ISFD Nº 21 “Ricardo Rojas”

Language & Oral Expression II

Diagnostic assignment

1. Define phoneme.

2. ‘Close’, ‘Mid’, and ‘Open’ as well as ‘’Front’, ‘Centre’ and ‘Back’ are terms used to describe vowel sounds
in English. What do they refer to?

3. Complete all the blank boxes in the following table according to what you remember about place and
manner of articulation of consonant sounds:

Place of articulation 1
bilabial dental Palato- palatal velar
alveolar
plosive /p/ /b/
affricate
Manner of
articulation fricative /f/ /v/ /h/
/m/ /n/
lateral
/r/

4. Strong and weak forms

a. What type of words can take weak forms?
b. Circle the words below which cannot take a weak form:

at - in- we- his - do - on- then- can- it

c. Would it be appropriate to use weak forms for the words in bold in the following examples? Why/not?

(i) What’s it made of?

(ii) He can’t have made it.
(iii) I’ll do it but you will have to reward me.
(iv) You’ve never loved me as he has.
(v) I’ve got some friends coming.
(vi) Some people complained.

5. How are the following words pronounced?

bargain Leicester plait meringue yacht

canoe alter canary receipt clerk

6. Features of connected speech.

a) The following statements describe different features of connected speech. Which are they?
(i) A process by which a speech sound is altered to be more similar to its neighbours. __________________
(ii) This term describes the disappearance of a sound. ________________________
(iii) When two vowel sounds meet, speakers often link them in various ways. ________________________

Prácticas Discursivas de la Comunicación Oral II- Lic. Marina Amartino

b) How would the phrases below be pronounced in connected speech? Match the following examples to
the features of connected speech described above:

(i) mother and daughter (ii) we stopped for lunch (iii) hide them
c) Transcribe the following:

(i) he doesn’t know (ii) I think, therefore I am. (iii) the next day

(iv) good concert (v) ten players (vi) this judge

(vii) in case you need it (viii) thanked me (ix) has your letter come? 2

7. Sentence stress
Underline the words you would accent in the examples below

(i) I need to see you.

(ii) He’s brought the dog with him.

(iii) We bought if for Easter.

(iv) Have you been smoking in here?

I do smoke, but not in here.

(v) Could you tell me the time?

Prácticas Discursivas de la Comunicación Oral II- Lic. Marina Amartino