Pronunciation and Intonation Flashcards

What is 'assimilation' in English pronunciation?

Answer: When a sound changes to become more like a neighboring sound

Assimilation occurs when a sound takes on features of an adjacent sound, such as 'ten boys' sounding like 'tem boys'.

In English intonation, a rising tone on a statement often signals:

Answer: Surprise, doubt, or a request for confirmation

A rising tone on a statement (non-question) typically conveys uncertainty, surprise, or an implicit request for the listener to confirm or respond.

The word 'comfortable' is most commonly pronounced in American English as:

Answer: COMF-ter-ble (3 syllables)

In American English, 'comfortable' is typically reduced to three syllables: COMF-ter-ble, with stress on the first syllable.

Which pair of words is a MINIMAL PAIR?

Answer: ship / sheep

'Ship' /ʃɪp/ and 'sheep' /ʃiːp/ differ only in one vowel sound (/ɪ/ vs. /iː/), making them a minimal pair.

What is the function of 'nuclear stress' in a sentence?

Answer: To mark the most informative or contrastive word in an utterance

Nuclear stress (or tonic stress) highlights the most important new or contrastive information in an utterance.

A speaker says 'I didn't say she STOLE the money' with heavy stress on 'stole.' What is implied?

Answer: She took it in some other way — perhaps borrowed it

Stressing 'stole' implies the speaker is contrasting stealing with another possible action, suggesting perhaps she only borrowed or misplaced it.

Which feature of pronunciation does the Versant 'Sentence Mastery' section primarily assess?

Answer: Ability to produce grammatically complete sentences with natural prosody

Sentence Mastery tests whether speakers can recall and produce complete sentences with natural rhythm, stress, and intonation.