From en.wikipedia.org:
[Moving between spoken syllables] [the British academic journal] [IPA notice]
JUNCTURE, in linguistics, is the manner of moving (transition) between two
successive syllables in speech.[Nicolosi] An important type of juncture is the
suprasegmental phonemic cue by means of which a listener can distinguish
between two otherwise identical sequences of sounds that have different
meanings.[Nicolosi]
** Typology
There are several kinds of juncture, the most widely used typology of which
is:
plus juncture:Also known as OPEN JUNCTURE , this is subdivided into INTERNAL OPEN JUNCTURE and EXTERNAL OPEN JUNCTURE . It is the juncture that occurs at word boundaries. [Skandera] In phonetic transcription open juncture is transcribed [/+/] , hence the name _plus_ juncture. [Skandera]
close juncture:Also known as a NORMAL TRANSITION , this is a transition between segments (sounds) within a word. [Skandera]
terminal juncture:Also known as FALLING , [Crystal] CLAUSE TERMINAL or TERMINAL CONTOUR , [date=December 2012] this is the juncture at the end of a clause or utterance with falling pitch before a silence. [Crystal]
Other less common typologies exist,[Skandera] such as the division (favoured
by American Structuralist linguists in the middle twentieth century) into
PLUS, SINGLE BAR, DOUBLE BAR, and DOUBLE CROSS junctures, denoted [/+/], [/[!]
/], [/[!] [!] /], and [/#/] respectively.[Rajimwale][Trask][Trask] These
correspond to syllabification and differences in intonation, single bar being
a level pitch before a break, double bar being an upturn in pitch and a break,
and double cross being a downturn in pitch that usually comes at the end of an
utterance.[Trask][Trask][Trask][Malmkjaer]
** Examples from English
In English, a syllable break at the plus juncture sometimes distinguishes
otherwise homophonic phrases.
- "a name" [ə] and "an aim" [ən] [Nasr]
- "that stuff" [ð] and "that's tough" [ð] [Skandera] [Rajimwale]
- "fork handles" and " four candles "
A word boundary preceded or followed by a syllable break is called an
_external open juncture_. If there is no break, so that words on either side
of the juncture are run together, the boundary is called an _internal open
juncture_.[Skandera]
The distinction between open and close juncture is the difference between
"night rate", [n] with the open juncture between [t] and [r], and "nitrate",
[n] with close juncture between [t] and [r].[Skandera] In some varieties of
English, only the latter involves an affricate.
** In wordplay and games
In recreational linguistics, various types of junctures of are often used and
played with in word games, in order to create or emphasize homophonic effects
in pairs of same-sounding phrases. When pronounced without a pause between
words (internal open juncture), phrases which differ in meaning and spelling
may share a similar pronunciation. An example is "ice cream" [/aɪs+kriːm/]
and "I scream" [/aɪ+skriːm/] (which is employed in the chant "I scream; you
scream; we all scream for ice cream" that is familiar to many English-speaking
children.)[Goldstein]
_The Two Ronnies_ comedy sketch "Four Candles" is entirely built around
same-sounding words and phrases, including a taciturn customer's request for
"fork handles" being misheard as "four candles".[1]
In the world of word games, same-sounding phrases are sometimes also referred
to as "oronyms". Such use of that term was first proposed by Gyles Brandreth
in his book _The Joy of Lex_ (1980). Since the term oronym was already well
established in linguistics as an onomastic designation for a class of
toponymic features (names of mountains, hills, etc.),[Room] the proposed
alternative use of the same term was not universally accepted in scholarly
literature.[Stewart]
** See also
- Eggcorn , a phrase that is substituted for a similar-sounding phrase
- False etymology
- Four Candles
- Malapropism
- Mondegreen
- Phono-semantic matching
- Rebracketing or "juncture loss"
** References
[30em]
*** Reference bibliography
[refbegin]
- [last=Brandreth]
- [last=Crystal]
- [title=Sensation and Perception]
- [encyclopedia=Linguistics Encyclopedia]
- [title=Applied English Phonology: For Esl/Efl Teachers]
- [encyclopedia=Terminology of Communication Disorders: Speech-Language-Hearing]
- [encyclopedia=Handbook Of Linguistic Terms]
- [last=Room]
- [title=A Manual of English Phonetics and Phonology: Twelve Lessons with an Integrated Course in Phonetic Transcription]
- [last=Stewart]
- [title=A Dictionary of Phonetics and Phonology]
[refend]
** Further reading
- [chapter=American structuralism: juncture phonemes]
Category:Phonetics Category:Phonology