TEFL Phonology and Pronunciation Teaching 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'assimilation' in connected speech?
- When a learner fully adopts a native accent
- When a sound changes to become more like a neighboring sound (Correct answer)
- When vowels are reduced to schwa in unstressed syllables
- When sentence stress shifts to emphasize new information
Correct answer: When a sound changes to become more like a neighboring sound
Assimilation occurs when a sound changes its characteristics to resemble an adjacent sound, such as 'ten boys' sounding like 'tem boys' due to the following bilabial /b/.
Question 2: Which suprasegmental feature refers to the rise and fall of pitch across an utterance?
- Stress
- Rhythm
- Intonation (Correct answer)
- Assimilation
Correct answer: Intonation
Intonation refers to the melodic patterns of pitch rise and fall across utterances, conveying meaning such as questions, statements, surprise, or sarcasm.
Question 3: What is the schwa (/ə/) in English?
- The strongest stressed vowel in a word
- A diphthong found in formal speech
- The most common unstressed vowel sound (Correct answer)
- A consonant cluster found in many words
Correct answer: The most common unstressed vowel sound
The schwa is the most common vowel sound in English, appearing in unstressed syllables (e.g., the 'a' in 'about'), and is essential for producing natural English rhythm.
Question 4: What is the key difference between segmental and suprasegmental phonological features?
- Segmental features are written; suprasegmental features are spoken
- Segmental features are individual sounds; suprasegmental features span across sounds and words (Correct answer)
- Segmental features concern meaning; suprasegmental features concern grammar
- Segmental features apply to consonants; suprasegmental features apply to vowels
Correct answer: Segmental features are individual sounds; suprasegmental features span across sounds and words
Segmental features refer to individual consonants and vowels, while suprasegmental features (stress, intonation, rhythm) operate across larger chunks of speech.
Question 5: What is 'word stress' in English?
- The emphasis placed on one syllable within a multi-syllable word (Correct answer)
- The loudness of a whole word relative to the sentence
- The speed at which a word is pronounced
- The pitch level of a word relative to surrounding words
Correct answer: The emphasis placed on one syllable within a multi-syllable word
Word stress refers to the emphasis placed on one syllable of a multi-syllable word, making it longer, louder, and higher in pitch than other syllables.
Question 6: What is a diphthong in English phonology?
- A pair of consonants pronounced together in a cluster
- A vowel sound that glides from one position to another within a syllable (Correct answer)
- Two identical vowels that create an extended long vowel
- A nasal sound produced with closed mouth
Correct answer: A vowel sound that glides from one position to another within a syllable
A diphthong is a vowel sound that involves a glide from one vowel position to another within the same syllable, such as the sounds in 'boy' (/ɔɪ/) or 'now' (/aʊ/).
Question 7: What is 'linking' in English connected speech?
- When the final sound of one word connects smoothly to the initial sound of the next (Correct answer)
- The use of discourse markers to join ideas in speech
- When consonants are doubled at syllable boundaries
- The practice of linking vocabulary items to grammar structures
Correct answer: When the final sound of one word connects smoothly to the initial sound of the next
Linking occurs when the final sound of one word connects smoothly to the beginning of the next, such as 'turn it' sounding like 'tur-nit' in natural fluent speech.
TEFL Phonology and Pronunciation Teaching 2
What is 'assimilation' in connected speech?