- •Isbn 978-5-8429-0533-1
- •Theory of english phonetics seminars
- •Contents
- •Preface
- •Seminar 1 The Subject-matter of Phonetics
- •Answer the following questions:
- •Give the definition of the terms:
- •Name the articulating organs and write their names down.
- •Define the type of mistakes in the examples below and prove your answer. Give examples.
- •Illustrate the connection of phonetics with grammar, lexicology and stylistics with your own examples.
- •Fill in the table and give examples illustrating four types of reading English vowels.
- •Transcribe the following abbreviations:
- •9. Write the Past Participle form of these verbs and transcribe them. Prove that phonetics is connected with grammar.
- •Transcribe these words. Underline the interchanging vowels and consonants in the corresponding parts of speech.
- •Read these words and word combinations. Translate them into Russian. Prove that phonetics is connected with lexicology through accent.
- •Read these pairs of words. State to what parts of speech they belong. Single out the sounds that interchange. Translate the words into Russian.
- •Find out examples from prose illustrating the connection of phonetics with stylistics through intonation and its components.
- •Read these rhymes. State what sounds are used to produce the effect of alliteration and for what purpose.
- •Well they can't carry berries
- •Read the rhyme. Transcribe the words used to imitate the sounds made by different animals. State the stylistic device formed by this phonetic means.
- •Seminar 2 Articulatory and Physiological Classification of English Consonants
- •Answer the following questions:
- •Read these words. Observe the apical and cacuminal positions of the tip of the tongue in pronouncing the English /t, r/ and the dorsal in pronouncing the Russian /т/.
- •Read these words. Mind the pronunciation of /h/ as a pure sound of breath.
- •Transcribe these words. Read them. Mind the /j/ articulation.
- •Underline the letters, which represent in spelling the dark [ł] with one line and the clear [l] with two lines in the words given below. Read the words.
- •Mark the linking /r/ and read these sentences.
- •Sort out the oppositions under the following headings: a) occlusive vs. Constrictive, b) constrictive vs. Occlusive-constrictive, c) noise vs. Sonorants.
- •Sort out the oppositions under the following headings: a) labial vs. Forelingual, b) labial vs. Mediolingual, c) labial vs. Backlingual.
- •State which of the pairs illustrate a) forelingual vs. Mediolingual and b) forelingual vs. Backlingual oppositions.
- •State what classificatory principles can be illustrated by the pairs of words given below (consonants opposed initially).
- •Transcribe these words. Underline /ŋ/ with a single line, /ŋɡ/ with two lines.
- •Seminar 3 Articulatory and Physiological Classification of English Vowels
- •Answer the following questions:
- •Transcribe these words. Read them. Observe positional length of the vowel /I:/.
- •Fill in the table and the vowel trapezium:
- •Read these words and state what movements of the tongue make the vowel phonemes /e, з:, ʌ, ɑ:, æ, ɪ, ɔ: / different.
- •Read these pairs of words. State what diphthongs are opposed in the pairs. Define the type of the diphthongs according to the movements of the tongue from the nucleus to the glide.
- •Read these words. Observe the allophonic difference of the vowel phonemes conditioned by their positional length.
- •Transcribe these words and read them. Observe the difference between the fully front /I:/ and the front-retracted /ɪ/.
- •Transcribe these words and read them. Observe the difference between the mid-open /e/ and the fully open (low) /æ/.
- •What classificatory principle of vowels can be illustrated by the contrastive pairs given below?
- •Transcribe these words and read them. Observe the difference between the low long vowel of broad variation /ɑ:/ and the vowel /ʌ/.
- •Which of the given examples illustrate a) high, mid, open, b) front, central, back oppositions?
- •Seminar 4 Functional Aspect of Speech Sounds
- •Answer the following questions:
- •What minimal distinctive feature (or features) makes these oppositions phonologically relevant?
- •Speak on English phonemes in writing.
- •Analyse these words from the viewpoint of the inventory of graphemes, phonemes, letters.
- •Give the phonetic reference of the morphograph -ed in the words:
- •Transcribe the homophones. Translate them into Russian to prove the differentiatory function of graphemes.
- •Divide the words into syllabographs.
- •Divide the words into morphographs.
- •Transcribe the words. Show the phonemic reference of digraphs and polygraphs.
- •State a) which consonants are silent; b) which of the words have /θ/.
- •Fill in the blanks with the appropriate homophone.
- •Seminar 5 Modification of Consonant and Vowel Phonemes in Connected Speech
- •Answer the following questions:
- •Read the words. Define the character of the consonants modified by the following phonemes a) /j/; b) /r/; c) /l/; d) /w/.
- •Read the word combinations. Pay attention to the consonant modified by the following interdental /θ/, /ð/.
- •State which of the words and word combinations illustrate the following phenomena: a) voicing, b) devoicing, c) no voicing, d) no devoicing.
- •Transcribe the words below. Single out the vowels that may be elided in the words.
- •Transcribe the words below. Single out the consonants that may be elided in the words.
- •Transcribe the sentences. Mind all the possible cases of elision.
- •Seminar 6 Syllabic Structure of the English Language
- •Point out syllabic structural patterns of the following English and Russian words; characterize them from the viewpoint of their structure: open, covered, etc.
- •Transcribe the words and divide them into phonetic syllables. Point out their syllabic structural patterns.
- •Divide these words into syllabographs where possible.
- •Arrange these words according to the type of syllable structure: a) closed uncovered, b) closed covered, c) open covered, d) open uncovered.
- •Mark initially strong consonants with a single line and initially weak consonants with two lines.
- •Seminar 7 Stress or Accentual Structure of English Words. Strong and Weak Forms
- •Answer the following questions:
- •Put down stress marks in the sentences below. Translate them into Russian.
- •Transcribe these words. Underline the vowels of full formation in the unstressed position.
- •Give some examples from the English language to illustrate the qualitative and quantitative changes of vowels in the unstressed position.
- •Give examples illustrating the pronunciation of articles, conjunctions, particles and prepositions in their weak forms.
- •Give examples of the weak forms pronunciation of the verbs to be, to have and the negatives not, nor.
- •Seminar 8
- •Intonation and its Components. English Intonation Pattern. Stylistic Use of Intonation
- •Answer the following questions:
- •Read these words and word combinations a) with the undivided falling-rising tone, b) with the divided falling-rising tone.
- •Read these words and word combinations a) with the undivided rising-falling tone, b) with the divided rising-falling tone.
- •Read these sentences. Observe a) the low falling tone and b) the high falling tone.
- •Transcribe and intone the sentences below. Pay attention to the differentiatory function of stress in the italicized words.
- •Fill in the table.
- •Listen to the passages and define the types of an intonation style.
- •Seminar 9
- •Standard English Pronunciation
- •Social and Territorial Varieties of English Pronunciation
- •Answer the following questions:
- •Prepare a report on a) General American pronunciation; b) English as an international language.
- •What are the differences between rp and ga? Fill in the table below.
- •Here is a text read aloud first by a British English speaker and then an American English speaker. Listen and note differences in pronunciation that you observe.
- •Glossary
- •Chart of Phonemic Symbols
- •List of Exam Questions and Tasks Task I
- •Task II
- •Task III
- •Task IV
- •Exam Requirements
- •Literature Recommended for Use
- •Theory of english phonetics seminars
- •125212, Москва, Головинское шоссе, д. 8, корп. 2.
Give examples of the weak forms pronunciation of the verbs to be, to have and the negatives not, nor.
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Seminar 8
Intonation and its Components. English Intonation Pattern. Stylistic Use of Intonation
Answer the following questions:
How is intonation defined?
What are the functions of intonation?
Speak on the components of intonation.
Define the term “rhythm unit”. What are the main rules of dividing an intonation group into rhythm units?
What parts does the intonation pattern consist of?
What are the main types of the Pre-Head?
What part of an intonation pattern defines the communicative type of the sentence?
What are the main nuclear tones of English?
What types of scales are typical of the English language?
In what cases is the accidental rise used? How is it marked on the staves?
What information is conveyed by a) falling, b) rising tones?
What are the methods of indicating intonation on the staves?
Read these words and word combinations a) with the undivided falling-rising tone, b) with the divided falling-rising tone.
a) cousin, husband, country, London, midday, blackboard, quinsy, bedroom, bathroom, modern, cottage;
b) sit down, good morning, good day, go on, come up, what's up
Read these words and word combinations a) with the undivided rising-falling tone, b) with the divided rising-falling tone.
a) please, read, begin, listen, bad, thank, well, what, right, come, foreign, wrong, dear;
b) put down, write down, clean the board, not large, behind Tom, long ago, poor thing
Read these sentences. Observe a) the low falling tone and b) the high falling tone.
a) She is ˎcold. b) She is `cold.
She is at the ˎhospital. She is at the `hospital.
'Father is at ˎhome. 'Father is at `home.
'Don't go a ˎlone. 'Don't go a`lone.
'Don't 'take the ˎlamp. 'Don't 'take the `lamp.
He is 'not ˎwell. He is 'not `well.
'Why are you ˎlate? 'Why are you `late?
'Betty is in ˎbed. 'Betty is in `bed.
'Mother is ˎbusy. 'Mother is `busy.
Read these sentences. Make the auxiliary and modal verbs that begin sentences stressed to show greater interest.
1. 'Does it ˎmatter? Does it ˎmatter? 2. 'Is he going to ˎcome? Is he 'going toˎcome? 3. 'Do you like ˎoranges? Do you 'like ˎoranges?4. 'Can you have an ˎafternoon off? Can you have an ˎafter'noon off? 5. 'Could they ˎhelp it? Could they ˎhelp it?
Read these sentences. Make the possessive pronouns that are used as predicatives stressed.
1. 'This 'thing was ˎmine. 2. 'This 'thing was ˎhis.
3. 'This 'thing was ˎyours. 4. 'This 'thing was ˎours.
5. 'This 'thing was ˎtheirs.
Read these sentences. Make the final prepositions strong.
1. 'Nothing to be aˎfraid of. 2. 'Whom are you ˎtalking to? 3. 'What do you ˎwant it for? 4. It was 'Mary he was ˎlooking for. 5. It was 'Bess he was ˎthere with. 6. 'Where did she ˎcome from? 7. 'What is she ˎhere for? 8. It's a 'thing un ˎheard of. 9. 'This 'boy should be ˎsent for. 10. 'This 'letter was 'much ˎtalked about.
Read these sentences. Don't stress the correlative conjunction "as… as".
1. I'll 'come as 'soon as he ˎpleases. 2. I'll 'read as 'long as the 'child ˎlikes. 3. It's 'not as 'simple as ˎthat. 4. 'Jane was as 'pale as a ˎghost. 5. 'Nick was as slippery as an ˎeel. 6. 'Did you 'say: “As 'snug as a 'bug in a ˎrug?.”
Read these sentences. Don't stress (or make weakly stressed) combinations: “or so”, “or something”, “each other”, “one another”. Don't stress the substitute word “one”.
1. He will come in an hour or so. 2. This fruit will be red in a month or so. 3. We'll buy a coat or something to protect you from the cold. 4. He said “Good morning” or something, and went on with his work. 5. He really wanted a couple of books or so. 6. He was a boot maker and a good one. 7. We have never quarreled with each other. 8. The passengers seemed to like one another.