowels by being non-syllabic. In addition, they are usually shorter than vowels.[3] In languages as diverse as Amharic, Yoruba, and Zuni, semivowels are produced with a narrower constriction in the vocal tract than their corresponding vowels.[6] Nevertheless, semivowels may be phonemically equivalent with vowels. For example, the English word fly can be considered either as an open syllable ending in a diphthong [flaɪ̯] or as a closed syllable ending in a consonant [flaj].[8]

It is unusual for a language to contrast a semivowel and a diphthong containing an equivalent vowel,[citation needed] but Romanian contrasts the diphthong /e̯a/ with /ja/, a perceptually similar approximant-vowel sequence. The diphthong is analyzed as a single segment, and the approximant-vowel sequence is analyzed as two separate segments.

In addition to phonological justifications for the distinction (such as the diphthong alternating with /e/ in singular-plural pairs), there are phonetic differences between the pair:[9]

  • /ja/ has a greater duration than /e̯a/
  • The transition between the two elements is longer and faster for /ja/ than /e̯a/ with the former having a higher F2 onset (greater constriction of the articulators).

Although a phonological parallel exists between /o̯a/ and /wa/, the production and perception of phonetic contrasts between the two is much weaker, likely because of lower lexical load for /wa/, which is limited largely to loanwords from French, and speakers' difficulty in maintaining contrasts between two back rounded semivowels in comparison to front ones.[10]

Contrast with fricatives/spirant approximants

According to the standard definitions, semivowels (such as [j]) contrast with fricatives (such as [ʝ]) in that fricatives produce turbulence, but semivowels do not. In discussing Spanish, Martínez Celdrán suggests setting up a third category of "spirant approximant", contrasting both with semivowel approximants and with fricatives.[11] Though the spirant approximant is more constricted (having a lower F2 amplitude), longer, and unspecified for rounding (viuda [ˈbjuða] 'widow' vs. ayuda [aˈʝʷuða] 'help'),[12] the distributional overlap is limited. The spirant approximant can only appear in the syllable onset (including word-initially, where the semivowel never appears). The two overlap in distribution after /l/ and /n/: enyesar [ẽɲɟʝeˈsaɾ] ('to plaster') aniego [ãˈnjeɣo] ('flood')[13] and although there is dialectal and idiolectal variation, speakers may also exhibit other near-minimal pairs like abyecto ('abject') vs. abierto ('opened').[14] One potential minimal pair (depending on dialect) is ya visto [(ɟ)ʝaˈβisto] ('already seen') vs. y ha visto [jaˈβisto] ('and he has seen').[15] Again, it is not present in all dialects. Other dialects differ in either merging the two or enhancing the contrast by moving the former to another place of articulation ([ʒ]), like in Rioplatense Spanish.

See also

References

  1. ^ Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), p. 322.
  2. ^ Crystal (2008), p. 211.
  3. ^ a b Crystal (2008), pp. 431–2.
  4. ^ a b Martínez Celdrán (2004), p. 9.
  5. ^ Meyer (2005), p. 101.
  6. ^ a b c d Ladefoged & Maddieson (1996), p. 323.
  7. ^ a b Martínez Celdrán (2004), p. 8.
  8. ^ Cohen (1971), p. 51.
  9. ^ Chitoran (2002), pp. 212–214.
  10. ^ Chitoran (2002), p. 221.
  11. ^ Martínez Celdrán (2004), p. 6.
  12. ^ Martínez Celdrán (2004), p. 208.
  13. ^ Trager (1942), p. 222.
  14. ^ Saporta (1956), p. 288.
  15. ^ Bowen & Stockwell (1955), p. 236.

Sources

  • Bowen, J. Donald; Stockwell, Robert P. (1955), "The Phonemic Interpretation of Semivowels in Spanish", Language, 31 (2): 236–240, doi:10.2307/411039, JSTOR 411039
  • Chitoran, Ioana (2002), "A perception-production study of Romanian diphthongs and glide-vowel sequences" (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 32 (2): 203–222, CiteSeerX 10.1.1.116.1413, doi:10.1017/S0025100302001044, S2CID 10104718  
  • Crystal, David (2008), A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics (6th ed.), Blackwell, ISBN 978-1-4051-5297-6
  • Cohen, Antonie (1971), The phonemes of English: a phonemic study of the vowels and consonants of standard English (third ed.), Springer, ISBN 978-90-247-0639-6
  • Ladefoged, Peter; Maddieson, Ian (1996). The Sounds of the World's Languages. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 978-0-631-19815-4.
  • Martínez Celdrán, Eugenio (2004), (PDF), Journal of the International Phonetic Association, 34 (2): 201–210, doi:10.1017/S0025100304001732, S2CID 144568679, archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-11, retrieved 2015-02-14
  • Meyer, Paul Georg (2005), Synchronic English Linguistics: An Introduction (third ed.), Tübingen: Gunter Narr Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8233-6191-6
  • Saporta, Sol (1956), "A Note on Spanish Semivowels", Language, 32 (2): 287–290, doi:10.2307/411006, JSTOR 411006
  • Trager, George (1942), "The Phonemic Treatment of Semivowels", Language, 18 (3): 220–223, doi:10.2307/409556, JSTOR 409556

Further reading

  • Ohala, John; Lorentz, James, "The story of [w]: An exercise in the phonetic explanation for sound patterns", in Whistler, Kenneth; Chiarelloet, Chris; van Vahn, Robert Jr. (eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society, Berkeley: Berkeley Linguistic Society, pp. 577–599

January 08, 2023
semivowel, this, article, contains, phonetic, transcriptions, international, phonetic, alphabet, introductory, guide, symbols, help, distinction, between, brackets, transcription, delimiters, phonetics, phonology, semivowel, glide, semiconsonant, sound, that, . 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 phonetics and phonology a semivowel glide or semiconsonant is a sound that is phonetically similar to a vowel sound but functions as the syllable boundary rather than as the nucleus of a syllable 1 Examples of semivowels in English are the consonants y and w in yes and west respectively Written j w in IPA y and w are near to the vowels ee and oo in seen and moon written iː uː in IPA The term glide may alternatively refer to any type of transitional sound not necessarily a semivowel 2 Contents 1 Classification 2 Contrast with vowels 3 Contrast with fricatives spirant approximants 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 Further readingClassification EditSemivowels form a subclass of approximants 3 4 Although semivowel and approximant are sometimes treated as synonymous 5 most authors use the term semivowel for a more restricted set there is no universally agreed upon definition and the exact details may vary from author to author For example Ladefoged amp Maddieson 1996 do not consider the labiodental approximant ʋ to be a semivowel 6 while Martinez Celdran 2004 proposes that it should be considered one 7 In the International Phonetic Alphabet the diacritic attached to non syllabic vowel letters is an inverted breve placed below the symbol representing the vowel U 032F COMBINING INVERTED BREVE BELOW When there is no room for the tack under a symbol it may be written above using U 0311 COMBINING INVERTED BREVE Before 1989 non syllabicity was represented by U 0306 COMBINING BREVE which now stands for extra shortness Additionally there are dedicated symbols for four semivowels that correspond to the four close cardinal vowel sounds 4 Semivowel non syllabic Vowel syllabic j palatal approximant i close front unrounded vowel ɥ labio palatal approximant y close front rounded vowel ɰ velar approximant ɯ close back unrounded vowel w labiovelar approximant u close back rounded vowel The pharyngeal approximant ʕ is also equivalent to the semivowel articulation of the open back unrounded vowel ɑ 6 In addition some authors 6 7 consider the rhotic approximants ɹ ɻ to be semivowels corresponding to R colored vowels such as ɚ As mentioned above the labiodental approximant ʋ is considered a semivowel in some treatments An unrounded central semivowel j or j equivalent to ɨ is uncommon though rounded ẅ or w equivalent to ʉ is found in Swedish and Norwegian Contrast with vowels EditSemivowels by definition contrast with vowels by being non syllabic In addition they are usually shorter than vowels 3 In languages as diverse as Amharic Yoruba and Zuni semivowels are produced with a narrower constriction in the vocal tract than their corresponding vowels 6 Nevertheless semivowels may be phonemically equivalent with vowels For example the English word fly can be considered either as an open syllable ending in a diphthong flaɪ or as a closed syllable ending in a consonant flaj 8 It is unusual for a language to contrast a semivowel and a diphthong containing an equivalent vowel citation needed but Romanian contrasts the diphthong e a with ja a perceptually similar approximant vowel sequence The diphthong is analyzed as a single segment and the approximant vowel sequence is analyzed as two separate segments In addition to phonological justifications for the distinction such as the diphthong alternating with e in singular plural pairs there are phonetic differences between the pair 9 ja has a greater duration than e a The transition between the two elements is longer and faster for ja than e a with the former having a higher F2 onset greater constriction of the articulators Although a phonological parallel exists between o a and wa the production and perception of phonetic contrasts between the two is much weaker likely because of lower lexical load for wa which is limited largely to loanwords from French and speakers difficulty in maintaining contrasts between two back rounded semivowels in comparison to front ones 10 Contrast with fricatives spirant approximants EditAccording to the standard definitions semivowels such as j contrast with fricatives such as ʝ in that fricatives produce turbulence but semivowels do not In discussing Spanish Martinez Celdran suggests setting up a third category of spirant approximant contrasting both with semivowel approximants and with fricatives 11 Though the spirant approximant is more constricted having a lower F2 amplitude longer and unspecified for rounding viuda ˈbjuda widow vs ayuda aˈʝʷuda help 12 the distributional overlap is limited The spirant approximant can only appear in the syllable onset including word initially where the semivowel never appears The two overlap in distribution after l and n enyesar ẽɲɟʝeˈsaɾ to plaster aniego aˈnjeɣo flood 13 and although there is dialectal and idiolectal variation speakers may also exhibit other near minimal pairs like abyecto abject vs abierto opened 14 One potential minimal pair depending on dialect is ya visto ɟ ʝaˈbisto already seen vs y ha visto jaˈbisto and he has seen 15 Again it is not present in all dialects Other dialects differ in either merging the two or enhancing the contrast by moving the former to another place of articulation ʒ like in Rioplatense Spanish See also EditDiphthong Hiatus linguistics List of phonetics topics Mater lectionis Syllabic consonant Voiced labio velar approximantReferences Edit Ladefoged amp Maddieson 1996 p 322 Crystal 2008 p 211 a b Crystal 2008 pp 431 2 a b Martinez Celdran 2004 p 9 Meyer 2005 p 101 a b c d Ladefoged amp Maddieson 1996 p 323 a b Martinez Celdran 2004 p 8 Cohen 1971 p 51 Chitoran 2002 pp 212 214 Chitoran 2002 p 221 Martinez Celdran 2004 p 6 Martinez Celdran 2004 p 208 Trager 1942 p 222 Saporta 1956 p 288 Bowen amp Stockwell 1955 p 236 Sources EditBowen J Donald Stockwell Robert P 1955 The Phonemic Interpretation of Semivowels in Spanish Language 31 2 236 240 doi 10 2307 411039 JSTOR 411039 Chitoran Ioana 2002 A perception production study of Romanian diphthongs and glide vowel sequences PDF Journal of the International Phonetic Association 32 2 203 222 CiteSeerX 10 1 1 116 1413 doi 10 1017 S0025100302001044 S2CID 10104718 Crystal David 2008 A Dictionary of Linguistics and Phonetics 6th ed Blackwell ISBN 978 1 4051 5297 6 Cohen Antonie 1971 The phonemes of English a phonemic study of the vowels and consonants of standard English third ed Springer ISBN 978 90 247 0639 6 Ladefoged Peter Maddieson Ian 1996 The Sounds of the World s Languages Oxford Blackwell ISBN 978 0 631 19815 4 Martinez Celdran Eugenio 2004 Problems in the Classification of Approximants PDF Journal of the International Phonetic Association 34 2 201 210 doi 10 1017 S0025100304001732 S2CID 144568679 archived from the original PDF on 2010 07 11 retrieved 2015 02 14 Meyer Paul Georg 2005 Synchronic English Linguistics An Introduction third ed Tubingen Gunter Narr Verlag ISBN 978 3 8233 6191 6 Saporta Sol 1956 A Note on Spanish Semivowels Language 32 2 287 290 doi 10 2307 411006 JSTOR 411006 Trager George 1942 The Phonemic Treatment of Semivowels Language 18 3 220 223 doi 10 2307 409556 JSTOR 409556Further reading EditOhala John Lorentz James The story of w An exercise in the phonetic explanation for sound patterns in Whistler Kenneth Chiarelloet Chris van Vahn Robert Jr eds Proceedings of the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Berkeley Linguistics Society Berkeley Berkeley Linguistic Society pp 577 599 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Semivowel amp oldid 1128205721, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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