BTLPT Spanish Phonology and Pronunciation 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The Spanish phoneme /s/ is realized as [z] (voiced) before which type of consonant?
- Before any voiceless consonant
- Before a voiced consonant due to assimilation (Correct answer)
- Before a vowel at the start of the next word
- Before pause or word boundary
Correct answer: Before a voiced consonant due to assimilation
In Spanish, /s/ assimilates to a following voiced consonant, becoming voiced [z] through a process of regressive voicing assimilation.
Question 2: In many Latin American Spanish dialects, the distinction between /s/, /ʃ/, and /θ/ (ceceo/seseo) results in:
- Three-way contrast preserved in all regions
- All three merged into /s/ (seseo) (Correct answer)
- Ceceo dominating in Mexico and the Caribbean
- Seseo only occurring in highland regions
Correct answer: All three merged into /s/ (seseo)
Seseo, the merging of /s/, /z/, and /θ/ into a single /s/ phoneme, is the predominant pattern across Latin America and some parts of Spain.
Question 3: Which of the following is an example of yeísmo in Spanish?
- Pronouncing 'll' and 'y' as the same sound (Correct answer)
- Dropping final /s/ before a pause
- Aspirating /h/ in intervocalic position
- Merging /r/ and /l/ in coda position
Correct answer: Pronouncing 'll' and 'y' as the same sound
Yeísmo is the merger of the lateral palatal /ʎ/ (traditionally spelled 'll') with the palatal approximant /j/ (spelled 'y'), widespread in most Spanish dialects today.
Question 4: The Spanish orthographic accent (tilde) is required on a word like 'música' because:
- It ends in a vowel and is stressed on the penultimate syllable
- It ends in a vowel and is stressed on the antepenultimate syllable (Correct answer)
- It ends in 'a' which always requires an accent
- Accent marks are required on all three-syllable words
Correct answer: It ends in a vowel and is stressed on the antepenultimate syllable
'Música' is a proparoxytone (esdrújula) stressed on the antepenultimate syllable; all esdrújulas require a written accent regardless of ending.
Question 5: Which pair of words demonstrates a minimal pair based on the vowel phonemes /e/ and /i/ in Spanish?
- peso / piso (Correct answer)
- casa / caso
- toro / toro
- luz / voz
Correct answer: peso / piso
'Peso' /peso/ (weight) and 'piso' /piso/ (floor) differ only in the vowel phonemes /e/ vs. /i/, making them a minimal pair that proves these are distinct phonemes.
Question 6: In Spanish, the fricative consonant /f/ is always:
- Voiced in all environments
- Voiceless in all environments (Correct answer)
- Realized as [v] before voiced consonants
- Deleted in intervocalic position
Correct answer: Voiceless in all environments
The Spanish /f/ is a voiceless labiodental fricative and remains voiceless in all phonological environments, unlike some other consonants that show voicing alternations.
Question 7: A bilingual teacher notices a student pronounces Spanish 'pero' with an English-style rhotic /r/. This is an example of:
- Code-switching at the phonological level
- Phonological transfer (negative transfer) from L1 English (Correct answer)
- A regional Spanish dialectal feature
- Phonological borrowing from indigenous languages
Correct answer: Phonological transfer (negative transfer) from L1 English
Using an English retroflex or approximant /r/ in Spanish instead of the Spanish tap [ɾ] is phonological negative transfer, where L1 English features intrude into L2 Spanish production.
BTLPT Spanish Phonology and Pronunciation 2
The Spanish phoneme /s/ is realized as [z] (voiced) before which type of consonant?