final

Question 1

What is linguistics? What do they study?

Answer 1

Linguistic is the science that studies language

Question 2

What ‘s language? Explain its 4 characteristics.

Answer 2

Language is an arbitrary system 0f creative vocal symbols that is the means of communication among human beings

Question 3

Explain the different POVs of language and who they relates to?

Answer 3

Descriptive natural use (parole/performance) -Phonetics
Prescriptive Rules,knowledge (Langue/competence)
Microlinguistics:
-Phonology
-Morphology
-syntax
-semantics

Question 4

What is Phonetics? What do they study?

Answer 4

(Parole) Studies utterances and segments them into speech sounds.
1- articulatory phonetics:production of sounds
2- acoustic phonetics: how sound waves travel trough air.
3- auditory phonetics: recieving & processing the sound.

Question 5

What is Phonology? What do they study?

Answer 5

(langue) Studies the spund system.
1-Segmental features: Studies possible combinations of sounds by segmentation.
2-Suprasegmental features: Cannot be studied in isolation(cannot be segmented).

Question 6

What’s a standard variety?

Answer 6

Sociolect. Is associated with educated speakers. BBC english.

Question 7

What is the IPA? What is a phonemic set?

Answer 7

The International Phonetic Alphabet provides symbols for any spoken language.
The phonemic set is a group of ounds used in a language.

Question 8

What is a phoneme?

Answer 8

Smallest unit of sound that can make a difference in meaning.

Question 9

What is the speech mechanism?

Answer 9

Is a system who make us able to express thoughts and feelings.

Question 10

What are the 3 levels of the speech chain?

Answer 10

1- Linguistic
2- Physiological
3- Acoustic

Question 11

Explain briefly the speech chain.

Answer 11

1- The speaker arranges their thoughts into a linguistic form.
2- the brain form impulses to the motor nerves that are send to the muscles to activate the vocal organs.
3-The v.o. produces sound waves that travels through air.
4- the pressure of the sound waves activates the listener’s hearing mechanism, producing nerve impulses that bring recognition of the speaker’s message.
5- the speech chain is completed when the listener procceses the information.

Question 12

What is phonation?

Answer 12

The process of vocal folds vibration.

Question 13

What are the organs of speech?

Answer 13

All those parts involved in the production of speech.

Question 14

What are the 3 main systems of organs involved in speech?

Answer 14

1- Air pressure system
2- Vibratory system
3- Resonating system

Question 15

Which organs are in the Air pressure system and what is their function?

Answer 15

diaphragm, chest & abdominal muscles, thorax, lungs. Provides and regulates air pressure to cause vocal folds to vibrate.

Question 16

Which organs are in the VIbratory system and what is their function?

Answer 16

Larynx(which contains the vocal folds). The V.F. vibrates, changing the air pressure to sound waves producing voiced and voiceless sounds.

Question 17

Which organs are in the Resonating system and what is their function?

Answer 17

Vocal tract: Throat(Pharynx), oral cavity, nasal cavity.
Changes the quality of an existing sound.

Question 18

Which are the 2 branches that we can divide the description of speech sounds into?

Answer 18

Non-distinctive features and distinctive features.

Question 19

Describe the non distinctive features.

Answer 19

AKA phonetic features.
Doesn’t change the meaning of the word.
1- Loudness
2-Pitch
3-Tone of voice
4-Duration & Lenght
5-Air stream mechanism
6-Voiced & Voiceless sounds.

Question 20

Describe the distinctive features.

Answer 20

AKA phonological features.
Changes the meaning.
1-Intensity of articulation
2-Place of articulation
3-Manner of articulation.

Question 21

What are vowels, define from a phonetic & phonological POV.

Answer 21

A type of sound produced with no obstruction of air(phonet)
typically ocurring at the centre of a syllable.(phonolog)

Question 22

What are cardinal vowels?

Answer 22

Can be used in any spoken language. They are the most basic and important then each language can adapt to them.

Question 23

What is the criteria to describe vowel phonemes?

Answer 23

1- closeness/openess: distance between the tongue and the palate.
High tongue: closed vowel
Low tongue: Open vowel
2- frontness/backness: Part of the tongue that is raised highest.
3- shape of the lips: round, spread, neutral.

Question 24

Define and explain quality & quantity.

Answer 24

Quality (phonetic) an auditory sensation that make us able to distinguish between vowel sounds.
Quantity (phonology) phonological use of lenght.

Question 25

What are Pure vowels?

Answer 25

AKA monophthongs. They are single vowel sounds. Lax: weak breath and muscle tension (short) Tense: more breath and muscle tension (long)

Question 26

What are Diphthongs?

Answer 26

A vowel sequence starting with a single vowel whose quality changes towards another single vowel through a gliding movement of the tongue.

Question 27

How can diphthongs be classified according to?

Answer 27

1- articulatory: a- the distance the tongue travels (wide, narrow) b- the direction of the movement to the 2nd sound. (closing, centering) 2- auditory: c- the prominence of elements. (mostly falling)

Question 28

Which are the only 3 phonemes in which diphthongs can finish in?

Answer 28

short i, schwa and short u.

Question 29

What are triphthongs?

Answer 29

vowel sequences that consists of three sounds. They are studied as a combination.

Question 30

What are consonants? describe them from a phonetic & phonological POV.

Answer 30

A type of sound produced by an obstruction of the air stream (either in the pharynx or in the vocal tract) (phonet) typically occuring at the margin of syllables (phonolog)

Question 31

What is the criteria to describe consonant sounds?

Answer 31

1- vocal folds (voiced/voiceless) 2- stongness of the breath force & muscular tension. (lenis/fortis) 3- where does the interference of the air flow occur (place of articulation) 4- what kind of interference is? (manner of articulation)

Question 32

What is allophonic variation?

Answer 32

when a phoneme changes its pronunciation due to the influence of its sorrounding sounds.

Question 33

Explain the concrete level of speech.

Answer 33

(phonetics/parole/performance). Utterance Phone Allophone In free variation or in complementary distribution.

Question 34

Explain the abstract level of speech.

Answer 34

(Phonology/langue/knowledge). Sentence Clause Word Morpheme Phoneme

Question 35

What are the 3 types of transcription? Explain them.

Answer 35

1- Phonetic transcription (aims to represent actual speech sounds, high degree of accuracy) 2- Phonemic/Phonological (represents idealised utterances, moderate degree of accuracy, shows only those articulatory details that can distinguish meaning) 3- Broad phonetic transcription (Largely phonemic, but shows several phonetic details. An intermediate type)

Question 36

What is neutralization?

Answer 36

The elimination of a phonemic distinction in some contexts

Question 37

What is morphophonology?

Answer 37

Is the overlap between Morphology and Phonology. Morph, allomorhps. it overlaps with phonetics and phonology when the choice of one allomorph rather than another is determined by the surrounding sounds

Question 38

What is a syllable? Explain it from a phonetic & phonological approach.

Answer 38

A syllable is a linguistic unit that is typically larger than a single sound and smaller than a word. Phonetic approach: it is formed by 3 onsets C, a V that is the centre, and 4 codas C. if it ends with V is open syllable. If it ends with C is closed syllable. Phonological: the maximal structure is 3 consonants and 4 at the end, and a vowel at the centre.

Question 39

What is a syllabic consonant? What are the 5 consonants that can be transformed to?

Answer 39

is a syllable whose centre is not formed by a vowel, but by a consonant instead. We ommit the schwa, and the time needed to pronunce ir moves to the following consonant that could be: l,n,m.nga,r.

Question 40

What are weak forms?

Answer 40

a reduction of strong forms, by reducing the lenght of sounds, by the obscuration of schwa, short i and neutral u, and by the elision of vowel and consonants.

Question 41

Why do we use weak forms?

Answer 41

we use them to sound more natural, and to undersant better the language.

Question 42

When do strong forms occur?

Answer 42

-in isolation -when being quoted -at the end of a phrase(except for some pronouns) -as the 1st of two consecutive auxiliary verbs without a main verb -in coordinations -in contrasts -to emphasize.

Question 43

What are the features of connected speech?

Answer 43

Variations that speech can have since it is a continuous flow of sounds.

Question 44

Explain Linking.

Answer 44

a link between words. we add a final r that is represented in spelling only when preceded by a vowel and followed by a vowel in the next word.

Question 45

Explain Intrusion.

Answer 45

When a sound that is not represented in normal spelling is added to a word or sequence. w,j,r.

Question 46

Explain Juncture.

Answer 46

articulatory features that enable us to distinguish words in connected speech, to detect boundaries. -shortening/lenghtening of sounds -delayed/advanced articulation of consonants -variations in the degree of syllable stress

Question 47

Explain assimilation

Answer 47

Influence of one sound upon another, changing their place of articulation to make the sound more alike or identical.

Question 47

Explain Elision.

Answer 47

Omission of sounds in connected speech. -syllabic consonant. -avoidance of complex consonants clusters -loss of final v in "of" b4 consonants.