Revision (unit 1-13)

Task 1. Fill in the blanks with suitable words

(a) larynx (b) lungs (c) environment (d) allophones

(e) vocal tract (f) vowels (g) first (x2) (h) shift
(i) smallest (j) final (k)Ambisyllabic (l) meaning
(m) stressed (n) trachea

A. In producing most speech sounds, including all the sounds used regularly in English, the air we
use comes from the (1………..). This air travels up from the lung, passing through the
(2………..) (windpipe), until it reaches the (3………..) where it might be set into vibration. The
(3………..) is commonly known as the voice box, and its front is the protrusion that can be felt
in the front of the neck, which is called the Adam’s apple in men. The air passes through the
(3………..) into the (4………..).

B. In terms of theory, researchers also sometimes disagree about the syllable distribution of the
intervocalic consonants (consonants in between (5………….)). Some people think that stress
attracts intervocalic consonants, so that the /p/ in ‘happy’ would belong to the (6………….).
syllable, as it is stressed (louder and longer than the second syllable). Some others, however,
think that the /p/ in ‘happy’ belongs to both syllables at the same time (that is, as the coda of the
first syllable and the onset of the second) and say it is (7………….).

C. When we say the words Chinese and Waterloo in isolation, the stress is on the (8………….).
syllable: Chiˈnese and Waterˈloo. However, in phrases like ˈChinese ˈtakeaway and ˈWaterloo
ˈstation, stress likely falls on the (8………….) syllable of each element. This phenomenon is
known as stress (9………….)., because stress shifts from the lexical stress position to somewhere
else. This happens because another (10………….) syllable occurs immediately afterwards – that
is, at the start of ‘takeaway’ and ‘station’. English likes stressed syllables to be separated by some
unstressed syllables, and stress shift is one of the techniques the language employs to do just that.
D. Phonemes are the (11………….) units that can make a meaning difference in a language, but they
occur in slightly different forms depending on their (12………….). (the other sounds around
them, and factors such as stress and their position in the syllable). We can tell if two sounds are
variants of the same phoneme by replacing one for another in a word and seeing if they make a
(13………….). difference. If they do not, then we know they are different versions of the same
phoneme. These different versions are called (14………….).

Task 2. Match the symbols on the left with the places of articulation on the right. There will
only be one match for each one.
/p/ postalveolar
/z/ labiodental
/f/ palatal
/ð/ velar
/tʃ/ alveolar
[ʔ] dental
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 /j/ bilabial
/ŋ/ glottal

Task 3. For each section below, find appropriate words according to the instructions you are
given.
1. Find three words that rhyme with ‘can’, but which start with bilabials.
2. Find six words that are like ‘make’, except that they finish with an alveolar sound in place of /k/.
Remember to keep the vowel the same and not to think about spelling.
3. Find three words where the first two sounds are exactly like those in ‘tut’, but which end with a
velar sound instead of the final /t/.

Task 4. Each of the following sets contains an inappropriate member. Pick it out and say why it is
inappropriate.

Set A

1. /m, n, ŋ, b/

2. /p, b, t, n/

3. /p, t, m, s/

4. /ʊ, e, æ, ɪ/

5. /l, f, v, s, z/

6. /t, d, l, n, p/

7. /t, d, p, f, s/

8. /t, k, g, ŋ/

9. /p, tʃ, r, dʒ/

10. /r w j t/

Set B

1. /b p v dʒ n l r/

2. /ɡ l t d n s z/
3. /f ʃ ʒ θ v w ð/
4. /n l r w d j m/

Task 5. Give the correct technical terms for the sounds resulting from the following closures.

1. Complete closure followed by slow release of air

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2. Complete closure for the oral cavity with the air diverted through the nose.
3. Partial closure where the airstream is blocked by the tip of the tongue but allowed to escape
round the sides of the tongue.
4. Complete closure followed by a sudden release of air
5. Sounds that involve some kind of pressure change and noise in their production. They include
plosives, affricates and fricatives.

Task 6: Complete the table with suitable information

Place of articulation Active articulator Passive articulator

(1………...........) Bottom lip Top lip
Labiodental Bottom lip (2………...........)
Dental Tongue tip Upper front teeth
Alveolar Tongue tip (3………...........)
Region (4………...........) the
Postalveolar Tongue tip or blade
alveolar ridge
Palatal Tongue (5………...........) Hard palate
Velar Tongue (6………...........) Velum
Glottal Vocal folds (7………...........)

Task 7. Decide whether the statements below are true or false. If they are false, explain why.
a) The velum is lowered for /ɡ/.
b) All nasals are sonorants.
c) All voiced sounds are sonorants.
d) The air is turbulent during the production of a fricative.
e) Air flows over the sides of the tongue for /j/.
f) Approximants are devoiced when they occur in a cluster after a voiceless plosive in
the onset of a stressed syllable.
g) The /w/ in ‘weed’ is not devoiced because it does not follow a voiceless plosive in a cluster.
h) There is a devoiced /r/ in ‘tree’ and ‘privet’, and a devoiced /l/ in ‘plant’ and ‘clover’.
j) The /r/ in ‘country’ is not devoiced because /tr/ is not the onset of a stressed syllable

Task 8. Match the symbols on the left to the appropriate word on the right. There will only be
one match for each one.

/ɪə/ part
/ɑ/ boy
/ɛə/ cow
/u/ mass
/æ/ hair
/ɪ/ gin
/ɔɪ/ plume
/aʊ/ hear
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Task 9. Each of these transcriptions of English words contains errors. Spot the errors and
correct them .

a) quick /qwic/
b) ring /Ring/
c) box /Box/

Task 10. Transcribe the following sentences phonemically.

a) Have you got anything alcohol-free?

b) The birds are on the feeders in the garden.
c) I believe she’s got eleven units left to write.

Task 11. Find minimal pairs to illustrate that the following pairs of sounds belong to separate
phonemes in English.

For example, for [t]–[d], you could say ‘tangle’ and ‘dangle’.

[p]–[b]
[s]–[z]
[θ]–[ð]
[z]–[ʒ]
[ɡ]–[ʒ]
[ŋ]–[h]

Task 12. Which of the following words can be words in English? Which ones cannot be
English words? Explain why.

/dem/
/ŋʊdəl/
/splim/
/spfid/
/ʒɔdʒ/
/bɑh/
/sɪŋt/

Task 13. Divide the following words into syllables and explain for your answers.
1. Lengthy
2. Restore

Task 14. Transcribe the following words phonetically

gold, silver, bronze, website, bagpipe, hotdog

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Task 15. Transcribe the following phrases broadly, as they would be spoken by a non-rhotic
speaker. Next, divide them into three groups, according to whether they can be produced with
intrusive /r/, linking /r/ or neither.
fire in the hole
car boot
Arizona and Tennessee
pay on time
in awe of him
a pair of fives

Task 16. Transcribe the following words and sentences phonemically, including all place
assimilations that could occur.
a. white coffee; red wine; green grass; violet cream; chocolate brown
b. Those sheriffs surely can’t mend my shotgun quickly.

Task 17. The sentences below have been transcribed in isolated form. Imagine them spoken in
connected speech and add any potential weak forms, elisions, liaisons and assimilations.
a) /ðæt bɑ ɪznt kwaɪt bɪg ɪnʌf/
b) /ðə best frend ʃid menʃənd kʊdənt kʌm/