Archiphoneme
Archiphoneme is a term introduced by Nikolai Sergejewitsch Trubetzkoy in linguistics , especially phonology .
An archiphoneme is an abstraction and includes those phonological features that are common to two given phonemes of a language , disregarding the distinctive features that distinguish them (see opposition ). Archiphonemes are often represented graphically using capital letters.
An example
One area in which archiphonemes can be used sensibly is the so-called Auslautverhärtung in German. It can be observed in the word “victory”: This word is spoken in the genitive singular with voiced [g] as [ˈziːɡəs], but in the nominative singular with voiceless [k] as [ziːk]. That means: If the word ends with “g”, the sound is voiceless and a fortis ; if it is followed by a vowel or sonant, it is voiced. This is the German a general rule at obstruents ( rubbing and plosives ). If you want to reproduce this regularity in phonetic transcription , you can also represent the word “victory” phonologically with an archiphoneme as / ziːK /. The archiphoneme / K / then stands for the regular alternation between the sounds [ɡ] and [k], which are also different phonemes / ɡ / and / k /. The archiphoneme / K / stands for the matching properties of the two phonemes, but is not defined for the feature that distinguishes the two phonemes (see Pronunciation_der_deutschen_Sprache # Konsonantensystem and Fortes and Lenes in German ).
Further archiphonemes in German
Archiphonemes can also be observed in the following cases:
- / P /: dear [liːp] - dear ['liːbəs]
- / T /: Lied [liːt] - liedes ['liːdəs]
- / F /: Archive [aʁˈçiːf] - Archive [aʁˈçiːvə]
- / S /: Reis [ʀaɪ̯s] - Reises ['ʀaɪ̯zəs]
- / K /: lag [läːk] - lay [ˈläːɡⁿŋ̩] and / X /: weight [ç] - weight [ɡ] e (or regional only / X /: lag [läːx] - lay [ˈläːɡⁿŋ̩] or just / K /)
An archiphoneme that has nothing to do with hardening of the final sound but is dependent on the sound environment is:
- An archiphoneme can also be used in German vowelism: / E / for [e] or [ə]. The two vowels that can stand for the archiphoneme are also dependent on the sound environment, in this case on where the accent is in the word.
A (combinatorial) pronunciation variation of one and the same phoneme (see allophone ) is not an archiphoneme .
- / x /: subject [faχ] - subjects [fɛçɐ]; this change is caused by the preceding vowel, not by the final vowel, as the following example shows: Gefach [ɡəˈfaχ] - Gefach [ɡəˈfaχə].
literature
- Theodor Lewandowski: Linguistic Dictionary . 4th, revised edition. Quelle & Meyer, Heidelberg 1985, keyword: “Archiphoneme”. ISBN 3-494-02050-7 .
- NS Trubetzkoy: The abolition of phonological opposites. In: Travaux du Cercle Linguistique de Prague 6 (1936), pp. 29-45; reprinted in: A Prague School Reader in Linguistics , ed. by Josef Vachek. Indiana University Press, Bloomington & London 1967, pp. 187-205.
