1. What are the main vocal organs?

2. What is the International Phonetic Alphabet?

3. Write the phonetic symbol that corresponds to the first and final sounds in the
following words.

1. heat 6. shrink

2. stroke 7. toque

3. phase 8. attentive

4. chump 9. flop

5. loonie 10. Wrath

4. Indicate the words in exercise 3 that contain a diphthong and write the phonetic
symbol that corresponds to the diphthong.

5. Write the symbol that corresponds to each of the following phonetic descriptions, then
give an English word or one from a language that you know that contains that sound.

0. Example: voiced alveolar stop [d] “dough”

1. voiceless bilabial stop : …………….

2. low front vowel : ………………….

3. voiced lateral liquid : ……………..

4. voiced velar nasal : ……………….

5. voiced interdental fricative : ……..

6. voiceless post-alveolar affricate : ………….

7. voiced palatal glide 8. mid lax front vowel : ……………..

9. high back tense vowel : …………………

10. voiceless labio-dental fricative: ………………..

1
6. Write the IPA symbol for the first sound in each of the following words:

a. psychology ………. d. knowledge ……………. g. his …………..

b. use ……………… e. physics ………………… h. honour ………

c. caught ……………. f. though ………………… i. show …………

7. For each of the following consonants, state whether the consonant is voiced or
voiceless, place and manner of articulation.

1. [m] 4. [h]

2. [r] 5. [s]

3. [ʒ]

8. List the phonetic properties of each of the following vowels (height, front/backness,
rounded/unrounded, and tense/lax).

1. [o] 4. [ɑ]

2. [ɪ] 5. [ʌ]

3. [ʊ]

9. Write the phonetic symbols that correspond to the vowels in the following words. Two
words do not contain vowels but diphthongs ; what are they ?

bed ; dog ; big ; soil ; day ; man ; woman ; girl

10. Write down the phonetic symbols representing the following descriptions, and
illustrate each of the sounds with words from English or from a language that you know.

a) A voiced labiodental fricative h) A high front tense unrounded vowel

b) A voiceless alveolar fricative i) A low back lax unrounded vowel

c) A voiced palato-alveolar affricate j) A mid front tense unrounded vowel

d) A voiceless glottal fricative k) A mid front lax unrounded vowel

e) A voiceless bilabial stop l) A high back lax rounded vowel

f) A voiceless dental fricative m) A low back lax rounded vowel

g) A voiced velar stop n) A high front tense rounded vowel

2
11. Answer the following questions.

a) What voiced consonant has the same place of articulation as [t] and the same manner of
articulation as [f]?

b) What voiceless consonant has the same active articulator as [b] and the same passive
articulator as [Ө]?

c) What voiced consonant has the same place of articulation as [m] and the same manner of
articulation as [l]?

d) What voiced consonant has the same active articulator as [n] and the same passive
articulator as [f]?

e) Which tense vowel has the same height as [w] and the same advancement as [a]?

f) Which rounded vowel has the same height as [Ɛ]?

12. Indicate whether the following statements are TRUE or FALSE.

a. ____ The term labio-dental refers to an obstruction caused by movement of the lower lip
towards the upper teeth.

b. ____ [ow] is the vowel in the word show.

c. ____ [z, Ө, v] The production of these sounds involves a vibration of the vocal cords.

d. ____ [w, k, l] The production of these sounds involves a movement of the body of the
tongue in the direction of the velum.

e. ____ [o, u, a] In the production of these sounds the lips are rounded.

f. ____ A retroflex sound is produced when the body of the tongue moves up and back in the
direction of the palato-alveolar region.

g. ____ [e] is the vowel sound in the word money.

h. ____ The term dental refers to an obstruction caused by movement of the lower lip towards
the upper teeth.

i. ____ Plosives are produced with complete closure in the vocal tract followed by a gradual
release.

j. ____ The term backness refers to the movement of the blade of the tongue.

3
4