Phonetics Sample Test          Spring 2015                  Name: …………………………


l. Explain what the  redundancy effect  is. It is the fact that regular speech offers more cues for
understanding than necessary. In other words, certain features are redundant and it doesn’t matter
if they are absent in limited input (such as the noise of traffic).



2a Spell the transcribed expression: [tʊprəˈfeə]   to prefer

2b Spell the transcribed expression, tick the correct and cross the incorrect transcription:

     [ənɪksˈtrɔːdɪnriʲəˈkʰʌrəns]v   or    [ənɪksˈtrɔːdɪnriʲəˈkʰj ʊrənts]x   an
extraordinary


         occurrence

2c Transcribe the spelt expression: an impressive personality

     [ənɪmˈpʰresɪvpɜːsəˈnælɪti]

2d Transcribe the expression  K. Tomkova will read:

     [ʃiːkəˈleʔtsˈbʊdəʳɪmɪdʒɪz]



3 Mark main stresses in the following words:   un’known, well-‘known, a‘do, ‘female,

  im‘portant, ‘appetite, pro‘jectile, to pre‘sent a ‘present, to re‘bel against the

  law, pho‘tography, photo‘graphic, ac‘climatize, aquama‘rine, ‘educated,

  ‘constipated, objec‘tivity, apothe‘osis, ine‘xactitude, ad‘ministrative,

  ‘cannibalism, aris‘tocracy, inferi‘ority, electrifi‘cation, meteoro‘logical,

  cere‘moniously, indi‘stinguishable, intelligi‘bility, uni‘lateralism,

  industriali‘zation, internationali‘zation, ‘grasshopper, ‘fire-extinguisher, easy-

  ‘going, post‘graduate, second-‘hand, arch‘bishop, down‘stairs, black‘currant.


4 Give a phonetic description of all the sounds of the word determined. Transcribe the word.

   Do not forget about its main stress. [də’tɜːmɪnd]


Vowels

diphthongs

Monophthongs


type of

horizontal

position of tongue

The degree of openness

= vertical pos. of tongue

labialization

yes - no

quantity,

 reduction

         ə


mid

Mid

no

reduced

         ɜː


mid

Mid

no

long

         ɪ


front-mid

close-mid

spread

reduced








Consonants


 type (real ....)

                 place of articulatiom

                                      manner of articulation

                                                            tension, sonority

                                                                             aspiration


                                                                             yes - no

d

 real

                 alveolar

                                      plosive

                                                            lenis, voiced

                                                                             no

t

 real

                 alveolar

                                      plosive

                                                            fortis, voiceless

                                                                             yes

m

 nasal

                 bilabial

                                      nasal plosive

                                                            lenis, voiced

                                                                             no

n

 nasal

                 alveolar

                                      nasal plosive

                                                            lenis, voiced

                                                                             no


5 Explain these expressions and give a fitting example in English:


  * phonologically relevant stress: one that changes the meaning (‘carrier x ca‘reer)

                                                              or part of speech (a‘n envelope, to
en‘velop; a

                                                             ‘desert, to de‘sert)


  * articulatory difference between consonants and vowels: the absence or presence of



   obstruction


  * affricate: a combination of a stop (=plosive) and a fricative, e.g. /tʃ/, /dʒ/, /tr/, /dr/


  * juncture: a boundary between two words where they can influence each other so they sound
different then in isolation, e.g. ‘Did you make her’ sounding like ‘Jamaica’  shows 3 junctures,
two of which displaying assimilation (affrication to be exact) and reduction.