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February 25, 2021, 10:49:35 AM
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Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Topic: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English? (Read 3745 times)
Хahar 🤔
Xahar
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Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
«
on:
October 14, 2012, 05:53:53 PM »
As I understand it, [ə] only exists in unstressed syllables while [ʌ] only exists in stressed syllables, which would mean that there are no minimal pairs. In my own speech, I can't distinguish between the two.
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homelycooking
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #1 on:
October 14, 2012, 06:08:02 PM »
I don't think so. Is there a difference in other languages?
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ilikeverin
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #2 on:
October 14, 2012, 06:53:50 PM »
Quote from: homelycooking on October 14, 2012, 06:08:02 PM
I don't think so. Is there a difference in other languages?
It's a difference in other varieties of English, actually. One of my phonetics/phonology profs in undergrad was a native speaker of Indian English, and he had some minimal pairs (or near-minimal pairs). He tried to convince me that they were phonetically distinguishable, but I couldn't hear the difference at all. Not just the way I can't hear the difference between [ɑ] and [ɔ], where I feel like I can hear a phonetic difference but it's completely uninformative to my grammar, but, like, I just couldn't hear anything. I think it's still maintained in other Englishes, too.
So, sorry, Xahar, you just have to memorize that [ʌ] happens in stressed syllables and [ə] in unstressed ones! At least your prof isn't penalizing you for not distinguishing /ɑ/ and /ɔ/
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Хahar 🤔
Xahar
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #3 on:
October 14, 2012, 08:47:23 PM »
What were these minimal pairs? Also, is /ʌ/ as rare as Wikipedia says it is? I certainly can't think offhand of many languages in which it exists.
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Linus Van Pelt
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #4 on:
October 14, 2012, 09:27:04 PM »
If [ʌ] does not appear unstressed, what is the second syllable of "backup"? Do you not distinguish this from the second syllable of "ketchup"?
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muon2
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #5 on:
October 15, 2012, 04:53:06 AM »
Quote from: The Great Pumpkin on October 14, 2012, 09:27:04 PM
If [ʌ] does not appear unstressed, what is the second syllable of "backup"? Do you not distinguish this from the second syllable of "ketchup"?
My dictionary lists "backup" as having a secondary stress on the second syllable, which it does not for "ketchup".
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Хahar 🤔
Xahar
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #6 on:
October 15, 2012, 10:06:05 AM »
I assume secondary stress is assigned to the second syllable precisely because [ʌ] appears in that position.
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Oakvale
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #7 on:
October 15, 2012, 10:39:39 AM »
It's so weird that this forum has a sizeable contingent of linguistics enthusiasts as well as the predictable map nerds.
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ilikeverin
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #8 on:
October 15, 2012, 12:34:18 PM »
Quote from: Oakvale on October 15, 2012, 10:39:39 AM
It's so weird that this forum has a sizeable contingent of linguistics enthusiasts as well as the predictable map nerds.
I think we're just particularly talkative. I wonder why linguists like talking
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Хahar 🤔
Xahar
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #9 on:
October 15, 2012, 02:48:24 PM »
If secondary stress is determined by the presence of [ʌ], then I suppose it would be tautological to say that it only appears in stressed syllables.
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minionofmidas - supplemental forum account
Lewis Trondheim
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Re: Are [ə] and [ʌ] different phonemes in American English?
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Reply #10 on:
October 15, 2012, 03:22:34 PM »
Quote from: Oakvale on October 15, 2012, 10:39:39 AM
It's so weird that this forum has a sizeable contingent of linguistics enthusiasts as well as the predictable map nerds.
I think there is a certain degree of crossover appeal.
Quote from: muon2 on October 15, 2012, 04:53:06 AM
My dictionary lists "backup" as having a secondary stress on the second syllable, which it does not for "ketchup".
Yes, that's immediately obvious to my ear. (Though German speakers
would
put a similar secondary stress on the second syllable of ketchup.) What's less obvious is that that makes the sound in "ketchup" not an [ʌ].
(deeks around)
Ah, indeed wiktionary offers [ʌ] and [ə] as both valid for ketchup. [ə] basically is just what a lot of vowel sounds collapse to when they're utterly devoid of stress.
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