A University Course in Practical Phonetics

-Self Answers-
[Page 3]: Review
1 The four English skills are: ​listening, speaking, reading and
writing.

2 Phonetics is mainly concerned with the skills of ​listening and

speaking.

3 Language is a ​means of communication.

4 Human language is ​a complex system of exchanging

information, for passing messages, through words.

5 Pictures do carry messages but they can be ​ambiguous​.

6 To make a message precise and clear we use ​words​.

7 Words can change their ​meaning ​depending on their ​context​.

8 The number of letters in the English language is ​26 letters.

9 The number of sounds in English is ​44​.

10 Phonetics is the study of​ the sounds of language.

11 English phonetics is the ​study of the sounds in English.

12 Articulatory phonetics describes ​how we make sounds by use of

the organs of speech.

13 Auditory phonetics describes ​how we recognize sounds as

different and are thus able to understand spoken messages.

14 Acoustic phonetics is a branch of ​physics​.

15 We always write sounds between​ ​slanted lines / /​,​ like this​ ​/t/​.
The use of such symbols is known as ​transcription​.

W basic - blank - ​book ​- help - ​page​ ​- past - person - ​place​ ​-

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b speech - verb

[Page 9]
1 A bilabial sound is one which is made with​ the 2 lips.

2 A voiced sound is ​made with vibration of the vocal cords.

3 A voiceless sound is ​made with ​no ​vibration of the vocal cords.

4 A plosive sound is made by ​stopping the air in the mouth, and

then releasing quickly.

5 The voiceless bilabial plosive is​ /p/.

The voiced bilabial plosive is ​ /b/.

W aspect - department - ​object ​- paragraph - possessive - prepare

B - ​professor ​- pronoun - ​punctuate ​- ​subject

[Page 16]
1 There are ​6​ plosives in English.

2 An ​alveolar ​sound is one which is made​ (by obstructing the air

somehow) at the teeth ridge.

3 A ​velar ​sound is one which is made ​by raising the back of the
tongue to touch the soft palate.
-General answer:
Obstructing the air somehow at the soft palate
4 The voiceless alveolar plosive is ​ /t/.
The voiced alveolar plosive is ​ ​/d/.
The voiceless velar plosive is ​ ​ /k/.
The voiced velar plosive is ​ /g/.

5 The three voiced plosives are: ​/b/, /d/ and /g/.

The three voiceless plosives are:​ ​/p/, /t/ and /k/.

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W color - ​correct ​- descriptive - difficult - ​graduate ​- ​height ​-
B grammar - ​identify ​- teacher - ​margin​.

[Page 23]
1 ​ y releasing the air gradually through
A fricative sound is made​ b
a narrow opening in the mouth,​ ​causing ​friction.

2 The sound /f/ and /v/ are both ​labio-dental fricative sounds.

3 The difference between the sounds /f/ and /v/ is that /f/ is
voiceless​ ​but /v/ is ​voiced​.

4 A labio-dental sound is made with​ the upper teeth touch the

lower lip.

5 The voiceless labio-dental fricative is​ /f/.

The voiced labio-dental fricative is ​/v/.

W advi​c​e - clever - communicate - ​factual ​- ​february ​- following -

B reference - review - several - university

[Page 29]
1 A minimal pair consists of 2 words which are​ ​identical by sounds
except for ​one sound​.

2 The sounds /θ/ and /ð/ are both​ ​dental fricative sounds.

3 The difference between the sounds /θ/ and /ð/ is that /θ/ is
voiceless​ ​but /ð/ is ​voiced​.

4 A dental sound is made with the tip of the tongue ​between the
upper and lower teeth but still allows the air to escape
gradually through the mouth.

5 The voiceless dental fricative is ​/θ/.

The voiced dental fricative is ​ ​/ð/.

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W another - education - gathering - ​inevitable ​- months - therefore
B - third - t​ housand ​- ​throughout ​- thieves

[Page 35]
1 The sounds /s/ and /z/ are​ ​both alveolar fricatives.

2 The difference between the sounds /s/ and /z/ is that

/s/ is ​voiceless​ ​and /z/ is ​voiced​.

3 An alveolar sound is made with the blade of the tongue​ is in

contact with the teeth ridge.

4 The final sound of a word ending with a ​voiced​ ​sound followed

by -es is​ /z/.

5 The final sound of a word ending with a voiceless sound

followed by -es is​ /s/.

6 The final part of a word ending with a /s/ or /z/ followed by -s or

-es is ​pronounced /iz/.

7 The voiceless alveolar fricative is ​/s/.

The voiced alveolar fricative is ​/z/.

W composition ​- currency - discuss - sentence - ​specific ​-

B statement - storm - study - student - ​supporting​.

[Page 38]
1 The alveolo-palatal fricatives in English are ​/ʃ/​ and​ /​ ʒ/​.

2 /ʃ/​ ​is a voiceless sound​,​ whereas​ ​/ʒ/​ is voiced.

3 When the tongue touches the teeth ridge and hard palate the
sound is ​alveolo-palatal​.

4 A fricative is made by letting the air escape gradually through a

narrow hole in the mouth, causing ​friction​.

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5 In English ​/ʃ/​ ​is found in initial, medial and final position of a
word, whereas ​/ʒ/​ ​is only found in ​medial​ ​and ​final​ ​position.

6 The voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative is​ ​/ʃ/.

The voiced alveolo-palatal fricative is ​/ʒ/.

W conclusion ​- interview - ​personal ​- ​reaction ​- receptionist -

B reason ​- relation - request - speaker - ​thermometer

[Page 45]
1 The alveolo-palatal fricative are ​ ​/ʃ/ and​ ​/ʒ/.

2 The alveolo-palatal affricates are ​/tʃ/ and​ ​/dʒ/​.

3 A sound made by a stop followed by a slow release of air with

friction is ​affricate​.

4 A fricative sound is made by ​letting the air escape ​gradually

through a narrow hole in the mouth, causing friction.

5 The sound /h/ is a ​voiceless glottal fricative sound.

6 The sound /h/ is found in word ​initial position ​and ​word medial
position, but never in ​word final​ ​position.

7 The voiceless glottal fricative is​ /h/.

The voiceless alveolo-palatal affricate is ​/tʃ/.
The voiced alveolo-palatal affricate is ​/dʒ/.

W ch​e​ck - choose - ​explanation -​ generalization - matches -

B information - ​major ​- watch - ​refrigerator ​- si​tu​ation

[Page 52]
1 The ​voiced ​alveolo-palatal sounds are ​/​ʒ/ and​ ​/dʒ/.

2 The ​voiceless ​alveolo-palatal sounds are ​/​ʃ/ and​ ​/tʃ/.

3 The sound /θ/ is ​dental w

​ hereas /s/ is ​alveolar​.

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4 The sound /ð/ is ​dental​ ​whereas /z/ is ​alveolar​.

5 The sound /ʃ/ and /tʃ/ are similar in ​voicing and position ​but
different in ​manner of articulation.

6 The sound /ʒ/ and /dʒ/ are similar in ​voicing and position​ but
different in ​manner of articulation.

7 The final sound of words ending with a ​voiceless​ ​sound followed

by -s or -es is /s/.

8 The final sound of words ending with a ​voiced​ ​sound followed by

-s or -es is /z/.

9 The final sound of words ending with ​/s/ or /z/​ followed by -s or

-es is /iz/.
(or) ​alveolar or alveolo-palatal or affricate sound.

10 The final sound of a word ending with a ​voiced ​sound followed

by -ed is ​/d/.

11 The final sound of a word ending with a ​voiceless ​sound

followed by -ed is ​/t/.

12 The final sound of a word ending with an ​alveolar ​plosive

followed by -ed is ​/id/.

W advanta​g​e - c​o​mmands - staff - c​o​mpute - division - lecture -

B model - practi​c​e - refusal - s​u​mmarize

[Page 57]
1 Nasal sounds are made by releasing air ​through the nose.

2 When the air escapes through the mouth we have ​oral sounds.

3 The three nasal sounds in English are ​/m/, /n/ and /ŋ/.

4 All the nasal sounds are ​voiced​.

5 /m/ is a ​bilabial​ ​sound, /n/ is an a

​ lveolar​ ​sound and /ŋ/ is a
velar​ ​sound.

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6 The sound /m/ can be found in initial position as in ​monk​,
medial position as in ​lemon​ and final position as in ​bloom​.

7 The sound /n/ can be found in ​initial​ position as in ​nuclear​, in

medial​ position as in ​monitor​ and in final position as in ​con​.

8 The sound /ŋ/ can be found in both ​medial​ and ​final​ position as
in ​monk​ and ​playing​, but it is never found in ​initial​ position.

9 The voiced bilabial nasal continuant is ​/m/.

The voiced alveolar nasal continual is ​ /n/.
The voiced velar nasal continuant is ​ ​/ŋ/.

W examination - follo​w​ing - multiple - m​e​nu - negative - nervous -

B p​o​sitive - problem - ​recommend

[Page 63]
1 The ​lateral ​continuant is​ ​/l/.

2 The ​post-alveolar​ continuant is​ ​/r/.

3 The sound /l/ is ​alveolar​ in position.

4 Both /l/ and /r/ are ​voiced continuant sounds.

5 The sound /r/ is not found in ​word final​ position in British

English unless the following word begins with a vowel.

6 The voiced lateral continuant is​ ​/l/.

The voiced post-alveolar continuant is ​/r/.

W chr​o​n​o​logical - c​o​mparison - family - plur​a​l - present -

​ nize - relationship - ​right ​- relaxing- special
B rec​og

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 [Page 68]
1 Vowels are described according to ​the state of the highest point
of the tongue in the mouth.

2 All vowels are ​voiced, oral and continuant sounds.

3 Close means that ​the highest point of the tongue is at high

position in the mouse.

Front means that ​the highest point of the tongue is at the front
of the mouth.

4 The two close, front vowels in English are​ ​/i/ and /iː/.

5 The difference between ​/iː/ and /i/ is that /iː/​ is slightly higher
and more front in the mouth than /i/.

6 The close front vowel is ​ /i:/.

The ​half-​close front vowel is ​/i/.

W adjective - c​o​mmunity - ​least ​- c​o​nsist - difficulty - ​perceive ​-

B responsibility - superlative - teena​g​e

[Page 73]
1 The front vowel sounds in English are​ ​/i/, /i:/,/e/ and /æ/.

2 The vowel ​/e/​ is a front vowel with the tongue between half-close
and half-open position.

3 The vowel ​/æ/​ is a front vowel with the tongue ​between

half-open and open position.

4 The difference between ​/e/ and /æ/​ is that /e/ is​ higher in the
mouth with the lips more spread​ ​than ​/æ/.

W activity - b​e​nefit - gram - comparative - ​discipline ​- manag​er​ -

B pattern - relatives - revision - tens

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 [Page 79]
1 The vowel /a:/ is a back vowel with tongue between the centre
and the back ​at fully open position in the mouth.

2 For the vowel /a:/ the lips are ​neutrally open.

3 In R.P. the sound /r/ ​never​ o

​ ccurs between the vowel /a:/ and a
consonant even though the spelling frequently includes an​ r​.

4 The vowel /a:/ is ​lower ​and further ​back ​in the mouth than /æ/.

W afternoon ​- argument - asking - father - ​frequency ​- irregular -

B puzzle - scholarship - ​wishes

[Page 85]
1 The vowel /ɔ/ is a ​back​ ​vowel with the tongue in ​open​ ​position​.

2 The ​vowel /ɔ:/ is a ​back​ vowel with the​ tongue between half-close
and half-open position.

3 The lips for the vowels /​ɔ/ and /ɔ:/ are ​rounded​.

4 The vowel /ɔ:/ is ​higher and further back​ in the mouth than /a:/.

5 The vowel /a:/ is more ​front in the mouth​ than /ɔ:/.

6 In R.P. the vowel /a:/ is never followed by the sound ​/r/​ before a
consonant.

7 The open back vowel is ​/ɔ/.

The back vowel between half-open and half-close is​ /ɔ:/.

W adventure - court - expr​e​ss - desti​nation​ - impossible - st​o​p -

B g​eneration - tem​porary​ - inf​or​mation - pr​o​gressive

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 [Page 91]
1 The close back vowels are ​/u/ and /u:/.

2 The lips are ​closely rounded​ for the vowels /u/ and /u:/.

3 The vowel /u:/ is ​higher ​and further​ back in the mouth​ than the
vowel /u/.

W c​o​nsume - cure - during - wealth​y​ - natural - ​society ​- nuclear -

B occupation - pollution - p​o​pulation.

[Page 97]
1 The vowel /ʌ/ is a ​central ​vowel with the tongue raised ​just
above the fully open position.

2 The difference between the vowels /ʌ/ and /æ/ is that /ʌ/ is more
neutral​ and more ​open ​than /æ/.

3 the vowel /a:/ is ​lower​ and further ​back​ in the mouth than ​/ʌ/.

4 The alteration of /i/ - /æ/ - /ʌ/ occurs in the following irregular

verbs: ​drink, ring, sing, sink, bring, cling.

5 The open central vowel is ​/ʌ/.

W carefully ​- country - direction - industrial - ​lunch ​- upper -

B motion ​- movement - structure - opportunity

[Page 102]
1 The vowel /ə:/ is ​a central vowel said with the tongue between
half-close and half-open and the lips are neutrally spread.

2 The lips are ​neutrally spread​ for the vowel /ə:/.

3 The vowel /ə:/ is said ​further back​ in the mouth than vowel /e/.

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4 The vowel /a:/ is said ​lower and further back​ than the vowel /ə:/.

5 The vowel /ə:/ is never​ ​followed by /r/ sound in R.P.

6 The central vowel with the tongue between half-close and

half-open is ​/ə:/.

W adverbial - ​alternative ​- birth - ​curse ​- ​emer​g​ency ​- expert -

B urban ​- ​government ​- ​poverty ​- services
[ ​It’s not a mere coincidence, believe me!​ ]

[Page 108]
1 The vowel /ə/ is called ​schwa​.

2 Schwa /ə/ is a ​central​ ​unstressed​ vowel with the tongue ​between

half-close and half-open and the lips are in neutral position.

3 The vowel /ə/ occurs in ​unaccented​ syllables.

4 The vowel which can function as reduced vowels are ​/ə/, /i/ and
/u/.

5 In isolation certain words are accented whereas in context the

same words are unaccented. If these words are accented then a
strong​ vowel occurs, if unaccented the strong vowel is replaced
by a ​reduced (weak)​ vowel.

6 The central vowel between half-open and half-close is​ /ə/.

W artificial - economic - ​further ​- exa​gg​erate - future -minister -

B infinitive - ​or​ganize - ​origin ​- reporter - appointment - buildings
- compass - conference - influence - intention - neighborhood -
p​ur​pose - verse - faculty

[Page 111]
1 The number of vowels in English is ​12.

2 Vowels can be classified as front, ​central, and back.

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3 Vowels can be classified as close, ​half-close, half-open ​and
open.

4 The front vowels are ​/i:/, /i/, /e/ and /æ/​.

5 The back vowels are​ /a:/, /ɔ/, /ɔ:/,/u/, and /u:/.

6 The open vowels are ​/a:/, /ɔ/, /æ/ and /ʌ/.

7 The vowels /ə:/ and ​/ə/​ are both central vowels.

8 The vowel ​/ə/​ occurs only in unaccented syllables.

9 Vowels are made by letting ​the air​ come freely out of the ​mouth,
and by ​moving the​ t​ ongue ​slightly​.

11 evening - person - ​murder ​- mother - author - ​a​m​o​ng - heater -

burn - pool - singer - cash- bull - part - ​box​.

[Page 115]
1 The number of consonants in English (not including semi-vowels)
is ​22.

2 Consonants can be described according to​ v​ oicing, position,

manner​ and where ​they are oral or nasal.

3 When the​ ​vocal cords ​vibrate, ​voiced​ sounds are produced.

4 Bilabial sounds are by ​the 2 lips.

5 Dental sounds are made by the tip of ​the tongue between the
upper and lower teeth.

6 The ‘alveolar ridge’ is another name for the​ teeth ridge.

7 When the tongue is at the teeth ridge and the hard palate,
palato-alveolar/alveolo-palatal​ sounds are made.

8 Sounds are made at the soft palate are called ​velar.

9 When air escapes through the mouth, ​oral​ sounds are

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 produced.

10 Nasal sounds are made ​by lowering the velum so that the air
escapes through the nose rather than the mouth.

11 A plosive is made of a ​stop​ followed by a ​quick release of the

air.

12 A fricative is made by letting aire escapes gradually through a

narrow opening ​in the mouth, causing f​ riction​.

13 An affricate is made of a ​stop​ followed by a slow release of air

with ​friction​.

[Page 121]
1 A pure vowel is ​a sound which is used to build a syllable with
only one unchanging sound.

2 A diphthong is ​a sound which starts like one vowel and ends like
another within the same syllable.

3 The diphthong which end in -i are ​/ei/, /ai/ and /ɔi/.

4 These diphthongs are known as ​front closing​ diphthongs

because ​they end with the vowel /i/ which is a front closing
vowel.

W careers ​- ​leisure- ​activities - stake - p​o​tatoes - accounts -

B mountine - rights - seld​o​m - photo

[Page 125]
1 The diphthongs which end in -u are : ​/əu/ and /au/

2 These are known as the back closing diphthongs because ​they

end with the vowel sound /u/ which is a back closing vowel.

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3 English has ​5​ closing diphthongs in all.

W vail ​- carrots- museum - special - materiel​s​ - travel - ​area ​-

B furnish​ed​ - industrial - island

[Page 131]
1 The 3 centering diphthongs in English are: ​/eə/, /uə/ and /iə/.

2 They are called centering diphthongs because ​they end with the
centering unstressed vowel sound schwa /ə/.

3 English has ​8​ diphthongs in all.

4 In diphthongs the sound changes ​from one vowel to another

within the same syllable.

W company - behaviour - ​customer -​ spectator - entertainment -

B vegetables - college - ​surgeon ​- agriculture - ​tradition

[Page 135]
1 Give the characteristics of /w/.
It’s a voiced bilabial semi-vowel (glide).

2 Give the characteristics of /j/.

It’s a voiced palatal semi-vowel (glide).

3 A semi-vowel is always followed ​by a vowel.

W sports - ​scissors ​- ​government ​- private - ​million ​- emphasis -

B foreigner ​- ​pollution ​- ​tourism -​ ​a​rrival

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 [Page 139]
1 Phonetics is the​ ​study of the sounds in language.

2 Sounds are produced by ​some action of the speech organs.

3 Sounds are classified into ​consonant sounds and vowel sounds.

4 The sounds of English can be summarized as follows:

-consonant​ phonemes: 24
-vowel​ phonemes: 12
-diphthongs​ phonemes: 8
Total phonemes: 44

5 A pure vowel is ​a sound which is used to build a syllable with

only one unchanging sound.

6 A diphthong is ​a sound which starts like one vowel and ends like
another within the same syllable.

7 A semi-vowel is ​a sound which is like vowels but behaves like

consonants in the syllable.

8 A consonant is ​a speech sound made by stopping the airflow of

the air partially or completely as it goes through the mouth.

9 Consonants are described in terms of 4 main features:​ voicing;

position; manner; and whether they are oral or nasal.

10 I.P.A. stands for ​International Phonetic Alphabet.

11 I.P.A symbols are used to ​show the sounds of all known

languages.

12 A phoneme is a​ ​sound that can change meaning in language.

13 To show that a transcription is phonemic, we use​ ​slanted lines,

e.g. /hu:/.

14 The phonemic inventories of English and Arabic have ​some

similar sounds.

15 The exact pronunciation of a phoneme can vary according to

context, i.e. ​allophones​.

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W c​o​llapse - situation - cause - ​ef​fect - lifestyle - environment -
B knowledge - title - ​attitude ​- ​society

[Page 144]
1 An English syllable can begin with up to ​3​ consonants.

2 An English syllable can end with up to ​4 ​,but normally not more

than ​3​ ,consonants.

3 The rules which control how phonemes can occur together in a

language are known as ​phonotactic​ rules.

4 Words may have more than three consonants in a row because

they come together within the same syllable forming a final
consonant cluster as in the word ​prompts​.

5 A group of consonants occurring together is known as

consonant cluster.
6 Clusters which begin a syllable are known as​ initial consonant
cluster,
those which end a syllable are known as ​final consonant cluster.

W p​o​pulation - ​mountainous ​- regulated - hereditary - ​lenient ​-

​ servative - ​prohibit ​- prison - deposit - resemble
B c​on

[Page 149]
1 CC
Plosive or ​fricative or nasal ​+​ ​semi-vowel or continuant.
CCC
/s/ + ​voiceless plosive + semi-vowel or continuant.

2 The consonant sounds which follow /s/ in initial position are

voiceless plosives: /t/, /p/, /k/.

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3 U Rock UR SELF …..

W sym​bol​ - eventually - ​glorious ​- libe​ral​ - mirage - magazine -

B distribute - fl​oo​ded - tradition - ​youthful

[Page 154]
1 CC (1)
C 1 ​(lateral or nasal)​ + C 2 ​(/t/ /d/ or /s/ /z/ or /θ/)

CC (2)
C 1 ​(lateral or nasal)​ + C 2 ​(/t/ /d/ or /s/ /z/ or /θ/)

CC (3)
C 1 ​(/s/)​ + C 2 ​(voiceless plosive)

CCC
C1 + C2 + C3 (​/t/ or /θ/ or /z/ or /s/​)

2 In natural speech, final consonant clusters have up to ​3

consonants.

3 Three types of suffixe often lead to a final consonant cluster:

a) the plural suffix, i.e. ​/s/, /z/;
b) the past tense suffix, i.e. ​/t/, /d/;
c) the ‘ordering’ suffix, i.e. ​/θ/.

4 The suffix for ​a word with​ ​final clusters of 4 consonants like

fifths ​uses the same sounds, /s/, /z/ (and /iz/) as the plural suffix.

-> ​Hint​!
/θ/ sound is dropped out (elision page 186)

W m​e​dia - violence - pr​o​gram - ​unity ​- masterpiece - scientific -

​ e - an​x​iety - laughter - advertisement
B j​ok

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 [Page 159]
1 The pronunciation of a phoneme can vary because of ​the
context in which they occur.

2 A variety of a phoneme is known as ​its​ ​allophones​.

3 Allophonic variations are shown by use of ​square brackets: [ ]

and diacritics.

4 One example of allophonic variation is the ​aspiration​ ​of

voiceless plosives at the beginning of a syllable.

5 The rule for this is:

initial position after /s/
- /p/​ [pʰ]​ ​ ​ [p​=​]
- /t/ ​ [tʰ]​ ​ ​ [t​=​]
- /k/ ​[kʰ] ​ ​[k​=​]

6 The diacritic for aspirated is ​[h​​ ]​; the diacritic for unaspirated is
[​=​].

7 An aspirated sound is one which is pronounced with ​a puff of

air.

W ceremony - ​gradually ​- amateur - ​professional ​- amusing -

B enormous - ​aerial ​- ​playwright -​ au​th​or - rhythm

[Page 162]
1 /m/ and /n/ are partially devoiced when​ ​they occur after /s/
sound.

2 /j/, /w/ and /l/ are partially devoiced when ​they occur after
voiceless plosive /p,t,k/.

3 Voiced plosives and fricatives and affricates are partially

devoiced when ​they occur at the end of a word before a pause
or a stop in the speech.

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4
The diacritics to show a devoiced allophone is​ ​[​ ̥ ].
5 In the contexts described above, the following allophonic
variations are possible:
/m/ -> [​ m] [m̥]
/n/ -> [​ n] [n̥]
/l/ -> ​[l] [l̥]
/r/ -> [​ r] [r̥]
/w/ -> ​[w] [w̥]
/j/ -> ​[j] [j̥]
/b/ ->​ [b] [b̥]
/d/ -> [​ d] [d̥]
/g/ -> [​ g] [g̥]
/v/ ->​ [v] [​v̥]
/ð/ ->​ [ð] [ð̥ ]
/z/ -> ​[z] [z̥]
/dʒ/ ->​ [dʒ] [dʒ̥]

W inventive - precise - ​nature ​- technolo​g​y - manufacture - ​luxury ​-

B thesis ​- challen​g​e - negative - ​machine

[Page 167]
1 Inaudible plosion occurs when ​a plosive of one kind is followed
by a plosive of another.

2 Inaudible plosion can occur within a syllable or across two

syllables when a plosive​ ​of one position​ ​is followed by a plosive
of a different position.

3 Inaudible plosion also occur frequently when a plosive ​comes at

the end of words immediately before silence.

4 The diacritic for inaudible plosion is [ ​ ̚ ].

5 We can summarise this allophonic variation as follow:

/p/ -> [​ p] [p̚ ]
/t/ ->​ [t] [t̚ ]

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 /k/ -> ​[k] [k̚ ]
/b/ ->​ [b] [b̚ ]
/d/ -> [​ d] [d̚ ]
/g/ -> [​ g] [g̚ ]

W product - productivity - c​o​ntrol - irrigate - addition - benefit -

B standed - prepare - comparison - regardless

[Page 171]
1 An unreleased plosive is one in which the air ​is stopped but not
released at all.

2 Unreleased plosion occurs when one plosive comes before

another plosive ​of the same position.

3 Unreleased plosion must be distinguished from inaudible

plosion which occurs between​ ​plosives of a different position​.

4 To show unreleased plosion we use the diacritic​ [ ͡ ].

5 We also use the diacritic to show ​doubling that occurs when

fricatives and continuants meet across a syllable boundary​.

6 It’s Important to remember that many words in English use 2

letters for one sound. For example, ​litter, manner, glottal, and
hippo.

W succeed ​- ​marine ​- reli​g​ion - mechanism - ​resources ​- for

B example - ​progress ​- hovercraft - located - candle

[Page 176]
1 A velarized sound is one in ​which the back of the tongue is
raised somewhat towards the soft palate.

2 The velarized /l/ in English is known as ​dark [l].̃

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3 Clear [l] occurs before​ ​vowel sounds and /j/,
and dark [l]̃ occurs everywhere else.

W automatically - nuclear - country - ​instance ​- materialize -

B jewellery - atomic - ​decision -​ widespread - ​authority

[Page 181]
1 Plosives have nasal release when ​followed by nasal continuant.

2 Nasal release means that the air ​escapes through the

continuant - that is, nasally.

3 Alveolar plosives have lateral release when ​followed by the

lateral continuant- /l/ sound.

4 Lateral release means that the air ​escapes through the lateral
continuant- that is, laterally.

5 We show nasal release by the diacritic​ ​[ ​ⁿ​ ].

6 We show lateral release by the diacritic ​[ ​ˡ​ ].

7 When the sounds /n/ or /l/ act as syllables - that is, they could
act as a unit of rhythm, we say that they are ​syllabic​.

8 For this we use the diacritic ​[ ​ˌ​ ].

9 A syllabic [ l̩ ] is always regarded as occurring in word final

position.

W administration - ​majority ​- ​contract ​- control - rise - ​nomadic ​-

B council - advance - expert - policy

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 [Page 185]
1 Assimilation occurs when ​a phoneme change into another
phoneme (becoming similar) because of its context.

2 Before bilabial sounds, /t/, /d/ and /n/ can ​become bilabial (/p/,
/b/ and /m/).

3 Before velar sounds, /t/, /d/ and /n/ can ​become velar (/k/, /g/
and /ŋ/.

4 Before alveolo-palatal /ʃ/ and palatal sounds /j/, the sounds /s/
and /z/ ​can become alveolo-palatal sounds (/ʃ/ and /ʒ/).

5 /t/ and /j/ ​can be combined to produce the alveolo-palatal

affricate /tʃ/​.
/d/ and /j/ ​can be combined to produce the alveolo-palatal
affricate /dʒ/​.

6 Assimilation generally occurs at​ ​word boundary​ and ​in certain

cases where two sounds are combined to produce new sound.
(or in quick speech patterns).
W crime - punishment - serious - ​misconduct ​- logical - arrested -
B proportion ​- court - prison​er​ - criminal

[Page 189]
1 Elision means​ ​to drop sounds out to make speech flow
smoothly.

2 /t/ and /d/ may be elided ​when any of them occur between 2
consonants in order to make our speech flow smoothly.

3 /ə/ may be elided ​in non-final position between 2 consonants,

especially if the following consonant is /l/ or /r/.

W thieves - initial - efficiency - fact​o​ry - ​decline ​- necessity -

B position -​ lore - support - advisable

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 [Page 195]
1 A linking consonant is one which​ is added when vowel sounds
meet within word boundaries in order to link between the two
vowels as to make the sequence smoother.

2 The linking /j/ is used​ w ​ hen vowel sounds meet and the first one
is /iː/, /i/, /əi/, /ai/, /ɔi/.

3 The linking /w/ is used ​when vowel sounds meet and the first
sound is /u:/, /au/, /u/ or /əu/.

4 The linking /r/ is used ​when vowel sounds meet and the first
sound is /ə:/, /ə/, /iə/, /eə/or /uə/.

5 If /r/ is pronounced when it is not in the spelling, we call it an

intrusive ​r.

6 ​ onsonant sounds in R.P.

/r/ never occurs before​ c

7 The types of sound-change in context which we have studied

are:
a) Allophones
b) Assimilation
c) Elision
d) Linking consonants

8 We have studied allophonic variation in terms of:

a) aspiration [ h​​ ] and [ =​​ ]
b) voicing [̥]
c) doubling [͡ ]
d) Unreleased plosion [ ͡ ]
e) Lateral release [ l̩ ]
f) Nasal release [ n̩ ]
g) Clear and dark /l/: [ l ] and [ l ̃ ]
h) Inaudible plosion [ ̚ ]

W percent - committ​ed​ - however - ​hostage ​- gambling - ​burglary ​-

B perjury -​ crippled - declared - argue - market - ​consumer ​-
prevention - experience - honest - w​a​llet - greatest - partially -
trustworthy - antisocial - neighbouring - decent - ​worthwhile ​-
experiment - exploration - phonetics - achievement -

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 manslaughter ​- era - conclusion

[Page 201]

1 Human language is​ a complex system of exchanging

information, for passing messages,​ through words.

2 Meaning​ is determined by the context in which a word is found.

3 There are 44 ​sounds ​in English.

4 The study of the sounds of language is called ​phonetics​.

5 Symbols between slanted lines differentiate​ sounds from

letters.

6 When the vocal cords vibrate ​voiced​ sounds are produced.

7 A sound made by the two lips is a ​bilabial​ sound.

8 A plosive sound is made by ​stopping the air at the mouth then

releasing quickly.

9 An alveolar sound is one which ​is made by obstructing the air

somehow at the teeth ridge.

10 The ‘alveolar ridge’ is another name for the​ teeth ridge.

11 Sounds made at the soft palate are called ​velar​.

12 The sounds /p/,/t/ and /k/ are all ​voiceless plosives.

13 A sound made by releasing air gradually through a narrow hole

in the mouth is called a ​fricative​.

14 A labio-dental sound is made​ with the upper teeth touch the

lower lip.

15 The voiceless labio-dental fricative is ​/f/​.

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16 Two words which differ in only one sound are called a ​minimal
pairs.

17 A ​dental sound​ is made with the tip of the tongue between the
teeth.

18 The sound /θ/ is a ​voiceless dental fricative.

19 The difference between the sounds /s/ and /z/ is that /s/ is
voiceless​ whereas /z/ is ​voiced​.

20 In word mothers the final s is pronounced ​/z/​.

21 The plural form of a word ending with the sound /s/ or /z/, /ʃ/
or /ʒ/ and /tʃ/ or /dʒ/, followed by s or es ​is pronounced /iz/.

22 The voiceless, alveolo-palatal fricative is ​/ʃ/.

23 The sound /ʒ/ can occur in word ​medial position​ and word ​final
position​ but never in word ​initial​ position.

24 An alveolo-palatal sound is made when ​the tongue touches the

teeth ridge and hard palate.

25 An affricate is made by a ​stop​ followed by ​a slow release of air

with friction.

26 The /h/ sound is a​ voiceless glottal fricative.

27 The sound /h/ occurs in ​word initial​ and in ​word medial

position, but never in ​word final ​position.

28 The difference between the sound /ʒ/ and /dʒ/ is in ​manner​ of

production.

29 After ​voiceless ​sounds (except /t/) the suffix -ed is pronounced

/t/.

30 In the word ​planted ​the final ed is pronounced ​/id/.

31 When the air escapes through the nose we have ​nasal​ sounds.

32 The sounds /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/ are all ​nasal​ and ​voiced​. They
differ in ​position (place of articulation)​.

33 The sound /ŋ/ is never found in word ​initial​ position.

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34 A sound which is not nasal is ​oral​.

35 The voiced, lateral continuant is ​/l/.

36 In British English r is never pronounced if it comes ​before a

consonant sound.

37 The sound /r/ is a ​voiced post-alveolar continuant sound.

38 All vowels are voiced, ​oral​ and ​continuant sounds.

39 The vowel diagram represents the ​area​ of the mouth in which

vowels are pronounced and ​the state of the highest point​ of
the tongue in the mouth.

40 The close vowels are ​/i:/, /i/, /u:/ and /u/.

41 When describing the vowel, close means that ​the highest point
of the tongue is at ​high ​position inside the mouth.

42 The vowel /e/ is a front vowel with the tongue ​between

half-close and half-open position.

43 The difference between /æ/ and /e/ is that /æ/ is ​lower in the
mouth ​than /e/.

44 For the vowel /aː/ the lips are ​neutrally open.

45 The back vowel with the tongue in open position is ​/ɔ/.

46 The back vowels are​ /u:/, /u/ , /ɔ:/ ​and​ /ɔ/ .

47 The vowel /aː/ is more ​front i​ n the mouth than the vowel /ɔ/.

48 The lips are closely rounded for the vowels​ /u/​ and ​/u:/.

49 The central vowel with the tongue raised just above open
position is ​/ʌ/.

50 The vowel /ə:/ is a ​central vowel said with the tongue between
half-open and half-close position and the lips are neutrally
spread.

51 The vowels ​/ə:/ ,/ɔ:/ and /a:/​ are never followed by the sound /r/
before a consonant, even if there is an ​r​ in the spelling.

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52 Schwa is the name for the vowel ​/ə/​.

53 Schwa is a ​central unstressed​ vowel with the tongue ​between

half-close and half-open position.

54 /ə/ never occurs in ​accented syllables.

55 The weak vowels are ​/ə/, /i/ and /u/.

56 Vowels​ are made by letting the air come freely from the mouth,
and by moving the tongue slightly.

57 The word ​porter ​is pronounced ​/pɔ:tə/.

58 In orthography the word /θəːst/ is ​thirst.

59 The phonemes of English consist of both ​consonants​ and ​vowel

sounds.

60 English has a total of ​44​ phonemes.

61 English has ​24​ consonants, ​12​ pure vowels and ​8 ​diphthongs.

62 A diphthong is ​a sound which starts like one vowel and ends

like another within the same syllable.

63 Diphthongs end in either ​/i/ or /u/ or /ə/.

64 Front-closing​ diphthongs are those which end in /i/.

65 Back-closing​ diphthongs are those which end in /u/.

66 Centering​ diphthongs are those which end in /ə/.

67 /w/ and /j/ are known as ​semi-vowels​ or ​glides​.

68 /w/ is a ​voiced bilabial semi-vowel (glide).

69 /j/ is a ​voiced ​palatal ​glide (semi-vowel).

70 These sounds are known as semi-vowels because​, although like

vowels, they behave like consonants inside the syllable.

71 These sounds are known as glides because​ /j/ is a ‘glide’ from

/i:/ or /i/ into a full vowel; /w/ is a ‘glide’ from /u:/ or /u/ into a
full vowel.

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72 Rock it yourself.

73 Chew on it.

74 Some coffee,pls.

75 A phoneme is ​a sound which is capable of changing meaning

in a language.

76 An allophone is ​the variety of a single phoneme.

77 Voiceless plosives become ​unaspirated​ after /s/.

78 The ​diacritics​ for an unaspirated allophone is [ =​​ ].

79 Voiced plosives become partially devoiced ​after certain

voiceless sounds in a cluster.

80 Voiced sounds ​become partially devoiced after​ following a

voiceless sound in a cluster and also at the end of words
before silence.

81 When two plosives with the ​same ​position come next to each
other,​ unreleased plosion​ occurs.

82 When two plosives with ​different ​position come next to each

other, ​inaudible plosion​ occurs.

83 When the final consonant and the initial consonant which

follows are the same, ​doubling ​occurs.

84 An alveolar plosive may show ​lateral release​ when it’s followed

by /l/.

85 An alveolar plosive may show ​nasal release​ when it is followed

by /n/.

86
Syllabic /l/ and /n/ are shown by the diacritics [ ​ ˌ​ ].
87 When a phoneme changes to become like a preceding or
following phoneme in rapid speech, we call this ​assimilation​.

88 When a phoneme is dropped out in rapid speech, we call this

elision​.

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89 /j/ and /w/ act as ​linking​ consonants when they occur in rapid
speech at the boundary between two vowel sounds.

90 /r/ is a ​linking​ consonant if it occurs in the spelling also;

otherwise, we speak of ​intrusive​ /r/.

91 Transcribe phonemically ​Egypt ​/’i:dʒipt/.

92 Transcribe phonemically ​complete​ ​/kəm’pli:t/.

93 Transcribe phonemically ​why /​ wai/.

94 Transcribe phonemically ​spare /​ speə/.

95 Transcribe phonemically ​choices /​ tʃɔisiz/.

96 Transcribe phonemically ​signpost /​ ’sainpəust/.

97 Transcribe phonemically ​useless /​ ’ju:sləs/.

98 Transcribe phonemically curiously ​/’kjuəriəsli/.

99 A syllable is​ the sound unit upon which rhythm is based.

100 The syllable structure of English is ​the phonotactics rules that

determine and govern which sounds can come together in a
syllable.

101 A group of consonants occuring in sequence is known as a

consonant cluster.

102 In natural speech, final consonant clusters have ​up to three

consonants​.

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