ENGLISH SPEECH SOUNDS AND THEIR CLASSIFICATIONS

A phoneme is:

• The smallest unit of sound affecting meaning

• A physical articulation of sound

• A variant of a sound in specific contexts

• The study of sound systems

The term "articulation" refers to:

• The way in which vowel sounds are produced

• The movement of air through the vocal tract

• The process by which speech sounds are made

• The rhythm of speech

The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is used to:

• Represent only English sounds

• Provide a one-to-one correspondence between sounds and symbols

• Translate words from one language to another

• Standardize spelling in English

The sound [j] as in "yes" is classified as:

• A palatal fricative

• A palatal approximant

• A velar fricative

• A bilabial fricative

A minimal pair is used to demonstrate:

• The difference in meaning due to a difference in sound

• Similarities in pronunciation between two words

• The concept of syllable stress

• Variations in vowel length

Which of the following describes a "schwa" ([ə]) sound?

• A high front vowel

• A mid-central vowel

• A low back vowel

• A high back vowel

Stress in a word refers to:

• The amount of air pressure used during pronunciation

• The emphasis placed on a particular syllable

• The tone or pitch of the syllable

• The length of the vowel sound

The English rhotic sound [ɹ] as in "red" is best described as:

• A flap

• An approximant

• A trill

• A fricative

Voicing refers to:

• The shape of the lips during articulation

• The position of the tongue

• Vibration of the vocal cords

• Airflow through the nasal cavity

Which of the following is NOT a feature of the sound [l]?

• Alveolar

• Lateral

• Nasal

• Liquid