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UNIVERSITATEA 'TRANSILVANIA' BRASOV

FACULTATEA DE LITERE

EXAM IN PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

ROMANA-ENGLEZA, grupa B
I. Mark the correct variant (there is only one correct answer for each of the following):

1. Phonetics deals with the description and classification of

a. sounds; b. speech sounds; c. phonemes.

2. Which of the following is a minimal pair?

a. here - hair; b. hear - hill; c. here – pear.

3. Auditory phonetics studies:

a. the production of speech sounds;
b. the perception of speech sounds by the receiver;
c. the physical (acoustic) properties of sounds.

4. Vowels are classified according to

a. place of articulation, manner of articulation, shapes assumed by lips;
b. height of the tongue, part of the tongue which is raised, length, shapes assumed by the lips;
c. voicing, degree of muscular tension, manner of articulation.

5. The English back vowels are:

a. [i, a, æ, o];
b. [æ, ə, ʌ];
c. [u, i, a:, ə];
d. [a:, o, o:, u, u:]

6. In English, long vowels can appear in a word

a. in any position;
b. initial position only;
c. in middle and final position;
d. mainly in initial and middle position;

7. The most frequent vowel in English is

a. [ə]; b. [i]; c. [æ]

8. Long vowels become much shorter if they are followed

a. by another vowel or by a diphthong;
b. by a voiced consonant;
c. by a voiceless consonant.

9. The vowels that can be omitted without affecting the meaning of the words are:
a. [i] and [ə]; b. [ə] and [u]; c. [u] and [i]

10. The vowel [u] can occur in English

a. in initial position only; b. mainly in mid position. c. in final position.

11. The English diphthongs are also known as

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a. twin vowels; b. twin semi-vowels; c. twin consonants.

12. The diphthong [au] is described as

a. closing, narrow;
b. closing, wide;
c. opening, narrow.

13. In rapid speech diphthongs

a. may lose the glide;
b. may lose the nucleus;
c. are omitted altogether.

14. Consonants are classified into FORTIS and LENIS according to

a. the place of articulation;
b. the frequency of vibration of the vocal cords;
c. the degree of muscular tension;

15. In words like psychiatry, psalm, psychoanalysis

a. the letter ‘s’ is not pronounced;
b. the letter ‘p’ is not pronounced;
c. both ‘p’ and ‘s’ remain silent.

16. In grandpa is ill we have an example of

a. intrusive 'r'; b. linking 'r'; c. flapped 'r'.

17. The sound [h] can appear in English

a. in all three positions;
b. in initial and mid position;
c. in final position.

18. The sound [ŋ] can occur

a. in initial position;
b; in initial and final position;
c; in middle and final position.

19. The syllabic consonants are

a. [m, n, n, l, r]; b. [b, d, g, l, r]; c. [l, r, w, j]

20. The suprasegmental phonemes are:

a. juncture, word-stress, intonation;
b. rhythm, elision, assimilation;
c. the syllable, intonation, rhythm.

21. Between the first and the second sound in the words ashore, alive, about, above there is:
a. no juncture;
b. an open juncture;
c. a close juncture.

22. In the string in case you [iŋkeiʃju:] we have:

a. progressive assimilation;
b. two occurrences of regressive assimilation;
c. reciprocal assimilation
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d. assimilation and elision.

e. elision

23. In the word gone past [gompa:st] we have

a. both elision and assimilation;
b. only assimilation;
c. only elision.

24. Are that’s pie and that spy a minimal pair?

a. yes; b. no

25. Which feature gives the above-mentioned utterances the status of a minimal pair?
a. assimilation; b. juncture; c. elision.

26. In the final segment (coda) of the English syllable we can have
a. maximum 1 consonant;
b. maximum 2 consonants;
c. maximum 3 consonants;
d. maximum 4 consonants.

27. The most important constituent element of the syllable is

a. the nucleus;
b. the onset;
c. the coda.

28. The post-initial consonants are:

a. [l, r, w, j]; b. [l, r, m, n]; c. [s, z, t, d, θ].

29. Which of the following consonant combinations can occur in the coda of the English syllable?
a. [lpts]; b. [ftzl]; c. [nrlz]

30. In simple two-syllable adjectives the stress falls

a. always on the first syllable
b. always on the second syllable;
c. either on the first or on the second syllable.

31. When prefixes such as OVER-, MIS-, UNDER- preserve their meanings in words such as
overestimate, reconstruct, underdeveloped, they receive
a. primary stress; b. secondary stress; c. zero stress.

32. The correct accentual pattern of the structure a French teacher meaning ‘a teacher who teaches
French’ is
a. a ‘French teacher; b. a ,French ‘teacher; c. a French ‘teacher.

33. The accentual pattern of the adjective minute is

a. ‘mi,nute b. 'minute; c. mi'nute.

34. The word refuse can have:

a. 3 accentual patterns; b. 2 accentual patterns; c. 1 accentual pattern.

35. Suffixes like, -ee, -ese, -eer

a. shift the stress in the root;
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b. receive the stress themselves;

c. do not affect the accent in the root they are attached to.

36. The boundaries between intonational phrases/tone units may be indicated by:
a. internal factors; b. external factors; c. both by internal and external factors.

37. In an intonational phrase

a. the nuclear syllable, the pre-head, the head and the tail are all obligatory;
b. the nuclear syllable and the tail are obligatory, the head and the pre-head are optional;
c. the nuclear syllable is absolutely necessary, the pre-head, the head and the tail are optional.

38. Questions can be uttered

a. only with falling intonation;
b. only with rising intonation;
c. either with rising or with falling intonation, depending on the type of question.

39. In the words dance, ask, can’t, task, American speakers of English will employ the vowel:
a. /a:/;
b. /æ/;
c. /ʌ/.

40. Intonation is considered a phoneme because:

a. it conveys our feelings towards the interlocutor;
b. it acts upon segments;
c. it changes the meaning of our utterances.

(40 items x 1.5 points each = 60 points)

II. Identify the sounds whose descriptions are given below; write the symbol of the sounds next to
their description.
a. central, almost half-open, short, lax vowel;
b. voiced, velar, lenis nasal;
c. narrow, opening, falling diphthong, whose nucleus is [i];
d. alveolar-palatal, voiceless, fortis affricate;
e. voiced, lenis, interdental fricative.

(5 items x 2 points each = 10 points)

III. Identify the constituents of the following intonational phrase:

There is no need to be upset about it.

Pre-head =
Head =
Nuclear syllable =
Tail =

(10 points)

IV. Mention some instruments professor Higgins used to help Eliza improve her pronunciation.
(10 points)
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TOTAL: subject I: 60 points

subject II : 10 points
subject III: 10 points
subject IV: 10 points
bonus: 10 points
100 points

Good luck!