A CHECK – UP TEST ON ENGLISH PHONETICS &

PHONOLOGY 1 – NO KEY
Time allotted: 25’

Please read the questions and tick the correct answer in your answer sheet
(Please do not write anything in this paper)

1. Which of the following phonetic transcriptions corresponds to each of the following

phonetic
description: high back rounded lax vowel?
a. [ ʊ ] b. [ æ ] c. [ i ] d. [ ɒ ]

2. Which of the following phonetic transcriptions corresponds to each of the following

phonetic description: voiceless alveolar-palatal affricate?
a. [ th ] b. [ t∫ ] c. [ d ] d. [ j ]

3. Which of the following symbols corresponds to each of the following phonetic

description: voiceless bilabial stop?
a. [ v ] b. [ g ] c. [ ð ] d. [ p ]

4. Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in place of

articulation from the other segment?
a. [ t, r, d, s ]
b. [ k, g , ŋ, j ]
c. [ p, b, w ]
d. [ t, d, n, z ]

5. Which of the following groups contains a segment differs in voicing from the other
segments?
a. [ d, g, b, m ]
b. [ m, n, ŋ, v ]
c. [ w, j , r, l ]
d. [z, d , ʃ, b ]

6. Which of the following statements is correct?

When a feature value is unpredictable by a general principle or rule, it is
a. a distinctive feature for that class of segments
b. a phonetic feature for sounds that contrast
c. a phonemic feature for that class of segment
d. a non-distinctive or non-phonemic feature for that class of segments

7. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. Alveolars are sounds made at the soft area toward the rear of the roof of the mouth
b. Alveolars are sounds made just behind the alveolar ridge
c. Alveolars are sounds made at the teeth ridge
d. Alveolars are sounds made with the tongue placed against the teeth

8. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. When two or more sounds never occur in the same phonemic context or environment
they are said to be different phonemes
b. When two or more sounds never occur in the same phonemic context or environment
they are said to be in free variation
c. When two or more sounds never occur in the same phonemic context or environment
they are said to be identical segments
d. When two or more sounds never occur in the same phonemic context or environment
they are said to be allophones of the same phoneme

9. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. The fricatives are consonants produced with a continuous airflow through the mouth
b. The fricatives are consonants produced with the complete stoppage of the air in the
mouth
which causes explosion
c. The fricatives are consonants produced with the lowering of the soft palate
d. The fricatives are non-continuant consonants.

10. Which of the following is the minimal pair?

a. [ ðeə ] [ bet ] there – bet
b. [ dæb] [ bæd ] dab – bad
c. [ bæd ] [ bet ] bad – bet
d. [ ðeə ] [ deə ] there – dare

11. Which of the following is the stress distribution for the compound word artificial as in
this context: Please give him artificial respiration?
a. [ ɑːtɪˈfɪʃəl ]
b. [ ɑː’tɪfɪʃəl ]
c. [ ɑːtɪˈfɪʃəl ]
d. [ ‘ɑːtɪfɪʃəl ]
12. Which of the following assimilation processes occurs when [ b ] in the sound sequence
[ [‘wıbsi:] becomes [ p ] in the sound sequence [ ‘wıpsi:] ?
a. voicing assimilation
b. progressive assimilation
c. regressive assimilation
d. both a and c

13. Which of the following coarticulation processes that may happen to the alveolar [ n ] in
this context: [ krænbəri ] cranberry?
a. [ n ] may be devoiced before the voiced [ b ]
b. [ b ] may become syllabic after the nasal [ n ]
c. [ n ] may be labialized before [ b ]
d. [ b ] may be nasalised after [ n ]

14. Which of the following phonetic variations that may happen to the lateral [ l ] in this
context: [ ‘æŋgl ] angle ?
a. [ l ] becomes aspirated after voiced stop [g]
b. [ l ] becomes unaspirated after velar [g]
c. [ l ] becomes devoiced after voiced stop [g]
d. [ l ] becomes syllabic after voiced stop [g]

15. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

All the aspirated voiceless stops are produced with
a. no vibration of the vocal cords
b. an extra puff of the air strongly expelled
c. the airstream from the lungs
d. the vibration of the vocal cords

16. Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic
description: short high front vowel
a. [ I ] b. [ e ] c. [ ɔ: ] d. [ æ ]

17. Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic
description: voiced interdental fricative
a. [ m ] b. [ v ] c. [ t ] d. [ ð ]

18. Which of the following statements is correct?

The number of segments in the word prudent / prʊdənt / is
a. 6 b. 7 c. 8 d. 9
19. Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in manner of articulation
from the other segments?
a. [ w, r, j ]
b. [ θ, ð, s ]
c. [ p, b, d ]
d. [ t, d, n ]

20. Which of the following statements is correct?

Palatal is the sound made
a. With the tongue between the teeth
b. with the tongue on or near the hard palate
c. just behind the alveolar ridge
d. with the upper lip and the lower teeth

21. Which of the following coarticulation processes that may happen to the alveolar [ s ] in
this context : [ ðɪs jɪə] this year?
a. [ s ] becomes voiced before palatal [ j ]
b. [ s ] is deleted before palatal [ j ]
c. [ s ] is velarised by the following [ j ]
d. [ s ] coalesces with [ j ] to make [ S ]

22. Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in place of articulation
from the other segments?
a. [ p , m , w , b ]
b. [ t , d, S n ]
c. [ k, w, ŋ, g ]
d. [ t, d, n, z, l ]

23. Which of the following statements is correct?

Regressive assimilation is a process by which
a. the change of a segment is brought by the preceding segment
b. a sound copies one or more phonetic features from the preceding sound
c. the sound becomes more like the preceding sound
d. a sound copies one or more phonetic features from the following sound

24. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

a. Minimal pairs help us establish which sounds contrast in a language
b. Minimal pairs consist of forms that are placed along the horizontal axis with respect to
their place of articulation and the vertical axis to their manner of articulation
c. Minimal pair test is a basic test for deciding which sounds are the allophones of the
phoneme
d. A minimal pair consists of two forms with distinct meanings that differ only by one
segment in the same position of each form.

25. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

a. The phonetic representation of utterances shows what the speakers know about the
pronunciation of utterances.
b. The phonemic representation of utterances shows what speakers know about the abstract
underlying phonology.
c. The phonemic representation of utterances shows the finer points of the sounds or
segments in pronunciation
d. The phonetic representation of utterances shows us the non-distinctive features of the
sounds

26. Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in manner
of articulation from the other segments?
a. [ p , b , t , d ]
b. [ t , b, k , g ]
c. [ k, t, d, g ]
d. [ m, ŋ , n, z ]

27. Which of the following is correct?

When a feature is predictable by the phonological rules, it is a
a. phonetic feature
b. phonemic feature
c. redundant feature
d. both a and c

28. Which of the following is the correct stress pattern of this word Portuguese?
a. [‘pɔːtʃəɡiːz]
b. [ˌpɔːtʃəˈɡiːz]
c. [ˌpɔːtʃəˈɡiːz]
d. [‘pɔːtʃəˈɡiːz]

29. Which of the following is the phonetic transcription of this form Bangor?
a. [ ‘bæŋə ]
b. [ ‘bæŋ∂ ]
c. [ ‘bænə ]
d. [ ‘bæŋgə ]
30. Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic
description: voiced labiodental fricative
a. [ v ] b. [ w ] c. [ ð ] d. [ f ]

31. The process by which an alveolar stop is heard intervocally (voiced) between 2 vowels,
the first of which is generally stressed, as in [‘bet i ] Betty is called
a. metathesis
b. epenthesis
c. deletion
d. flapping

32. Which of the following statements is incorrect?

a. An allophone is a predictable phonetic variant of a phoneme
b. An allophone is an unpredictable phonetic realisation of a phoneme
c. A phoneme is an abstract unit
d. An allophone is uttered in speech

33. Which of the following statement is incorrect?

Sonorants
a. do not include affricates, fricatives and liquids
b. do not include stops, affricates, and voiced fricatives
c. do not include voiced stops, fricatives, and voiceless stops
d. do not include vowels, nasals, liquids and glides

34. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. Phonology deals with the physiological and acoustic aspects of the of speech sounds.
b. Phonology aims to provide the set of features, or properties that can describe all sounds
in human language.
c. Phonology studies the ways phonemes function in language
d. Phonology provides the means for describing speech sounds.

35. Which of the following coarticulation processes may occur for the articulatory transition
from the sonorant [ ŋ ] to the nonsonorant [  ] to be eased in this context [ le ŋ θ ] ?
a. the deletion of [ ŋ ]
b. the deletion of [ θ ]
c. the metathesis of the sound sequence [ ŋθ ]
d. the epenthesis of a nonsonorant [ k ] within the sequence [ ŋθ ]

36. Which of the following is the phonetic transcription of this form peace talk?
a. [ph i:s tɔ:k]
b. [pi:s tɔ:lk]
c. [ph i:s th ɔ:lk]
d. [pi:s th ɔ:lk]

37. Which of the following phonetic variations that may happen to the voiced stop [ d ] in
this context : [ li:d ] lead ?
a. [ d ] is aspirated after the front vowel [ i:]
b. [ d ] is devoiced after the long vowel [ i:]
c. [ d ] is devoiced word finally
d. [ d ] is unaspirated in the final position of a stressed syllable

38. Which of the following phonetic transcriptions that corresponds to each of the following
phonetic description: voiced velar nasal?
a. [ m ] b. [ n ] c. [ ŋ ] d. [ r ]

39. Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic
description: long low back vowel?
a. [ ɔ:] b. [ ɑ:] c. [ i:] d. [u:]

40. Which of the following coarticulation processes that may happen to the alveolar [ d ] in
this context : [ red peint] red paint?
a. [ d ] may be devoiced before the the voiceless stop [ p ]
b. [ d ] may be aspirated before the voiceless stop [ p ]
c. [ d ] may be labialised before the bilabial [ p ]
d. [ d ] may be nasalised before the bilabial [ p ]