ENG507 Assignment 1 Solution and Discussion

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MAELT
Phonetics and Phonology (Eng507)

Fall 2019
Assignment No. 1
Total Marks: 20
Lectures: 1-12

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Q1a. A phoneme is the smallest meaningful unit of sound (therefore, a smallest unit in phonology) in a language. Phoneme is also described as a group of sounds having the ability to change meaning. Write down the phonemic transcription of the following words in RP; also identify and write the number of phonemes each word carries.

Sr.	Words	Phonemic Transcription in RP	Number of Phonemes
1	Six
2	Scissosrs
3	Lamb

Q1b. Bear and bare are spelt differently but pronounced the same, ‘beǝ’ in Received Pronunciation (RP). Make a list of four other pairs of words which are spelt differently but pronounced in the same way. (6+4=10 Marks)

Q2. ‘θ’ and ‘ð’ are the confusing fricatives for English language learners. Transcribe the following words by identifying the correct fricative phoneme in each word.

Sr.	Words	Transcription
1	breathe
2	healthy
3	bathe
4	clothe
5	teeth
6	loathe
7	smooth
8	earthy
9	loath
10	wreath

(1*10=10 Marks)

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Sr.	Words	Transcription
1	breathe	brið
2	healthy	hɛlθi
3	bathe	beð
4	clothe	kloð
5	teeth	tiθ
6	loathe	loð
7	smooth	smuð
8	earthy	ərθi
9	loath	loθ
10	wreath	riθ

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Sr.	Words	Phonemic Transcription in RP	Number of Phonemes
1	Six	Sics	2
2	Scissosrs	n/a	0
3	Lamb	Lam	2