EXAMINATION IN ENGLISH PHONOLOGY

I. Fill in each blank with a word or a phrase . (10 points)

1. A phoneme is the smallest, [ ] unit in the sound system of a language.
2. A [ ] is a pair of words identical in every way except for one single
sound segment.
3. The allophones of a phoneme are said to be in [. ]
4. The basic characteristic of a [. ] consonant is that the air escapes
through the nose.
5. In the production of an [. ] the articulators approach each other but do
not get sufficiently close to each other to produce a complete consonant.
6. A [. ] consonant is one that forms a syllable on its own, like /n/ in the
English word eaten.
7. /r/ is called the [. ] due to the fact that in its production the tongue is
curled back with the tip raised.
8. There are four phases in the production of a plosive: [1] closing phase, [2]
[. ] phase, [3] release phase, and [4] post-release phase.
9. Stress is the degree of [. ] of a syllable.
10. Whatever follows the tonic syllable in a tone unit is called the [. ].

II. State whether the following statements are true or false. Write T for true
statements and F for false statements in the space provided. (5 points)
1. _______ An oral sound is produced with the velum raised.
2. _______ A voiceless plosive shortens the nasal preceding it.
3. _______ In a tone unit, the head may contain no stressed syllables.
4. _______ The lateral and approximants form the class of
post-initial consonants in RP.
5. _______ The distinctive feature in the pair “pan”/ “ban” is [±
voice].

III. Transcribe the following words phonetically. (5 points)

1. “preach” [ ]
2. “bump” [ ]
3. “skill” [ ]
4. “sling” [ ]
5. “gain” [ ]

IV. Transcribe the following phrases to show the phonological processes

involved. Then name the processes (15 points)
e.g. Have to leave 🡪 / hᴂftə li:v / ASSIMILATION
1
 1. In the morning ________________________________________
2. This young man ________________________________________
3. Before April ________________________________________
4. lent Bret ________________________________________
5. that sad ________________________________________

V. Give the intonation marks for the utterances in bold type based on the
attitudes given. (5 points)
e.g. How many do you need?
\ Twenty. (Final)
1. Where is Mom?
She’s in the living room. (Certain)
2. Do they like the new teacher?
Do they like her? They adore her. (Impressed/strong feelings)
3. When will you be back?
Eight perhaps. (Uncertain)
4. Which one would you like, the striped shirt or the plain one?
I’ll take the plain one. (Certain)
5. You like it, do you?
I do , but … (Limited agreement)