American English Phonemes

Question 1

How many vowel phonemes are there in American English?

Answer 1

There are 15 vowel phonemes in American English.

Question 2

How many consonant phonemes are there in American English?

Answer 2

There are 24 consonant phonemes in American English.

Question 3

What is the difference between a phoneme and an allophone?

Answer 3

A phoneme is a basic unit of sound in a language, while an allophone is a variant of a phoneme that occurs in a specific context.

Question 4

What is the difference between a monophthong and a diphthong?

Answer 4

A monophthong is a single pure vowel sound, while a diphthong is a complex sound that glides from one vowel sound to another within the same syllable.

Question 5

What is the difference between a voiced and voiceless sound?

Answer 5

Voiced sounds are produced with the vocal cords vibrating, while voiceless sounds are produced without vocal cord vibration.

Question 6

What is the difference between a stop and a fricative consonant?

Answer 6

Stops involve a complete closure of the vocal tract, while fricatives involve a narrowing that creates turbulence in the airflow.

Question 7

Which vowel phoneme is represented by the symbol /i/ in American English?

Answer 7

The vowel phoneme represented by /i/ is the high front tense vowel sound.

Question 8

Which vowel phoneme is represented by the symbol /ʊ/ in American English?

Answer 8

The vowel phoneme represented by /ʊ/ is the high back rounded lax vowel sound.

Question 9

Which consonant phoneme is represented by the symbol /t/ in American English?

Answer 9

The consonant phoneme represented by /t/ is the voiceless alveolar plosive sound.

Question 10

Which consonant phoneme is represented by the symbol /ʃ/ in American English?

Answer 10

The consonant phoneme represented by /ʃ/ is the voiceless postalveolar fricative sound.

Question 11

True or False: The vowel phoneme /ɔ/ in American English is a low back rounded lax vowel sound.

Answer 11

True

Question 12

True or False: The consonant phoneme /d/ in American English is a voiced alveolar plosive sound.

Answer 12

True

Question 13

Fill in the blank: The consonant phoneme /z/ in American English is a voiced ______ sound.

Answer 13

alveolar fricative

Question 14

Fill in the blank: The vowel phoneme /eɪ/ in American English is a high ______ ______ diphthong.

Answer 14

front tense

Question 15

Which consonant phoneme is represented by the symbol /ŋ/ in American English?

Answer 15

The consonant phoneme represented by /ŋ/ is the voiced velar nasal sound.

Question 16

Which consonant phoneme is represented by the symbol /θ/ in American English?

Answer 16

The consonant phoneme represented by /θ/ is the voiceless interdental fricative sound.

Question 17

Which vowel phoneme is represented by the symbol /ʌ/ in American English?

Answer 17

The vowel phoneme represented by /ʌ/ is the low-mid central lax vowel sound.

Question 18

Which vowel phoneme is represented by the symbol /oʊ/ in American English?

Answer 18

The vowel phoneme represented by /oʊ/ is the mid back tense diphthong sound.

Question 19

Which consonant phoneme is represented by the symbol /h/ in American English?

Answer 19

The consonant phoneme represented by /h/ is the voiceless glottal fricative sound.

Question 20

Which consonant phoneme is represented by the symbol /m/ in American English?

Answer 20

The consonant phoneme represented by /m/ is the voiced bilabial nasal sound.

Question 21

Which vowel phoneme is represented by the symbol /æ/ in American English?

Answer 21

The vowel phoneme represented by /æ/ is the low front lax vowel sound.

Question 22

Which vowel phoneme is represented by the symbol /aɪ/ in American English?

Answer 22

The vowel phoneme represented by /aɪ/ is the low front tense diphthong sound.

Question 23

Which consonant phoneme is represented by the symbol /v/ in American English?

Answer 23

The consonant phoneme represented by /v/ is the voiced labiodental fricative sound.

Question 24

Which consonant phoneme is represented by the symbol /l/ in American English?

Answer 24

The consonant phoneme represented by /l/ is the voiced alveolar lateral approximant sound.