Английская Википедия:Czech phonology
Шаблон:Short description Шаблон:Self reference Шаблон:More footnotes Шаблон:IPA notice Шаблон:Inline audio This article discusses the phonological system of the Czech language.
Consonants
Consonant chart
The following chart shows a complete list of the consonant phonemes of Czech:
Phonetic notes:[1]
- Sibilants Шаблон:IPA are laminal post-alveolars (usually not considered retroflex).[2]
- The approximant Шаблон:IPA is mainly pronounced apico-alveolar, although a velarized pronunciation without a firm tongue tip contact is not unusual.
- Both Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA are trills though commonly realized with a single contact.
- The phoneme Шаблон:IPAslink, written Шаблон:Angbr, is a raised alveolar non-sonorant trill. Its rarity makes it difficult to produce for most foreign learners of Czech, who may pronounce it as Шаблон:IPA; however, it contrasts with Шаблон:IPA in words like Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('to neigh'), which is pronounced differently from Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('order'). The basic realization of this phoneme is voiced, but it is voiceless Шаблон:IPA when preceded or followed by a voiceless consonant or at the end of a word. Phonetically, the sound Шаблон:IPA is a period of friction interrupted at the beginning by a contact or contacts created by a retracted apico-alveolar gesture.
- Sonorants Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA become syllabic between two consonants or after a consonant at the end of a word.
- Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA can be pronounced as dental stops. While Шаблон:IPA is commonly realized as apico-alveolar, Шаблон:IPA is more likely to be laminal denti-alveolar.
- Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA are alveolo-palatal with primarily lamino-alveolar/postalveolar and lateral dorso-palatal contact.[3]
- Шаблон:IPA is alveolo-palatal nasal.
- The voiceless realization of the phoneme Шаблон:IPA is velar Шаблон:IPA.
Glottal stop
The glottal stop is not a separate phoneme. Its use is optional and it may appear as the onset of an otherwise vowel-initial syllable. The pronunciation with or without the glottal stop does not affect the meaning and is not distinctive.
The glottal stop has two functions in Czech:
- The emphasis on the boundaries between words or in compound words is usually inserted between two vowels which do not form a diphthong, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('to use'), Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('dad and mum'); it separates prepositions from words beginning with a vowel, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('out of the window'); it is also inserted before initial vowels of the second part of compound words, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('triangle'). This usage of the glottal stop is usual in Bohemia. Pronunciation without it is typical of Moravian regions, e.g. Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA. Both variants are regarded as correct.
- Certain words can be emphasized by the use of the glottal stop.
In the standard pronunciation, the glottal stop is never inserted between two vowels in words of foreign origin, e.g. in the word Шаблон:Lang.
Marginal consonant phonemes
The phonemes Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA usually occur in words of foreign origin (Germanic, Romance or Greek) or dialects only. As for /f/, however, the number of words where it occurs is still significant and many of them are commonplace, e.g. fialový ('violet'), fronta ('queue' as a noun), fotit ('take photos'), doufat ('hope' as a verb). It is also used in common first names (František, Filip) and surnames (Fiala, Fišer). The phoneme /g/, though rarer than /f/, appears in frequently used words as well, e.g. graf ('graph'), gram ('gram'), grep ('grapefruit'), regulace ('regulation'). The occurrence of Шаблон:IPA is uncommon and typically signals that the word is of English origin (e.g. džíny ← jeans), but not always (e.g. džbán ← older čbán 'jug'). The phoneme Шаблон:IPA is quite marginal, used mostly by dialects spoken near the border with Slovakia (see Slovak phonology).
Nevertheless, as phonemic realizations [f], [g], Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA all four consonants also occur as allophones of /v/, /k/, /t͡ʃ/ and /t͡s/ respectively due to assimilation of voice. Moreover, affricates can phonetically occur at morpheme boundaries (see consonant merging below).
Consonants in the script
Other consonants are represented by the same characters (letters) as in the IPA.
Consonant assimilation
Realizations of consonant phonemes are influenced by their surroundings. The position of phonemes in words can modify their phonetic realizations without a change of the meaning.
Assimilation of the place of articulation
- Labiodental Шаблон:IPA is a realization of Шаблон:IPA before labiodental fricatives Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA, e.g. in the word Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Audio-IPA ('tramway').
- Velar Шаблон:IPA is a realization of Шаблон:IPA before velar stops Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA, e.g. in the word Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Audio-IPA ('bank').
The former assimilation is optional while the latter is obligatory. Realization of the former as Шаблон:IPA is thus possible, especially in more prestigious registers, whereas realization of the latter as Шаблон:IPA is considered hypercorrect, and hence incorrect.
Assimilation of voice
Assimilation of voice is an important feature of Czech pronunciation. Voiced obstruents are, in certain circumstances, realized voiceless and vice versa. It is not represented in orthography, where more etymological principles are applied. Assimilation of voice applies in these circumstances:
- In consonant groups – all obstruents in the group are realized either voiced or voiceless. It is mostly governed by the last consonant in the group (regressive assimilation), e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('solution').
- Voiced obstruents are realized voiceless in the pre-pausal position (final devoicing). Compare Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('ice') – Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('ice' gen.) vs. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('flight') – Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('flight' gen.) – the nominative forms of both words (Шаблон:Lang – Шаблон:Lang) are pronounced the same due to final devoicing in the first; but in the other inflection forms their pronunciation differs.
Voiced and voiceless obstruents form pairs in which the assimilation of voice applies (see table):
Sonorants (Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA) have no voiceless counterparts and are never devoiced. They do not cause the voicing of voiceless consonants in standard pronunciation, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('to watch').
There are some exceptions to the rules described above:
- The phoneme Шаблон:IPA also does not cause the voicing of preceding voiceless consonants (that is, it acts as a sonorant before vowels), e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Audio-IPA ('light'). However, Шаблон:IPA followed by a voiceless consonant is also realized voiceless, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('to bet').
- The phonemes Шаблон:IPA (written Шаблон:Angle bracket) and Шаблон:IPA (written Шаблон:Angle bracket) form a special voice pair even though the places of articulation differ, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Audio-IPA ('a throw') – Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Audio-IPA ('a throw' gen.). The phoneme Шаблон:IPA followed by a voiced obstruent can be realized as either Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Audio-IPA ('so that I would...'). The phoneme Шаблон:IPA undergoes progressive assimilation after /s/ in Bohemian pronunciation, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('goodbye'), whereas standard regressive assimilations are typical of Moravian pronunciation, Шаблон:IPA.
- The phoneme Шаблон:IPA does not cause assimilations of adjacent consonants, but it undergoes progressive as well as regressive assimilation according to its surroundings, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Audio-IPA ('by'). Its basic realization is voiced. In final position, it is voiceless.
Consonant merging
Two identical consonant phonemes (or allophones) can meet in morpheme boundaries during word formation. In many cases, especially in suffixes, two identical consonant sounds merge into one sound in pronunciation, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Audio-IPA ('valuable'), Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:Audio-IPA ('soft').
In prefixes and composite words, lengthened or doubled pronunciation (gemination) is obvious. It is necessary in cases of different words: Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('the clearest') vs. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('more unclear'). Doubled pronunciation is perceived as hypercorrect in cases like Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA.
Combinations of stops (Шаблон:IPA) and fricatives (Шаблон:IPA) usually produce affricates (Шаблон:IPA): Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ("children's"). Both phonemes are pronounced separately in careful pronunciation: Шаблон:IPA.
Vowels
There are 10 monophthongal and 3 diphthongal vowel phonemes in Czech: Шаблон:IPA. Czech is a quantity language: it differentiates five vowel qualities that occur as both phonologically short and long. The short and long counterparts generally do not differ in their quality, although long vowels may be more peripheral than short vowels.[4]
As for the high front vowel pair Шаблон:IPA, there are dialectal differences with respect to phonetic realisation of the contrast: in the Bohemian variety of Czech, the two vowels are differentiated by both quality and duration, while in the Eastern Moravian variety of Czech the primary difference is that of duration. Therefore, in the Bohemian variety, the transcription Шаблон:IPA more accurately reflects the tradeoff between the qualitative and the durational difference in these vowels, while in the Eastern Moravian variety of Czech, the transcription Шаблон:IPA captures the primary durational difference.[5]
Besides length, Czech differentiates three degrees of height and threeШаблон:Fix degrees of backness.[4]
Vowel length and quality is independent of the stress.
Short vowels
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang
Long vowels
Long vowels are indicated by an acute accent (Шаблон:Lang) or a ring (Шаблон:Lang).
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang (this phoneme occurs almost exclusively in words of foreign origin)
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang and Шаблон:Lang with the former only used when it is the first letter of an unbound morpheme, as well as in loanwords and onomatopoeia.
Diphthongs
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang (occurs almost exclusively in words of foreign origin)
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang (occurs in words of foreign origin only)
- Шаблон:IPA is spelled Шаблон:Lang
The phonemes Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA are sometimes transcribed Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA. This transcription describes the pronunciation in Central Bohemia and Prague, which is more open. The standard pronunciation is something between Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA, i.e. mid back vowel.
The letter Шаблон:Lang is not a separate vowel. It denotes Шаблон:IPA after a palatal stop or palatal nasal (e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA), Шаблон:IPA after /m/ (e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA), and Шаблон:IPA after other labial consonants (e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA).[6]
The vowel sequences Шаблон:Lang, and Шаблон:Lang in foreign words are not diphthongs. They are pronounced with an epenthetic Шаблон:IPA between the vowels: Шаблон:IPA.
Prosody
Stress
The stress is nearly always fixed to the first syllable of a word. Exceptions:
- One-syllable prepositions usually form a unit with following words. Therefore, the stress moves to the prepositions, ˈШаблон:Lang ('Prague') → ˈШаблон:Lang ('to Prague'). This rule is not always applied in words which have four or more syllables: e.g. either ˈШаблон:Lang Шаблон:LangˌШаблон:Lang or Шаблон:Lang ˈШаблон:LangˌШаблон:Lang ('on the colonnade') are possible.
- Some one-syllable words (e.g. Шаблон:Lang ('me'), Шаблон:Lang ('you'), Шаблон:Lang ('it'), Шаблон:Lang, Шаблон:Lang ('oneself'), Шаблон:Lang ('am'), Шаблон:Lang ('are'), etc.) are clitics — they are not stressed and form a unit with preceding words, therefore they cannot be the first words in (standard) sentences. Example: ˈШаблон:Lang ˈШаблон:Lang ('I have written the letter to you'). (See Czech word order for details.)
Long words can have the secondary stress which is mostly placed on every odd syllable, e.g. ˈШаблон:Lang.ˌШаблон:Lang ('the most beautiful'). However, in some cases it can be placed on the fourth syllable, e.g. ˈШаблон:Lang.ˌШаблон:Lang ('the greenest').
The stress has no lexical or phonological function; it denotes boundaries between words but does not distinguish word meanings. It has also no influence on the quality or quantity of vowels, i.e. the vowels are not reduced in unstressed syllables and can be both short and long regardless of the stress. Thus, the Czech rhythm can be considered as isosyllabic.
Intonation
Czech is not a tonal language. Tones or melodies are not lexical distinctive features. However, intonation is a distinctive feature on the level of sentences. Tone can differentiate questions from simple messages, as it need not necessarily be indicated by the word order:
- Шаблон:Lang ('he did it')
- Шаблон:Lang ('did he do it?')
- Шаблон:Lang ('he did it?!')
All these sentences have the same lexical and grammatical structure. The differences are in their intonation.
Phonotactics
Open syllables of type CV are the most abundant in Czech texts. It is supposed that all syllables were open in the Proto-Slavic language. Syllables without consonant onset occur with a relatively little frequency. The usage of the glottal stop as an onset in such syllables confirms this tendency in the pronunciation of Bohemian speakers. In Common Czech, the most widespread Czech interdialect, prothetic Шаблон:Lang is added to all words beginning with Шаблон:Lang in standard Czech, e.g. Шаблон:Lang instead of Шаблон:Lang (eye).
The general structure of Czech syllables is:
- (C)(C)(C)(C)(C)V(C)(C)(C)
- C – consonant
- V – vowel or syllabic consonant
Thus, Czech word can have up to five consonants in the initial group (e.g. vzkvět)[7] and three consonants in the final group (not including syllabic consonants). The syllabic nucleus is usually formed by vowels or diphthongs, but in some cases syllabic sonorants (Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA, rarely also Шаблон:IPA and Шаблон:IPA) can be found in the nucleus, e.g. Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('wolf'), Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('neck'), Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA ('eight').
Vowel groups can occur in the morpheme boundaries. They cannot include more than two vowels. Both vowels in the groups are separate syllabic nuclei and do not form diphthongs.
Morphophonology
Phoneme alternations in morphophonemes (changes which do not affect morpheme meaning) are frequently applied in inflections and derivations. They are divided into vowel and consonant alternations. Both types can be combined in a single morpheme:
- Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA ('book')
- Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA ('in a book')
- Шаблон:Lang Шаблон:IPA Шаблон:IPA ('little book')
Vowel alternations
The most important alternations are those of short and long phonemes. Some of these alternations are correlative, i.e. the phonemes in pairs differ in their length only. Due to historical changes in some phonemes (Шаблон:IPA → Шаблон:IPA, Шаблон:IPA → Шаблон:IPA, similar to the Great Vowel Shift in English), some alternations are disjunctive, i.e. the phonemes in pairs are different in more features. These alternations occur in word roots during inflections and derivations, and they also affect prefixes in derivations.
| Short phoneme | Long phoneme | Examples, notes |
|---|---|---|
| Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:Audio-lang ('founder') – Шаблон:Audio-lang ('to found') |
| Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:Lang ('airplane') – Шаблон:Lang ('to fly') |
| Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:Lang ('to be sorry') – Шаблон:Lang ('regret') Шаблон:Lang ('to perform') – Шаблон:Lang ('performance') |
| Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:Lang ('horses') – Шаблон:Audio-lang ('horse') |
| Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:Lang ('to comb') – Шаблон:Lang ('hair style') (in initial positions in morphemes only) |
| Шаблон:IPA | Шаблон:Lang ('buy!') – Шаблон:Lang ('to buy') (in other positions) |
Some other disjunctive vowel alternations occur in word roots during derivations (rarely also during inflections):
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('happy') – Шаблон:Lang ('happiness'); Шаблон:Lang ('egg') – vajec ('eggs' gen.)
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('is carrying') – Шаблон:Lang ('carries')
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Audio-lang ('to warm') – Шаблон:Lang ('to warm up')
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('to shake') – Шаблон:Lang ('tremor')
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('to produce') – Шаблон:Lang ('production')
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('doe') – Шаблон:Lang ('hare')
Emergence/disappearance alternations also take place, i.e. vowels alternate with null phonemes. In some allomorphs, Шаблон:IPA is inserted between consonants as a result of Havlík's law:
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('mother') – Шаблон:Lang ('mothers' gen.); Шаблон:Lang ('lie') – Шаблон:Lang ('lies')
It also occurs in some prepositions which have vocalised positional variants: Шаблон:Lang – ('in a house') – Шаблон:Lang ('in water'); Шаблон:Lang ('with you') – Шаблон:Lang ('with me'), etc.
Some other alternations of this type occur, but they are not so frequent:
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('to write out') – Шаблон:Lang ('abstract')
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('to reproach once') – Шаблон:Lang ('to reproach'); Шаблон:Lang ('to take away once') – Шаблон:Lang ('to take away') (examples of verb pairs with perfective and imperfective aspects)
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('dry') – Шаблон:Lang ('to become dry')
Consonant alternation
Alternations of hard and soft consonants represent the most abundant type. They occur regularly in word-stem final consonants before certain suffixes (in derivations) and endings (in inflections). Hard consonants are softened if followed by soft Шаблон:IPA (written Шаблон:Angle bracket), Шаблон:IPA, or Шаблон:IPA (written Шаблон:Angle bracket and Шаблон:Angle bracket, not Шаблон:Angle bracket and Шаблон:Angle bracket). These changes also occur before some other suffixes (e.g. Шаблон:Lang). Softening can be both correlative and disjunctive.
The last five examples are emergence alternations. A phoneme (Шаблон:IPA or Шаблон:IPA) is inserted in the pronunciation, but for the historical reasons, these changes are indicated by Шаблон:Angle bracket in the orthography (see the orthographic notes below). These alternations are analogical with softening alternations, therefore they are mentioned here. They also occur in word roots together with vowel alternations (usually |Шаблон:IPA|).
Some other alternations occur but they are not so frequent. They are often less evident:
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang – Шаблон:Lang ('to be drowning' – both words)
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('to be turning') – Шаблон:Lang ('to take a turn')
- |Шаблон:IPA|: Шаблон:Lang ('to carry') – Шаблон:Lang ('to dress')
Orthographic notes
In some letter groups, phonological principles of the Czech orthography are brokenШаблон:Clarify:
| Voiced plosive | Voiceless plosive | Nasal |
|---|---|---|
| dy Шаблон:IPA | ty Шаблон:IPA | ny Шаблон:IPA |
| dý Шаблон:IPA | tý Шаблон:IPA | ný Шаблон:IPA |
| di Шаблон:IPA | ti Шаблон:IPA | ni Шаблон:IPA |
| dí Шаблон:IPA | tí Шаблон:IPA | ní Шаблон:IPA |
| dě Шаблон:IPA | tě Шаблон:IPA | ně Шаблон:IPA |
| bě Шаблон:IPA vě Шаблон:IPA |
pě Шаблон:IPA fě Шаблон:IPA |
mě Шаблон:IPA
|
Sample
The sample text is a reading of the first sentence of The North Wind and the Sun by a native speaker of Common Czech, who is from Prague.[8]
Phonemic transcription
Phonetic transcription
Orthographic version
Severák a Slunce se hádali, kdo z nich je silnější.[9]
See also
- Czech alphabet
- Czech declension
- Czech language
- Czech orthography
- Czech verb
- History of the Czech language
References
Bibliography
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
- Шаблон:Citation
External links
- ↑ Шаблон:Harvcoltxt
- ↑ According to Silke Hamann, it cannot be clearly determined whether Czech has a retroflex fricative or not, as the articulations differ too much. – Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ 4,0 4,1 Шаблон:Harvcoltxt
- ↑ Шаблон:Harvcoltxt
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite book
- ↑ Шаблон:Cite web
- ↑ Шаблон:Harvcoltxt
- ↑ 9,0 9,1 Шаблон:Harvcoltxt
