Phonetics and Phonology

Question 1

What does the IPA stand for?

Answer 1

International Phonetic Alphabet

Question 2

What is the subsystem of phonetics and phonology chiefly concerned with?

Answer 2

sounds

Question 3

Why is the IPA useful?

Answer 3

1. accurately record accent
2. accurately record sounds not in the recorder’s native language
3. true representation of how a language sounds / captures all known human sounds

Question 4

What is a phoneme?

Answer 4

a distinct unit of sound

Question 5

True or false? There are the same number of phonemes in a word as there are letters.

Answer 5

False - when breaking into phonemes, you need to think about the actual sounds created in the mouth

Question 6

True or false? Everyone who speaks English will pronounce words the same way.

Answer 6

False - there can be accents which are judged as more ‘prestigious’ but we all have an accent!

Question 7

manner of articulation

Answer 7

the way air travels through the vocal tract

Question 8

place of articulation

Answer 8

where in the mouth the sound is produced / how articulators interact to produce a sound

Question 9

voicing

Answer 9

whether or not the vocal cords vibrate

Question 10

voiced sound

Answer 10

the vocal cords vibrate

Question 11

voiceless sound

Answer 11

the vocal cords do not vibrate

Question 12

True or false? All English consonant sounds come in voiced pairs.

Answer 12

false - when we do not have a pair, the sound is voiced

Question 13

True or false? All English vowels are voiced.

Answer 13

True

Question 14

What are the connected speech processes?

Answer 14

as listed in the SD: assimilation, vowel reduction, elision, insertion
(taught but not in SD: substitution)

Question 15

assimilation

Answer 15

1. when sounds change due to influence from neighbouring sounds
2. e.g. handbag > hambag

Question 16

vowel reduction

Answer 16

1. when an unstressed vowel is reduced to a schwa
2. e.g. you > ya

Question 17

elision

Answer 17

1. removing a sound
2. can be a vowel, consonant or whole syllable
3. e.g. strawberry > strawbry

Question 18

insertion

Answer 18

1. adding in a sound to ease production
2. e.g. filUm

Question 19

substitution

Answer 19

1. swapping a sound for a different one
   (there are different types of this and it is not listed in the SD)

Question 20

What are the types of phonological patterning?

Answer 20

as listed in the SD: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, rhythm, rhyme

Question 21

What is patterning?

Answer 21

repetition, links

Question 22

alliteration

Answer 22

repetition of an initial consonant SOUND

Question 23

assonance

Answer 23

repetition of a vowel SOUND

Question 24

consonance

Answer 24

repetition of a consonant SOUND (anywhere in the word)

Question 25

onomatopoeia

Answer 25

using a word which imitates a sound

Question 26

True or false? Phonological patterning can only be found in spoken texts because it is about sounds.

Answer 26

False - we often read aloud (or sort of read aloud in our heads). When we do, we imagine the sounds so we can find these features in written texts.

Question 27

True or false? When looking at phonological patterning, the letters will tell you if there is a feature.

Answer 27

False - spelling in English rarely matches sound!

Question 28

The prosodic features

Answer 28

SPVIT stress, pitch, volume, intonation, tempo

Question 29

True or false? When writing about prosodic features, you must use the exact words stress, pitch, volume, tempo or intonation (even if the transcription key uses a different term).

Answer 29

True!

Question 30

True or false? When writing about prosodic features, you must use the symbol from the given transcription key.

Answer 30

True

Question 31

stress

Answer 31

1. placing emphasis on a word or sound 2. sometimes written as primary accent in texts - this means the initial sound of the word is stressed

Question 32

volume

Answer 32

how loudly or softly someone is speaking

Question 33

pitch

Answer 33

the high, medium or low sound of someone's voice waves

Question 34

tempo

Answer 34

the pace of someone's utterance

Question 35

intonation

Answer 35

1. the pattern of changes in pitch 2. often written as falling or rising intonation 3. some texts refer to questioning intonation; this is basically the same as rising intonation 4. some texts may refer to continuing intonation

Question 36

True or false? Prosodic features are always used for the same reason. For example, low pitch always signals someone is angry.

Answer 36

False - we always need to look in context!