Phonetics & Phonology Flashcards
What is a phoneme?
The smallest unit in a language that distinguishes meaning.
What is a minimal pair?
Words that differ in just ONE SOUND in SAME POSITION
Are the following words minimal pairs?
A) «sale» and «sail»
B) «dough» and «do»
A) no (it’s a homophone)
B) yes
What is the place of articulation for /d/
Alveolar
What is the manner of articulation for /v/?
Fricative
What are the distinctive features for consonants?
Place of Articulation
Manner of Articulation
Voice (Voiced/Voiceless)
Name all voiceless consonants:
/p/. /t/. /k/. /f/. /θ/. /s/. /ʃ/. /ʧ/. /h/
Name all labiodental consonants and an example word for each consonant
/f/ (e.g. fun, face, firmament)
/v/ (e.g. vase, vain, vogue)
Name all dental consonants and an example word for each consonant
/θ/ (e.g. thin, think, thick → sharp th)
/ð/ (e.g. then, there, this → soft th)
Name all glottal consonants and an example word for each consonant
/h/ (e.g. height, hello, help)
What is the place and manner of articulation for the phonem /h/? Is it voiced or voiceless?
Glottal, fricative, voiceless
What is the place and manner of articulation for the phonem /dʒ/? Is it voiced or voiceless?
Postalveolar, affricate and voiced
Name the consonants fitting these descriptions:
Plosive, velar, voiceless
Lateral, alveolar, voiced
/k/
/l/
Name all affricate consonants and an example word for each consonant
/tʃ/ (e.g. child, chair, cheese → sharp ch sound)
/dʒ/ (e.g. bridge, judge, touch → softer ch sound)
Name all lateral consonants plus example word
/l/ (e.g. light, lie, long)
Name all palatal consonants plus example word
/j/ (e.g. yes, yellow, yard, young)
What is the difference between manner of articulation and place of articulation?
Manner describes where the airstream is obstructed and place how the airstream is modified by three vocal tract
Which three distinctive features are necessary to describe and classify English monophthongs?
Openness of mouth, Position of the tongue, Length/Duration/Quantity
Which of the following words contains an open front vowel?
A) bet
B) bat
C) but
D) bot
B)
What are the two rules for the occurrence of the allophone: clear l
Before vowel, before /j/
What are the two rules for the occurrence of the allophone: dark l
Before consonant, at the end of a word
What are allophones?
Different realisations of one phonem.
Which allophone of the phoneme /l/ can you find in the following words and why:
A) sell
B) look
C) build
D) million
A) dark l (end of word)
B) clear l (before vowel)
C) dark l (before consonant)
D) clear l (before /j/)
What is meant by phonological conditioning in the context of allophones?
Predictability of allophones → rules
What is meant by complementary distribution in the context of allophones?
Where one is, the other can’t be.
Which distinctive feature do the consonants /k/ and /ŋ/ have in common?
Both are velar.
Name the 5 long monophthongs and an example word
/iː/ seed
/ɜː/ bird
/uː/ food
/ɔː/ law
/ɒː/ father
Name the 7 short monophthongs and an example word
/ɪ/ sit
/e/ pet
/æ/ sat
/ʌ/ some
/ə/ brother
/ʊ/ foot
/ɒ/ dog
Name all approximant consonants together with their place of articulation
/w/ bilabial
/r/ postalveolar
/j/ palatal
(All of them are voiced)
Are the following words minimal pairs?
A) «sing» and «think»
B) «set» and «pet»
A) no
B) yes
(Definition) Phonetics/Phonology
The central branch of linguistics that focuses on pronunciation/ speech sounds & sound system
Please identify the distinctive features of the consonant /r/
Voiced, postalveolar, approximant
Are those minimal pairs?
A) base and phase
B) spin and spoon
A) no (because the <s> in phase is voiced, in base it is voiceless
B) yes</s>
Give the phonemic transcription of the vowel in the example word below.
car
/ɑː/
Give the phonemic transcription of the vowel in the example word below.
boy
/ɔɪ/
Which consonant is described by the following distinctive features: voiceless, labiodental, fricative
/f/
Which consonant is described by the following distinctive features: voiceless, bilabial, plosive
/p/
What is the correct allophone of [l] and rule for distribution: villian
Clear l, before vowel
Which of the following words contain(s) an open back vowel?
A) fat
B) dog
C) food
D) cheese
B
Are those minimal pairs?
A) choose - shoes
B) board - bored
A) yes, they differ in the sound /tʃ/ and /ʃ/.
B) no, these are homophones
Give the phonemic transcription of the vowel in the example word below.
back
/æ/
Please identify the distinctive features of the following consonant: /θ/
Voiceless, dental, fricative
Please identify the distinctive features of the following consonant: /dʒ/
Voiced, postalveolar, affricate
Please identify the distinctive features of the following consonant: /f/
Voiceless, fricative, labiodental
In connected speech, sounds adapt to neighboring sounds in terms of their articulatory features. This happens for example in the word handbag. In this case, we refer to it as…
Assimilation
Is “wise - rice” a minimal pair?
These words differ in two sounds, /w/ and /r/, /z/ and /s/. Therefore they do not qualify as a minimal pair. The <s> in wise is voiced and thus pronounced as /z/.</s>
Give the phonemic transcription of the vowel in the example word below.
time
The correct answer is: /aɪ/
Name all characteristics for vowels
they are articulated without any obstruction of the airstream in the vocal tract, they are harmonic vibrations; they do not contain a noise component, they can be the centre of a syllable
Give the phonemic transcription of the vowel in the example word below.
run
The correct answer is: /ʌ/
Which consonants are described by the following distinctive features:
voiced
velar
nasal
/ŋ/ (like in king)
Which consonants are described by the following distinctive features:
voiceless
alveolar
fricative
/s/
Which consonants are described by the following distinctive features:
voiced
alveolar
lateral
/l/
Which consonants are described by the following distinctive features:
voiceless
postalveolar
fricative
/ʃ/
Give the phonemic transcription of the vowel in the example word below.
foot
/ʊ/
Is “hum - thumb” a minimal pair?
Yes, The words differ in one phoneme: /h/ and /θ/. The letter <b> at the end of thumb is silent.</b>
Please identify the distinctive features of the following consonant: /tʃ/
Voicing:
voiceless
Place of articulation:
postalveolar
Manner of articulation:
affricate
Which of the following are closing diphthongs
A) /aɪ/
B) /əʊ/
C) /aʊ/
D) /eɪ/
E) /ʊə/
F) /ɔɪ/
G) /eə/
I) /ɪə/
A, B, C, D, F
Please identify the distinctive features of the following consonant: /k/
Voicing:
voiceless
Place of articulation:
velar
Manner of articulation:
plosive
