1. What is the difference between vowels and consonants?

Give examples of a
consonant and a vowel.
- Vowel: not block the flow of air Ex: æ, ɪ, ɛ 
- Consonant: block the flow of air Ex: p, b, t
2. What are the 4 phases in the production of plosives? Briefly describe each phase.
- first, Closing: articulator move to obstruct the airflow
- second, Compression: Air is blocked from escaping
- next, Release: Air is released, making a sound
- finally, Post-Release: articulator are further apart, the air pressure has fallen
3. What is the difference between voiced and voiceless consonants? Give examples of a
voiced consonant and its voiceless counterpart.
- voiceless = vocal folds do not vibrate; ex: [p],[t],[k]
- voiced = vocal folds vibrate, Ex: voiced: [b], [d], [g]
4. What is a phoneme? Give examples of 2 separate phonemes.
- Phonemes is a unit of sound that same environment but different meaning
o Ex: [p] and [b]
[m] and [v]
5. What is an allophone? Give examples of 2 allophones of the same phoneme.
- Allophones are different realizations of a phoneme in a language
- Allophones are units of sound that have the same meaning but in different
environments.
Example: [t] and [tʰ] are allophones of the same phoneme in English
[t] occurs everywhere else 
[tʰ] occurs at the beginning of a word
6. What are fricatives? Give examples of a voiced fricative and its voiceless
counterpart.
- fricatives are Consonants with the characteristic that, when they are produced, air
escapes through a small passage and makes a hissing sound.
Ex: The fricative sounds are voiceless is /f/: first

The fricative sounds are voiced is: ʒ/: casual

7. What are affricates? Give examples of a voiced affricate and its voiceless
counterpart.
- Begin as a plosive and end as a fricative
- These plosives and fricatives must be made with the same articulators
Ex: - a voiceless affricate consonant sound is /tʃ/: cheese
- a voiced affricate consonant sound is. /dʒ/; jar,...
8. What are the differences between nasal and oral sounds? Give examples of a nasal
and an oral sound.
- nasals: the velum is raised air escapes through the nose
- oral: the velum is lowered air escapes through the mouth
Ex: *Nasal: Ex: [m]; [n]; [ŋ]
*Oral: Ex: All the other consonants and vowels of English. [f],[v]
9. What is the nature of the syllable? Give an example.
- Syllables are usually described as consisting of a center which has little or no
obstruction to airflow and which sounds comparatively loud.
- Before and after this center, there will be greater obstruction to airflow or less loud
sound
o Ex: k æ t (CVC)
[k] = consonant (high airflow obstruction)
[æ] = vowel (no airflow obstruction)
[t] = consonant (high airflow obstruction)
10. How should you divide the word “pity” [pɪti] into syllables? Explain your reasoning.
- [pɪti] is divided as [pɪt.i]
- This is because no syllables end in a short vowel in English
- The first syllable has to have a coda [t] after the short vowel [ɪ], resulting in [pɪt]
- The second syllable [i] is a neutralized vowel, so it will not violate this rule
11. How should you divide the word “extreme” [ɪkstriːm] into syllables? Explain your
reasoning.
 [ɪkstriːm] is divided as [ɪk.striːm]
o It cannot be divided as [ɪ.kstriːm] because this division would violate the possible
English onset structure
 o It cannot be divided as [ɪkstr.iːm] because this division would violate the possible
English coda structure
o It cannot be divided as [ɪks.triːm] or [ɪkst.riːm] because these divisions would
violate the Maximal Onset Principle
12. What are the differences in phonological characteristics between strong and weak
syllables? Give examples of a strong syllable and a weak syllable.
- The possible peaks of weak syllable are neutralized vowel [ə], [i], [u]
- The possible peaks of strong syllables are short vowels, long vowels, diphthongs and
triphthongs
Ex:“friendly” Strong syllable: [frend]
Weak syllable: [li]
13. What are the 4 cases of neutralized [i]? Give an example of each case.
- Word-final position “-y”, “-ey” : happy
- Prefixes “re-“, “pre-“, “de-”, “cre-” : react
- Suffixes “-iate”, “-ious” : serious
- Words like “he”, “she”, “we”, “me”, “be”, and “the"
14. What make a syllable prominent?
- Length: A longer syllable will be perceived as more prominent
- Frequency: A syllable with a higher pitch will be perceived as more prominent
- Intensity: A louder syllable will be perceived as more prominent
- Quality: A syllable whose vowel has a different quality will be perceived as more
prominent
15. What are the 3 levels of stress? Give an example of each level.
- primary stress: the strongest type of stress: EX: əˈrʊnd
- secondary stress: weaker than primary and stronger than unstressed: fəʊtəˈgræfɪk
- Unstressed: containing [ə], [i], [u] or a syllabic consonant /ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪk/
16. What are the stress rules of English simple verbs? Give an example of each rule.
 Stress on the last syllable
o Example: [meɪn'teɪn]
 If the last syllable is weak, then stress on the next syllable on the left
o Example: ['entə]
17. What are the stress rules of English simple nouns? Give an example of each rule.
Stress on the first syllable Example: ['prɒdʌkt]
If the first syllable is weak, then stress on the next syllable on the right Ex: [bə'luːn]
18. What are the 3 effects that suffixes can have on word stress? Give an example of
each effect.
- Suffixes that carry primary stress : refugee: /ˌrefjuˈdʒiː/
- Suffixes that do not affect stress placement : comfortable: /ˈkʌmfətəbl/
- Suffixes that influence stress in the stem : robotic: /rəʊˈbɒtɪk/
19. What is the stress rule of English compound words which combine 2 nouns? Give an
example.
- Stress on the first noun
Example: ‘typewriter
20. What are the 2 cases of variable stress? Give an example of each case.
- As a result of the stress on other words occurting next to the word
Ex: bad-tempered: a bad-tempered teacher: / ˌbæd tempəd ˈtiːtʃər/
- Speakers disagree on the placement of stress in some words
Ex: Example: [aɪs'kriːm] (UK) vs. ['aɪskriːm] (US)
21. What are the stress rules of English word-class pairs? Give an example of each word
class.
- Noun: Stress 1st syllable Example: 'record (N)
- Verb: Stress last syllable re'cord (V),
22. What are the 3 types of assimilation? Give an example of each type.
- Voicing assimilation : the voicing of a sound becomes more similar to that its
surrounding sound.
kæt => t: voiceless => kæts
dɒg => g: voiced = > dɒgz
- Manner assimilation: the manner of articulator of a sound becomes more similar to that
of its surrounding sound. Ex: Let me => lemmi
- Place assimilation: the place of articulator of a sound more similar to that of its
surrounding sound. EX: Impossible, irregular
23. What is the difference between elision and linking? Give examples of an elision and
a linking.
1- Elision: Sound deletion Ex: veʤətəbəl -> veʤtəbl
2- Linking: Sound addition Ex: four [fɔː] + eggs [egz] -> four eggs [fɔːregz]

24. What are the 5 tones of English? Give an example of each tone.
- 5 tones of English:
• Level tone: -yes
• Rising tone: /yes
• Falling tone: \yes
• Rise-fall tone: ^yes
• Fall-rise tone: vyes
25. What is the structure of the tone unit “it was \yesterday”?
“(Pre-head )it was (Tonict Syllable)\yes(T)terday”?
26. What are the 2 attitudinal functions of the falling tone? Give an example of each
function.
Ex: Falling tone: (1) Express certainty: I'm absolutely \certain.
(2) Mark finality: That is the end of the \news.
27. What are the 2 attitudinal functions of the rising tone? Give an example of each
function.
Ex: Rising tone: (1) Ask yes-no questions: Would you like a cup of /tea?
(2) Invite continuity: A: You start off on the ring road... B: /Yes
28. What are the 2 attitudinal functions of the fall-rise tone? Give an example of each
function.
Ex: Fall-rise tone: (1) Signal doubt: A: It's not really an expensive book, is it? B: vNo
(2) Request: Can I vbuy it?
29. What are the 2 attitudinal functions of the rise-fall tone? Give an example of each
function.
Ex: Rise-fall tone: (1) Convey surprisal: You were ^first.
(2) Show approval: A: Isn't the view lovely! B: ^Yes
30. What are the 2 accentual functions of intonation? Give an example of each function.
Intonation works to focus attention on a particular lexical item or syllable
1. Emphasis:
Normal placement of tone: I ,want to ,know ,where he’s \travelling to
Emphasis: I ,want to ,know ,where he’s ,travelling \to
I have \plans to leave (There are some plans which I have to leave)
I have plans to \leave (I am planning to leave)
2. Contrast:
Normal placement of tone: She was 'wearing a 'red \dress
Contrast: She 'wasn’t 'wearing a vgreen dress
She was ,wearing a \red dress
31. What are the 2 grammatical functions of intonation? Give an example of each
function.
1. Disambiguate sentences that have multiple meanings
1. Those who sold quickly made a profit (ambiguous sentence):
1. A profit was made by those who sold quickly.
2. A profit was quickly made by those who sold.
b. The difference caused by the placement of the tone-unit boundary is seen to be
equivalent to giving two different meanings of the sentence:
1. 'Those who 'sold vquickly | 'made a \profit.
2. 'Those who vsold I 'quickly 'made a \profit.
Differentiate types of questions
 Wh-questions vs. yes-no questions:
o Wh-questions have a falling tone:
'Where did you 'park the \car?
o Yes-no questions have a rising tone:
'Did you 'park the /car?
 32. What are the 2 discourse functions of intonation? Give an example of each function.
Provide the larger contexts in which sentences occur
1. Signal the information content (if the information was already given or new)
 I’ve 'got to 'take the \dog for a walk.
(walk is predictable - has a lower information content)
 I’ve 'got to 'take the 'dog to the \vet.
(vet is unpredictable - has a higher information content)
2. Regulate the conversational behavior
 Convey to the listener what kind of response is expected (question tags)
i. A falling tone implies the expectation for a confirmation:
They 'are 'coming on \Tuesday I \aren't they?
ii. A rising tone indicates a request for information:
They 'are 'coming on \Tuesday I /aren't they?