Midterm Exam Review

Phonetics is

• prescriptive

• descriptive

Phonological rules are

• patterns observed and described by linguists

• extremely consistent over long periods of time

• variable according to changes that happen over time

• voted on by speakers of a given language

Allophonic (phonetic) transcription is also called ​ (a)   transcription and is transcribed inside ​ (b)   . Phonemic transcription is also called ​ (c)   transcription and is transcribed inside ​ (d)   .

• narrow
• brackets
• broad
• virgules

Any sound produced by a speaker saying words: ​ ​ (a)  

The smallest unit of sound that affects meaning in a language: ​ (b)  

The basic unit of phonetics: ​ (c)  

The basic unit of phonology: ​ (d)  

• phone
• phoneme

Allophones that can be freely substituted for one another occur in ​ (a)   . Allophones that occur in specific contexts and cannot be substituted for one another occur in ​ (b)   . The dark /l/ produced by most speakers at the end of the word ball and the light /l/ produced by most speakers at the beginning of the word light are examples of allophones in ​ (c)   . The released or unreleased /p/ at the end of the word "stop" are examples of allophones in ​ (d)   .

• free variation
• complimentary distribution

The International Phonetic Alphabet is

• an alphabetic system

• an analphabetic system

• a compromise between alphabetic and analphabetic systems

Which of the following are not minimal pairs?

• shark and shirk

• shark and spark

• shark and sharp

• shark and mark

Answer explanation

Remember that minimal pairs differ by only one phoneme. SHARK and SPARK differ by 2 phonemes: SH (which is 1 phoneme) vs S-P (which is 2 phonemes).

Match the systems of the speech mechanism to their functions below:

• shapes the vocal tract to change tones

• Articulatory System

• fine tunes sounds into speech sounds

• Respiratory System

• provides the air source for speech sound

• Resonatory System

• provides the tone for voiced sounds

• Phonatory System

Most speech is pulmonic, meaning that it is produced on air as it is ______ from the lungs.

Which of the following statements are true regarding respiration for speech compared to respiration at rest?

• Breath cycles have shorter inhalation phases and longer exhalation phases in breathing for speech.

• Breath cycles have longer inhalation phases and shorter exhalation phases in breathing for speech.

• Breathing for speech requires less precise control than breathing at rest.

• Breathing for speech requires more precise control than breathing at rest.