Phonology

Question 1

Which of the following pairs are minimal pairs:
son - ton
blood - blöd
think - sink
blame - blade
nose - knows
whale - wail
wail - wall
wall - whale

Answer 1

Minimal pairs:
son - ton
think - sink
blame - blade
wail - wall
wall - whale

NOT Minimal pairs:
blood - blöd > different languages!
nose - knows > same transcription
whale - wail > same transcription

Question 2

Define phoneme

Answer 2

abstract linguistic unit at the level of sound, serving to distinguish between linguistic forms with different meanings
> Doesn’t carry meaning, distinguishes meaning

Question 3

Define allophone

Answer 3

one of several phonetic realizations of a phoneme in the form of a phone

Question 4

Explain complementary distribution and give an example

Answer 4

set of allophones, of which each can only occur in a position where the other cannot occur

Allophones of English phonemes /p/ /t/ /k/
> [ph] [th] [kh] (peach, teach, key)
> [p] [t] [k] (speak, respect)

Question 5

Explain minimal pairs

Answer 5

linguistic forms with different meanings which are phonetically identical with the exception of one sound
> teach – reach, hand – band, sun – fun

Question 6

list the distinctive features of /p/

Answer 6

plosive, bilabial, voiceless

Question 7

list the distinctive features of /b/

Answer 7

plosive, bilabial, voiced

Question 8

list the distinctive features of /t/

Answer 8

plosive, alveolar, voiceless

Question 9

list the distinctive features of /d/

Answer 9

plosive, alveolar, voiced

Question 10

list the distinctive features of /k/

Answer 10

plosive, velar, voiceless

Question 11

list the distinctive features of /g/

Answer 11

plosive, velar, voiced

Question 12

list the distinctive features of /tʃ/

Answer 12

affricate, palato-alveolar, voiceless

Question 13

list the distinctive features of /dʒ/

Answer 13

affricate, palato-alveolar, voiced

Question 14

list the distinctive features of /f/

Answer 14

fricative, labio-dental, voiceless

Question 15

list the distinctive features of /v/

Answer 15

fricative, labio-dental, voiced

Question 16

list the distinctive features of /ð/

Answer 16

fricative, dental, voiced

Question 17

list the distinctive features of /θ/

Answer 17

fricative, dental, voiceless

Question 18

list the distinctive features of /s/

Answer 18

fricative, alveolar, voiceless

Question 19

list the distinctive features of /z/

Answer 19

fricative, alveolar, voiced

Question 20

list the distinctive features of /ʃ/

Answer 20

fricative, palato-alveolar, voiceless

Question 21

list the distinctive features of /ʒ/

Answer 21

fricative, palato-alveolar, voiced

Question 22

list the distinctive features of /h/

Answer 22

fricative, glottal, voiced

Question 23

list the distinctive features of /m/

Answer 23

nasal, bilabial, voiced

Question 24

list the distinctive features of /n/

Answer 24

nasal, alveolar, voiced

Question 25

list the distinctive features of /ŋ/

Answer 25

nasal, velar, voiced

Question 26

list the distinctive features of /l/

Answer 26

lateral (approximant), alveolar, voiced

Question 27

list the distinctive features of /r/

Answer 27

approximant, post-alveolar, voiced

Question 28

list the distinctive features of /j/

Answer 28

approximant, palatal, voiced

Question 29

list the distinctive features of /w/

Answer 29

approximant, bilabial, voiced