Part 1: Transcription & reverse transcription

Transcribe the following words using phonemic transcription (i.e. use the IPA consonant and vowel symbols to indicate the way these words are typically pronounced):

a. monkey ___________________

b. though ___________________

c. tubes ___________________

d. fangs ___________________

e. physics ___________________

f. thinks ___________________

g. badger ___________________

h. prizes ___________________

Write the following sentence in regular English orthography. It is possible that this transcription will not entirely match your pronunciation of some of the words — remember that there are many different varieties of English and that pronunciations vary (i.e. there is no one single correct pronunciation!).

If you can't get the whole thing, do your best with each word!

i. /ðə mʌnθ əv eprɪl wʌz prt̥ɪkyulərli kruəl ðɪs yir dont yu θɪŋk/

j. /biwɛr əv wɪčəz ɡosts ənd gulz ənd hæv ə sef hæləwin/

Common transcription errors: Each of these words contains a transcription error. The errors in these transcriptions are NOT specific to the dialect, but are actual mistakes in transcription. For each word, circle the error, and provide the correction in the space provided (just for the part that you circled).

Circle Error Correction Circle Error Correction

a) ‘campaign’ /kampeyn/                         e. ‘rupture’ /rʌpčer/ .

b) ‘please’ /plez/                                        f. ‘sixteenth’ /sikstinθ/ .

c) ‘sunk’ /sʌnk/                                          g. ‘able’ /æbəl/ .

d) ‘foreign’ /fɔren/                                     h. ‘sheer’ /shir/

Part 2: Basic phonetic features of vowels and consonants

Which of the following words end with voiceless (–V) sounds and which end with voiced (+V) sounds?

bash _____ fizz _____ splat _____ play _____ clang _____ rap _____ thud _____ fade _____ din _____ smack _____ wham _____ air _____

Which of the following words end with a nasal sound? (Write the IPA symbol in the space)

ring _____ fin _____ fig _____ rhyme _____ Identify the place of articulation of the initial sounds of the following words:

certain ___________________ IPA symbol: ____ crutch ___________________ IPA symbol: ____ church ___________________ IPA symbol: ____ fudge ___________________ IPA symbol: ____

Which one of the following words ends with Which one of the following words an alveolar fricative?

(circle one)

begins with a rounded back vowel?

buzz tusk giraffe unkind orange pencil

Which one of the following words ends with

Which one of the following words a velar nasal?

(circle one)

contains a high front vowel?

rug ring roam sang sing song

Phonetic Classes — Consonants.

Examine each of the following rows of segments. In each row, one segment does not share a property that all the other segments in the row share.

CIRCLE the segment that does not share the specified property.

a. Fricatives: s n v θ

b. Velars: ŋ gky

c. Affricates: č ž ǰ

d. Stops: r g p b

Phonetic Classes — Vowels.

Examine each of the following rows of segments. In each row, one segment does not share a property that all the other segments in the row share.

CIRCLE the segment that does not share the specified property.

a. rounded: u ʊ ʌ ɔ

b. mid: ɪ ɛ ə o

c. back: æ u o ʊ

d. front: ɪ æ ɛ ə

Part 3: Consonant features: The strange case of the English Past Tense morpheme

The regular past tense morpheme in English is a suffix, spelled “-ed.” However, while the suffix is spelled “-ed” in the written form of the language, this morpheme actually has three phonologically distinct forms: /t/, /d/, and /əd/. For example:

• The past tense of dance is /dænst/.

• The past tense of dine is /daynd/.

• The past tense of band is /bændəd/.

These three “allomorphs” (different forms of a single morpheme) appear quite systematically with English verbs — speakers have intuitive knowledge of which form goes with each verb.

Part A: Determine the past tense form of each of the 42 words in the list below. (You can use the answers determined in class.)

Remember to think phonemically here: ignore the spelling! Divide the list into three categories: the verbs whose past tense forms use /t/, those that use /d/, and those that use /əd/: group 1: group 2: group 3: /t/ /d/ /əd/ crush turn weed wish thrive sift kick plow hate tuck bag bait hiss play demand botch nab import heap climb pit possess breathe relate cinch singe tote winch bang sand pass kill pat face faze fade

Part B: Now put your phonetic knowledge to use to figure out why the three past tense suffixes pattern as they do. Is the pattern arbitrary, or is there an underlying generalization at work? Specifically:

(1) What is the natural class shared by the final phonemes of the verbs that take the /t/ form?

(2) What is the natural class shared by the final phonemes of the verbs that take the /d/ form?

(3) What is the natural class shared by the final phonemes of the verbs that take the /əd/ form? Extra Credit: What kind of phonological rule is involved in the choice of the /t/ vs. the /d/ form