From: Peter_Constable@sil.org
Date: Mon May 26 2003 - 13:38:14 EDT
Doug wrote on 05/26/2003 09:40:16 PM:
> Why does a phonetic transcription system need a symbol to indicate the
> absence of a sound?
It does not. The following are common situations in which lingusts use a
null symbol, however:
- In a transcription that shows morpological analysis, with morphemes
making up a wordform usually separated by hyphens, if a paradigm has an
unmarked member, then the null symbol will often be used in the
transcribed morphological analysis.
- In phonology, rules of epenthesis will often be written in the form
∅ → x / y _ y
and similarly rules of deletion will use a null.
- Likewise, in historical linguistics, if a phoneme has arisen in certain
contexts, it might be said to be a reflex of *∅ (asterisk conventionally
used to indicate reconstructed proto-forms); and a null might also be used
to indicate that a proto-phoneme has been deleted in certain contexts.
- Perhaps also in formal semantics, to indicate the empty set (not exactly
something frequently referred to in formal semantics, but the need can
arise).
- Peter
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Peter Constable
Non-Roman Script Initiative, SIL International
7500 W. Camp Wisdom Rd., Dallas, TX 75236, USA
Tel: +1 972 708 7485
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