REVISION FOR PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGY

I. True / False: Decide whether the following statements are true or false
1. RP is the standard New Zealand accent. It is the only accent studied. Other
accents are not important and, therefore, should not be taken into consideration.
2. When the edges of the vocal cords are touching or nearly touching, the air
passing through the glottis will usually cause vibration, which produces voiced
sounds.
3. A vowel is a sound in the production of which there is a complete closure in the
vocal tract.
4. The most important parts of the tongue for producing vowel sounds are front,
central and back.
5. The lip shape is important in producing either rounded or unrounded vowels.
6. RP is the type of pronunciation employed in America.
7. Phonemic transcription is based on the principle “one symbol per phoneme”.
8. Speech sounds are divided into pure vowels and diphthongs.
9. All vowels are voiced.
10. According to the height to which a part of the tongue is raised, vowels can be
classified into close and open vowels.
11. A close vowel is the one in the production of which the tongue is as low as
possible.
12. Vowels can be long or short.
13. A diphthong is a pure vowel.
14. Diphthongs can be divided into centring and closing diphthongs according to
the second element of the diphthong.
15. The word learn contains a diphthong.
16. A consonant is a sound in the production of which no obstruction is formed in
the mouth by the active organs of speech.
17. If we classify the consonants according to the state of vibration of the vocal
cords, they can be voiced or voiceless.

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18. A nasal sound is a sound formed by the tip of the tongue firmly pressed against
the teeth ridge or the teeth so that the air can escape at one or both sides of the
tongue.
19. The syllable structure of learn is CVC.
20. The prominence in the word stress can be produced by the following factors: a-
loudness, b-length, c- pitch and d- quality.
21. English is a language which has fixed stress in the sense that the stress always
falls on the last syllable in a word.
22. If the second syllable of a two-syllable verb contains a long vowel or
diphthong, or if it ends in more than one consonant, that second syllable is
stressed. (True)
23. Three syllable simple nouns usually have the stress placed on the first syllable.
24. Suffixes such as -able, -age, -al, etc, change the place of stress in a word.
25. The difference between a compound and a phrase is that a compound usually
has the the first syllable stressed.
26. The stress falls on the initial syllable in the word family. 
27. Lexical words are not normally stressed in communication.
28. Words which serve to express certain grammatical relations or categories in
the sentence are either stressed or unstressed.
29. When horse-shoe is pronounced as /ho:∫∫u:/, assimilation takes place.
30. Assimilation is said to be regressive when the preceding consonant influences
the articulation of the following consonant.
31. Elision is the case of a sound realized as zero in casual, rapid speech.
32. Grammatical words can have either strong forms or weak forms in speech.
33. When speaking, people generally raise and lower the pitch of their voice,
forming pitch patterns. This phenomenon is called intonation.
34. The Fall is usually used to denote finality.
35. The Fall-rise can be used for limited agreement, politeness, apology, concern,
uncertainty, etc. (True)
II. Multiple choice: Choose the best answer

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01. ______ deals with how speech sounds are produced, transmitted, and
perceived.
A. Grammar B. Phonotactics C. Phonetics D. Text linguistics
02. Which of the following is not considered as (an) articulator(s)?
A. the tongue B. the lips C. the velum D. the ears
03. _______ is the study or description of the distinctive sound units of a language
and their relationship to one another.
A. Phonetics B. Phonology C. Semantics D. Pragmatics
04. The production of different speech sounds through the use of the organs of
speech is known as _______
A. assimilation B. dissimilation C. articulation D. syllabification
05. Which of the following is not an aspect of the speech sounds as a physical
event?
A. Physiological B. Acoustic C. Articulatory D. Comprehensive
06. Besides having the physical properties, the speech sounds also have ____when
they are used as distinctive units of sounds in a language.
A. thematic function B. stylistic function C. affective function D. distinctive
07. The term ______ is applied for the study of the more abstract, the more
functional, or the more psychological aspects of speech.
A. phonetics B. phonology C. grammar D. semantics
08. Since _____ is easily understood in all English speaking countries, it is
adapted as the teaching norm in the schools and higher educational institutions.
A. Received pronunciation B. Broad Australian
C. Narrow American D. New Zealand
09. Which of the following is not a stage of the speech chain?
A. psychological B. articulatory C. acoustic D. synthetic
10. The ______provide the most usual source of energy.
A. lungs B. ears C. eyes D. lips
11. The ______ is between the teeth ridge and the soft palate.
A. hard palate B. tongue C. nose D. lungs

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12. We use the word glottis to refer to the opening between _______
A. the eyes B. the ears C. the vocal cords D. the mouth
13. Which of the following words does not have the sound /i:/
A. bit B. bin C. bead D. bid
14. Which of the following words has the sound /a:/
A. bat B. park C. pack D. hat
15. Which of the following is not a segmental phoneme?
A. the vowel B. the stress C. the consonant D. the diphthong
16. Language is most accurately defined as a system of _______ that allow for
communication with others.
A. Images B. Vocalizations C. Symbols D. Words
17. _______ refers to word formation
A. Phonology B. Morphology C. Syntax D. Semantics
18. The sound system of a language is referred to as _______
A. Phonology B. Pragmatics C. Symantics D. Syntax
19. Mary has difficulty sounding out words like "though" and "calendar." Her
difficulties lie in which of the following aspects of language?
A. Phonology B. Pragmatics C. Syntax D. Symantics
20. Which aspect of language deals with the meaning of words and sentences?
A. Phonology B. Semantics C. Syntax D. Morphology
21. Yoshi is learning that there are many different ways to say "thank you" in
Japanese, depending on the gender, social status, and relationship to Yoshi of the
person he is thanking. This use of appropriate conversation demonstrates an issue
of _______.
A. Syntax B. Semantics C. Morphology D. Pragmatics
22. Akilah can understand the word "misbehave" when her father uses it in a
sentence because Akilah understands _______.
A. Morphology B. Semantics C. Syntax D. Pragmatics
23. How many phonemes are there in the word teaching?
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5

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24. The initial vowel of economics could be either /i/ or /e/ according to the
variation in the pronunciation of different speakers. These sounds are said to be
_______ in that particular word.
A. free variation B. positional variation
C. distinctive variation D. significant variation
25. A/An ______ transcription is based on the principle "one symbol per
phoneme."
A. allophonic B. phonemic C. narrow D. non-distinctive
26. Speech sounds are divided into vowels and ______
A. phonemes B. syllables C. words D. consonants
27. Which of the following is incorrect?
A. All vowels are voiced. B. Vowels are less sonorous than consonants.
C. All vowels are syllabic. D. Consonants are either voiced or voiceless.
28. According to the _______, vowels can be rounded or unrounded.
A. height of the raised part of the tongue B. raised part of the tongue
C. length of the vowels D. shape of the lip
29. _____ vowels are the ones in the production of which the lips are drawn
together so that the opening between them is more or less round.
A. Rounded B. Unrounded C. Long D. Short
30. ______ is a combination of two vowels pronounced within one syllable.
A. A diphthong B. A consonant C. A front vowel D. An open vowel
31. Which of the following words contains a closing diphthong?
A. hear B. sure C. day D. very
32. Which of the following criteria can not be used as a classifying criterion for
consonant classification?
A. The position of the soft palate B. The manner of articulation
C. The place of articulation D. The shape of the lips
33. /a:/ is a / an _______vowel.
A. open front short B. open central long

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C. close front long D. open back long
34. /i/ is a _______
A. diphthong B. consonant C. pure vowel D. syllable
35. /ai/ is a ________
A. diphthong B. consonant C. pure vowel D. syllable
36. Which of the following is not used as a criterion in vowel classification?
A. The height to which the tongue is raised C. The windpipe
B. The part of the tongue which is raised D. The vowel length
37. _______ are sounds articulated, by the lower lip against the upper teeth.
A. Labio-dentals B. Alveolars C. Velars D. Glottals
38. Which syllable is formed by a vowel?
A. sky B. seem C. or D. hit
39. Which syllable is formed by a consonant + a vowel?
A. she B. eat C. it D. eye
40. Which syllable is formed by a consonant + a vowel + a consonant?
A. he B. eat C. sit D. eye
41. How many syllables are there in the word ordinarily.
A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5
42. _______ is defined as the prominence given to certain syllables in a word by
the use of greater breath force.
A. Rhythm B. Word-stress C. Timbre D. Assimilation
43. Which of the following factors can not be used to produce word-stress?
A. Loudness B. Length C. Pitch D. Meaning
44. Which of the following is not true?
A. In English, the stress always falls on the last syllable of any word.
B. French is the language where the last syllable is usually stressed.
C. Polish is the language where the penultimate/preceding syllable is usually
stressed.
D. Czech is the language where the first syllable is stressed.

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45. Which of the following words has the stress not fallen on the first syllable
from the beginning?
A. family B. cinema C. intellect D. advantage
46. Which of the following words has the stress on the suffix added to the word?
A. readable B. photography C. mountaineer D. speaking
47. Which of the following words has the shifted stress when a suffice is added?
A. Advantage -advantageous B. Read –readable
C. Govern - government D. Wide –widen
48. Which of the words has the stress on the last syllable?
A. Mountaineer B. Teaching C. Photography D. Perfection
49. Vietnamese is a ______ language.
A. tone B. intonation C. inflectional D. agglutinating
50. W/H questions are usually spoken with ______
A. The Fall B. The Rise C. The Fall -Rise D. The Rise-Fall
51. ______ is said to give an impression of finality.
A. The Fall B. The Rise C. The Fall -Rise D. The Rise-Fall
52. ______ is used in simple statements of fact, special questions, commands,
exclamation, or offers to do something.
A. The Fall B. The Rise C. The Fall -Rise D. The Rise-Fall
III. GAP-FILLING EXERCISE
01. Often referred to as “The roof of the mouth”, the place that the tongue
approaches for the articulation of the sound /j/ in yes: ______
02. Articulators at the front of the mouth which are used for /p/ & /b/ ___
03. This cannot move, but the tongue touches it when making /t/ & /d/: ___
04. Air escapes through this when we produce /m/ & /n/: ____
05. The articulators near the back of the mouth which allows airs to pass through
the nose when lowered; the place for making /k/ & /g/, with two names ____
06. /ŋ/ does not occur after ______ vowels
07. The differences between /s/ & /z/ in the consonant chart lie in ____

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08. The difference between /m/ & /ŋ/ in the consonant chart lies in _____ (place of
articulation)
09. A group of consonants at the beginning or end at the syllable is called a
consonant _____
10. Inside the larynx there are two flaps of muscles which are called vocal___
SAMPLE TEST
SECTION A: MULTIPLE CHOICE (3 Points)
01. What does morphology study?
A. Sentence structure B. Phrases C. Pronunciation D. Word formation
02. What does phonology study?
A. Learning to read B. The sound systems of languages
C. How we articulate sounds D. The meaning of words and sentence
03. Which of the following words contains a closing diphthong?
A. hear B. sure C. day D. very
04. What is the linguistic term for the study of pitch movement in language?
A. Melody B. Rhythm C. Loudness D. Intonation
05. Which syllable is formed by a consonant + a vowel?
A. she B. eat C. it D. eye
06. Which of the following factors cannot be used to produce word-stress?
A. Loudness B. Length C. Pitch D. Meaning
07. The production of different speech sounds through the use of the organs of speech is
known as ______
A. assimilation B. dissimilation C. articulation D. syllabification
08. ______ is a combination of two vowels pronounced within one syllable.
A. A diphthong B. A consonant C. A front vowel D. An open vowel
09. Which of the following criteria can not be used as a classifying criterion for
consonant classification?
A. The position of the soft palate B. The manner of articulation
C. The place of articulation D. The shape of the lips
10. Which feature of language is referred to by the term ‘accent’?

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A. Syntax B. Pronunciation C. Vocabulary D. Pragmatics
11. Which of the following is not a segmental phoneme?
A. the vowel B. the stress C. the consonant D. the diphthong
12. Language is most accurately defined as a system of ______ that allow for
communication with others.
A. images B. vocalizations C. symbols D. words
13. Which syllable is formed by a vowel?
A. sky B. seem C. or D. hit
14. The sound system of a language is referred to as _______:
A. Phonology B. Pragmatics C. Symantics D. Syntax
15. Which of the following words form a minimal pair?
A. hit-sit B. thin-free C. bat-she D. ship-three
16. Which aspect of language deals with the meaning of words and sentences?
A. Phonology B. Semantics C. Syntax D. Morphology
17. Which of the following syllable division is correct?
A. Ger-ma-ny B. Germ-any C. German-y D. Ger-many
18. _____ vowels are the ones in the production of which the lips are drawn together so
that the opening between them is more or less round.
A. Rounded B. Unrounded C. Long D. Short
19. Which of the following words has the place of stress unchanged when a suffix is
added to the word?
A. Entertainment B. Refugee C. Proverbial D. Legality
20. What does semantics study?
A. Use B. Meaning D. Grammar D. Speech
21. _______ is defined as the prominence given to certain syllables in a word by the use
of greater breath force.
A. Rhythm B. Word-stress C. Timbre D. Assimilation
22. Which of the following words has the stress not fallen on the first syllable from the
beginning?
A. family B. cinema C. intellect D. advantage
23. Vietnamese is a ______ language.
A. tone B. intonation C. inflectional D. agglutinating

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24. W/H questions are usually spoken with ______
A. The Fall B. The Rise C. The Fall -Rise D. The Rise-Fall
25. Which of the words has the stress on the last syllable?
A. Mountaineer B. Teaching C. Photography D. Perfection
26. Which of the following factors cannot be used to produce word-stress?
A. Loudness B. Length C. Pitch D. Meaning
27. Speech sounds are divided into vowels and ______
A. phonemes B. syllables C. words D. consonants
28. Which of the following syllable has the structure of CV?
A. Learn B. Sea C. Sit D. At
29. Which of these words best describes the focus of pragmatics?
A. Meaning B. Choices C. Structure D. Production
30. Which branch of linguistics studies word order?
A. Morphology B. Pragmatics C. Syntax D. Semantics
SECTION B: Fill in the blanks with only one proper word
01. When “History” is pronounced as /´histri/,_______ takes place.
02. The differences between /b/ & /p/ in the consonant chart lie in _______of articulation.
03. The Fall is usually used to denote _______
04. A group of consonants at the beginning or end at the syllable is called a consonant _
05. Lexical words are normally stressed in _______
06. Assimilation is said to be _______ when the following consonant influences the
articulation of the preceding consonant
07. Describing aspect of speech above the level of the individual sounds is called _____
08. Words which serve to express certain _______relations or categories in the sentence
are either stressed or unstressed.
09. Describing aspect of speech concerned with individual sounds is called_______.
10. The articulators near the back of the mouth which allows airs to pass through the nose
when lowered; the place for making /k/ & /g/, with two names ____.
SECTION C: Answering the following Questions
01. Write the symbol that correspond to each of the following descriptions
a. Voiced inter-dental fricative b. Voiceless labio-dental fricative

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c. Voiceless velar stop d. Voiceless palato-alvelolar affricative
02. For each of the following consonants, state whether it is voiced or voiceless, its place
of articulation, and its manner of articulation
a. [З:] b. [Ʌ] c. [∫] d. [ŋ]
03. Write the phonemic transcriptions, focusing on the aspects of connected speech.
a. Political affair b. An old worker
04. Write each phonetic transcription in normal English orthography
a. [aim glæ´d tə mi´:t∫u] b. [δə rə ́fɔ: ́t∫ikinz in δə ́kɔ: t∫a:d]
c. [ai wa´ntə tə pa´:k δæt k´a:r ə´uvə δeə] d. [´gəuwɔ:l´aut]
05. Write the possible words and possible sounds for the underlined words and/or phrases
below
a. Are you into golf? b. every ear c. he earns d. I can’t beat you at this
game
06. Decide what connected speech is applied in these underlined parts. (0.5 points)
a. Would you like a cup of tea?
b. I think we should call the police.
c. The media are to plame.
d. I’ll come here tomorrow
SECTION D: True/ False: Decide whether the following statements are true or false
01. A tone unit is the basic unit of intonation in a language. It always has many tonic
syllables
02. The utterance “what’s your name?” has the structure of head-Tonic Syllable-Tail.
03. If the second syllable of a two-syllable verb contains a long vowel or diphthong, or if
it ends in more than one consonant, that first syllable is stressed.
04. In conversation, the voice usually goes down at the end for old information
05. In three-syllable verbs, if the last syllable contains a short vowel and ends in not more
than one consonant, stress will be placed on the preceding syllable.
06. The normal tendency in English speech is for the primary stress to occur on the last
syllable of the tone group.

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