Chapter 5

Question 1

What are segments?

Answer 1

When we speak, we produce a continuous stream of sounds. In studying speech we divide this stream into small pieces that we call segments.

Question 2

What are phonemes? What is the phonetic system?

Answer 2

Phonemes are segments of speech, and we can find a great variety in the way these segments are made. They are an abstract set of unit which are the basics of our speech. The complete set of unit is called the phonetic system of the language.

Question 3

What are allophones?

Answer 3

Phonetic variations of the same phoneme.

Question 4

What sort of transcription do we work with?

Answer 4

We work with phonemic transcription from dictation and from a written text.

Question 5

What are the features of the phonemic system we work with?

Answer 5

The phonemic system contains 44 phonemes. We can display the complete set of these phonemes by the usual classificatory methods used by most phoneticians; the vowels and diphthongs can be located in the quadrilateral and the consonants can be placed in a chart or table according to place of articulation, manner of articulation and voicing.

Question 6

What are diacritics?

Answer 6

are marks which modify the symbol in some way.

Question 7

“We work with phonemic symbols in our subject.” Explain this statement.

Answer 7

because we study the sounds in a context but not in isolation.

Question 8

What are suprasegmental aspects?

Answer 8

Many significant sound contrasts are not the result of differences between phonemes. For example stress, intonation are important. These examples show sound contrasts that extend over several segments (phonemes) and such contrasts are called suprasegmental.