11-01-2018
Mohammed Khider University of Biskra Faculty of Letters and Languages Department of Foreign Languages Branch of English
First Year LMD
Correction of First Term Exam in English Phonetics Task 1 (Knowledge): Define these terms and vowel sounds briefly. (1pt for each similar answer) (4 pts) Diphthong; speech chain; speech organs; back vowel; acoustic phonetics; /ɑʊ/ ; /æ/ ; /ɑː/ ; /ə/ 1. Diphthong is a gliding vowel that consists of two vowels in a single syllable. It refers to a glide from one vowel to another one. There are 8 diphthongs (5 closing diphthongs /eɪ, ɔɪ, ɑɪ, əʊ, ɑʊ/ and 3 centering diphthongs /ɪə, eə, ʊə/). 2. Speech chain describes the stages in speech communication whereby a message moves between the mind of the speaker to the mind of the listener. The stages are psychological stage, the physiological stage and the acoustic stage. 3. Speech organs are the organs used for speech production including the lips, teeth, alveolar ridge, hard palate, velum, uvula, glottis and various parts of the tongue which is involved in the production of the majority of sounds. 4. Back vowel is characterised by moving the tongue backwards without any constriction of airflow. The height of the tongue ranges from high to low with 4 rounded back vowels as in /ʊ, uː, ɒ, ɔː/ and one unrounded vowel /ɑː/. 5. Acoustic phonetics is the study of the acoustic characteristics of speech, including the analysis and description of speech in terms of its physical properties, such as frequency, intensity, and duration. 6. /ɑʊ/ this diphthong begins with a vowel similar to /ɑː/ then there is a large movement to the vowel /ʊ/. This gliding vowel is articulated somewhere between mid-close and mid-open positions. There is a slight lip-rounding. 7. /æ/ in this short vowel, the soft palate is raised and the front of the tongue is placed below the mid-open position. Meanwhile, the lips are neutrally open. 8. /ɑː/ in this long vowel, the soft palate is raised. This long R.P vowel is articulated with a part of the! tongue between the center and the back in the fully open position. The lips are fully open. 9. /ə/ in this short vowel, the soft palate is raised and !the center of the tongue is raised between the half-close !and half-open positions in non-final positions but in final positions it is in the mid-open position. !The lips are neutral.
Task 2 (Application): Represent the closing diphthongs in the vowel chart
(4pts)
(4 pts)
Figure: Vowel Chart for RP Closing Diphthongs
Task 3 (Comprehension):
Circle
the most appropriate option to complete each statement
(5pts)
(4 pts) 1. …………………explores the divergence between the sounds in a language that can change the meaning of an utterance.
a. Phoneme
b. Phone
c. Phonetics
d. Phonology
2. In the articulation of ……………………………, the organs of speech move from one vowel position to another. a. monophthongs
b. diphthongs
c. triphthongs
d. long vowels
3. When producing the vowel sounds, the soft plate is ………………… to let the air released from oral cavity. a. lowered b. raised c. shut off d. closed 4. The …………….…………… is the part of the vocal tract between the larynx and the uvula and under the nasal cavity. a. hard palate b. soft palate c. pharynx d. alveolar ridge 5. The state of the vocal cords determines the …………….………… of any sound when humans produce speech sounds. a. vibration b. vowels c. voicing d. consonants 6. /… / between mid-close and close, front, short, loosely spread lips. This is the identification of the monophtong: a. /æ/
b. /e/
c. /ɪ/
d. /ʊ/
7. When two words are identical in pronunciation except for a contrast in one phoneme, they are described as: a. homophones
b. sounds
c. phonemes
d. minimal pairs
8. …………………….……… is essentially the description of the systems and patterns of speech sounds in a language. a. Sound production
b. Phonology
c. Speech mechanism
d. Phoneme
9. Vowel sounds are produced with a relatively ………….…………… of the air in the vocal tract. a. closure 10. The
b. obstruction
c. free flow
d. narrowing
general study of the characteristics of speech sounds is called:
a. Auditory Phonetics
b. Articulatory Phonetics
c. Acoustic Phonetics
d. Phonetics
Task 4 (Practice): Find the phonemic symbol for the underlined letters and write it between slashes (3pts) (4 pts) 1. Particular /ə/ 5. Quarter / ɔː / 9. Movie / uː / 2. Phoenix / iː / 6. Insert / ɜː / 10. Even / iː / 3. Ready /e/ 7. Blood / ʌ / 11. Great / eɪ / 4. Raw / ɔː / 8. Journey / ɜː / 12. Father / ɑː / Task 5 (Analysis): Discuss one of the following statements (i.e., choose only one question to answer) (4pts)
(4 pts) 1. From a phonetic point of view, what makes human beings unique from animals in speaking?
Human language is unique in spoken form that it allows humans to produce an infinite set of utterances
from a finite set of sounds in which speech organs are used in speaking. But the primary function of the vocal organs is biological then it was developed for speech production also which is not found among animals. So, the communication systems used by animals is limited to a number of possible things that can be communicated.
2.
How to describe the articulation of vowel sounds ? Provide 4 examples with transcription. Phonetically, a vowel is any sound with no audible noise produced by constriction in the vocal tract.
English vowel sounds are categorised according to four features: the position of the soft palate, the shape of the lips (rounded, spread or neutral), the shape (front, center, back) and position of the tongue in the mouth (high, mid, low) and The duration of the vowel (long or short). For example: see /siː/, got /ɡɒt/, sad /sæd/, thought /θɔːt/.
----------------------------------------------- Your Teachers: Dr. Saihi, H & Mr. Aounali, W------------------------------------
