Phonology And Phonetics

Question 1

Phoneme

Answer 1

The smallest unit to make audible change in language

Question 2

Allophone

Answer 2

A smaller unit which we have choice to pronounce or omit

Question 3

Minimal pair

Answer 3

A pair of sounds which allows us to distinguish what is meaningful in a language

Question 4

Consonant

Answer 4

Closed mouth while saying a consonant

Question 5

Vowel

Answer 5

Open mouth when saying a vowel

Question 6

Glottis

Answer 6

• This is in the larynx (voice box)
• It is the first place we can restrict airflow (i.e. a place of articulation)
• Glottal sounds • /h/ -‘hat’
• /ʔ/ -‘bottle’ as ‘bo’l’ (ʔ is glottal stop –the sound we make when we “drop our ‘t’s”)
• Glottis also responsible for voicing

Question 7

Velum

Answer 7

• Soft palate

* Velar sounds – •/k/ -‘kit’ •/g/ -‘gig’ •/ŋ/ -‘ring’ •/x/ -‘loch’

Question 8

Alveolar ridge

Answer 8

• Alveolar sounds
• Front of tongue to ridge just behind top teeth
• /t/ -‘tide’ • /d/ -‘tide’ • /n/ -‘nice’ • /z/ -‘zero’ • /s/ -‘Sam’ • /r/ -ridge • /l/ -‘late’

Question 9

Post alveolar

Answer 9

• A little bit further back than alveolar

* /ʃ/ -‘ship’ •/ʒ/ -‘measure’

Question 10

Palate
•Palatals
•Hard palate –between post-alveolar and velar
•/j/ -yellow

Answer 10

• Palatals
• Hard palate –between post-alveolar and velar
• /j/ -yellow

Question 11

Dental
•Tongue to top front teeth
•/θ/ -‘teeth’ •/ð/ -‘teethe’

Answer 11

• Tongue to top front teeth

* /θ/ -‘teeth’ •/ð/ -‘teethe’

Question 12

Teeth and lips- Labiodental

Answer 12

• Bottom lip to top front teeth

* /f/ -‘fair’ •/v/ -‘viking’

Question 13

Lips- Bilabials

Answer 13

• Lips together

* /p/ -‘piece’ •/b/ -‘bass’ •/m/ -‘monkey’

Question 14

Voicing

Answer 14

• Open glottis –voiceless
• Nearly closed glottis vibrates –voiced
• Compare /s/ (voiceless) and /z/ (voiced)
• /s/ hissy and harsh -/z/ buzzy

Question 15

Vowels

Answer 15

3 things that define vowels:
- Front – back
- Close – open
- Rounded/unrounded
Dipthongs: two phonemes in the bracket
Vowels so far are monothongs
Vowel phoneme is produced in a single position
Dipthongs are produced moving from one sounds/position to another
/ai/ buy
/aʊ/ about
/ ɛi / bay

Question 16

SCHWA - Ə

Answer 16

• Most common vowel
• Its use is related to stress patterns of speech
• English is a stress-timed language, it is not syllable timed, and it has weak and strong forms

Weak and strong forms:
Schwa found in weak (unstressed forms) and in unstressed syllables in polysyllabic words
‘bitter’​= /bɪʈə/ , ‘about’ = əbaʊʈ
have ​​an ​​of
/​əv/ ​/​ən/ ​/əv/​weak
/​hæv/ ​/​œn/ ​/ov/​strong

Question 17

Assimilation

Answer 17

Properties of articulation influence how the preceding consonant is articulated.
Voiced alveolar plosive before a bilabial nasal becomes a voiced bilabial plosive.
Ed Miliband /ɛbmɪlɪbænd/– ‘d’ is dropped
ten cats /tɛŋkæts/

Question 18

Elision

Answer 18

Consonants deleted (elided) from clusters to make articulation easier
This often affects alveolar plosives
next day - /nɛksdɛɪ/

I asked for mashed potatoes!
/aɪa:sfəmæʃpətɛɪtəʊz/
/aɪa:s_(kt)fəmæʃ(t)_pətɛɪtəʊz/

Question 19

/r/

Answer 19

Most English English accents are non-rhotic (don’t roll our r’s)– that is, no non-prevocalic /r/
War /wɔ:/
Riot /raɪət/
Arrest /ərɛst/

Linking /r/- links two words with /r/ War and Peace=wɔːr ænd piːs

Intrusive /r/- artificial /r/ created. India and Pakistan=
ɪndɪə ænd pækɪsˌtæn

Question 20

H-dropping

Answer 20

Depends on region and class
But it is a feature of all English accents in weak forms, for example: ‘Did he see him?’ /dɪdi:si:ɪm/

Question 21

Strut vowel

Answer 21

Southern English accent: ‘put’ /pʊt/, ‘putt’ /pʌt/

Northern English accent: ‘put’ /pʊt/, ‘putt’ /pʊt/

Question 22

Eye dialect

Answer 22

´No accents directly represented in the English spelling system
´ Writers often use spelling systems to indicate non-standard or deviant accents
´ Creative use of graphology to ‘mimic’ phonology
Interpretation is based on cultural and linguistic norms and ideologies – it is never a direct phonetic representation of accent

Question 23

Onomatopoeia

Answer 23

´Lexical onomatopoeia ´‘pop’ ‘splash’ ‘moo’ ‘woof’
´Non-lexical onomatopoeia ´‘Tram kran kran kran … Krandlkrankran’
(James Joyce, Ulysses)