CT IPA & Romanization Systems 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which IPA diacritic placed under a consonant symbol indicates that the sound is syllabic?
- A subscript dot
- A subscript vertical line (Correct answer)
- A tilde
- A subscript circle
Correct answer: A subscript vertical line
A subscript vertical line (̩) under a consonant marks it as syllabic, meaning it forms the nucleus of a syllable, as in the final consonant of 'button' [ˈbʌtn̩].
Question 2: The Library of Congress ALA-LC romanization tables cover transliteration from non-Latin scripts for use primarily in which context?
- Passport issuance
- Library cataloging (Correct answer)
- Military communications
- Legal court records
Correct answer: Library cataloging
ALA-LC (American Library Association – Library of Congress) romanization tables are the standard used for cataloging library materials written in non-Latin scripts.
Question 3: In the IPA vowel chart, which parameter distinguishes front vowels from back vowels?
- Lip rounding
- Tongue height
- Tongue backness (Correct answer)
- Nasalization
Correct answer: Tongue backness
Tongue backness (how far forward or back the tongue body is positioned) distinguishes front vowels like [i] from back vowels like [u].
Question 4: The BGN/PCGN romanization systems are maintained by which organizations?
- ISO and ANSI
- US Board on Geographic Names and Permanent Committee on Geographical Names (Correct answer)
- United Nations and UNESCO
- ALA and Library of Congress
Correct answer: US Board on Geographic Names and Permanent Committee on Geographical Names
BGN/PCGN systems are joint standards of the US Board on Geographic Names and the UK's Permanent Committee on Geographical Names, widely used for geographic name transliteration.
Question 5: Which IPA symbol represents the central, mid, unrounded vowel often called 'schwa'?
- [ə] (Correct answer)
- [ɐ]
- [ɜ]
- [ɵ]
Correct answer: [ə]
The schwa [ə] is the mid central unrounded vowel, the most common vowel in English and frequently heard in unstressed syllables.
Question 6: ISO 233 is an international standard for the romanization of which script?
- Cyrillic
- Arabic (Correct answer)
- Hebrew
- Greek
Correct answer: Arabic
ISO 233 provides standards for the transliteration of Arabic characters into Latin characters, covering Modern Standard Arabic script.
Question 7: In Pinyin romanization, the letter 'x' represents which sound approximately?
- The English 'sh' sound
- A palatal fricative similar to 'sy' (Correct answer)
- The English 'z' sound
- A velar fricative like 'kh'
Correct answer: A palatal fricative similar to 'sy'
Pinyin 'x' represents a voiceless alveolo-palatal fricative [ɕ], which sounds somewhat like a blended 'sy' sound, distinct from English 'sh'.
CT IPA & Romanization Systems 3
Which IPA diacritic placed under a consonant symbol indicates that the sound is syllabic?