PDG TEFL Assignment 1

Phonology
5658

Submitted by:

Muhammad Ibrahim
CE591408

Submitted to:

Munim Iqbal Rana

Allama Iqbal Open University

Q.1 Explain the following terms with your own examples:

a. Stress

b. Syllable

c. Phoneme

d. Semi-vowel

e. Pitch

Ans:

a. Stress:

When intensity given to a syllable (sound) of speech by special effort in utterance,

resulting in relative loudness. It is also called lexical stress or word stress. This emphasis

in pronunciation may be merely phonetic. Means, noticeable to the listener, but not

meaningful; or it may serve to distinguish meanings. For example, stress differentiates

the noun from the verb in the word “permit.”

Stress can help distinguish the meanings of two words or phrases that otherwise

appear to be the same. For example, in the phrase "every white house," the words white

and house receive roughly equal stress; however, when we refer to the official home of

the American president, "the White House," the word White is usually stressed more

heavily than House.

 Thus, stress is used to make words more understandable, especially apparent in the

pronunciation of individual words and their parts.

b. Syllable:

The word syllable comes from the Greek, "combine." A unit of spoken language

consists of a single uninterrupted sound. A syllable is one unit of sound in English. Which

means, syllables can have more than one letter; however, a syllable cannot have more

than one sound.

Syllables join consonants and vowels to form words. It is typically made up of a syllable

nucleus (most often a vowel) with optional initial and final margins (typically,

consonants). Syllables are often considered the phonological "building blocks" of words.

They can influence the rhythm of a language, its prosody, its poetic meter and its stress

patterns. Speech can usually be divided up into a whole number of syllables: for

example, the word ignite is made of two syllables: ig and nite.

c. Phoneme:

Any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish

one word from another, for example p, b, d, and t in the English words pad, pat, bad,

and bat.

When two words differ in meaning through the contrast of a single phoneme form a

minimal pair, as in examples of /sɪn/ (sin) and /sɪŋ/ (sing) is called phoneme.
d. Semi-vowel:

A speech sound (such as \y\, \w\, or \r\) that has the articulation of a vowel but that is

shorter in duration and is treated as a consonant in syllabication. Examples of

semivowels in English are the consonants y and w, in yes and west, respectively.

In English alphabet, there are five (5) Vowels- a, e, i, o and u. And there are two (2)

more letters- y and w, which are called Semi-Vowels. In the word "cry", y is considered

as Semi-vowel.

Thus, examples of semivowels in English are the consonants y and w, in yes and west,

respectively. Written /j w/ in IPA, y and w are near to the vowels ee and oo in seen and

moon, written /iː uː/ in IPA.

e. Pitch:

Highness or lowness of a tone as perceived by the ear, which depends on the number

of vibrations per second produced by the vocal cords. Pitch is the main acoustic

correlate of tone and intonation through which we can metaphorically know a visual

waveform of “loudness.”

It is worth noting that pitch refers to the highness and lowness of tone or voice, and

intonation is how pitch varies in spoken language. These terms are often used

interchangeably as they can both be used for music and voice, and both terms discuss

the highness and lowness of voice.

Q.2 Divide each of the following groups of symbols into two sets of three, each

of which has something in common phonetically. The first one is done for

you.

Symbols Set 1 Set 2

Example: pmtnkŋ p t k (oral plosives) mn ŋ

Ans: Symbols Set 1 Set 2

bmwthe b m w (bilabials) e t h (dentals)

ʒʃjkgŋ ʒ ʃ j (palatals) k g ŋ (velars)

lsdwrj l s d (alveolar) w r j (approximant)

pbtθʒð p b t (stops) θ ʒ ð (fricatives)

Q.3 Write down the distinctive features of the final vowel sound in each of the

following words?

Beauty, Straight, Loneliness, Minimize, Seduce

Ans.

Beauty:

It's a three syllable word with stress on the first syllable. DA-da-da, beautiful. As this is a six

letter word “Beauty” with three vowels (e a u) and three consonants (b t y). The phonetic

spelling of the word “beauty: would be: /byOO-tee/. Its phonetic transcription of British English

is: [ˈbjuːti], and American English IPA is: [ˈbjutɪ]. Total number of vowel sounds are three (3): a

long U (uː), and two schwa sounds : byoo- tih-fuhl. Though the last word 'y' is a consonant, but

it acts more like a vowel.

Straight:

It’s one syllable word. There are eight letters in the word “straight” with six consonant (s t r g h

t) and two vowels (a i). The phonetic spelling of straight is: /strAYt/. It’s IPA would be [ˈstreɪt].

Diphthong sound (two vowel sounds) /eɪ/ is a key vowel feature in the word “straight.”

Loneliness:

The phonetic spelling of the word “loneliness” is lown·lee·nuhs. So it’s modern IPA: lə́wnlɪjnəs

and traditional IPA: ˈləʊnliːnəs which makes it 3 syllables: "LOHN" + "lee" + "nuhs." Diphthong
sound: əʊ can be easily observed in the first syllable of the word: loneliness, long vowel /i:/ is

followed in the second syllable, and ends with minuscule ə (also called schwa) in the last

syllable is used to represent the mid central vowel or a schwa.

Minimize:

Phonetic spelling of the word “minimize” is MIH-nuh-mize which makes it three syllable word.

Its modern IPA is: mɪ́nəmɑjz and traditional IPA: ˈmɪnəmaɪz. In first syllable of the word straight

the ɪ sound which is known as a Vowel sound and it's technical name is the Near-close near-

front unrounded vowel is used. Minuscule ə (also called schwa) in the second syllable is used to

represent the mid central vowel or a schwa, and ends with aɪ Diphthong (/aɪ/ Phoneme) in the

last syllable.

Seduce:

Phonetic spelling of the word “seduce” is suh·doos, and it makes it two syllable word. It’s

modern IPA is: sɪdjʉ́ ws, and it’s traditional IPA is: sɪˈdjuːs. In first syllable of the word seduce,

the ɪ vowel sound (Near-close near-front unrounded vowel) is used. Vowel sound: uː is used

whose technical name is the ‘Close Back Rounded Vowel’ in the second syllable of the word

seduce.
Q.4 Transcribe and write down the number of phonemes in each of the

following words: min-e-mai-za-shun mɪ-nɪ-m-aɪˈz-eɪ-ʃ-ən

Judge, Shrine, Minimization (8), Acute (4), College (5)

Ans: How many sounds you hear in a word determines the number of phonemes

(speech sound) in it. For example, the word “judge” has 3 distinct sounds (j-u-j). We can

identify phonemes in Elkonin Box.

Judge:

Phonetic spelling of the word “judge” is: / JUJ / which makes it one syllable word. The number
of phonemes used in this word are three (3): ʤʌʤ.

In Received Pronunciation and in General American, the IPA phonetic symbol /dʒ/ corresponds
to the initial consonant sound in words like "job", and "jet" and the final one in "page" and
"change".

/dʒ/ is a voiced consonant; its unvoiced counterpart is IPA phoneme /tʃ/. Also known as “voiced
post-alveolar affricate or voiced domed postalveolar sibilant affricate.” And the word “judge”
begins and ends with /dʒ/.

/dʒ/ is an affricate; its fricative counterpart is IPA phoneme /ʒ/.

The /ʌ/ vowel is a mid-central sound which can be observed in the middle of the word “judge”.
It is technically known as “open-mid back unrounded vowel or low-mid back unrounded
vowel.” This means it is made with the tongue mostly relaxed, and at the center of the mouth
(not too far forward or back). Your tongue should be at mid-height in the mouth, and your lips
should be partially open. Vibrate your vocal cords and push air from your mouth.
Shrine:

Its phonetic spelling is: "SHRYN" which makes it one syllable word. The word “shrine” is a four
(4) phoneme word, and its IPA is /ʃraɪn/.

Minimization:

Phonetic spelling of the word “minimization” is "MIN" + "i" + "my" + "ZAY" + "shuhn" and
having five syllables. It has eight (8) phonemes, and its phonetic transcription is
/mɪnɪmaɪˈzeɪʃən/.

Acute:

The phonetic spelling of the word “acute” is "uh" + "KYOOT" which makes it two syllable word.
It has four (4) phonemes, and its IPA would be /əˈkjuːt/.

College:

Phonetic spelling of the word “college” is "KOL" + "ij" which makes it two syllable word. It has
five (5) phonemes, and its IPA is /ˈkɒlɪʤ/.
Q.5 Transcribe and write down the CV templates for the following words

showing their syllabic boundaries:

Organization Describe Phonetics Stressfully Friendliness

Ans:

Word CV templates Syllabic boundaries

Organization CV + CVC + V + CV + CVVC or-gan-i-za-tion

Describe CV + CCCVCV de-scribe

Phonetics CCV + CVC + VCC pho-net-ics

Stressfully CCCVCC + CVC + CV stress-ful-ly

Friendliness CCVVCC + CV + CVCC friend-li-ness

Before we transcribe and write the CV template for the following words to determine their
syllabic boundaries, we must know the following:

What is a syllable pattern CV?

If a syllable ends with a consonant, it is called a closed syllable. ... If a syllable ends with a vowel,
it is called an open syllable. Patterns of syllables can be shown with C and V (C for 'consonant',
V for 'vowel'). Closed syllables are often shown as CVC (such as got), and open syllables as CV
(such as go).

What is a syllable template?

Every language manifests a particular way of combining its sounds to form meaningful words or
parts of words, called syllables. ... In English, a syllable can consist of a vowel preceded by one
consonant (CV) as in pie/pai/, or by two consonants (CCV) as in try/trai/, or by three consonants
(CCCV) as in spry/sprai/.

What are syllable boundaries?

A combination or set of one or more units of sound in a language that must consist of a
sonorous element (a sonant or vowel) and may or may not contain less sonorous elements
(consonants or semivowels) flanking it on either or both sides: for example ``paper'' has two
syllables.
Q.6 Draw a table chart for English consonants showing their manners of

Articulation (MoA), Place of Articulation (PoA) and Voicing features.

Ans:

Manners of Articulation, Place of Articulation and Voicing features:

Sounds Glottis Place Manner “If we define a vowel as a sound resulting

p–b voiceless Bilabial Plosive from the unrestricted passage of the air
t–d – voiced Tip alveolar stream via mouth or nasal cavity with
k–g Back velar audible friction, we define consonants as
the opposite”
t‰ – voiceless Blade/front Affricates
d½ – voiced Palato- We can show the place and manner of
alveolar consonant articulation through the chart.
f–v Labio-dental Fricatives According to Place of Articulation,
Š–† Tip-dental Consonants are divided as follows:
s–z Blade 1. Bilabial: where lips come together as in /p-
alveolar
S–3 Blade/Front
Palato-
Alveolar
-h Glottal
l Voiced Alveolar Lateral
approximant
m Voiced Bilabial Nasal
n Alveolar
÷ Velar
r Voiced Blade-post Approximant
alveolar
w Labio-velar
j Front-Palatal
Q.7 What features are important while describing vowel sounds in English?
Describe English pure vowels while using these features.
Ans:
Pure vowel describing important features of vowel sounds in English:
The word ‘vowel’ comes from the Latin word vocalis, meaning “vocal” (i.e. relating to the
voice). In English, the word vowel is commonly used to mean both vowel sounds and the
written symbols.
The term ‘vowel’ defined by Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus, Third
Edition, which is published by Cambridge University Press:
“A speech sound produced by humans when the breath flows out through the mouth without
being blocked by the teeth, tongue, or lips:”

Vowel sounds:
Vowels are open sounds because they involve no obstruction to the flow of air from the lungs
as it passes up through the windpipe (trachea), through the voice box (larynx) and out of the
mouth. Other than positioning the tongue, jaws and lips there is nothing to obstruct the
airflow. All vowels are produced with the vocal folds vibrating and are said to be voiced sounds.

Vowels are commonly described according to the following characteristics:

The portion of the tongue that is involved in the articulation: front, central or back.
The tongue's position relative to the palate: high, mid or low.
The shape of the lips: rounded or unrounded (spread).
The length or duration of vocalization: long or short.
A four-sided vowel chart is often used to demonstrate the front–back and high–low positions.
The chart roughly represents the tongue position in the oral cavity.
 Vowel sounds are an especially tricky part of English pronunciation because of how flexible
and malleable they can be. While consonant sounds are fairly uniform throughout various
dialects, vowel sounds can have slight variations in pronunciation from one region to another.
Another aspect of vowel sounds that can be confusing is when multiple vowel sounds blend
together within a single syllable. Because there are no clear divisions between the sounds like
there are for consonants, these blended vowel sounds can be difficult to pronounce correctly.

Pure Vowel:

Pure Vowel is also called Monophthongs as they have single sound in their pronunciation. There
is no shift or glide from one sound to another sound while we pronounce these vowels. The
position of our tongue and mouth remains the same when we pronounce these vowel sounds.

The most basic vowel sound is known as a monophthong (pronounced /ˈmɑnəfˌθɑŋ/). As the
prefix “mono-” suggests, a monophthong is a single sound (to which the root “-phthong” refers)
within a single syllable. Most of these are short vowels, though there are some long vowel
monophthongs as well.

Short vowel monophthongs:

 Most of the monophthongs in English are commonly known as “short vowels,” which are
usually produced when a vowel is followed by one or more consonants in a syllable.

Most vowel letters have a specific short-vowel sound, though U can create two types of short-
vowel sounds. The semi-vowel Y can also create a short vowel sound, but it is the same as the
letter I.

Let’s look at some examples of each type of short vowel:

Vowel Letter IPA Symbol Example Words

apple
(/ˈæpəl/)
map
(/mæp/)
Aa /æ/
track
(/træk/)
man
(/mæn/)
set
(/sɛt/)
jet
(/dʒɛ/)
Ee /ɛ/
bend
(/bɛnd/)
met
(/mɛt/)
tip
(/tɪp/)
strip
(/strɪp/)
Ii /ɪ/
imply
(/ɪmˈplaɪ/)
fin
(/fɪn/)
top
(/tɑp/)
Oo /ɑ/ hot
(/hɑt/)
offer
 (/ˈɑfər/)
pollen
(/ˈpɑlən/)
cut
(/kʌt/)
hug
(/hʌg/)
Uu /ʌ/
mutt
(/mʌt/)
strut
(/strʌt/)
put
(/pʊt/)
push
(/pʊʃ/)
Uu /ʊ/
full
(/fʊl/)
sugar
(/ʃʊgər/)
myth
(/mɪθ/)
system
(/ˈsɪstəm/)
Yy /ɪ/
rhythm
(/ˈrɪðəm/)
crypt
(/krɪpt/)

Long vowel monophthongs:

Most of the traditional “long vowels” (vowel sounds that approximate the name of their
corresponding vowel letters) are diphthongs, so we’ll look at those further on. One traditional
long vowel that is a monophthong, though, is “long E,” represented in IPA by /i/. This sound is
usually produced by the letter E, but it can also be formed by the letter Y, as well as a number
of vowel digraphs. For example:

 me (/it/)

 concrete (/ˈkɑnkrit/)
  happy (/ˈhæpi/)

 friendly (/ˈfrɛndli/)

 feel (/fil/)

 eat (/it/)

 categories (/ˈkætɪˌgɔriz/)

There are also a few other long vowels besides those that sound like the names of vowel
letters. Most of these occur in various vowel digraphs, though some can be produced by single
letters, while others occur when a vowel is combined with the consonant R.

/u/

 exclude (/ɪkˈsklud/)

 prove (/pruv/)

 true (/tru/)

 cruise (/kruz/)

 chew (/ʧu/)

 loot (/lut/)

 through (/θru/)

/ɔ/

 water (/ˈwɔtər/)
  across (/əˈkrɔs/)

 thought (/θɔt/)

 dawn (/dɔn/)

 author (/ˈɔθər/)

/ɜ/

 nerve (/nɜrv/)

 stir (/stɜr/)

 work (/wɜrk/)

 curve (/kɜrv/)

 search (/sɜrʧ/)

 journey (/ˈʤɜrni/)

Diphthongs:

A diphthong (pronounced /ˈdɪfθɔŋ/) is a single-syllable vowel sound in which the beginning of

the sound glides to another, slightly different vowel sound. For this reason, diphthongs are
often referred to as gliding vowels.

There are eight vowel sounds in American English that are generally agreed upon as being
diphthongs. Four of these are the “traditional” long vowels (vowel sounds that are pronounced
the same way as the names of the letters), but there are also a few others that occur with
certain vowel digraphs or in combination with the letter R.
We’ll briefly go over the different diphthongs here, but you can continue on to the full section
on Diphthongs to learn more.

Traditional long vowels:

With the exception of long E (/i/), all of the traditional long vowel sounds are diphthongs. These
most predictably occur when the vowel letter is followed by a single consonant and a silent “e”:

Vowel Letter Vowel Sound (IPA Symbol) How to pronounce it Example word

tape
A /eɪ/ eh-ee
(/teɪp/)
ice
I /aɪ/ ah-ee
(/aɪs/)
rope
O /oʊ/ oh-oo
(/roʊp/)
cube
U /ju/ ee-oo
(/kjub/)

Other diphthongs:

/ɔɪ/

This diphthong is pronounced “au-ee,” and it occurs in in the vowel digraphs OY and OI. For
example:

 boy (/bɔɪ/)

 annoy (/əˈnɔɪ/)

 royal (/ˈrɔɪəl/)

 employed (/ɪmˈplɔɪd/)

 coin (/kɔɪn/)

 foil (/fɔɪl/)
  choice (/ʧɔɪs/)

 noise (/nɔɪz/)

/aʊ/

 This diphthong is pronounced “ah-oo,” and it occurs with the digraphs OU and OW. For
example: found (/faʊnd/)

 pout (/paʊt/)

 stout (/staʊt/)

 mouth (/maʊθ/)

 town (/taʊn/)

 crowd (/kraʊd/)

 chowder (/ˈʧaʊdər/)

 shower (/ˈʃaʊər/)

/ɪə/

Depending on dialect, the schwa (/ə/) that forms the second part of this diphthong is often not
pronounced. When this diphthong is articulated fully, it is pronounced “ih-uh,” and it usually
occurs deer (/dɪər/) with the digraphs EE, EA, and IE when they are followed by an R. For
example:

 deer (/dɪər/)

 sheer (/ʃɪər/)
  steer (/stɪər/)

 dear (/dɪər/)

 hear (/hɪər/)

 appear (/əpˈɪər/)

 pier (/pɪər/)

 fierce (/fɪərs/)

 frontier (/frənˈtɪər/)

ɛə/

Like /ɪə/, the schwa of /ɛə/ is often left out. When it is articulated fully, /ɛə/ is pronounced “eh-
uh,” and it usually occurs with the letter combinations ARE, AIR, and occasionally EAR. For
example:

 flare (/flɛər/)

 care (/kɛər/)

 stare (/stɛər/)

 stairs (/stɛərz/)

 dairy (/dɛəri/)

 repair (/rəˈpɛər/)

 wear (/wɛər/)

 bear (/bɛər/)

 pear (/pɛər/)
Triphthongs:

Very rarely, a single syllable may contain three vowel sounds that quickly glide together; this
compound vowel sound is known as a triphthong (pronounced /ˈtrɪf θɔŋ/).

There are three triphthongs that are generally agreed upon in American English: /aʊə/ (“ah-oo-
uh”), /aɪə/ (“ah-ih-uh”), and /jʊə/ (“ee-oo-uh”). We’ll briefly look at each here, but you can find
out more about them in the full section on Triphthongs.

/aʊə/

This triphthong is pronounced “ah-oo-uh,” and it occurs when the digraph OU is followed by
an R. For example:

 our (/aʊər/)

 hour (/aʊər/; H is silent)

 flour (/flaʊər/)

 sour (/saʊər/)

/aɪə/

This triphthong is pronounced “ah-ih-uh,” and it occurs with the letter combination IRE. For
example:

 fire (/faɪər/)

 dire (/daɪər/)

 inspire (/ɪnˈspaɪər/)

 Ireland (/ˈaɪərlənd/)
/jʊə/

This triphthong is pronounced “ee-oo-uh,” and it sometimes occurs when the

combination UR comes after a hard consonant and is followed by an E, Y, or I. For example:

 cure (/kjʊər/)

 pure (/pjʊər/)

 fury (/ˈfjʊəri/)

 curious (/ˈkjʊər.iəs/)
Q.8 What is emphatic stress? Elaborate emphatic stress by giving examples.

Ans:

Emphatic Stress:

Emphatic stress is when you say a certain word slower or in a more pronounced way to express
that it is the most important part of a sentence.

Example sentence: I ran with my dog. Who did you run with?—I ran with my dog. What did you

do with your dog?—I ran with my dog.

If you decide to emphasize something, you can change the stress from the principal noun to
another content word such as an adjective (big, difficult, etc.), intensifier (very, extremely, etc.)
This emphasis calls attention to the extraordinary nature of what you want to emphasize.

For example:

 That was a difficult test. - Standard statement

 That was a difficult test. - Emphasizes how difficult the test was

Emphatic stress may be used in a sentence to compare, connect, or clarify things. Usually
emphatic stress singles out the word that the speaker considers the most important, and in this
case even a function word may become stressed.

Emphatic stress is the placement of articulatory prominence or emphasis on a word in a

sentence. In responding to questions on emphatic stress in examinations, interrogative
sentences will be provided as options. The interrogative sentence that contradicts the
emphasized word is the correct option.

See this example:

John’s watch is made of GOLD.

The emphatic stress is on the word ‘gold’

Option:

(a) Is John’s watch made of silver?

(b) Whose watch is made of gold?

(c) What is made of gold?

(d) Is John’s necklace made of gold?

Option [A] is the correct answer because the word ‘silver’ contradicts the word ‘gold’ and the
interrogative statement provides a chance to re-emphasize the word ‘gold’.

Is John’s watch made of silver? No, it is not made of silver; it’s made of GOLD.

Another example:

Last week’s football was very EXCITING.

(a) Was yesterday’s football match very exciting?

(b) Was last week’s tennis match very exciting?

(c) Was last week’s football match very dull?

(d) Was last week’s football training very exciting?

The correct option here is [c] because the interrogative statement gives a room for the speaker
to re-emphasize the word ‘exciting’ as a response to this question.

Another example:

The question may also take this format:

She WORKS at the hospital

(a) Who works at the hospital?

(b) Where does she work?

(c) Does she work at the hospital?

(d) What does she do at the hospital?

Option [D] is correct.

Another example:

The old man is a MESSENGER.

(a) Who is the messenger?

(b) Is the young man a messenger?

(c) Is the old woman a messenger?

(d) Is the old man a typist?

‘D’ is the correct option as it answers the question focusing on the emphatic word.