MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Question 1: A ……… is a speech sound in which the airstream from the lungs is not blocked in any
way in the mouth or throat and which is usually pronounced with vibration of the vocal cords.
A. A syllable B. A vowel C. A consonant D. A word
Question 2: Consonants are classed as VOICED if they are produced with vibration of the ………. and
VOICELESS if they are produced without vibration.
A. tounge B. Nose C. Mouth D. vocal cords
Question 3: The word vacillate is pronounced as:
A. /,væsi’leit/ B. /’væsileit/ C. /vəsi’leit/ D. /’væsilət/
Question 4: The word superimpose is pronounced as:
A. /,sju:pə’rimpəuz/ B. /’sju:pəimpəus/ C. /,sju:pə’impəus/ D. /,sju:pərim’pəuz/
Question 5: The word selectivity is pronounced as:
A. / sə,lek’tivəti / B. /,silek’tivəti / C. / silik’tivəti / D. /si,lek’tiviti /
Question 6: The word presidential is pronounced as:
A. /,prezi’dentl/ B. /,prezi’den∫l/ C. /,presi’dentl/ D. /,presi’dentiəl/
Question 7: The word in which the consonant in the middle is voiceless dental fricative is:
A. nothing B. within C. longing D. laughing
Question 8: The word that ends with a voiced velar nasal consonant is:
A. handbag B. long C. Line D. kick
Question 9: Circle the word that begins with a voiced labio-dental fricative consonant.
A. sure B. vine C. Sent D. thy
Question 10: The word that contains low front unrounded vowel is:
A. born B. ban C. Balm D. coin
Question 11: The phonemic transcription for the first sound of “physics” is……….
A. / f / B. / p / C. / ph / D. /h/
Question 12: The word in which the consonant in the middle is voiced palato-alveolar fricative is:
A. racing B. Breathing C. pleasure D. pension
Question 13: The word that begins with a voiceless bilabial consonant is:
A. said B. pay C. Bat D. mate
Question 14: The word that begins with a voiced bilabial plosive is:
A. meat B. Guy C. beat D. kite
Question 15: The phonemic transcription for the first sound of “ought” is……….
A. / o / B. / Ɔ: / C. / Ɔ / D. /əu/
Question 16: Circle the palato-alveolar voiceless fricative:
A. / ʤ / B. / ʒ / C. / ʃ / D. / ʧ /
Question 17: Circle the word that begins with a voiced velar plosive consonant.
A. goggle B. Could C. Gnat D. want
Question 18: The vowel sound in the second syllable of the word “provocative” is ………
A. / Ɔ: / B. . / ə / C. / Ɔ / D. / ə: /
Question 19: Circle the word that ends with a voiced palato-alveolar affricate consonant.
A. speech B. Judged C. manage D. clothe
Question 20: Circle the word that the consonant in the middle is a voiceless velar plosive cosonant.
A. talking B. Ladder C. Passive D. telling
Question 21: The word in which the consonant in the middle is voiced alveolar fricative is:
A. razor B. Father C. ladder D. leisure

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Question 22: The phoneme that does not belong to the class of sounds all sharing one or more
common properties is …….
A. / j / B. / w / C. / r / D. / ʃ /
Question 23: The phoneme that does not belong to the class of sounds all sharing one or more
common properties is …….
A. / ʒ / B. / d / C. / s/ D. / l /
Question 24: The phoneme that does not belong to the class of sounds all sharing one or more
common properties is …….
A. / n / B. / d / C. / k / D. / t /
Question 25: The phoneme that does not belong to the class of sounds all sharing one or more
common properties is …….
A. / b / B. / d / C. / g / D. / s /
Question 26: The phoneme that does not belong to the class of sounds all sharing one or more
common properties is …….
A. / b / B. / p / C. / t / D. / m /
Question 27: The phoneme that does not belong to the class of sounds all sharing one or more
common properties is …….
A. / r/ B. / ʤ / C. / ʒ / D. / ʧ /
Question 28: The phoneme that does not belong to the class of sounds all sharing one or more
common properties is …….
A. / m / B. / w / C. / n / D. / ŋ /
Question 29: Circle the word that ends with a voiceless dental fricative consonant.
A. wife B. with C. Breathe D. bombs
Question 30: Circle the word that the consonant in the middle is a voiced velar nasal consonant.
A. bigger B. Thinner C. longing D. swimming
Question 31: Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic
description:voiced palato-alveolar fricative?
A. [ ʒ ] B. [ ʧ ] C. [ ʤ ] D. [ ʃ ]
Question 32: Which of the following statements is correct? Nasal sounds are produced with
A. the airstream released through the oral cavity
B. the continuous air flow through the mouth
C. with the velum being lowered
D. A & B
Question 33: Which of the following statements is correct? Palatal is made
A. at the hard palate
B. at the soft area toward the rear of the roof of the mouth
C. at the teeth ridge
D. with the tongue placed against the teeth
Question 34: Which of the following phonetic transcriptions that corresponds to each of the following
phonetic description:voiced bilabial nasal ?
A. [ w ] B. [ n ] C. [ŋ ] D. [ m ]
Question 35: Which of the following statements is incorrect? Progressive assimilation is a process by
which
A. the change of a segment is brought about by the preceding segment
B. a sound copies one or more phonetic features from the following sound
C. the sound becomes more like the preceding sound
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 D. a sound spreads one or more phonetic features to the following sound
Question 36: Which of the following statements is correct?
The affricates [t∫ ] and [ ʤ] are
A. consonants produced with a continuous airflow through the mouth
B. consonants produced with the complete stoppage of the air in the mouth which causes
explosion
C. consonants produced with the lowering of the soft palate
D. produced with an initial stop then with a slow separation of the tongue to make friction
Question 37: Which of the following is closest to the minimal pair?
A. [ fæt ] [ hɪt ] fat – hit B. [ fæt ] [ væt ] fat - vat
C. [ fæt ] [ kæt ] fat – cat D. [ fæt ] [ kɪt ] fat – kit
Question 38: The word administrative is pronounced as:
A. /,ædmi’nistrətiv/ B. /əd’ministrətiv/
C. / ədmi’nistrətiv/ D. /‘ædministrətiv/
Question 39: In the three-consonant sequences at the beginning of a syllable like ‘spray’ /spreɪ/ we say
that the s consonant is in ………..position.
A. final B. initio-final C. initial D. medial
Question 40: The word narrative is pronounced as:
A. / nə’rætiv/ B. / ‘næreitiv/ C. / ‘nærətiv/ D. / nə’reitiv/
Question 41: Circle the word that begins with a voiceless labiodental fricative consonant.
A. vat B. Than C. Shine D. feast
Question 42: The initial sound of the second syllable of the word “acknowledge” is ………
A. velar, plosive B. voiceless, plosive
C. alveolar, plosive D. voiced, nasal
Question 43: The phonemic transcription for the first sound of “jeans” is……….
A. / ʤ / B. / ʧ / C. / z / D. / j /
Question 44: The word dynamic is pronounced as:
A. /di’næmik/ B. /’dainəmik/ C. /dai’næmik/ D. /di’neimik/
Question 45: When there are three consonants at the beginning of a syllable, the first consonant must
be an …..
A. /l/ B. /s/ C. /m/ D. /n/
Question 46: A …………. is the smallest unit of sound in a language which can distinguish two words.
A. letter B. Word C. phoneme D. phrase
Question 47: Which of the following is closest to the minimal pair?
A. [ fæt ] [ hɪt ] fat – hit B. [ fæt ] [ kæt ] fat – cat
C. [ fæt ] [ kɪt ] fat – kit D. [ fæt ] [ væt ] fat - vat
Question 48: Which of the following phonetic variations that may happen to the lateral [l] in this
context: [ 'æŋkl ] ankle?
A. [ l ] becomes devoiced after voiced stop [ k ]
B. [ l ] becomes syllabic after voiced stop [ k ]
C. [ l ] becomes unaspirated after voiced stop [ k ]
D. [ l] becomes aspirated after voiced stop [ k ]
Question 49: Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic
description: voiced velar nasal
A. [ g ] B. [ k ] C. [ ð ] D. [ ŋ ]
Question 50: Which of the following statements is incorrect?

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 A. A minimal pair consists of two forms with distinct meanings that differ only by one segment
in the same position of each form.
B. Minimal pair test is a basic test for deciding which sounds are the allophones of the phoneme.
C. Minimal pairs consist of forms that are placed along the horizontal axis with respect to their
place of articulation and the vertical axis to their manner of articulation.
D. Minimal pairs help us establish which sounds contrast in a language.
Question 51: A ………….. is a sound in producing it the airstream coming from the lungs is stopped,
impeded, constricted or otherwise interfered with in its passage to the outside air.
A. vowel B. consonant C. Allophone D. minimal pair
Question 52: Which of the following words begins with a fricative ?
A. tide B. foreign C. medlar D. comment
Question 53: The description voiced labio-dental fricative consonant characterizes ……
A. /θ/ B./ð/ C./v/ D. /ʒ/
Question 54: The affricates [t∫] and [ʤ] are ………. .
A. consonants produced with a continuous airflow through the mouth.
B. consonants produced with the complete stoppage of the air in the mouth which causes
explosion.
C. consonants produced with the lowering of the soft palate.
D. consonants produced with an initial stop then with a slow separation of the tongue to make
friction.
Question 55: Which of the following phoneme differs in place of articulation from the others?
/b/, /p/, /m/, /s/
A. /b/ B. /p/ C. /m/ D. /s/
Question 56: Voiceless stops in initial position become ………. when they are preceded by /s/.
A. voiced B. glottal C. unaspirated D. aspirated
Question 57: Which of the following descriptions characterizes the sound /l/?
A. Light /l/ will never occur before vowels.
B. Dark /l/ will never occur after vowels.
C. Dark /l/ will only occur before vowels.
D. Light /l/ and dark /ɫ/ are allophones of the phoneme /l/ in complementary distribution.
Question 58: Which of the following groups contains a phoneme that differs in voicing from the other
phonemes?
A. [z, d, θ, b ] B. [ m, n, ŋ , ð ] C. [ w, j , r, l ] D. [ b, d, g, z ]
Question 59: Complementary distribution is an indication that the sounds in question
A. minimal pairs D. allophones of the same C. phones C. phonemes
Question 60: Which of the following groups contains a phoneme that differs in manner of articulation
from the other phonemes?
A. [ θ, ð, s, z ] B. [ h, f, v, ð ] C. [ p, b, z, d ] D. [ t, d, g, p ]
Question 61: The word that begins with a voiced alveolar plosive consonant is:
A. keep B. day C. glad D. sip
Question 62: The word 'thin' begins with a ______ sound.
A. dental, voiced, plosive B. labiodental, voiced, fricative
C. interdental, voiceless, plosive D. dental, voiceless, fricative
Question 63: How many phonemes are there in the word collocation?
A. 7 B. 8 C. 9 D. 10
Question 64: Which of the following is closest to the minimal pair?
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 A. /fæt/ - /hɪt/ B. /fæt/ - /kɪt/
C. /fæt/ - /faɪnd/ D. /fæt/ - /kæt/
Question 65: Circle the word that ends with a voiced alveolar nasal consonant.
A. mining B. Bat C. known D. picked
Question 66: Which of the following allophones is applied in the phoneme /l/?
/lɜːn/ (learn), /kɪl/ (kill)
A. complementary distribution B. free variation
C. minimal pair C. near minimal pair
Question 67: The description voiced bilabial nasal characterizes ………. .
A. / ŋ/ B. /m/ C. /n/ D. /w/
Question 68: Example of fricative consonant sounds are ____________
A. /g/ /l/ /h/ B. /t/ /d/ /p/ C. /n/ /m/ /s/ D. /f/ /v/ /s/ /z/
Question 69: Television - the underlined letter is pronounced as a _____ sound.
A. voiced, palatal, fricative B. voiceless, velar, affricate
C. voiceless, palatal, fricative D. voiced, alveolar, affricate
Question 70: Often called the "roof of the mouth". It is the smooth curved surface on top of the mouth
when the tongue glides through.
A. Palate B. Teeth C. Tongue D. Nasals
Question 71: What is voiced sounds?
A. Sounds that make our vocal chords vibrate when they are produced
B. The sound that the mouth position required to make two sounds at the same time
C. Sounds that doesn't make our vocal chords vibrate when they are produced
D. Sounds that don’t make our vocal chords vibrate when they are produced
Question 72: /n/, /m/, /r/, /j/ - These consonants are belong to______
A. Voiceless consonants B. Double voiceless consonants
C. Voiced consonants D. Voiced and voiceless consonants
Question 73: Consonants are created when you completely block air flow through your mouth and let the
air pass through your nose is called ____
A. plosive B. approximant C. fricative D. nasal
Question 74: A word beginning with a voiced bilabial plosive is _____
A. bit B. sit C. lit D. pit
Question 75: /ɪ/ is a …….. vowel.
A. front mid B. front close C. central close D. central mid
Question 76: Which of the following words contains the vowel /ɔ/ ?
A. thought B. sport C. what D. how
Question 77: Which of the following words begins with an approximant?
A. university B. little C. capture D. mind
Question 78: Which of the following descriptions characterizes /k/?
A. voiced velar plosive B. voiceless velar plosive
C. voiceless alveolar plosive D. voiced bilabial plosive
Question 79: Voiceless consonants are produced when the vocal cords are ……….. .
A. wide apart B. vibrating C. tightly closed D. narrow
Question 80: Which of the following phoneme differs in manner of articulation from the others? /f/,
/v/, /ʃ/, /g/
A. /f/ B. /v/ C. /ʃ/ D. /g/

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Question 81: The difference between /p, t, k/ & /b, d, g/ is that………. .
A. vowels preceding /p, t, k/ are much shorter than those of /b, d, g/.
B. /p, t, k/ are always voiceless while / b, d, g/ are always voiced.
C. /p, t, k/ are fully voiced while /b, d, g/ are always voiceless.
D. /p, t, k/ are lenis consonants while /b, d, g/ are fortis consonants.
Question 82: Which of the following is closest to the minimal pair?
A. /lɑːf / - / laɪf / B. / haɪt / - /laɪf / C. /fæt/- /faɪnd/ D. /fæt/ - / mætʃ /
Question 83: Which of the following statement is incorrect terms the ə vowel?
A. It is always found in weak syllables.
B. It is a mid & central vowel.
C. It is generally described as lax.
D. It is the most frequently occurring vowel associated with weak syllables.
Question 84: Which of the following groups contains a phoneme that differs in voicing from the other
phonemes?
A. [ w, j , r, l ] B. [ m, n, ŋ , ð ] C. [z, d, θ, b ] D. [ b, d, g, z ]
Question 84: The sound /p/of sparkle is ……….. .
A. unaspirated & voiceless B. aspirated & voiced
C. unaspirated & voiced D. aspirated & voiceless
Question 85: How many consonants are there in English, in term of pronunciation?
A. 26 B. 21 C. 24 D. 5
Question 86: What is unvoiced sounds?
A. Sounds that make our vocal chords vibrate when they are produced
B. The sound that the mouth position required to make two sounds at the same time
C. Sounds that doesn't make our vocal chords vibrate when they are produced
D. Sounds that don’t make our vocal chords vibrate when they are produced
Question 87: Which of the following statements is correct?
The affricates [t∫ ] and [dʒ ] are
A. consonants produced with a continuous airflow through the mouth
B. consonants produced with the complete stoppage of the air in the mouth which causes
explosion
C. consonants produced with the lowering of the soft palate
D. produced with an initial stop then with a slow separation of the tongue to make friction
Question 88: Which of the following phonetic transcriptions that corresponds to each of the following
phonetic description: voiced bilabial nasal?
A. [ m ] B. [ n ] C. [ŋ ] D. [ w ]
Question 89: Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in place of articulation
from the other segments?
A. [ k, w, n, g ] B[ t, d, n, s ] C. [ p, m, w, b ] D. [ t, d, z, n ]
Question 90: Which of the following phonetic transcriptions that corresponds to each of the following
phonetic description: voiced palato-alveolar affricate?
A. [ t∫ ] B. [dʒ ] C. [∫] D. [ j ]
Question 91: Which of the following statements is correct?
Nasal sounds are produced with
A. the airstream released through the oral cavity
B. the continuous air flow through the mouth
C. with the velum being lowered

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 D. A & B
Question 92: How many phonemes are there in the word magnesia?
A. 6 B. 7 C.8 D.9
Question 93: All the consonants are produced with ………. .
A. greater energy than vowels
B. an obstruction of the airstream (complete or partial)
C. no vibration of the vocal cords
D. vibration of the vocal cords
Question 94: Circle the word that begins with a voiceless alveolar fricative consonant.
A. sky B. Kind C. Lateral D. word
Question 95: The word reliable is pronounced as:
A. /re’laiəbl/ B. /’reliəbl/ C. /ri’laiəbl/ D. /re’laieibl/
Question 96: Which of the following statements is correct? All the consonants are produced with
A. an extra puff of the air strongly expelled
B. an obstruction of the airstream (complete or partial)
C. no vibration of the vocal cords
D. vibration of the vocal cords
Question 97: Which of the following symbols that corresponds to each of the following phonetic
description: voiced labiodental fricative
A. [ f ] B. [ w ] C. [ð ] D. [ v ]
Question 98: Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in voicing from the other
segments?
A. [z, d , t, b ] B. [ m, n, ŋ , w ] C. [ w, j , r, l ] D. [ b, d, g, z ]
Question 99: Which of the following groups contains a segment that differs in manner of articulation
from the other segments?
A. [ θ, ð, s, z ] B. [ w, r, j, l ] C. [ p, b, z, d ] D. [ t, d, g, p ]
Question 100: How many phonemes are there in the word consultation?
A. 10 B. 11 C. 12 D. 13
Question 101: The two realizations of a phoneme are said to be ………. when one sound can be
substituted for the other without changing the meaning.
A. minimal pairs B. near minimal pair
C. free variation D. complementary distribution
Question 102: Which of the following allophones is applied ins the phoneme /l/?
/lɜːn/ (learn), /kɪl/ (kill)
A. complementary distribution B. free variation
C. minimal pair C. near minimal pair
Question 103: _______ become dentalized before dentals.
A. Velars B. Alveolars C. Bilabials D. Fricatives
Question 104: The word that begins with a voiceless alveolar stop consonant is:
A. lead B. Nine C. time D. sick
Question 105: The phonemic transcription for the last sound of “breath” is……….
A. / θ / B. / ð / C. / h / D. / ʤ /
Question 106: The vowel sound in the second syllable of the word “sedative” is ………
A. / æ / B. / ə / C. / e / D. / ei /
THE END