MAELT

Phonetics and Phonology (Eng507)

Fall 2019
Assignment No. 1
Total Marks: 20
Lectures: 1-12

Instructions:

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Q1a. A phoneme is the smallest meaningful unit of sound (therefore, a smallest unit in
phonology) in a language. Phoneme is also described as a group of sounds having
the ability to change meaning. Write down the phonemic transcription of the
following words in RP; also identify and write the number of phonemes each word
carries.

Sr. Words Phonemic Transcription in RP Number of Phonemes

1 Six

2 Scissosrs

3 Lamb

Q1b. Bear and bare are spelt differently but pronounced the same, ‘beǝ’ in Received
Pronunciation (RP). Make a list of four other pairs of words which are spelt
differently but pronounced in the same way. (6+4=10 Marks)
Q2. ‘θ’ and ‘ð’ are the confusing fricatives for English language learners. Transcribe the following
words by identifying the correct fricative phoneme in each word.

Sr. Words Transcription

1 Breathe

2 Healthy

3 Bathe

4 Clothe

5 Teeth

6 Loathe

7 Smooth

8 Earthy

9 Loath

10 Wreath

(1*10=10 Marks)