EXERCISES FOR WEEK 3: INTRODUCTION TO LINGUISTICS

Name : Camila Andry Mubara

NIM : 23018075

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EXERCISE 1 Consonants I
1. Listed below are definitions of sounds in terms of manner and place of articulation, as well as
voicing. Give the phonetic symbol for each sound defi ned, and an example of a word in which
each sound is used.
Phonetic Symbol Example of Word

a. Voiced bilabial stop b bit, stubborn, tub

b. Voiced bilabial nasal m rim, mat, summary

c. Voiceless glottal stop ? bottle, kitten, mitten

d. Voiced labiodental fricative v pavement, have, van

e. Voiced alveolar stop d dip, shaded, shed

f. Voiceless palatal affricate č chu

g. Voiced alveolar lateral l lot, lip, pillow

h. Voiced velar stop g grow, get, tiger

i. Voiceless velar stop k cracker, pick, kick

j. Voiced dental fricative ð that, then, breathe

2. This exercise deals with the relationship of the phonetic alphabet to the English alphabet.

a. List the phonetic symbols for consonants that are usually pronounced essentially the same as
they are in orthography (spelling).

[p], [b], [m], [f], [v], [t], [d], [n]

b. What English alphabetic symbols for consonants are used in the phonetic alphabet but are
used differently in the English alphabet?

[y(j)]

c. What symbols used in the phonetic alphabet for consonants are not equivalent to any of
the symbols in the English alphabet? Those are 3

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3. Explain the statement, “The description of a specific sound in terms of a specific manner and
place of articulation is an approximation.”

This is because the articulation for specific sounds vary from person to person. they even vary on
an individual levels. This is where they are an approximation.

4. Transcribe into phonetic symbols the initial consonant sound in:

a. grow[g] i. thing q. kick [k]

b. vow[v] j. zoo [z] r. judge[j]

c. hem [h] k. you[y (j)] s. let[l]

d. run [r] l. pleasure [p] t. nose[n[

e. paper [p] m. men [m] u. toe[t]

f. shed [s] n. beg [b] v. then

g. send [s] o. fan [f] w. wet [w]

h. cheap p. due [d] x. sheep[s]

(Note: In all transcription exercises, transcribe words as you say them. Different people may
pronounce some of the words differently.)

5. Transcribe into phonetic symbols the fi nal sounds in:

a. ooze -z h. gain -n o. tooth /tuːθ/

b. have -v i. wrong -g p. pail /peɪl/

c. sand -d j. kick -k q. each /ɪtʃ/

d. top -p k. scarf -f r. ask /æsk/

e. plant -t l. breathe s. tub /tʊb/

f. bag -g m. us -z t. far /faɹ/

g. arm -m n. zoos -z u. batch /bætʃ/

6. Transcribe into phonetic symbols the underlined sections of the following words:

a. enjoy /ˈɪnɔɪ/ g. motion /ˈmoʊʃn/

b. inhale /ˈɪnhlaɪ/ h. ink /ɪŋk/

c. vision /ˈviʒ(j)ən/ i. birth /bɝːθ /

d. rather /ˈɹædə/ j. throng /θɹɔŋk/

e. twin /twɪn/ k. speech /spiːč/

f. anger /ˈæŋɡə/ l. paths /pæðs/

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7. Write an English word that contains each of the following consonants:

a. [ǰ] jugg g. [z] zombie

b. [θ] thumbh h. [s] snake

c. [ŋ] singei i. [š] šajka

d. [cˇ] caret j. [ð] ladder

e. [p] piek k. [k] kick

f. [ž] žarl l. [w] wow

EXERCISE 2 Consonants II
1. For the following words, identify which letters are silent and mark all combinations that represent
only one sound.

Example: Autumn

(Circled letters represent one sound. A slash through a letter means that it is silent.)

a. listen /lɪsən/ g. bride /brʌɪd/

b. anger /ˈeɪŋɡər/ h. teethe /ˈtiːs/

c. passed /pæst/ i. mechanic /ˈmɛkənɪk/

d. who /huː/ j. comb /kɔm/

e. critique /ˈkɹɪtik/ k. hiccough /ˈhɪkəˌɡɑːf/

f. philosophy /fælosɪˈfɪki/ l. knight /naɪt/

2. Why do linguists use a phonetic alphabet as opposed to standard orthography?

Linguists use a phonetic alphabet, such as the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), as opposed to
standard orthography (the written representation of a language) for several reasons:

1. Accuracy: Phonetic alphabets enable linguists to represent the sounds of a language with a high
degree of accuracy, including distinctions that may not be conveyed by standard orthography. This
accuracy is especially important in the study of phonology, the branch of linguistics that deals with
the sounds of a language.

2. Consistency: Phonetic alphabets can be applied consistently to all languages, which is especially
useful in the study of comparative linguistics, where linguists compare the sound systems of
different languages.

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3. Tradition: The use of a phonetic alphabet has long been an established practice in the field of
linguistics, and its use has become ingrained in the study of languages.

4. International recognition: The IPA is widely recognized and used by linguists worldwide, which
allows for a consistent communication of linguistic information across different regions and
languages.

5. Ease of use: The IPA is relatively easy to learn and use, and it provides a concise and efficient way
to represent the sounds of a language.

The use of a phonetic alphabet enables linguists to accurately and consistently represent the sounds
of a language, making it an essential tool for the study of phonology, comparative linguistics, and
language in general.

3. Are there some English consonant sounds that never occur in the initial position? If so, which
ones?

There are a number of English consonant sounds that never occur in the initial position of a syllable.
These consonant sounds are typically either alveolar or palatal fricatives, such as the sounds
produced by the letters F, V, S, and Z. In English, these consonants can only appear in the middle or
onset of a syllable, and never at the beginning.

4. Are there some English consonant sounds that never occur in the final position? If so, which ones?

Yes, there are some English consonant sounds that never occur in the final position of a syllable.
These are typically obstruent consonants, such as the sounds produced by the letters K, G, D, T, and
P.

EXERCISES 3 Vowels

1. Which English vowels are referred to in the following descriptions? Write their phonetic symbol.

a. The highest front vowel /i/ as in see

b. The most central vowel _______/ə/ as in about______

c. The lowest back vowel _______/ʊ/ as in book_______

d. The lowest front vowel _____/æ/ as in cat________

e. Vowels that are never rounded in English _____/ɑ/ as in father______

2. Transcribe into phonetic symbols the vowel sounds in:

a. hot : /hɒt/ e. love : /lʌv/ i. boot: /buːt/

b. cat : /kæt/ f. all : /ɑːl/ j. bet: /bɛt/

c. hope : /hoʊp/ g. we: /wiː/ k. it: /ɪt/

d. bait : /beɪt/ h. foot : /fʊt/ l. meat: /miːt/

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3. List five English words that contain each of the following vowels. (Do not use words given as
examples in the book.)

[i] piece, big, fit, bike, bit

[ɪ] this, pit, sit, kit, knit

[ε] pet, bet, debt, set, net

[e] pen, ten, hen, fen, men

[æ] hat, cat, mat, pat, pat

[a] am, bam, jam, ma, ra

[ʌ] fun, run, gun, sun, hum

[ə] um, sum, bum, rum, dum

[o] job, rob, mob, cob, bob

[u] rub, hub, tub, pub, tub

[ʊ] wood, food, hood, good, stood

[ɔ] cold, mold, hold, bold, told

4. The words listed below contain diphthongs. How would you transcribe the diphthongs in the
phonetic alphabet?

a. oil /ɛə/ e. owl/aʊ/ i. by /baɪ/

b. sigh /aɪ/ f. toy /ɔɪ/ j. doily /diːləɪ/

c. now /əʊ/ g. plough /plɔːf/ k. sign /sʌɪn/

d. cow /kaʊ/ h. aisle /eɪzəl/ l. brown /braʊn/

5. Write a word orthographically that contains each of the following vowels:

a. [a] apple e. [ʌ] under i. [ε] egg

b. [i] ink f. [ɔ] orange j. [ə] umbrella

c. [æ] ace g. [ʊ] unit k. [ɪ] issue

d. [o] owl h. [u] useful l. [e] elephant

6. What is the difference between tense and lax vowels?

Tense vowels are pronounced with increased tongue tension or a higher tongue position, while lax
vowels are pronounced with decreased tongue tension or a lower tongue position.

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7. Some English speakers add glides to some of the tense vowels and pronounce them as diphthongs.
For these people, the vowels [i] and [e] become [iy] and [ey], respectively. The vowels [u] and [o]
are replaced by [uw] and [ow]. Why is the glide [y] added to [i] and [e] to create a diphthong, but
the glide [w] is added to [u] and [o]? (Hint: Look for a feature that is similar for [i], [e], and [y], and
one that is similar for [u], [o], and [w].)

EXERCISE 4 Suprasegmentals

1. On a separate sheet of paper, draw intonational contours for the sentence below as if it were
spoken as a:

a. command : The sentence could be uttered as a command, with the intonation rising at the end
to indicate a demand.

b. question : The sentence could also be asked as a question, with the intonation rising at the end
to indicate a question.

c. confirmation of something someone just said.

“You will be there at five o’clock.”

Are there other meanings that could be derived from other intonational contours of this sentence?
If you can think of them, diagram their contours and explain what the sentences mean.

a. __

/| \

/|\

/|\

(low) (high) (mid)

b. __

/| \

/|\

/|\

(low) (high) (high)

c. __

/| \

/|\

/|\

(low) (mid) (low)

2. Table 2-4 lists word pairs that differ primarily in where stress is applied. The difference in stress
leads to differences in meaning.

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 A. Provide ten more examples of this stress/meaning variation.

a. CON-di-tion: good/bad condition

b. RE-cord: music, history or data

c. TRO-phy: a prize or a small cup

d. DE-structive: causing harm or destroying something

e. UN-der-stand: comprehend or to stand below something

f. HE-i-sate: to delay or hesitate

g. DE-pend: rely on or use something

h. TRACK-ing: measuring the speed and position of something

i. PRE-sent: to give or provide something

j. IM-perfect: incomplete or flawed

B. Can you detect any systematic principles involved in these examples?

1. Position of stress: In English, stress is often placed on the second-to-last syllable. There are
some exceptions to this rule, but it generally holds true for many English words. This means thatif
a word has two or more syllables, the stress will fall on the syllable right before the end of
theword.
2. Meaning: The position of stress can also influence the meaning of a word in English. In some
cases, stress can change the meaning of a word entirely, as in the case of "contagious" vs.
"contiguous." In other cases, the position of stress can change the nuance of a word, such as the
difference between "permit" (to allow someone) and "per-MIT" (to study at a university).
3. Emphasis: The position of stress can also be used to emphasize different parts of a sentence.
For example, if you want to emphasize the word "I" in a sentence, you might pronounce it with a
heavier stress than the rest of the words in the sentence.

3. Provide five more examples of juncture, similar to those in Table 2-5.

Phonetic spelling Meaning

a. /pʰɹeɪt/ It means "pet."

b. /bɚn/ It means "burn."

c. /faʊn/ It means "fan."

d. /ɹɛnd/ It means "friend."

e. /stɑr/ It means "star”

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4. In the following sentences, mark an acute accent [ˊ] over the one word that receives primary
stress.

a. Mary had a little lamb. (Surprise over the prospect that Mary gave birth to a lamb.)

b. Mary had a little lamb. (Mary owned a lamb.)

c. The man picked up a hot rod. (A hot stick or bar.)

d. The man drove a hot rod. (A car.)

e. I saw a blackbird. (A specific type of bird.)

f. I saw a black bird. (A bird that was black.)

g. The plants are in a greenhouse. (A special house for growing plants.)

h. The Joneses live in a green house. (A house painted green.)

Review of terms and concepts: phonetics

1. Speech phonetics deals with the study of the physical properties of sound.

Auditory phonetics is the study of the perception of speech sounds. And

Articulatory phonetics is the study of the actual production of speech sounds.

2. Speech is basically produced by the Vocal cords and Airstream.

3. Vibrating vocal folds result in Open sounds. When vocal folds are apart and the airstream flows
smoothly through, Close sounds are produced.

4. A consonant is produced when the airstream is Blocked by a part of the vocal tract.

5. Vowels are sounds that are produced with no obstruction of the airstream.

6. [b] can be described in terms of the following articulatory features: it is a bilabial consonant.

7. Label the drawing:

a. Nasal cavity

b. Lips

c. Teeth

d. Alveolar ridge

e. Hard palate

f. Soft palate

g. Uvula

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h. Epiglottis

i. Trachea

j. Vocal foldsh

8. The three nasal consonants in English are /m/, /n/ and /ŋ/.

9. In the production of nasal consonants, the velum (soft palate is lowered, allowing air to escape
through both the oral and nasal cavities.

10. A small raised [h] next to a phonetic symbol means that the sound is voiceless glottal fricative.

11. What is the place and manner of articulation of the following sounds?

a. [cˇ] is an affricate, produced using a stop consonant and a fricative consonant.

b. [θ] is a dental fricative, produced by letting air flow over the top teeth.

c. [n] is a nasal consonant, produced by lowering the velum (soft palate) to allow air to
escapethrough the nasal cavity

d. [l] is a lateral consonant, produced by letting air flow out to the sides of the tongue

e. [f] is a labiodental fricative, produced by letting air flow over the top lips and the upper frontteeth

f. [y] is a semi-vowel, produced by constricting the high portion of the vocal tract.

12. Fricatives and affricates are sometimes grouped together and called obstruents after the Latin
word which means “to obstruct.”

13. Sounds that are not stops are called continuants.

14. Vowels are almost always oral.

15. Vowel sounds differ on the basis of tongue position, lip position and jaw position.

16. The shape of the oral cavity in the production of vowels is affected by the height and
advancement of the tongue.

17. In English, vowels are nasalized before consonants

18. There are five vowels in English. This statement is false (true or false).

19. What features do [u], [ʊ], [o], and [ɔ] have in common? All are vowels and all are high vowels.

20. A diphthong is a combination of two vowels made up of a closing sequence followed by an

opening sequence.

21. Phonetic features that depend on differences in pitch, stress, and juncture are called phonemic
features.

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22. With respect to pitch, English is a stress-timed language, whereas Chinese is a pitch-accent
language.

23. A word can only have one primary stress.

24. Stress differences between two words that contain the same segmental phones can change the
meaning and/or pronunciation.
25. The difference between [ays+krim] and [ay+skrim] is a difference in pitch accent .23. A word can
only have primary stress.

24. Stress differences between two words that contain the same segmental phones can change
and/or pronounciation.

25. The difference between [ays+krim] and [ay+skrim] is a difference in pitch accent.

End-of-chapter exercises
1. In the construction of the phonetic alphabet, what aspects of articulation are included in the
description of each consonant? Each vowel?

Consonants:

1. Sound: The type of sound produced (stop, fricative)

2. Place of articulation: The location of the articulation ( velar, labiodental, etc.)

3. Mode of articulation: The manner in which the sound is produced (voiced, voiceless)

4. Aspiration: The presence or absence of a puff of air (unaspirated, aspirated)

Vowels:

1. Sound: The type of sound produced (close front unrounded, open back unrounded, etc.)

2. Place of articulation: The location of the articulation (front, high, back, low)

3. Roundness: The presence or absence of rounding of the lips (unrounded, rounded)

4. Length: The duration of the sound ( long, short)

2. Transcribe into phonetic symbols each word listed below:

a. act ___ /ˈækt/______ f. mask ____ /ˈmæsk/_____ k. siege ____ /ˈsiːdʒ/____

b. Roy _ /ˈrou/_____ g. vacillate ___ /ˈveɪsəleɪt/__ l. motion ___/ˈmoʊʃən/____

c. fatigue __ /ˈfætɪɡ/_____ h. now ____ /naʊ/_____ m. die ____ /dʌɪ/____

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3. The transcription exercises you have done so far ask you to transcribe words (or individual sounds
within words) as these words are produced in isolation. However, in connected speech we seldom
produce words in this idealized way. Transcribe the phrases below as if each word was produced
in isolation, and then as they may be said in a conversation. (See the example “What will you do?”)

Ideal Transcription Connected Speech

What will you do? [wʌt+wɪl+yu+du] [wʌtlyə+du] What'll you do? [wʌt+ə+dʏ+du]

Don’t you know that? [dɒnʔju+knʌw+thæt] D'you know that? [dʏ+knʌw+ðæt]

An apple is good to eat [ən+æpl+ɪz+gou+to+ɪt] Wanna apple? [wɑnə+æpl]

Here’s mud in your eye. [hɪers+mʌd+ɪn+yor+aɪ] Here's some mud. [hɛɜz+sʌm+mʌd

Will he kiss her? [wɑɫ+hɪ+kɪs+hɜɹ]

Where is he? [weɝ+aɪzh+i]

4. Using your transcriptions in Exercise 3 as your data, what types of deviations from ideal
pronunciations of individual words occur when words are strung together?

1. Elision: This is the omission of certain sounds within words, such as the "t" sound in "don't"
and the "ed" sound in "know".
2. Syllable reduction: This is the reduction of the number of syllables in a word by combining
sounds or omitting sound segments. For example, "you" can become "yuh" when spoken quickly.
3. Gliding: This is the smooth transitioning of one sound to another, often by raising or lowering
the tongue, lips or jaw. For example, "go" can become "gue" when spoken in a connected
sentence.
4. Sandhi: This is the change of pronunciation caused by the presence of words before or after
the word being spoken. For example, the pronunciation of "an" can change depending on
whether it is followed by a consonant sound or a vowel sound.
5. Dissimilation: This is the opposite of assimilation, where sounds that are similar or identical are
separated or differentiated. For example, two sounds that would typically merge in
pronunciation, like "pin" and "pen", may be pronounced separately in connected speech.

5. Write the following familiar phrases in English orthography.

a. [gɪv mi lɪbrr̩ti ɔr gɪv mi dεθ] Give me liberty or give me death

b. [ple ɪt əgεn sæm] Play it again, Sam.

c. [frεndz romənz kʌntrimən] Friends, Romans, countrymen.

d. [o se kεn yu si] Oh, say, can you see?

e. [astʌ lə vistʌ bebi] Astu la vista, baby.

f. [ðεrz no ples layk hom] There's no place like home.

g. [fɔr skɔr εnd sεvən yirz əgo] For score and seven years ago

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6. Adult speakers of one language usually find it difficult to produce the sounds of a foreign language
that are not present in their native language. There are numerous reasons for this, including the
fact that adults lose articulatory flexibility after long years of producing only the speech sounds of
their own language. A classic example of this is the general difficulty that native Japanese speakers
have in producing many English sounds.

Here is a list of some difficulties:

• No [æ] sound is found in Japanese and [a] is often substituted for [æ].

• No [f] sound exists in Japanese. The distinction between [f] and [h] is often lost.

• There is no [v] in Japanese and [v] is often confused with [b].

• There are no [θ] or [ð] sounds in Japanese; [s] is substituted for [θ] and [z] for [ð].

• [l] and [r] are used interchangeably.

Instructions:

A. Transcribe the words listed below as a native Japanese person might produce them.

a. lice /raːsi/ j. hive /haːvuː/

b. shack /ʃæk/ k. vale /vaːruː/

c. car /kaː/ l. sink /si:n/

d. five /faɪv/ m. breathe /bɻiːθ/

e. vest /vest/ n. fold /fʌːld/

f. play /pleɪ/ o. best /bɛst/

g. hold /hɔl/ p. breeze /brɛːz/

h. bale /beil/ q. pray /preɪ/

i. think /θɪnk/ r. rice /raɪs/

B. What sets of words might be confused?

Example: pat and pot would both be heard as [pat] by most Japanese speakers.

1. Pat and pot: Both words would often be pronounced as "pat" due to the limited range of
consonant sounds in the Japanese language.

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 2. Two, too and to: These three words are often pronounced the same in casual speech, with "to"
as the most common pronunciation for all three.
3. Their, there and they're: These three words, when spoken quickly, can often sound nearly
identical and may be confused by some speakers.
4. Know and no: These words can often be difficult to distinguish when spoken in certain accents
or dialects, particularly those where the "o" sound is reduced or eliminated.
5. You're and your: While these two words sound similar, they are commonly confused by
speakers of English, particularly in informal speech or when the speaker is rushed or not paying
close attention to their pronunciation.

C. What systematic features of phonetics can account for the various substitutions?

Example: The voiceless fricative [s] is used in place of the voiceless fricative [θ], and the voiced
fricative [z] is used in place of the voiced fricative [ð]. Only the place of articulation differs.

The systematic features of phonetics that can account for various substitutions are called
allophones and allophony. Allophones are variants of a phoneme (a basic sound unit in a
language) that vary based on their context within a given language. Allophony is the study of
these variations in pronunciation within a particular language.

D. Do you know any other features of Japanese that make English pronunciation difficult for
Japanese speakers? What are they?

There are a number of features of Japanese that make English pronunciation difficult for Japanese
speakers, including:
1. Stress: Japanese is a relatively stress-free language, with each syllable given equal emphasis,
whereas English has distinct stress patterns that can be challenging for Japanese speakers.
2. L/R distinction: Many Japanese speakers struggle with the L/R distinction, as they are not used to
contrasting these sounds in their own language.
3. Vowel length: Japanese does not have distinguish long and short vowels, whereas English does,
which can make pronunciation of certain words with long and short vowels difficult for Japanese
speakers.
4. Consonant clusters: Japanese has very few consonant clusters, whereas English relies heavily on
them. This can make words with multiple consonants in a row difficult for Japanese speakers to
pronounce.
5. Th- sound: The English "th" sound is not used in Japanese and can be difficult for Japanese
speakers to pronounce.

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