Words Weak forms Strong forms

A /ə/ Before C /ei/ before C

An /ən/ before V / æn/ before V
The / ðə/ before C /ði:/ stressed
/ði:/ before V
Some /səm/ /sʌm/ stressed, final
And /n/ after t, d,v, θ, ð, s, z, ʃ, / ænd/
ʒ
/ənd/, /ən/
As /əz/ /æz/
But /bət/ /bʌt/
Than /ðən/ /ðæn/

That /ðət/ relative pronoun /ðæt/ demonstrative adj

& pronoun
At /ət/ /æt/
For /fə/ before C /fɔ:/ before C
/fər/ before V
/fɔ:r/ before V
From /frəm/ unstressed /frɔm/ final, location
Of /əv/ /ɔv/
To /tə/ /tu:/ final, location
/tu:/ before V
He /hi:/ initial unstressed /hi:/ stressed
/i:/ medial unstressed
Them /ðəm/ /ðem/
Us /əs/ /ʌs/
Am /m/ after I /æm/ final
/əm/
Are /ə/ before C /a:/ before C/ final
/ər/ before V
/a:r/ before V, linking /r/
is usual
Can /kən/ /kæn/ final
Do /d/ before you /du:/
/də/
 Does /dəz/ /dʌz/
Have /həv/ initial unstressed /hæv/ final
/əv/ medial
/v/ after V
Has /həz/ initial unstressed /hæz/
/əz/ after s, z, ʃ, tʃ,
dʒ, ʒ
/s/ after voiceless
/z/ after voiced
Had /d/ after V /hæd/
/həd/ initial unstressed
/əd/ medial
Is /s/ after voiceless /iz/ full form, final
/z/ after voiced
/iz/ after s, z, ʃ, tʃ,
dʒ, ʒ

Must /məst/ mʌst/

Shall /ʃl/ after I, we /ʃæl/
Was /wəz/ /wɔz/
Were /wə/ before C /wɜ:/ before C
/wər/ before V
/wɜ:r/ before V
Will /l/ after pronouns /wil/
/əl/ after N
Would /d/ after V /wʊd/
/əd/ weak form elsewhere
Won’t /wəunt/
There /ðəz/ /ðeə/

1. What is a phoneme? How are phonemes classified? Give examples to illustrate your
answer.
 Phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language which can distinguish two words
 Example: /m,n,t,p/
 English has 44 phonemes which are classified into 24 consonants (ex: p,t,n,m), 12 vowels
(ex: /u:, i:, æ / and 8 diphthongs (ex: /ei, ai/)

2. What is a vowel sound? How are vowels classified? Give examples to illustrate your
answer.
 A vowel is a speech sound in which the airstream from the lungs is not blocked in any way
in the mouth or throat and which is usually pronounced with vibration of the vocal cords
  Vowels are classified according to these 5 standards
 Tongue height: high - /u:, ʊ, i:, ɪ/
mid - /o, ɔ, e, ɛ:, ʌ , ə /
low - /æ, a:/
 Tongue position: front- /i:, ɪ, e, ɛ:, æ/
central- /ʌ, ə/
 Lip rounding: rounded vowels are /u:, ʊ, o, ɔ/
unrounded vowels are /i:, ɪ, e, ɛ, æ, a:, ʌ, ə/
 Muscle tension: lax vowels are often short vowels
tense vowels are often long vowels
 Vowel length: There are 5 long vowels /i:, u:, a:, ə:, ɔ:/ and 7 short vowels /ɔ, ə, i, u, ʌ, æ,
e/

3. What is a consonant sound? How are consonants classified? Give examples to illustrate
your answer.
 Consonant is a sound in producing it the airstream coming from the lungs is stopped,
impeded or otherwise interfered with in its passage to the outside air.
 Consonants are classified according to these 4 standards
 Places of articulation
 Manner of articulation
 Voicing
 Aspiration

4. What is allophone? Give examples to illustrate your answer.

 An allophone is any of the different forms of a phoneme
 For example: [kh] like kite and [k] like sky. They are both allophones of the phoneme /k/
 In English, when the phoneme /p/ occurs at the beginning of words like PUT /put/ and
 PEN /pen/, it is said with a little puff of air. That is, it is aspirated. But when /p/ occurs in
 words like SPEND /spend/ and SPELL /spel/ it is unaspirated. Both the aspirated in PEN
 and the unaspirated in SPELL have the same phoneme function. That is, they are both
 heard and identified as [p] and not as [b]. They are both ALLOPHONES of the
 PHONEME [p]

5. What is a syllabic consonant? In what cases are consonants syllabic? Give illustrative
examples of syllabic l, n and r.
 Syllabic consonants are the ones which can form syllables without a vowel. The small
vertical mark is used to show that a consonant is syllable. Eg: table /’teibl/
 They occur in the following cases:

-alveola /t, d, s,z,n/ +le, al, el, on, en : bottle, patal, button, muddle, nozzle

- bilabial /p,b/ + le, al, el, on, en : couple, papal, ribbon

- velar /k,g/ + le, al, on, en, an : thicken, wagon

 - labio-dental /f,v/ +en: seven, often,

6. What is the difference between vowel sounds and consonant sounds? Give examples to
illustrate your answer.
They are different in 2 aspects:
 A vowel is produced without any stoppage of the airstream in the oral cavity meanwhile
there is an obstruction in the production of a consonant.
 A vowel is a syllable, i.e, it forms the center of the nucleus of a syllable meanwhile a
consonant is not except some syllabic consonant.
 Example: ant (VC), bus (CVC),

7. Show the difference between phonemic and phonetic transcription of the sounds in the
English language. Illustrate your answer with examples.

Phonetic (ngữ âm) transcription Phonemic (âm vị) transcription

- The transcription in which phonemes - The transcription in which phonemes

are transcribed phonetically (thuộc
ngữ âm) (with allophones).
- The phonetic symbol is [ ] (square
brackets).
- This type is more complex, more
detailed & gives more information
about a phoneme.
- As a result, it is the study object of
PHONOLOGY (âm vị)
(PHONEMICS).
are transcribed phonemically (thuộc âm
vị).
- The symbol is / / (slant bars).
- This type is easy and quick to learn. It is
preferred due to these 2 reasons: simple
phonemic symbols and easy printing.
- As a result, it is the study object of
PHONETICS (ngữ âm).

- Example 1: Clean
• Phonemic (âm vị) transcription: ‘clean’ – /klin/
• Phonetic (ngữ âm) transcription: ‘clean’ – [k i:n] l
- Example 2: Strewn
• Phonemic transcription: ‘strewn’ – /strun/
• Phonetic transcription: ‘strewn’ – [stru:n

8. what is stress? What are the rule applied for affix-words? What are the rules applied for
two- syllable verbs? What are the rules applied for three- syllable nouns?

· Stress is the prominence given to the syllable. The prominence is made up of 4 factors: clearer,
longer, higher and louder.
· • 3 types of stress
+ Word stress
+ Phrase stress
+ Sentence stress
The rule applied for affix-words (prefixes and suffixes) the rule applied for affix-words:
· Prefixes: Stress in prefix-words is governed by the same rules as those for polysyllabic words
without prefixes.
· Suffixes:
- Suffixes stressed themselves: ex: entertain, volunteer
- Suffixes don't affect stress: ex: beauty - beautiful
- Suffixes affect stress in the base (on the last syllable): Ex: 'photo- pho'tography

The rules applied for two- syllable verbs:

· If the second syllable of the verbs contains a long vowel or diphthong or if it ends with more
· than one consonant, that second syllable is stressed.
E.g. App'ly, a'rrive, a'ttract, a'ssist
· If the second syllable of the verbs contains a short vowel and ends with one or no final
· consonant, the first syllable is stressed.
E.g. 'enter, 'envy, 'open, 'equal....
· If the second syllable contains |Əʊ|, the first syllable is stressed.
· E.g. 'follow, 'borrow...

The rules applied for three- syllable nouns:

· If the last syllable contains a short vowel or |ƏƱ |, it is unstressed and if the syllablepreceding
this final syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong, that middle syllable will be stressed.
· E.g. po'tato, di'saster
· If the last and the middle syllables contain a short vowel and ends with not more than one
consonant, the first syllable is stressed.
E.g. 'cinema, 'quantity, 'emperor
· If the last syllable contains a long vowel or diphthong and/or ends with more than one
consonant, the first syllable will be stressed.
E.g. 'intellect, 'marigold,

10. What is a rhythm unit? Give examples for your answer.

· A rhythm unit is a unit of a stressed syllable as its center and any unstressed syllable around it.
· The unstressed syllables are closely connected grammatically to the stressed.
E.g. || aim 'gƏƱiŋ 'hƏƱm fƏ 'krismƏs.||
( 3 rhythm units )

11. What is linking in connected speech? When does linking occur? Illustrate your answer
with examples.
 Linking in connected speech is

 Ex: Thousands of people. He eats and drinks.

/z əv/ /s ən/
1. If a word ends with a consonant followed by another word beginning with a vowel, the
consonant is linked.
E.g.: Give him a book.
// gi v im ə buk // // gi v im ə buk //
2. When a suffix beginning with a vowel is added to a word ending with r/re in the spelling,
/ r / must be pronounced.
E.g.: near /niə/ + er = nearer / niərə /
more / mƆ: / + over = moreover / mƆ:rəuvə /
3. If a word ending with r/re in the spelling followed by another word beginning with a
vowel, / r / is pronounced.
E.g.: for a week // fə rə wi:k //; here and there // hiər ən ðeə //
4. Native English speakers usually insert / r / after / a:, ə; Ɔ: / for ease of pronunciation.
E.g.: The idea of it / aidiər əv it /; raw eggs / rƆ: regz /;
ma and pa / ma: r ən pa: /

12. What is elision? What are cases of elision? Illustrate your answer with examples.
 Ellison is the complete disappearance of a sound

1. /h/ may be elided from he, his, her,him, have, has, had when these words are unstressed
and do not begin a sentenced.
E.g.: Where does he live?
/ weə də z (h)i: liv /
2. /t, d/ may be elided if they occur in the middle of a sequence of three consonant sounds.
E.g.: first time / fə:s(t) taim /; blindman / blain(d)mæn/
3./ə/ is frequently elided within words if the resulting sequence of consonants is an acceptable
English cluster.
E.g.: / t(ə)r /→ / tr / : history /'hist(ə)ri/
/ s(ə)p / →/ sp /: surprised /s(ə)'praizd/
4.When plosives occur in clusters with other plosives, the first plosive is elided. /p, b, t, d, k, g/
E.g.: ca(p)tain; foo(t)ball; blac(k)board; ba(g)pipe

13. According to place of articulation, how are consonants classified? Illustrate your
answer with examples.
According to place of articulation, consonants are classified to these 8 standards:
1. Bilabial: Robber - /b/; /p/
2. Labio-dental:vat - /v/, fat - /f/
3. Dental: either - /θ/; /ð/; /t/; /d/;
4. Alveolar: tomato - /t/; /d/; /s/; /z/; /n/; /l/
5. Post-alveolar:beige(/ʒ/) - /r/; /dʒ/; /tʃ/; /ʒ/; /ʃ/
6. Velar: rung - /k/; /g/; /ŋ/
7. Palatal: yell - /j/
 8. Glottal: hot - /h/

15. What are main articulators? Give at least one example for the sound(s) produced from
each articulator.
There are 8 main articulators:
1. Nose: an important part for making sounds, particularly nasal sounds: mat - /m, n/
2. Teeth: (upper and lower teeth): sounds made with the tongue touching the the front
teeth are called dental. clothe [kloʊð] - /ð/
3. Alveolar ridge: between the top front front teeth and the hard palate. Dot - /t, d/
4. Tongue: an important articulator, can be moved into many different places and
different shapes. Tip of the tongue touches alveolar ridge => alveolar:zebra [ˈziː.brə] - /s, z, t,d/
5. Hard palate: is often called "roof of the mouth" yacht [jɑːt] - /j/
6. Soft palate: an articulator can be touched by the tongue => velar consonants car – [ka:r] - /k,g/
7. Lips: important in speech. They can be pressed together => bilabial sounds; sounds
made with lip-to-teeth contact =>labiodental.pitch [pɪtʃ] - /p,b/
8. Pharynx: a tube which begins just above the larynx. Harsh [hɑːrʃ] - /h/

16. How are tones used in different kinds of sentences according to communicative
functions? Illustrate your answer with examples.
1. Falling tune (glide down):
· Finality, definiteness, strong exclamation.
· WH question.
· tag question (expecting answer YES from the listener.)
Ex: Stop talking
2. First Rising tune (glide up):
· Y-N questions: E.g. Can you give me a hand?
· statements intended as questions
· Statement -intended to be soothing, encouraging. E.g. It won't hurt
· Greeting, saying goodbye. Ex: hello
3. Fall-rise (dive):
· Uncertainty, doubt, requesting, correction, warning
· incomplete sen.
· Reservations
Ex: E.g. You may be right.
4. Second rising tune-Take-off:
· tag quetions after commands. E.g. Do it now, will you?
· If exclamation is questioning. E.g. What a nice dress?
· grumble. E.g. You always keep changing T.V channels

17. How does the stress help to make the difference between compound words and free
word groups? Illustrate your answer with examples.

- when an adjective modifies a noun, the noun usaually has the primary stress. Eg: silver’fish (a
group of free word)
- when an adj and N combine to from a compound N, the first element often takes the primary
stress. Eg: ‘silverfish (a kind of insect)

18. According to manner of articulation, how are consonants classified? Illustrate your
answer with examples.
According to manner of articulation, consonants are classified to these 6 standards:
1. Plosive/ stop: /p,b,t,d,k,g/
2. Fricative: /f/; /v/; /θ/; /ð/; /s/; /z/; /ʒ/; /ʃ/; /h/
3. Affricate: /dʒ/; /tʃ/
4. Nasal: /m/; /n/; /ŋ/
5. Lateral: /l/
6. Gliding/ Approximant: /w/; /r/; /j/

19. What are the functions of intonation? Illustrate your answer with examples.

The function of intonation is to express attitude, feeling or emotion.

E.g: Thank you. ä (showing real gratitude)
Thank you. æ (casual acknowledgement of something not very important)