Quiz of Linguistics
I. Decide whether each of the following statements is True or False.
1. Phonetics is different from phonology in that the latter studies the combinations of the sounds to convey meaning in communication. ( T )
2. Voicing is a phonological feature that distinguishes meaning in both Chinese and English. ( T ) 3. A phone is a phonetic unit that distinguishes meaning. ( F ) 4. English is a tone language while Chinese is not. ( F ) 5. Of all the speech organs, the lips are the most flexible. ( F )
6. A phoneme can be represented by different phones in specific phonetic contexts.
( T )
7. The four sounds /p/,/b/,/m/ and /w/ have one feature in common, i.e, they are all bilabial. ( F )
8. When pitch, stress and sound length are tied to the sentence rather than the word in isolation, they are collectively known as intonation. ( T )
9. In terms of the place of articulation, the following sounds [t][d][s][z][n] share the feature of palatal. ( T )
10. In such sound combinations as /bi:p/, /geip/ and /su:p/, the voiceless stop /p/, occurring in the final position, is unaspirated, i.e. pronounced with the strong puff of air withheld to some extent. ( F )
II. Multiple Choice Items
1. Articulatory phonetics mainly studies___ABD__.
A. the physical properties of the sounds produced in speech B. the perception of sounds C. the combination of sounds D. the production of sounds
2. The distinction between vowels and consonants lies in __B_____ A. the place of articulation B. the obstruction of airstream C. the position of the tongue D. the shape of the lips 3. What is the common factor of the three sounds: p, k, t? A A. voiceless B. spread C. voiced D. nasal
4. What phonetic feature distinguishes the /p/ in “please” and the /p/ in “speak”? B A. voicing B. aspiration C. roundness D. nasality
5. Which of the following is not a distinctive feature in English? C A. voicing B. nasal C. approximation D. aspiration 6. The phonological features of the consonant /k/ are ___B_.
A. voiced stop B. voiceless stop C. voiced fricative D. voiceless fricative 7. /p/ is different from /k/ in ______B__.
A. the manner of articulation B. the shape of the lips
C. the vibration of the vocal cords D. the place of articulation 8. Vibration of the vocal cords results in ___D__.
A. aspiration B. nasality C. Obstruction D. Voicing
9. Of the three branches of phonetics, the longest established, and until recently the most highly developed, is ___D__ phonetics.
A. auditory B. acoustic C. articulatory D. none of the above three
10. In terms of the place of articulation, the following sounds [t][d][s][z][n] share the feature of ___A_.
A. palatal B. alveolar C. bilabial D. dental
III. Term Explanation
1. phoneme A phoneme is a phonological unit; it is a unit that is of distinctive value.
2. allophone The different phones which can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environments are called the allophone.
3. phonology Phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.
4. phonetic Phonetic is a general nature; it is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languages.
5. Supersegmental Features The phonemic features that occur above the level of the segments are called super segmental features.
IV. Short-answer Questions
1. Compare and contrast phonetics and phonology.
Both are concerned with the same aspect of language—the speech sound. But while both are related to the study of sounds, they differ in their approach and focus. Phonetic is a generl nature; it is interested in all the speech sounds used in all human languages. Phonology aims to discover how speech sounds in a language form patterns and how these sounds are used to convey meaning in linguistic communication.
2. What is a phone? How is it different from a phoneme? How are allophones related to a phoneme?
A phone is a phonetic unit or segment. The speech sounds we hear and produce during linguistic communication are all phone.
A phoneme is a phonological unit; it is a unit that is of distinctive value. It is an abstract unit. It is not any particular sounds, but rather it is presented or realized by a certain phone in a certain phonetic context.
The different phones which can represent a phoneme in different phonetic environment are called the allophones of that phoneme.