1. What is the primary focus of phonology?

(A) The physical size and shape of vocal tracts

(B) The creation of new speech sounds

(C) The description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language

(D) The actual physical articulation of speech sounds

2. Why is the human vocal tract's physical variation significant in speech?

(A) It leads to physically different ways of pronouncing sounds even within the same

language

(B) It ensures everyone pronounces sounds identically

(C) It has no significant impact on speech patterns

(D) It restricts the range of sounds that can be produced

3. What allows us to recognize different pronunciations of the same word?

(A) The speed of speech

(B) The spelling of words

(C) The physical size of the speaker

(D) Our phonological knowledge of likely combinations of sounds

4. What is phonology concerned with in language?

(A) The size of the vocal tract

(B) The abstract or mental aspect of speech sounds

(C) Only the actual physical articulation of sounds

(D) The frequency of speech occurrences

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5. How do phonologists represent phonemes?

(A) With slash marks, such as /t/

(B) With square brackets

(C) With curly braces

(D) With parentheses

6. What property of a phoneme is essential for its identification?

(A) Its spelling

(B) Its length

(C) Its physical production

(D) Its contrastive function

7. What determines if two sounds are different phonemes in English?

(A) If substituting one for another changes the meaning of a word

(B) If they are noticeable in pronunciation

(C) If they are from different languages

(D) If they are produced by different vocal tracts

8. What do phonetic [t] sounds generally represent in phonology?

(A) Different sound types

(B) Visual representations of sounds

(C) Variations of the same sound type represented by one phoneme

(D) Non-meaningful distinctions

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9. What basic operational test is used to determine the existence of phonemes in

a language?

(A) Ignoring the physical production of sounds

(B) Counting the number of sounds in a word

(C) Noting the pitch of sounds

(D) Substituting one sound for another in a word to see if meaning changes

10. What are the features that characterize the phoneme /p/ in English?

(A) [−voice,+velar,+stop]

(B) [−voice,+bilabial,+stop]

(C) [+voice,+velar,+stop]

(D) [+voice,+bilabial,+stop]

11. Which symbol is used to mark a feature present in a phoneme?

(A) minus sign (−)

(B) tilde (˜)

(C) plus sign (+)

(D) hash (#)

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12. What is the phonetic representation of the aspirated version of the [t] sound

as in 'tar'?

(A) [f ʰ]

(B) [t ʰ]

(C) [D]

(D) [t

13. How are allophones of a phoneme described?

(A) They result in different meanings when substituted for another

(B) They are abstract units or sound types.

(C) They are phones of one set represented with "allo-" prefix

(D) They have no specific representation in narrow phonetic transcription

14. What is the usual pronunciation of the [t] sound in 'star' compared to 'tar'?

(A) Almost the same

(B) More aspirated

(C) Vibrant

(D) Less aspirated

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15. What minimal pair example would test the contrast between /p/ and /b/ in

English?

(A) fan–van

(B) pl-–vl-

(C) pat–bat

(D) site–side

16. What does substituting one phoneme for another in a word typically result

in?

(A) A different meaning

(B) No change in meaning or pronunciation

(C) A different pronunciation

(D) A grammatical error

17. In English, is there a contrast between the pronunciation of [sin] and [sın]?

(A) No, it's a spelling difference

(B) No, it’s allophonic variation

(C) Yes, but only in certain dialects

(D) Yes, it’s a phonemic contrast

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18. What is the difference between the nasalized /i/ in 'seen' compared to 'seed'

in English?

(A) Represented as [i] vs

[ı

(B) Produced in the back of the mouth

(C) [i] and [e] in similar environments

(D) Has no effect on recognition

19. Can two languages have the same phonetic segments but treat them

differently?

(A) Yes

(B) No

(C) Only in polysynthetic languages

(D) It depends on the dialects

20. Example of a minimal pair in English for testing /b/ and /p/:

(A) fan–van

(B) site–side

(C) bet–bat

(D) tab–tap

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21. What linguistic unit is described as [−voice, +bilabial, +stop]?

(A) /v/

(B) /k/

(C) /b/

(D) /p/

22. How is the nasal consonant [n]'s effect on the vowel [i] in 'seen' represented

in a narrow phonetic transcription?

(A) [ı]

(B)

[nı

(C) [i ˜]

(D)

[ı

23. When comparing /v/ and /p/ in phonological natural classes, what is true?

(A) /v/ shares all features with /p/

(B) /v/ and /p/ are both voiceless stops

(C) /v/ cannot be in the same natural class as /p/ and /k/

(D) /v/ is also a stop but a bilabial

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24. When a group of words can be differentiated each one from the others by

changing one phoneme in the same position, what do we call this group?

(A) a sound cluster

(B) a minimal set

(C) an allophonic array

(D) a phonetic series

25. What type of exercise involving minimal sets helps in understanding the

patterns of sound combinations permitted in English?

(A) Semantic analysis

(B) Phonotactics

(C) Morphological analysis

(D) Phonetic transcription

26. Why do forms such as 'ligorvig' not exist in English despite being possible

according to phonological knowledge?

(A) They are not recognized by dictionaries.

(B) They are not used in any English words.

(C) They violate some constraints on the sequence or position of phonemes.

(D) They are deemed unnatural by native speakers.

27. What is required for a syllable to exist in language?

(A) A consonant cluster.

(B) A silent pause.

(C) A vowel or vowel-like sound.

(D) A consonant at the beginning.

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28. What consists of a vowel followed by any following consonant(s) in the

structure of a syllable?

(A) A diphthong

(B) An onset

(C) A nucleus

(D) A coda

29. What are syllables like 'me' and 'toor', which have an onset and a nucleus but

no coda, known as?

(A) Minimal syllables

(B) Closed syllables

(C) Complex syllables

(D) Open syllables

30. In English, which phonemic rule allows consonant clusters in the onset of

certain words?

(A) The first consonant must always be /s/, followed by one of the voiceless stops (/p/,

/t/, /k/) and a liquid or glide (/l/, /r/, /w/).

(B) The onset may contain any three consonants in any combination.

(C) The coda can have a unique combination of consonants but not the onset.

(D) The first consonant can be any consonant followed by a vowel.

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31. What is the process called when speech sounds are articulated almost at the

same time as they move from one sound to another?

(A) Phonetic flow

(B) Articulation overlap

(C) Coarticulation

(D) Sound blending

32. Which coarticulation effect involves a sound segment changing to become

more similar to an adjacent sound?

(A) Insertion

(B) Assimilation

(C) Substitution

(D) Elision

33. How is the process of assimilation defined?

(A) A phonetic study of consonant clusters

(B) A grammatical analysis of sentence structure

(C) The complete omission of a speech sound

(D) When one segment of speech influences or copies an aspect of another segment

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34. Why does the /v/ sound in 'I have to go' often become voiceless in everyday

speech?

(A) To maintain the same vowel quality

(B) Because of the stress pattern of the phrase

(C) Because it is quicker, easier, and more efficient for articulators

(D) Due to the influence of the following plosive sound

35. What word is often transcribed as [hæft ə] in informal writing due to

assimilation?

(A) I have

(B) have gone

(C) have been

(D) have to

36. Which feature do vowels possess more often when they precede nasal

consonants in English?

(A) Secondary articulation

(B) Vowel lengthening

(C) A higher tone

(D) Nasal quality

37. What phonological rule can be stated for vowels preceding nasals in English?

(A) Any vowel becomes nasal whenever it immediately precedes a nasal

(B) Phonemes shift towards the next syllable

(C) Vowels always remain oral

(D) Voiceless stops are voiced before nasals

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38. What happens to the 'can' in 'I can go' due to assimilation?

(A) It remains [n] but gets lengthened

(B) It is omitted entirely

(C) It is usually pronounced as [ŋ] instead of [n]

(D) It changes to [m] to assimilate to the nasal

39. Which process describes the non-pronunciation of speech segments common

in casual speech?

(A) Assimilation

(B) Elision

(C) Epenthesis

(D) Metathesis

40. In the pronunciation of 'likened', which segment is often affected by elision?

(A) The [d] sound

(B) The [k] sound

(C) The [i] sound

(D) The [n] sound

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41. What is the difference between a phoneme and an allophone?

(A) N/A

(B) Phonemes are whole words, while allophones are sounds; Phonemes are individual

sounds, while allophones are variations of sounds; A phoneme indicates stress,

whereas an allophone does not; Phonemes can't change meaning, while allophones

always do

(C) N/A

(D) N/A

42. What is meant by 'phonotactics' in the context of a language?

(A) The stress pattern of a language; The rules for permissible syllable structures; The

tone variations possible in speech; The semantic field of a word

(B) N/A

(C) N/A

(D) N/A

43. What is an aspirated sound, and which word among these is normally

pronounced with it?

(A) N/A

(B) N/A

(C) N/A

(D) A sound with a strong breath; Kill; Pool; Skill; Spool

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44. Which words would typically be treated as minimal pairs in English?

(A) N/A

(B) N/A

(C) ban, bat; pen, pin; fat, feat; tape, top; bet, bat

(D) N/A

45. Which word segments are most likely affected by elision in 'government'?

(A) The medial /v/ and /r/

(B) The medial /g/ and /t/

(C) The initial /g/ and medial /m/

(D) The initial /g/, the medial /n/, the final /t/

46. What Hawaiian phrase did 'Merry Christmas' become for people in Hawai’i?

(A) Mele Kalikimaka

(B) Merry Hawai’i

(C) Naomina

(D) Ke Aloha

47. Based on this evidence, which two English consonants are probably not

phonemes in Hawaiian?

(A) /k/ and /g/

(B) /f/ and /v/

(C) /t/ and /d/

(D) /p/ and /b/

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48. What is a possible issue with the consonant cluster -ntr- in the word 'central'

in the context of phonetics?

(A) It's often mispronounced as 'nental'

(B) It’s considered an incorrect spelling

(C) It can be hard to pronounce for non-native speakers

(D) Hawaiian phonology doesn’t typically support this cluster

49. What is the best way to divide 'central' into two syllables based on common

English syllabification rules, and why?

(A) cen-tral, because it follows common syllable division rules

(B) cent-ral, because it emphasizes the consonantal sounds

(C) cen-trl, because it reduces the vowel length

(D) ce-ntral, because it matches the onset-rhyme division

50. What are suprasegmentals in phonetics?

(A) Pitches, stresses, tones outside individual segmental sounds

(B) Clusters of consonantal sounds

(C) Particular vowels in a language

(D) Non-vowel sounds

51. What is a syllabic consonant in phonetics?

(A) A consonant that cannot start a syllable

(B) A vowel-like sound produced by a consonant

(C) A consonant that forms the nucleus of a syllable

(D) A type of consonantal sound that is always stressed

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52. Which word most likely has a syllabic consonant in its pronunciation?

(A) bottle

(B) castle

(C) wooden

(D) copper

53. What distinguishes syllable-timing and stress-timing in languages, and which

type does English exhibit?

(A) Stresses have equal pitches; English is stress-timed

(B) Stresses have roughly equal duration; English is syllable-timed

(C) Syllables have roughly equal duration; English is stress-timed

(D) Equal number of syllables per unit time; English is syllable-timed

54. In English, what is added to the words 'bat', 'book', 'cough', and 'ship' to form

their plurals?

(A) /d/

(B) /s/

(C) /iz/

(D) /ʌs/

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55. Which feature is common in the sounds that precede the plural ending

pronounced as /z/ in English?

(A) Voiced

(B) Glottal

(C) Nasal

(D) Unvoiced

56. How might one describe the phonological process of transforming 'glorious'

into its negative form?

(A) Doubling the first consonant

(B) Adding 'in' at the beginning

(C) Removing the last syllable

(D) Changing the vowel sound

57. How are the plural endings pronounced as /əz/ or 'IZ' formed in words like

'bus' and 'judge'?

(A) They follow a cluster of consonants

(B) They follow a voiceless consonant preceded by a vowel

(C) They are added after a silent syllable

(D) They follow a voiced consonant preceded by a vowel

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1.C The description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language

2.A It leads to physically different ways of pronouncing sounds even within the same

language

3.D Our phonological knowledge of likely combinations of sounds

4.B The abstract or mental aspect of speech sounds

5.A With slash marks, such as /t/

6.D Its contrastive function

7.A If substituting one for another changes the meaning of a word

8.A Different sound types

9.D Substituting one sound for another in a word to see if meaning changes

10.B [−voice,+bilabial,+stop]

11.C plus sign (+)

12.B [t ʰ]

13.C They are phones of one set represented with "allo-" prefix

14.D Less aspirated

15.C pat–bat

16.A A different meaning

17.B No, it’s allophonic variation

18.A Represented as [i] vs

[ı

19.A Yes

20.C bet–bat

21.D /p/

22.A [ı]

23.A /v/ shares all features with /p/

24.B a minimal set

25.B Phonotactics

26.C They violate some constraints on the sequence or position of phonemes.

28.D A coda

29.D Open syllables

30.A The first consonant must always be /s/, followed by one of the voiceless stops (/p/, /t/,

/k/) and a liquid or glide (/l/, /r/, /w/).

31.C Coarticulation

32.B Assimilation

33.D When one segment of speech influences or copies an aspect of another segment

34.C Because it is quicker, easier, and more efficient for articulators

35.D have to

36.D Nasal quality

37.A Any vowel becomes nasal whenever it immediately precedes a nasal

38.C It is usually pronounced as [ŋ] instead of [n]

39.B Elision

40.D The [n] sound

41.B Phonemes are whole words, while allophones are sounds; Phonemes are individual

sounds, while allophones are variations of sounds; A phoneme indicates stress,

whereas an allophone does not; Phonemes can't change meaning, while allophones

always do

42.A The stress pattern of a language; The rules for permissible syllable structures; The

tone variations possible in speech; The semantic field of a word

43.D A sound with a strong breath; Kill; Pool; Skill; Spool

44.C ban, bat; pen, pin; fat, feat; tape, top; bet, bat

45.D The initial /g/, the medial /n/, the final /t/

46.A Mele Kalikimaka

47.C /t/ and /d/

48.D Hawaiian phonology doesn’t typically support this cluster

49.A cen-tral, because it follows common syllable division rules

50.A Pitches, stresses, tones outside individual segmental sounds

51.C A consonant that forms the nucleus of a syllable

53.C Syllables have roughly equal duration; English is stress-timed

54.B /s/

55.A Voiced

56.B Adding 'in' at the beginning

57.B They follow a voiceless consonant preceded by a vowel

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