AIOU 9056 Phonetics and Phonology Solved Assignment 1 Spring 2025
AIOU 9056 Assignment 1
Q1. Write down the distinctive features of the final consonantal sound in each of the following words:
Lodge: The final consonant is /dʒ/, a voiced palato-alveolar affricate, meaning it starts as a stop sound /d/ and releases into a fricative /ʒ/.
Watches: The final consonant is /z/, a voiced alveolar fricative, though preceded by the /tʃ/ affricate.
Country: The final consonant is /r/, a voiced alveolar approximant, commonly pronounced with a rhotic quality in many English dialects.
Cement: The final consonant is /t/, a voiceless alveolar stop, pronounced with a strong articulation at the front of the mouth.
Wealth: The final consonant is /θ/, a voiceless dental fricative, produced by placing the tongue against the upper teeth and allowing air to pass through.
Q2. Transcribe and write down the number of phonemes in each of the following words:
Foxes: /ˈfɒksɪz/ (6 phonemes: /f/, /ɒ/, /k/, /s/, /ɪ/, /z/)
Dodgers: /ˈdɒdʒəz/ (5 phonemes: /d/, /ɒ/, /dʒ/, /ə/, /z/)
Psychiatry: /saɪˈkaɪətri/ (8 phonemes: /s/, /aɪ/, /k/, /aɪ/, /ə/, /t/, /r/, /i/)
Earlobes: /ˈɪə.ləʊbz/ (6 phonemes: /ɪ/, /ə/, /l/, /əʊ/, /b/, /z/)
Struggle: /ˈstrʌɡl/ (6 phonemes: /s/, /t/, /r/, /ʌ/, /ɡ/, /l/)
Q3. Transcribe and write down the CV templates for the following words showing their syllabic boundaries:
Likeminded, Wealthy, Hopefulness, Faithfulness, Volleyball
Likeminded: /ˌlaɪkˈmaɪn.dɪd/ - CV Template: CVC-CVC-CVC
Wealthy: /ˈwɛl.θi/ - CV Template: CVC-CV
Hopefulness: /ˈhoʊp.fəl.nəs/ - CV Template: CVC-CVC-CVC
Faithfulness: /ˈfeɪθ.fəl.nəs/ - CV Template: CVC-CVC-CVC
Volleyball: /ˈvɒl.i.bɔːl/ - CV Template: CVC-V-CVC
Q4. Describe English vowels with relevant examples.
Monophthongs (Pure Vowels): These vowels have a single, unchanging sound.
Examples: /iː/ in see, /æ/ in cat, /ʊ/ in put.
Diphthongs (Gliding Vowels): These vowels combine two sounds within the same syllable.
Examples: /aɪ/ in time, /eɪ/ in say, /ɔɪ/ in boy.
Short Vowels: These are brief in duration and commonly found in unstressed syllables.
Examples: /ɪ/ in sit, /ʌ/ in cup, /ə/ in sofa (the schwa sound).
Long Vowels: These vowels are pronounced for a longer duration.
Examples: /uː/ in moon, /ɜː/ in bird, /ɔː/ in law.
Q5. Describe ‘stress’ as a suprasegmental feature of English phonology and explain the possible functions of stress in speech.
Stress in English Phonology: Stress is a suprasegmental feature of English phonology, meaning it operates beyond individual phonemes and affects larger units like syllables, words, and phrases. It refers to the greater emphasis placed on a particular syllable or word through variations in loudness, pitch, and duration.
Types of Stress:
Word Stress: The prominence given to a syllable within a word. Example: CONtract (noun) vs. conTRACT (verb).
Sentence Stress: Emphasis on key words in a sentence to convey meaning or emotion. Example: I didn't say she stole the money (Different stress changes meaning).
Contrastive Stress: Used to highlight contrast between words. Example: I said BLUE, not GREEN!
Functions of Stress in Speech:
Distinguishing Meaning: Stress can change the meaning of words or sentences.
Enhancing Clarity: Helps speakers emphasize important points.
Expressing Emotion: Adds nuance to speech, conveying anger, surprise, or excitement.
Signaling Intonation Patterns: Influences rhythm and melody of speech.
Stress plays a crucial role in English communication, guiding listeners and shaping interactions.
Q6. Define ‘Acoustic Phonetics’ and describe the processes involved in describing speech sounds.
Acoustic Phonetics is the branch of phonetics that focuses on the physical properties of speech sounds as they travel through the air. It examines aspects like frequency, duration, intensity, and waveform patterns to understand how sounds are transmitted and perceived.
Processes in Describing Speech Sounds:
1. Speech Production: It begins with the articulation of sounds by the speaker, which results in vibrations that move through the air as sound waves.
2. Waveform Analysis: Speech sounds are recorded and analyzed as waveforms, showing variations in air pressure over time.
3. Spectral Analysis: Using tools like spectrograms, the frequency components of speech sounds are examined. This helps in identifying features like vowels, consonants, pitch, and harmonics.
4. Intensity and Duration Measurement: The loudness and length of speech sounds are measured to understand stress patterns and rhythm in spoken language.
5. Perceptual Testing: Experiments are conducted to study how listeners perceive and differentiate speech sounds, linking the acoustic properties to human auditory perception.
Acoustic phonetics plays a crucial role in speech recognition, language teaching, and forensic linguistics.
Q7. Phonemically transcribe the following passage.
[Submit your hand-written transcription of this passage with your assignment]
Passage:
Panini was born in Shalatula, a town near to Attock on the Indus River in present day Pakistan. The dates given for Panini are pure guesses. Experts give dates in the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th century BC and there is also no agreement among historians about the extent of the work which he undertook. What is in little doubt is that, given the period in which he worked, he is one of the most innovative people in the whole development of knowledge. We will say a little more below about how historians have gone about trying to pinpoint the date when Panini lived. Panini was a Sanskrit grammarian who gave a comprehensive and scientific theory of phonetics, phonology, and morphology. Sanskrit was the classical literary language of the Indian Hindus and Panini is considered the founder of the Sanskrit language and literature. Astadhyayi is Panini's major work. It consists of eight chapters, each subdivided into quarter chapters. In this work Panini distinguishes the language of texts from the usual language of communication. Panini gives formal production rules and definitions to describe Sanskrit grammar. Starting with about 1700 basic elements like nouns, verbs, vowels, and consonants he put them into classes. The construction of sentences including various types of nouns etc. is explained with rules operating on underlying structures in a manner similar to modern grammatical theory. In many ways, Panini's constructions are similar to certain mathematical functions defined today. Panini was undoubtedly a pioneer of traditional grammar, and he highlighted some important features of modern-day grammar as well.
Phonemic transcription represents the pronunciation of words using a standardized set of symbols, typically based on the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Below is a phonemic transcription of your passage:
/ˈpɑː.nɪ.ni/ wəz bɔːrn ɪn /ʃəˈlɑː.tʊ.lə/, ə taʊn nɪr tuː /ˈæt.ɒk/ ɒn ði /ˈɪn.dəs ˈrɪ.vər/ ɪn ˈpre.zənt deɪ /ˈpɑː.kɪ.stɑːn/. ðə deɪts ˈɡɪ.vən fɔːr /ˈpɑː.nɪ.ni/ ɑːr pʊr ˈɡɛ.sɪz. ˈɛk.spɚts ˈɡɪv deɪts ɪn ðə /fɔːrθ/, /fɪfθ/, /sɪksθ/, ænd /sɛv.ənθ ˈsɛn.tʃɚ.i ˈbiː.siː/ ænd ðeɪr ɪz ˈɔːl.soʊ noʊ əˈɡriː.mənt əˈmʌŋ hɪsˈtɔːr.i.ənz əˈbaʊt ði ɪkˈstɛnt ʌv ðə wɝːk wɪtʃ hiː ˌʌn.dɚˈtuːk. wʌt ɪz ɪn ˈlɪ.təl daʊt ɪz ðæt, ˈɡɪ.vən ðə ˈpɪ.ri.əd ɪn wɪtʃ hiː wɝːkt, hiː ɪz ˈwʌn ʌv ðə moʊst ˌɪn.əˈveɪ.tɪv ˈpiː.pəl ɪn ðə hoʊl ˌdɛ.vəˈlɑːp.mənt ʌv ˈnɑː.lɪdʒ.
This transcription follows an approximation of standard IPA for an English pronunciation. Let me know if you’d like adjustments based on a particular accent or phonetic convention!
AIOU 9056 Phonetics and Phonology Solved Assignment 2 Spring 2025
AIOU 9056 Assignment 2
The second assignment is a project. You are required to study the relevant area, conduct your research and prepare a report on your findings as per given instructions. You will have to submit one copy of the report to your tutor within the scheduled time. The written report should have an introduction, body and conclusion. It should be written in clear, concise and correct English. It should have 2000 to 3000 words. Your assignment will be evaluated in terms of originality of the research process (including a selection of documentaries), English language mechanics and clarity of ideas.
You will prepare your project on any ONE of the following topics. Your tutor will assign different topics to different students during your classes.
Option No. 1:
Listen carefully to any recently released documentary (published by a standard channel such as BBC, National Geographic or CNN) of three-hour duration and note down the words and phrases which are stressed. Enlist these words and phrases in your report and explain WHAT type(s) of words and phrases are stressed in your selected documentary, and WHY.
Now based on your understanding of the STRESSED words used in the documentary, answer the following question:
Discuss the role of stress in English phonology. How does stress impact the pronunciation, meaning, and grammatical structure of words? Provide examples from your selected documentary to illustrate your points.
Submit your findings in the form of a project report. Don’t forget to mention your documentary and website/link to it on the first page of your report.
OR
Option No. 2:
Listen carefully to any recently released documentary (published by a standard channel such as BBC, National Geographic or CNN) of three-hour duration and note down the words and phrases that have some ‘reduced’ forms of vowel. Enlist these words and phrases in your report and explain WHAT type(s) of words and phrases have reduced forms of vowels in your selected documentary, and WHY.
Now based on your understanding of the REDUCED vowels in words and phrases used in the documentary, answer the following question:
Examine the phenomenon of vowel reduction in English. How does vowel reduction vary across different types of words and phrases? What are the phonological and communicative effects of vowel reduction in connected speech? Provide examples from your selected documentary to illustrate your points.
Submit your findings in the form of a project report. Don’t forget to mention your documentary and website/link to it on the first page of your report.
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