Definitions

Question 1

Phonetics

Answer 1

Study of the nature, production and perception of sounds of speech.

Question 2

Phone

Answer 2

Speech sound identified as the realisation of a single phoneme.

Question 3

Phonology

Answer 3

Study of the sound systems of an individual language - LANGUAGE SPECIFIC - and the nature of such systems generally.

Question 4

Phoneme

Answer 4

Smallest distinct sound unit in a given language.

Question 5

Allophone

Answer 5

Phonetic form of an abstract phoneme which varies its sound according to the phonological context / how a word is spelt.
eg, Canadian French - “tu” = “tsu”

Question 6

Diacritics

Answer 6

Symbols added to certain letters
eg, actute, grave, circumflex

Question 7

Digraphs

Answer 7

Pairs of letters used in combination with each other.
oe, ae

Question 8

Open syllables

Answer 8

End in a vowel

Question 9

Closed syllables

Answer 9

End in a consonant

Question 10

Minimal pairs

Answer 10

Two words which differ in only one sound, in exactly the same position and differ in meaning.

Do not exist for allophones, as if we find minimal pairs, the two sounds are phonemes.
Changing one allophone for another doesn’t change meaning.

Question 11

Commutation test

Answer 11

To identify minimal pairs.
Substitute one sound for another to see if it changes the meaning.

Question 12

Complementary distribution

Answer 12

If two+ sounds are never found in the same phonological contexts.

eg, affrication in Canadian French
[ts] appears in front of high vowels and [t] elsewhere.

Question 13

Regressive voicing assimilation

Answer 13

A stop of fricative agrees in voicing with an immediately following stop/fricative.

eg, “avec Jean” - the [k] becomes [g], voiced to match the “j”

Question 14

Free variation

Answer 14

Two+ sounds occur in the same contexts. Substituting one for the other doesn’t alter meaning.
eg, “Rouge” with [r] or upsidedown [R]