Welsh phonology
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The phonology of Welsh is characterised by a number of sounds that do not occur in English and are typologically rare in European languages, such as the voiceless lateral fricative [ɬ] and voiceless nasal consonants. Stress usually falls on the penultimate syllable in polysyllabic words, while the word-final unstressed syllable receives a higher pitch than the stressed syllable.
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[edit] Consonants
Welsh has the following consonant phonemes:[1]
| Labial | Dental | Alveolar | Palatal | Dorsal | Glottal | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | lateral | ||||||
| Plosive | p b | t d | k ɡ | ||||
| Affricate | (tʃ) (dʒ) | ||||||
| Fricative | f v | θ ð | s (z) | ɬ | ʃ | χ | h |
| Nasal | (m̥) m | (n̥) n | (ŋ̊) ŋ | ||||
| Trill | r̥ r | ||||||
| Approximant | l | j | w | ||||
Symbols in parentheses are either allophones, or found only in loanwords. The sound /z/ occurs only in unassimilated loanwords. The postalveolar affricates /tʃ/ and /dʒ/ occur mainly in loanwords, but also in some dialects as developments from /tj/ and /dj/; the voiceless nasals /m̥/, /n̥/, /ŋ̊/ occur only as a consequence of nasal mutation.
The plosives /p t k/ are distinguished from /b d ɡ/ by means of aspiration more consistently than by voicing, as /b d ɡ/ are actually devoiced in most contexts. The fricatives /v ð/ may also be devoiced in some contexts, but are distinguished from /f θ/ by having a shorter frication length than the latter.
[edit] Vowels
The vowel phonemes of Welsh are as follows:[1]
| Monophthongs | Front | Central | Back |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | iː | ɨː | uː |
| Near-close | ɪ | ɨ̞ | ʊ |
| Close mid | eː | ə(ː) | oː |
| Open mid | ɛ | ɔ | |
| Open | a | ɑː |
The vowels /ɨ̞/ and /ɨː/ occur only in Northern dialects; in Southern dialects they are replaced by /ɪ/ and /iː/ respectively. In Southern dialects, the contrast between long and short vowels is found in stressed syllables only; in Northern dialects, the contrast is found only in stressed word-final syllables (including monosyllabic words).
The vowel /ə/ does not occur in the final syllable of words (except a few monosyllables). In Southern dialects, schwa can be long or short. In Northern dialects, schwa is always short, because long vowels appear only in word-final syllables, a position where schwa never appears.
| Diphthongs | Second component | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| First component | front | central | back |
| close | ʊɨ | ɪu, ɨu | |
| mid | əi, ɔi | əɨ, ɔɨ | ɛu, əu |
| open | ai | aɨ, ɑːɨ | au |
The diphthongs containing /ɨ/ occur only in Northern dialects; in Southern dialects /ʊɨ/ is replaced by /ʊi/, /ɨu, əɨ, ɔɨ/ are merged with /ɪu, əi, ɔi/, and /aɨ, ɑːɨ/ are merged with /ai/.
[edit] Stress and pitch
Stress in polysyllabic words occurs most commonly on the penultimate syllable, more rarely on the final syllable (e.g. verbs ending in -áu).[3] Exceptions can arise in relation to borrowings from foreign words, such as ambiwlans and testament. According to its positioning, related words or concepts (or even plurals) can sound quite different, as syllables are added to the end of a word and the stress moves correspondingly, e.g.:
-
ysgrif /ˈəsɡriv/ — an article or essay ysgrifen /əsˈɡriven/ — writing ysgrifennydd /əsɡriˈvenɨð/ — a secretary ysgrifenyddes /əsɡriveˈnəðes/ — a female secretary
Note also how adding a syllable to ysgrifennydd to form ysgrifenyddes changes the pronunciation of the second "y". This is because the pronunciation of "y" depends on whether or not it is in the final syllable.
Stress on penultimate syllables is characterised by a low pitch, which is followed by a high pitch on the (unstressed) word-final syllable. In words where stress is on the final syllable, that syllable also bears the high pitch.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Glyn E. Jones (1984), "The distinctive vowels and consonants of Welsh". In Welsh Phonology: Selected Readings, ed. M. J. Ball and G. E. Jones. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 40–64. ISBN 0-7083-0861-9.
- ^ Martin J. Ball (1984), "Phonetics for phonology", in Welsh Phonology: Selected Readings, ed. M. J. Ball and G. E. Jones, Cardiff: University of Wales Press. 5–39. ISBN 0-7083-0861-9.
- ^ a b Briony J. Williams (1983), Stress in Modern Welsh. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cambridge. Distributed by Indiana University Linguistics Club.
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