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Name: ______________________________ HW 3: Phonology

(33 points total)

Zinacantec Tzotzil

Look at the following data from Zinacantec Tzotzil, a Mayan language of Mexico. [p] is a

voiceless bilabial oral stop, and [p’] is a voiceless bilabial oral ejective stop—remember that

ejectives are a special kind of stop. [k] is a voiceless velar oral stop, and [k’] is a voiceless velar

oral ejective stop.

1. [pim] ‘thick’

2. [k’ok] ‘fire

3. [bikil] ‘intestines’

4. [ka] ‘particle’

5. [nopol] ‘nearby’

6. [p’us] ‘hunchback’

7. [k’a] ‘horse

8. [pus] ‘jail’

9. [p’in] ‘pot’

10. [kok] ‘my leg’

11. [bik’it] ‘small

12. [p’ol] ‘to multiply’

a. Are [p] and [p’] allophones of the same phoneme, or do they belong to different

phonemes? (3 pts)

b. Are [k] and [k’] allophones of the same phoneme, or do they belong to different

phonemes? (3 pts)

c. If these pairs of sounds are in complementary distribution, list the environments where

each allophone occurs and write a single rule (in prose and in formal notation) to explain

the distribution. If they are in contrastive distribution, list the minimal pairs you used as

evidence. (To be super clear: you are comparing [p] with [p’]; separately, you are

comparing [k] with [k’].) (2 pts)

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Southern Kongo (Dialect B)

Examine the following data from Southern Kongo, a Bantu language spoken in Angola. Pay

particular attention to [z] and [�].

1. [kunezulu] ‘heaven’

2. [�ima] ‘to stretch’

3. [nzwetu] ‘our’

4. [zevo] ‘then’

5. [a�imola] ‘alms’

6. [zanu] ‘five’

7. [ze��a] ‘to cut’

8. [lolon�i] ‘fish’

9. [kezoka] ‘to be cut’

10. [�ko�i] ‘lion’

a. Determine whether [z] and [�] are allophones of the same phoneme or allophones of two

separate phonemes. Discuss the evidence you used to reach your conclusion. List either

minimal pairs or sound environments. (10 pts)

b. If they are in complementary distribution, state the rule (in prose and in formal notation)

that can be used to describe the distribution. If they are in contrastive distribution,

identify the minimal pairs you used to identify them and explain, in prose, how you used

them to make your deductions. (10 pts)

c. What is the feature which separates[z] and [�]? Is this a distinctive feature or a non-

distinctive feature in Dialect B of Southern Kongo? Why? (5 pts)