Problem
In Modern English, , the fricatives [f, v, θ, ð, s, z] are six different phonemes. But in Old English, these six segments were categorized as only three different phonemes, each with a voiced and a voiceless allophone, [f, v], [θ, ð], [s, z]. The following words from Old English show the distribution of these segments.
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[fæder]
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father
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[i?zern]
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iron
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[l???f]
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bread
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[wr?θ]
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angry
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[fæðm]
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fathom
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[kweð?n]
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to say
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[st?v?s]
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letters
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[eorðe]
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earth
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[smiθ]
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blacksmith
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[yvele]
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evil
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[ræ?z?n]
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to attack
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[heovon]
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sky
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[θ??x]
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thrived
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[furðor]
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further
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[æ?vre]
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always
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[ræ?zde]
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attacked
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• Make an environment chart to organize the environments where each allophone occurs.
• Which class of sounds is the underlying form?
• What's the distribution of the other class of sounds?
• Write a phonological rule to capture summarize the conclusions.